May 30, 2007

The day started off not so bad. There were a few showers around. We headed out around 10:30 to do our “grand tour of Co. Wicklow”. The driving was quite easy and we made our way to Blessington. We stopped for a few minutes to have a look around, but it started to rain quite heavily so we went back to the car and continued on. We took the small road out to Valleymount and stopped a couple of times for pictures. In Valleymount we visited the church and walked down to the lakeshore. Once again a shower came over, so we left there and carried on into the mountains and through the Wicklow Gap to Glendalough. Unfortunately, due to the light showers and part fog, we were unable to see very far, but what we could see was exceedingly picturesque. It was in Glendalough that we had a very nice lunch in the Wicklow Heather Restaurant. Whilst there, we found a couple of newspaper articles dating back to 1952 when the Blessington valley was flooded, which made for interesting reading. The lunch was extremely good. We then carried on through Kilmacurragh and Rathdrum, stopping off at the Woolen Mill, where we picked up a couple of Aran wool sweaters. Then on through Glenealy and Rathnew and a detour out to Wicklow town. From here we drove up the coast road through Newcastle, Kilcoole and Bray and ended up in Dublin right on rush hour.In the evening we visited the Merry Ploughboy pub just south of the city and were treated to a show of Irish music and dancing following a very good meal.

May 29, 2007

We finally managed to make up our mind on which sightseeing tour to take yesterday. We caught the 10.15 shuttle into the city center and had a taste of Irish humour. The bus driver was crazy! We were laughing our heads off as he drove through the city with his "non-tourguide" commentary. At one point he had the bus racing another bus in order to cut it off to allow us to get onto the actual tour. the new bus was packed so we were dropped off at the tourism center shop to catch another bus. We took this opportunity to buy our bus passes and get a little something to eat.When we finally boaarded the tour bus we climbed on the second level but sat in the covered area. It was sunny and somewhat warm but there was a breeze so I was better off under the shelter. We went along the full route first to hear the commentary. Again, the 2 busdrivers that we had during the loop were hilarious. We learned about the history of Dublin, local jokes and their personal observations (perhaps the funniest of the lot). We then decided to get off at the Guiness Storehouse. It was a good tour and the highlight was the Gravity Bar where you got a free pint of Guiness while taking in a 360 degree view of Dublin. We then jumped on the bus (again we sat on the top level but this time outside) and rode to O'Connell Street. We walked to Trinity College with the intention of seeing the Book of Kells but the line was too long. Instead we went to LUSH for a few bath ballistics and then along Nassau Street to look at the Irish crafts, crystal, wollens and jewelry. It was then time to eat so back to Bewleys on Grafton Street for some really good pizza. We went back to the hotel to allow me to complete some homework. Aidan called his cousin and tentative arrangements were made for Thursday. We also booked dinner and an Irish dancing show for this evening. All that was left was to find something to do for the evening at hand. We decided to go to the cinema on Purnell street to see Pirates of the Caribbean. The tickets cost almost 20 euro and a regular popcorn and two drinks cost about 11 euro - good lord! The commercials before the movie were silly, as expected. We enjoyed the movie. No, it's not the most serious of content but it is not supposed to be. Listening to critics is a waste of time. It was a few hours of mindless entertainment and I enjoyed watching it. After the movie we went to Eddie Rockets - it was basically Johnny Rockets with a different name (I noticed the same with TJ Maxx, which is TK Maxx over here). We had a good dinner and then caught a taxi back to the hotel. We got yet another fascinating taxi driver - granted the taxi driver that we had going to the cinema was the best yet. We ended the evening with me doing more homework. It just doesn't end...

May 27 & 28, 2007

May 27th was a cold and rainy day. It suited my mood. We had a wonderful breakfast and then went out for a walk but it was so cold and windy. We went to the Promenade by car to see if anyone was using the Model Yacht Pool. A man had a really cool tugboat but it was so cold that we decided to get back into the car and drive around. After maybe an hour we went back to take a nap but our room was being prepared for the next people to check in. We loaded our stuff into the car and eventually went to the Links for lunch. There were twelve of us for lunch and there was so much food. We sang happy birthday to Aidan's mom and then we went to head out at 1.30. I checked my blackberry in the parking lot and there was a voicemail message. Dr. Colin wanted us to call him immediately. Aidan made the call and when he got off we had to make the tough decision. Aidan called Dr. Colin and I just sat in the car and bawled. I then called my mom while Aidan told his family in the restaurant. It was now 2.15 and we knew we'd be late to the airport. We managed to get there by 4.40 but our flight had closed and they couldn't get us on another flight until after 10pm. We sat in the airport for hours. I did my homework and we played scrabble and eventually read the newspapers online. The Ryanair flight was an experience - somewhat rickety and bumpy but it got us into Dublin safely. The airport was packed at midnight. We got our bags and got the car and took about 55 minutes to find the hotel. Needless to say, we slept like logs that night.Yesterday we stayed in bed until after 12 noon. We needed to recover. Aidan was up for most of the morning but I would wake up and then go back to sleep. We got ready, had lunch and then headed out in the beautiful sunshine for a walk down to Ballsbridge Bridge to see where we were and to buy a map. We then got the car and drove to St. Stephen's Green. We went to the shopping center which exited onto Grafton Street. We did some necessities shopping, visited the Tourist Center to get a few brochures and then had tea at Bewleys. After visiting a few bookstores we headed back to the hotel in order for me to do my homework. We had dinner in the hotel because Aidan was still feeling a bit jetlagged. The service wasn't great but the food was amazing. We decided to have an early night but discovered a great documentary on Hillsborough Castle (the residence of the Secretary of State of Northern Ireland) on the tv and watched it though to the end (around midnight).

Bad News...

I have bad news. The vet called once the operation began. Deaglan's liver was very bad. He had multiple shunts and not the type that he could recover from. We were asked what we wished to do as he would not survive for long. We agreed to put him to sleep.

May 26, Part II

The wedding was beautiful! The church was wonderfully decorated and the pastor had a lovely sense of humour. It was definitely a wedding ceremony where the newlyweds can say that it went off according to plan. At the end the organist came over to Aidan and said she was so happy to hear such beautiful singing. He seems to end up with a fan club wherever he goes!The reception was equally as lovely. It was cold but we kept busy to keep the blood circulating. Aidan was the keeper of the photo guestbook and was a real politician when it came to getting people to have their picture taken. He even managed to get the bar and kitchen staff to have their pictures taken for the book. The festivities went into the morning but a great day and evening was had by all.

May 26, 2007

Just a quick check in - we have to be at the church for 2pm so we have about 2 hours 15 minutes to relax a bit.First of all, we got an email update on Deaglan. Deaglan is doing very well. His facial swelling is now minimal so he has responded to the drip well. Sadly his vein 'blew' last night so they removed the drip. They will re-drip him come sunday in an effort to preserve his veins. His appetite is excellent and he loves the lactulose...it's almost like it is a treat! Other than that he is definately brighter in himself and craves a cuddle. They think his progress is great and they have given him a fighting chance going into the surgery. Dr. Colin is back tonight and surgery scheduled for Sunday morning. His wife will get him to try calling after the surgery to keep us informed.The trp up here was good. We got into Gatwick at about 6.40 yesterday morning and icked up the rental car. Pete (Aidan's brother in law) and Aidan took turns driving. The english countryside was amazing. The spring flowers are out in force and it was just an amazing show out the window. We're staying at Cleat House in Sheringham. It is a wonderfully quaint town on the Norfolk coast of the North Sea. We visited the reception site and had lunch with the bride, groom and family yesterday. We then went into Cromer to do a little shopping for necessities before coming back to Sheringham for a nap. We went out with Aidan's pareents to a Thai place for dinner and ended the evening walking along the promenade and visiting the model yacht pool (I'll go back and take pictures tomorrow). Aidan picked up flint rock off of the beach and threw them at other rocks to make a spark. It was pretty cool in the darkness.This morning we got up around 8 and had breakfast. I'll take pictures of this place because it is my ideal house. The detail is superb and the bathroom s as big as the bedroom! We went into Sheringham to find cufflinks for Aidan but also were able to visit the little shops and walk about with people doing their Saturday shopping. I love that there are dogs everywhere and butcher shops and small bookshops. The lady who runs Cleat House bicycles everywhere. It is just such a nice vibe.

It's been a tough month...

Our vows included the phrase "in good times and in bad". This past month has included the 'bad' but we have had to find strength in each other. Today we lost one of our cats, Loreley. She was attacked on Saturday night by a cat or dog, we do not know. She did not make it to the vet. We buried her this morning in Aidan's parent's backyard. It was the hardest morning of my life thus far because how could you lose such a young and sweet life for no reason. Yes, we plan to adopt another cat from the SPCA but we will never forget our princess cat.We are also counting down to major surgery for our puppy, Deaglan. He has a portosystemic shunt and if he does not have the surgery we will lose him too. Unfortunately, we will be overseas when he has the surgery on Sunday but our thoughts will be with him through the whole ordeal. At this point, he has to make it through the surgery and recovery - there is no other choice.There has been 'good' as well. I auditioned for an got into a show for the fall. We are going to Aidan's brother's wedding this weekend and it promises to be beautiful. Our garden is lovely and the roses are phenomenal. My mom has been in the hospital (bad) but she is out and much better (good). And finally, we have each other and we're getting through the bad and good together. That is what it is all about.