Day 12 - Happy 4th from Silver Strand

We started off our day by going to Westport for some real grocery shopping. We had heard from one of the neighbors that Lidl has great prices, so off we went. We had fun shopping, and since by the time we finished it was after lunch time, I let the munchkins split a chocolate chip muffin before we got back in the car.

Happy kids

I think I should mention that we are both getting very good at driving this stick car on the "wrong" side of the road. Hopefully I am not jinxing us. On the drive back the rain stopped and we had plenty of beautiful sunshine. 

Once we put all the grocery shopping away we decided that since it was a beautiful day we should head to the Silver Strand beach which is about 6 km from the house. The road to get to Silver Strand is even narrower than the roads around the house, and there were some sheep that were just hanging out on the side of the road. Keep in mind that this is meant to be a 2 lane road! 

The road to Silver Strand

Once we arrived, we were completely wowed by the scenery. There is a long sandy beach, about a 5 min walk, before you even get to the water. We have heard that the water comes up and covers the entire sandy area when the tide comes in, and some people who park too close have even had their cars swept away. 

At first we were all alone on the beach before just a handful of people arrived. Although it was a bit chilly, we had a great time running around, writing and playing in the sand.

Happy 4th of July from Silver Strand

We came across quite a few purple jellyfish in the sand. Apparently the purple jellyfish don't sting, but we stayed clear of them anyways, although I'm not sure if they are even alive if they are out of the water.

Purple Jellyfish

A bit further down there are some small pools that have formed in the sand and the water in them was actually fairly warm.

The small pools/streams on the beach

Kian had a blast running from puddle to puddle and splashing around. He even fell down a couple of times but didn't mind it one bit, despite the cold winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean.

Kian with Batman in one hand and Robin in the other having fun in the small pools

Meanwhile a bit further away from the water, Hannah was having a great time with her sand toys, although she was not so jazzed about the wind.

Hannah holding on to her hood

Hannah playing with sand. She can be entertained with sand and rocks for a long time :) 

I also had fun on the beach and took advantage of the hard sand to do a few yoga poses by the water. 

My attempt at the wheel. It still needs work!

The two Supermen returned from splashing in the pools and posed for a photo.

It's bird. It's a plane. It's Superman...wait there are 2 of them :)

We all put on our flip flops and ventured down the beach to climb up a small hill for an even better view of the ocean.  Before there were some sheep up there, but they came down long enough for our photo.

Views from the top of the hill

Munchkins and Mommy (Would you believe the sheep can climb up here? We had to look out for sheep poop!)

The 120 degree panorama view from the top of the hill

Hannah and I hiked back down the hill and once we got past the pools and back on the beach, I took a picture of the Supermen. If you look carefully you can see both of them on top of the hill. 

Supermen on the hill

Shortly after, as it was getting closer to dinner time, we started to head back to the car. On the walk back Hannah had a blast collecting seashells. We kept hearing her say, "Guys wait wait wait" as she would stop to pick up a new seashell. 

Hannah showing one of her collected seashells

Once home, Hannah washed all of her sandy seashells.

A small part of Hannah's seashell collection

We all had tomato soup with bread for dinner. We were too hungry to take any pictures. 

Day 11 - Killadoon Hill

Fresh eggs from the chickens on the farm! mmm! That's how we started our morning. A delicious omelet with tomatoes and scallions and just a bit of white cheddar cheese.

Delicious Omelet made with fresh eggs 

Since our hosts are away this week (they live in the house adjacent to our little cottage), their neighbors stop by at different times during the day to feed the sheep and the chickens. They are all very friendly, especially the lady, Geraldine, who comes to feed the chickens. After we had finished breakfast she came and knocked on the door and asked if the kids would like to help feed the chickens. We put on our shoes and ran out to feed the chickens and get the eggs :)

Little farmers at work feeding the chickens and roosters

Farmer Kian and his eggs

Since it was raining, we lounged around the house and played.  We headed to the Ocean Lodge, a nice restaurant/hotel very close to our cottage with incredible views of the Atlantic Ocean, for lunch. The restaurant was not very crowded which allowed us to hang around, and as the kids played a game of pool I was able to take advantage of the Wi-Fi and catch up with our blog postings.

Goat Cheese Salad

BBQ Chicken Wings

I forgot to mention before that milk and cheese in Ireland are absolutely delicious. The goat cheese on the salad tasted so fresh. If you are ever in Ireland, even if you are staying at a hotel you should definitely get some milk from a grocery store or at the restaurant. So good! Trust me, you won't be sorry!

Once we got back home it stopped raining and we decided to hike to the top of Killadoon Hill. This Hill is about 267m at it's highest point and it is practically across the street from where we are staying. There are no real paths to follow so you have to go through the grass and up the rocks and sometimes use your hands. Also you need to be on the look out for deer and sheep poop!

Hiking up with Hannah repeating over and over, "I can do it"

Half way there!

The views from the top are well worth the hike. 

Hiking Partners

The view from the top of Killadoon Hill

We hiked back down the hill a lot easier than I thought we would and we even carried a tired Hannah most of the way.

We saw a cool frog on our way up, but it was too quick to hop away. We also saw a few neat cactus flowers randomly spread out on the hill.

Cactus Plant on the Hill

Hiking makes hungry children and hungry children are the best eaters. Both plates were cleared of all food within minutes :) 

Hopefully our soggy sneakers will dry by the morning for another day of adventure.

Day 10 - Wet Sheep

We woke up to a very cloudy and rainy day. Later we found out that the beautiful sunshine we arrived in is a nice tease in these parts. I walked in the kitchen to put some dishes away and start making breakfast and say hello to our wet sheep :)

View from the window above the kitchen sink

While I made breakfast the rest of the family played hide-and-go-seek.

Kian counting as Hannah and Daddy ran to hide

We were all still a bit tired from traveling a lot the previous day and so decided to take it easy and spend time at home and around the farm. Hannah wanted to play outside on the rocks and Kian wanted to visit the pet lambs.

Hannah Playing with the rocks

Kian visiting the pet lambs

The wind was too strong to stay outside so the kids came back in and started playing a game of tic-tac-toe together. 

Playing tic-tac-toe

But of course in every game there is a winner and a loser and the loser was not particularly happy about the outcome of the game.

Losing is no fun especially for a 2.5 year old :(

After this we decided to head into Louisburgh to buy some meat for dinner from the butcher in town. This was my first time driving the stick car and much stalling was in order. It is also quite terrifying driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Asides from remembering that you have to drive on the left you are also very confused about keeping proper distance on the left side. I almost nicked the mirror on the passenger side!!  Oh and did I mention the roads are very very narrow and the locals drive pretty fast. At least it seems fast to a driver terrified of stalling and being on the wrong side of the road! 

We bought the meat and managed to make it home unscathed. Kian helped me make dinner, Beef Stroganoff with rice. 

Teaching Kian how to cut peppers 

Kian mastering the art of cutting peppers :)

While I finished up a few final touches the kids played with daddy-o.

pre-dinner fun and games

Dinner was served shortly after.

Beef stroganoff and white rice - The kids also ate this with mostly the meat and also some yogurt on the side

After dinner the clouds finally parted and we were able to enjoy some beautiful views over the ocean.

Sunset over the atlantic Ocean - View from our living room.

We wrapped up the night by watching The Little Mermaid for our family movie night which happened to be on Wednesday this week. 

Family Movie Night - The Little Mermaid

Day 9 - Gorgeous Louisburgh

We left Dublin shortly after eating breakfast. Dublin is a 3 and half hour drive from Louisburgh. The drive was smooth despite being on a 1 lane “highway” for a good amount of the time. We stopped around 1PM in Westport for lunch. 

We ate at a restaurant called The West. Their seafood chowder was marked on the menu as worldwide award winning. It was truly the best seafood chowder we have ever had. If you are ever in Westport you must try this chowder! 

The delicious award winning seafood chowder

The drive from Westport to Louisburgh is about 20 miles and on a clear sunny day (which is exactly what the weather was like while we drove) it is absolutely gorgeous. As you drive you have tall hills and mountains to the left and the glimmering Atlantic Ocean to the right.  

We pulled up to the house around 3:45 and were immediately wowed by the incredible views. 

The view of the Atlantic Ocean

The hosts are extremely nice.  They welcomed us, gave us a quick tour of the house and then started to show us the farm. About 80 sheep, 10 chickens, 2 roosters, and 2 horses live here. We are allowed to pet the sheep’s wool. Oh my gosh they are so soft! 

Kian with the Pet Lambs

We took a quick walk to the beach to check it out. It is a nice beach and the sand entertained the kids and myself :) The Atlantic Ocean is still very cold so we just dipped in our feet.  There were some jellyfish type creatures the locals call "wafer fish" which had washed up on shore, Kian enjoyed analyzing them.

The Mortons

On the half mile walk back from the beach, the kids kept themselves entertained by picking fluffy dandelions and making wishes.  

"I wish the adventure would last forever" - Kian

"I wish for Dora" - Hannah

After we got back, we headed to the closest grocery store in Louisburgh called Durkans. Most of the items are very expensive, but we really needed some fruit and a few things to cook dinner with as we were tired of eating at restaurants. We will go to a much larger grocery store in Westport on Thursday or Friday.  20 Miles is a long way to drive for a good grocery store, but at least it's a nice drive.

After dinner, the kids were showered, had ice cream and went to bed. We were warned the the roosters will start with singing at 5AM.

A Note to our readers:

We do not have internet access in this cottage so the posts will likely not always be available on a daily basis. We will try our best to update the blog as frequently as possible.

Day 8 - Dublin in a Day

We arrived in Dublin on time without any issues and went through the passport control and customs very quickly. Next we had to go to the rental car section and pick up our car. If you think car insurance in New Jersey is expensive you should come rent a car in Ireland. We had to pay a lot more on top of what we had paid online to book the car! There are so many different kinds of insurance required before you can drive away. We had done a lot of research before getting to Ireland and there really isn’t anyway around this especially if you want to have comprehensive insurance and this is your first time driving a stick shift car on the left side! Let’s just say our respond to the amount due was “Zoinks”!! Better safe than sorry I suppose.

We got in the car and put the children’s carseats in place and buckled them up. Kids safety? Check. Ok. Let’s drive. or…stall…and stall…and stall…! Hmmm…could we just roll in neutral to the hotel? Thankfully we didn’t have to find out as we discovered that instead of 1st we kept putting the car in the 3rd gear! We will just blame it on the confusing markings on the stick. Although the car is very new there is no display to tell you what gear you are in but it does tell you what gear you should be in for optimal efficiency. 

Our Irish Steed :) 

We could not check-in the hotel yet but I spoke with a lady at the reception desk and she recommended the Halfway House as a good Irish Pub to eat at.

Halfway House Pub

After lunch we parked the car at the hotel and took a bus to Dublin City Center. A double decker bus! and of course we sat on the top. As soon as we got out of the bus we saw a small chocolate shop that also had cupcakes and coffee called, “The Sweetest Thing”.  We popped in for some coffee and cupcakes for the kids. The shop was very uncrowded when we walked in so the person who works there had a few minutes to chat and recommended a number of places for us to visit. 

Declan - The man from the Sweetest Thing Shop who gave us recommendations of what to visit in Dublin

We headed out of the shop and walked towards the Trinity College. 

View from the Bridge

The Trinity College is the oldest college in Ireland and If I heard the tour guide correctly they are affiliated with Oxford university. The campus is beautiful. 

Trinity College - Dublin 

We walked on to see the “Book of Kells" exhibit which is remarkable. 

The Book of Kells exhibit

here was an additional exhibit in the library about Brian Boru. The library was the most amazing one I have ever seen with bookshelf lining the walls from floor to ceiling.

Library

Old Book on Display in the Library

After the exhibits we headed towards the Dublin Castle. It was a bit smaller than I had envisioned but the intricacy of the design wowed me nonetheless. We played a bit in the Coach House Garden, took a few pictures and left to find a place for dinner. ​

Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle

There are a lot of cobble stone streets in Dublin with alfresco dining. We picked a burger place called “Gourmet Burger Kitchen”. The food was really good and Hannah made friends with our waitress and danced with her and played peek-a-boo with her. Silly Hannah!

Cobble Streets of Dublin

Gourmet Burger Kitchen

Menu

GBK Salad

Habanero Burger

Kid's Cheese Burger

After dinner we hopped back on the bus and headed back to the Hotel for much needed R&R.

Day 7 - London moves to No. 1

“I love London more than New York City” said Kian on our last day in London. I wonder what other cities will become his favorite as we travel on.
The day started off with lots of sunshine. We decided it was only fitting to explore the Wapping neighborhood and headed down towards Waterside Gardens, a small park with nice views of the river. The streets of Wapping are very historic and despite renovations the buildings still hold their olden day charms.

Waterside Gardens in Wapping

We had a great time playing tag and took some fun pictures.

Kian taking a selfie

Flower

for mommy

Super Baby Ginger

Flying Ginger

Gliding Batman

Playing Tag

Playing Tag

with Boney

Big Hug

Happy Hannah

It started to get windy and cloudy a little after noon. We headed to Captain Kidd, a famous restaurant in the neighborhood for some traditional British grub.

Captain Kidd Restaurant in Wapping

When you are inside the restaurant you feel like you are on a ship. The rooms are all wooden with wooden walls and lots of wooden beams and you can see the river from all the windows. The restaurant filled up quickly with lots of families. We all enjoyed our lunch.

Captain Kidd's Menu

Spaghetti Monster

Fish and Chips

Roast Turkey

with veggies, gravy, and Yorkshire pudding

Kian and Boney

Enjoying Lunch

We headed back home to grab our raincoats, since in had started to drizzle, and to figure out what we wanted to do in the afternoon.

Finally, we headed out to Southwark and South Bank to check out the Festival of Love.
Before getting to the festival we came across a small opening off the walkway with lots of boutique like stores.

We continued on to the Festival of Love. There were a lot of street performers around, cotton candy, people singing. I believe earlier in the day they had a few speakers that talked about a various topics focusing on love of humanity, love of self, love of family, etc.

South Bank Festival of Love

Cotton Candy Eaters at the Festival of Love

As we headed back home we encountered our first hiccup of the trip. We wanted to return our Oyster cards to get our deposit back but you can only return Oyster cards at underground stations and the closest train station to our flat was an overground station. I mistakenly thought we could return the cards at Canada Water station and walk the rest of the way. Little did I know that we were on the wrong side of the river and the shortest way to cross the river was a tunnel for motor vehicles!!! Ummm…Ooops! Of course it was raining and the kids were tired so they wanted to be carried.

We walked a bit but then finally decided to buy a single one way ticket for the overground and got out at our Wapping stop.
An early dinner was in order since we had to catch a flight at 8:05 AM to Dublin which meant waking up at 4:00 AM. We ate a review of the week and sent the kids to bed :)

Last Dinner in London - A review of the week

With the kids in bed I went on the computer to check-in online for our flight only to find out…dun dun dun….that there was another monkey wrench being thrown our way! The fine print on the confirmation said, “You must print and bring your boarding pass with you or you will be charged when you check in”. I believe the additional fee was about 20 GBP per person. Print?!  Dude! It was almost 9 PM on a Sunday by the time I read this. I will spare you the details of us weighing pros and cons. Thank god for our friend Simon who saved the day by printing our boarding passes at his friend’s house and dropping them off. YAY SIMON! THANK YOU!!

We finished all the packing as quickly at we could and finally went to bed around midnight. Goodbye London. It’s been amazing!!

Day 6 - Rain Rain Go Away

A cold and rainy day here in London but we are not afraid of getting wet.  The day started with some delicious pastries for breakfast from a bakery right down the street from our apartment called P&J. Bakers.

P&J Bakers on Wapping Lane

Chocolate Eclaire, Vanilla Pastry, and Cinnamon Danish

Because of the rain and the gloomy day we took our time leaving the house. We ate a quick lunch at home and left around 1:30 PM.

Hannah showing her "feather" she was protecting in the Overground train.

Once again we had no real itinerary for the day. I knew I really wanted to go to Baker Street thanks to my newly discovered obsession with Sherlock. We had to change a few trains to get there due to construction happening at some of stations. 

When we arrived at the famous 221B Baker street there was a long line of people waiting in the rain to go inside the apartment/museum. We decided to skip the wait and just took a few pictures from the outside.

If you have been watching the BBC Sherlock show you know you want to start whistling or humming the main theme now :) 

Fact Check: Apparently the building for the museum lies between 237 and 241 but despite all the controversies the city gave permission to use the address 221B

After seeing the residence of the famous detective we headed towards Oxford Street as the rain raged on. 

We came across the Disney Store and went in to take a look. A Disney Store can never be boring and this one was definitely one of the better ones we have been in.

Oxford Street Disney Store

Hannah & Merida

Hannah & Sophia

Kian & Spider-man

Hannah & Repunzel

Kian and Mickey Mouse

Hannah and Anna

Afterwards we were all ready for an afternoon snack. As we headed out of the Disney Store a sign for Ben's Cookies grabbed our attention. A hole in the wall shop filled with delicious cookies. 

Ben's Cookies

Oxford Street

A box of delicious cookies

and two happy kids

Cookies

Yum!

Next stop, Harrods. Because no trip to London is complete without a visit to Harrods.

Harrods

There was a protest going on outside against a designer and the ground floor was overcrowded and a bit hectic to get through. We made it through the crowds of people and made our way through some fancy designer sections to the 3rd floor and the Toy Kingdom.  What a fun place :) 

Harrods

Hannah didn't want to leave the Gingerbread House

Harrods

Kian kept trying to get this saucer to stick to his hands like the guy that worked there

Harrods

Harrods' idea of "dress up" clothes

Harrods

Mr Perfect

Harrods

Miss Trouble, so fitting for her face

It was time for dinner by the time we made it out of Harrods.  We had all intentions of making our way to West India Quay, as we were in the mood for Indian food and had heard good things about the Indian restaurants in that area, but halfway through the subway ride we realized it was too late and decided to get off at Covent Gardens instead.

We're glad we made the change, as Kian (and his Batman toy) got to meet Batman!

Kian, Batman (in Kian's hand), and Batman.  Kian's comment of course was that this Batman was lacking a Utility Belt.

There were some other random street performances going on, nothing too spectacular.  Luckily for us, the universe knew we wanted Indian food, and someone came up to us with a flier advertising a nearby Indian restaurant call Masala Zone.  

The service was amazing and the restaurant was extremely kid friendly. Any place that has coloring pages, crayons, and a kid menu is good in my books! The food was very delicious and everyone had a great time. Thank you universe!

Masala Zone

Masala Zone

Kian's tiger

Masala Zone

Yummy, spicy appetizer

Masala Zone

Indian pizza for the kids

Masala Zone

Grand Thali

Masala Zone

Regular Thali

Masala Zone

Of course no meal is complete without ice cream

After dinner, we realized the best way back included a stop we've been looking for an excuse to make at King's Cross Station to see Platform 9 3/4!  Like everything else in London, there was a line (or as the British say "a queue") just to take a picture with the cart, so we snuck in a picture of just the cart.

Harry Potter's cart at Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station

Finally time to get back to the flat, it was late but the kids were still in good spirits and wanted to play the whole ride back.

Hannah the gymnast

Kian the gymnast

Tomorrow is our last day in London and we are hoping for better weather.