The Brennens…

Today was magical – literally and figuratively!

We started out by deciding to jump on a bus for the first time in London – and our first time on a city bus period! We did well though – we navigated our way to Hyde Park and decided to try another mode of transportation – bikes! London has a bus rental system that allows you to rent a bike all over the city for £2 for 24 hours. Fabulous! We’d seen them all over but I wasn’t comfortable riding them in the streets. When we got to the park, it was Game On! We rode all over Hyde Park – certainly the best way to see such a huge piece of land. We had such a great time seeing the park that way – it was a highlight of the trip for sure.

Next up was Harrod’s – a necessity of any trip to London. On the way, we stopped and chatted with the guard at One Hyde Park, an ultra exclusive residence high rise – made up of super fancy flats – upwards of £30-200 million. Wow!

When we got to Harrod’s, Shane got to see the Food Halls and we managed to find the gift shop. It was lovely – and crowded – but our favorite part of Harrod’s was the ice cream shop right outside of the Harrod’s Shop. It was a classic parlor, complete with smartly dressed ice cream “jerks” and really, really tasty ice cream. It was pricey (£14 for a sundae) but really, aren’t you paying for the experience? It was absolutely fantastic. Yum!

When we left Harrod’s, we got turned around looking for our bus to Euston station so after wandering around a lot, we decided to engaged yet another form of transportation – a black cab! It was so worth the £15 to have the experience and the easy transport.

Euston Station was our launch pad into the magical world of Harry Potter! We hopped on the Overground train and rode the milk run to Watford Junction. The train was nice and easy and finding the bus was too – it was the one plastered with Harry Potter all over it! We joined the queue of fans looking like they were headed to a book movie release and rode the Knight Bus for about 10 minutes before we arrived at the World of Harry Potter!

I’ve been a lot of places, including Disney, and I have to say, Harry Potter was something all of its own. It’s so well done, so well thought out, so well configured, we were amazed. Just to give you an idea of how amazed we were, we arrived at 3:00 and caught the 8:59 train back to London.

After a quick snack at the cafe, we headed into the World of Harry Potter. It starts with a glimpse into the cupboard under the stairs – so cool – then leads into a quick refresher of all 8 films and a welcome from Harry, Ron, and Hermione before the dramatic opening of the doors to Hogwarts.

The Great Hall was fantastic, but so was everything else. There were guides scattered throughout to give helpful and interesting commentary, and sets and props to entertain for hours. When I say that we were amazed, I’m not exaggerating. The attention to detail paid by the film creators was astounding. When you read books and then see the movies, it’s almost always disappointing – Harry Potter included. What’s unfortunate is that if viewers could see the intricacy of the sets and props, we probably wouldn’t feel that way. They truly missed nothing.

Halfway through is the backlot, home to the Knight Bus, bridge, chess pieces, and butterbeer stand. I’ve heard it’s awesome in Florida…I wouldn’t say this was awesome, but it was palatable 🙂 Shane thinks it’s cream soda with thick whipped cream on top.

The rest was the backbone of the operation – the “how to” of the films. The way the sets were created, the costumes and prosthetic pieces, the creatures, etc. It’s capped with an amazing model of Hogwarts that was used for exterior shots in all 8 movies, restored after the battle for the exhibit. It’s probably It’s definitely a highlight.

After racing to our train, we caught an express back to Euston and took our happy and sleepy selves back home (after a quick stop at M&S of course!). It was a magical day for sure!

Today was a marathon!

We started with Jane’s breakfast – a fabulous spread of meats and cheeses, cereals, pastries, juices, and a hot breakfast of essentially whatever you want! Shane had a lushy looking omelet and I filled up on cereal, meats and cheeses. Yum!

We started at the Tower of London, early, we thought. We thought wrong! The only “win” of the Tower was our plan to see the Crown Jewels first. There was no queue to get in but there were plenty of people inside! Not too many that we couldn’t see and appreciate the beauty of the jewels and other treasures. We went down the people mover twice to try to see every bit of bling!

The yeoman warder tour was great – with 50 of our nearest and dearest! We pushed to the front like always and were able to hear all of his stories. This was my third time in the Tower and I learn something new each time. Shane was in awe of the history and the majesty of the buildings and the secrets within.

Next was the White Tower, home to kings and queens and now, their armor and weapons. Of course this was to be Shane’s favorite! The only downside was the amount of people. It was definitely overcrowded so it was difficult to see without being “those people…” After that, despite missing a good chunk of the tower, we headed out. We had to get our money’s with on the London Pass so we made our way to the Tower Pier to catch a City Cruise.

The touring boats are covered with the London Pass so we decided to take a long trip down to Greenwich and back. The trip was so peaceful; we were able to really relax and enjoy seeing London from a different perspective in a peaceful way. We saw the Docklands, The City, a lot of different types of boats, lots of different converted warehouses and mills and foundries, and of course Greenwich.

At that point, however, we realize that Westminster Abby was due to close before we would make it back on the boat. We panicked but then came up with a Plan B that would involve taking a couple of different Tube lines but would get us there before the Abby would close. We booked it through the stations and got there in plenty of time to enjoy the gorgeous building. We pretended to be Will and Kate on their wedding day – it wasn’t too difficult with the many people there to serve as our witnesses! My favorite thing to see when I go to Westminster is Queen Elizabeth I’s tomb. It’s equally creepy and amazing. Shane really loved the Royal Air Force Chapel. It was really beautiful and both modern and classic – a lovely tribute to sacrifice.

Next was Churchill’s War Rooms – one of my favorite museums in London. It’s the preserved bunker from where Churchill ran England’s defenses/offenses in World War II. Shane loved seeing how the headquarters were set up – the maps, the way things were run…it’s all so interesting. My personal favorite is the transatlantic phone room – disguised as a toilet/WC. The dial always displayed “Engaged” leading passerby to believe it was just a frequently used loo…but it was actually Churchill’s means of communicating with FDR. Amazing.

After that, we took another jaunt up the river, killing time before one of my surprises for Shane…a champagne flight on the London Eye! It was dark when the flight started – perfect for seeing the lights of London – and the beam of light into the sky in tribute of the World War I anniversary. The capsule was full of couples doing the same thing – sipping champagne and enjoying the view. It was the perfect way to see London and experience the Eye. A fabulous cap to a marathon of a day!

Another sad day of goodbyes – this time with Liz’s family. We got up and went to a great little restaurant in town that used to be a fire station. We had traditional English breakfasts and they were fabulous! Super fresh and super tasty. And of course, super company.

After breakfast, we said even more sad goodbyes to Liz and Glynn, our most fabulous hosts, and got on the road to London. George and Hailey drove us to Heathrow; on the way we had the nicest time visiting and getting to know each other better.

At Heathrow, we got ourselves situated, found an ATM, bought our Oyster cards (loaded with a 7 day travelcard) and set out for Leicester Square. We pre-purchaed London Passes online and had to get there to pick them up. What an adventure! Shane was definitely baptized by fire! The London Pass’ home is in the basement of a kiosk on Leicester Square – tons of fun with luggage! We got the pass, got back on the tube, found our train, and were on our way to West Dulwich.

We’ve mentioned our b&b before, The Lilac Door, but neither of is were prepared for how fabulous it was. We were greeted at the door by Jane, our fantastic host for the week. She got us settled in our gorgeous room and brought us beers as a greeting! Welcome to London! Once we were refreshed, we set out for Westminster so Shane could take in the most traditional of sights. We started at Westminster Pier, walked along past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, saw the monuments near Downing Street and the Horse Guards, hung out on Trafalgar Square, visited the Police Menorial, waved to the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and took our happy and tired selves back to Victoria Station for our commute back to West Dulwich. All of that was capped with a trip to Marks and Spencer, my favorite cheap and easy meal in London! Sandwiches and salads and drinks – yum yum!

Today was a great day to take a (trip to) Bath! We set out in the morning with Robert and Aunt Eve down the narrow twisty roads that lead to the Georgian city of Bath. We met up with Andrew, Georgie, and the kids in the car park and took the city bus into town. We dropped the Tinkers at Victoria Park and Shane and I set off on our own…and quickly discovered that we were without our debit cards to get pounds. Ugh! Luckily we happened to have some dollars so we exchanged…and I won’t mention what we lost because I may soak my phone in tears but let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. It was enough to let us into the Roman Baths, so we set off through history.

The Baths’ museum has been changed since last I was there which was fantastic – I don’t mind goon back, but a new experience was perfect for us both. The healing waters revitalized our touristic spirit after two days of resting our feet. What more could you want – it’s like going to Rome…in England! Unfortunately, because it was the 100th anniversary of England entering World War I, the Abbey was preparing for an evening service and we weren’t able to inside so Shane missed out on that. He didn’t, however, miss out on ice cream!

We had some tasty treats with the Tinkers before we headed down to the Avon River and took a boat tour. There wasn’t a ton to see but that didn’t take away from how relaxing the trip was. The one hour tour went past people’s backyards for a while so if nothing else, we had a great time checking out how the people of Bath live!

Following the boat tour, we headed back out of the city and said our sad goodbyes to Andrew, Georgie and the kids and made our way to Bristol for dinner on the patio of the hotel where our cousins Phil and Kitty were married. There is a dramatic suspension bridge in the background of the beautiful setting – not a bad place for a pizza!

After dinner, we went back to Liz and Glynn’s house for tea and to watch coverage of the World War I tribute. It was really amazing to be in England for such an important occasion. Shane and I both commented frequently that if we weren’t there, we wouldn’t understand the gravity of the anniversary. We participated in the hour of darkness and then spent some time Skyping Sheila, Emily, and Ronda.

It was a great day…except for having to say our goodbyes. It’s so special to be able to go Weston to see our cousins but it’s also so sad to have to say goodbye for so long when we do. I’m thankful for the time and for the memories!

After Liz let us sleep in until 10:00, we had a lovely breakfast of toast and coffee and set out for a lunch at Matt and Mel’s farmhouse.

Their garden was perfect for children to run around – which is exactly what they were doing when we got there! We had lots of time to push three year olds on swings, visit, eat, and enjoy the company of our cousins. Matt and Mel’s house was fantastic – so old and so well kept. Iconic of a typical English farmhouse.

After the bigger family party, we went back to Liz’s for a few hours of chill time; while we were there, George, Liz’s son, and his wife Hailey came down and brought their daughter Astrid. We had a lovely visit with them and then when Glynn came home from work, a fantastic fish and chips dinner! Redemption for the crap in Greystone! We took a wonderful walk on the seafront after dinner and Shane was able to see the pier and beach area. Lovely!

The rain bid us farewell as we set off from the Royal Marine at 3:00am on the AirCoach. The trip was easy; getting up after two hours’ sleep was not! The flight was fine, if not very tight quarters. The rain coming in through the open plane door while we waited for passengers to board was not! The best part about an open airplane door in a rainstorm that floods the front of the cabin is how maintenance fixes it…with left luggage articles apparently! The maintenance man came on board accompanied by piles of clothing that he used to mop up the mess. Omg. Welcome to RyanAir, apparently!

The bumpy landing was no big deal because it was superseded by being greeted by my cousin Andrew and his daughter Lucy! What a treat! We went back to their house for bacon sandwiches and black pudding….and then after a visit from cousins Sally and Robert had a really nice walk/bike ride along the strawberry line – an old railroad line through the area. We saw some iconic sights: sheep grazing on the hillsides, a perfectly picturesque English village. We ended in Axebridge, a medieval town in the area, for a pint at the pub. The rain put us inside where we learned that Skittles isn’t just a candy, it’s also a Fred Flintstone-type bowling game. Highly entertaining for Lucy and her brother Harry!

The long walk and ride (and the rain) had us all knackered so we took the bus back to where we parked the car for playtime at the playground and cricket lessons for Shane! We jaunted back to Locking for a nap for us prior to the planned family barbecue. An hour did the trick and we were joined by more of my cousins for a lovely afternoon dinner, desserts, and drinks. We had such a nice time catching up and visiting with our cousins! We wrapped things up at Liz & Glynn’s and had the nicest time Visiting with them as always. We love them all so much – it was fantastic!

Today was not such a great day. Or it didn’t start great anyway!

We got up, ready for the excitement of the Wild Wicklow Tour. We stopped at the front desk of the hotel on our way our and ensured that we were headed to the correct bus stop and made our way to the famous Dun Laoghaire ferry terminal. We were there fifteen minutes early – ready and eager!

Unfortunately, the bus sailed right past us at 10:00 on the nose!

We were so upset! We ran down the road and tried to catch it but a local told us that, yes, that was the bus, and yes, it had left us. He assured us we were at the correct pick up place. We figured maybe he was wrong…maybe the bus was headed back to pick us up. We waited for a few more minutes – ten to be exact – and after realizing that we’d been abandoned for what we were looking forward to the most, hung our heads as we retreated to our hotel.

We called the tour company from our room and were berated for not being in the correct place and the driver having to wait for 20 minutes! What?! How does that work, you ask? We did too! We waited for nearly thirty minutes for a bus that passed us up and were yelled at?! After two turns at arguing with the person in the WWT office, we were FINALLY assured our money back. American customer service is certainly not universal.

We picked up our bootstraps and figured out Plan B: rent a car and go see the mountains ourselves! Who needs a tour anyway?! We went back to the front desk, told them our sad story, and the lovely woman at the front desk of the Royal Marine got us a taxi to take us to a rental place…that wanted to hold €1400 for the insurance we already have! What?! We picked our jaws up off the floor, bagged that idea and walked – for 40 minutes – back to the middle of Dun Laoghaire. (Pretty lucky that we have a decent sense of directions – we had no idea where we were!)

Finally, after we got over our disappointment, we came up with Plan C: take the DART to the end of the line in Bray and Greystones. What a gorgeous train ride! Both towns were lovely; Bray is all seafront and was host to a small carnival. Greystones was similar with a similar seafront but both were certainly charming. Greystones was also home to the nastiest fish and chips ever. So there’s that! We took some really beautiful walks in each town along seafronts and through historic centers…the scenery wasn’t quite what we pictured when we woke up today, but we were determined to make it a good day – and it was!

Plan C also included heading back to the city center to eat dinner and see what we’ve missed. Once we arrived back in Dublin, we walked from Marion Square to Grafton Street to St Stephens Green to Molly Malone to Dublin Castle to Christ Church Cathedral to Temple Bar where we found the loveliest pub for dinner! We had steak and chicken pies and they were fab – so lushy! We also had front row seats for two amazing Stag Parties: Snow White and HIS Seven Dwarves and some really crazy crazy suits. What a blast!

At the end of it, today was a good day. It was also very frustrating – but ultimately it’s just the bait to get us back to Ireland that much quicker!

Onward to Weston!

Today was fabulous! We saw the Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol, and Jameson Distillery.

We started by checking out of the Windsor Lodge and into the Royal Marine Hotel. They were ready for the Honeymooners – we are in a king sized sea front room – fabulous!

From there we went back to the city – starting at Marion Square, home of the Oscar Wilde statue. Shane climbed up with him – the perfect photo op!

The Guinness Storehouse was great – the museum/exhibit was so well done – from the bin of barley to the Wicklow Mountain water, the entire storehouse was so fascinating. At the end, we each had a perfect pint of Guinness – complete with clover in the head – awesome. We drank our pints in the Gravity Bar which features the best view of all of Dublin!

We booked it to Kilmainham Gaol and couldn’t get on a tour for an hour so we found a grocery and ate a picnic lunch of a chicken sandwich, crisps, water and fruit on the lawn of the Modern Museum of Art. Lovely! Lushy!

The jail was awesome. We were in awe for the whole tour. It was great – seeing the places where the Easter uprising crew were held was so moving! The Victorian wing of the jail was so well laid out – Shane was fascinated by the whole thing!

Jameson Distillery doesn’t have a great reputation as a tour … And rightfully so ! It feels canned, not lively at all, and was full of grouchy tourists. The best part, by far, was that Shane was able to participate in the whisky tasting period. He is now a certified whisky taster – as if he wasn’t already.

We decided to eat in Dun Laoghaire – which turned out to be a mistake! Everything closed at 10 pm – what a surprise! No kitchens were open at all. The hotel was no help for finding anything … So we walked, and walked, and walked ….to no avail. In the end , we found Apache Pizza and treated ourselves to “American” junk food…pizza and Chinese food! We dragged ourselves back to the hotel to nosh and prepare for our journey eastward!

FAB! We had a long wonderful day in a friendly, easily accessible ancient city – what a treat!

The Hop On Hop Off tour of Dublin is such a great deal that we couldn’t pass it up. We caught the first bus at Trinity College and rode it all around the city – what a great tour! I love a HOHO when I’m unfamiliar with a new place. There’s hardly a better overview. Even better if it’s inexpensive, like the one in Dublin! We got off the bus for the first time at Phoenix Park. We took a little jaunt through the grounds, saw the outside of Dublin Zoo, and some of the Peoples’ Park before we caught the bus to complete our tour.

We switched routes to the Docklands Tour (or Duck Lands as Shane has been saying) where we picked up the Jeanie Johnston tour. WOW!! The highlight of today for sure. The ship is an Irish replica of the Irish immigrant ship – the only one to never lose a life! As Irish Americans, it was moving to see what our ancestors endured to emigrate to the U.S. The tour was well done, interesting , and informative.

We finished up the docklands and ended up at O’Connell Street, the center of tourism in Dublin. From there we went to a pub for lunch, the Fitzgerald Bar. Not that great of food. Beer was good and the interior was awesome, so in the end it was a win. From Fitzgeralds, we went to Trinity College to take the tour and see the Book of Kells. Our tour guide, David, was a junior at the college and very helpful…but kind of boring on the tour. Regardless we enjoyed seeing the campus and learning about the university. Most interesting – it only costs €3000 for EU students to attend the college. The Book of Kells was very cool- we so enjoyed learning about the process, the monks, and of course the manuscript.

After Trinity College, we rode the HOHO around again and landed in Temple Bar. The rain accompanied us into the area. We found music and Irish cider – “Bulmers” – at Quay’s Bar. The duo was fabulous, playing Irish and contemporary music. The bar was full of wet Americans seeking shelter from the storm, as after a while we decided to move on somewhere else… And ended up back at Quay’s for dinner – a lovely snack! It was a little to0 touristy but the food was tasty!

After Temple Bar we took our tired selves back to our hotel – and bed!

The honeymooners’ bump up was a no go. The plane was overbooked so we were out of luck – what a bummer! Our seats were tight and uncomfortable but who cares? We’re on our honeymoon! Lots of snuggling time for us!

Our arrival in Dublin was so easy it’s barely worth mentioning…but I will! Customs were a breeze. We are definitely welcome guests. While in line we met the couple that sat behind us on the plane – they were Irish ex-pats living in Canada, returning home for a visit. They were friendly and helpful. Certainly the best part of travel is meeting new people!

Our Aircoach ride into Dun Laoghaire was a less than warm welcome to Dublin…the host and driver were both as cold as the weather. Never mind though, getting to our B&B, the Windsor Lodge, was a piece of cake. It was a two minute walk from the bus stop, which was perfect after a challenging day of travel. Our host was away, but her husband Tony was happy to help us. He showed us to our lovely room at the top of the house overlooking their backyard. The only issue with the room was the size of the shower – wow was it small! Poor Shane definitely struggled.

From our hotel, we went to the DART station for our tickets for passage to Howth/Malahide. The man in the DART station couldn’t have been better. He was friendly, helpful, and was kind…our tickets were €48 but we only had €47…and he gave us the tickets anyway! So nice. We haven’t been able to stop talking about how nice he was!

Our journey – Shane’s first train ride – was beautiful. The train took us all around Dublin Bay.

We ended in Howth, a picturesque fishing village. We walked the Main Street and the two piers. One was more of a working pier – there were fishermen and their boats everywhere! We found a little place called The Oar House for a fish and chips dinner. It was so fresh and so yummy! Right off the boats!

We left the restaurant and walked the other, more pedestrian pier, and found a sailing race. The happy accident made for great, relaxing views. It was all very reminiscent of Greece, but chilly.

Next was a trip to Malahide, an iconic Irish village, but not anything like Howth. This town was full of painted facades, enormous hanging baskets, and a medieval castle. The castle was already closed for the day, but we had a lovely stroll through the town and castle grounds – and even had an ice cream. We rode the DART back to Dun Laoghaire and crashed after a very long and fabulous two days!