Leaving Dublin and coming home

It's lovely to get away but it's always so nice to get back home.

Usually the moment I start to pack my mind goes into home mode.

This time I was well aware that I'd literally arrive back in Johannesburg, have about an hour (enough time for a decent cup of tea) at home and then literally have to leave to go to a team workshop, away from home for another two days when all I wanted to do was veg.

Anyway, such is life when you want to save R2 000 per ticket.

This time we were packed and ready to leave for the airport early so that we wouldn't have a repeat of last year and another missed flight!

Quite honestly I don't think I would have coped with any drama being 23 weeks pregnant!

So we left early and made it in good time to check in leisurely and still have a good chat to Craig and Jo before boarding.

As usual, the Dublin-Abu Dhabi leg of the trip was just awful. Packed with screaming, misbehaving kids, no stretching, food not great, etc.

There was ONE great moment.

A little girl a couple of rows in front of us asked her mother for food.
The mother pointed to the food cart waaayyyyy in front of us and said something
like they are serving the food, they'll get to us eventually.

She then says loud enough for our entire section to hear.

BUT I'M STARVING NOW!

I sooo got that girl :)

Our flight from Abu Dhabi to Johannesburg was delayed so in typical D&M fashion, we were taking our own sweet time at the airport when Dion had an urge to go look at the boards.

Sure enough, suddenly our "delayed" flight says "now boarding".

Do you know what we looked like "running" through the airport? "Running" as only a pregnant woman can.

We were the last ones but the stewardesses said they would have waited for us. Hmmm.

Fortunately the aircraft was empty again so could stretch out and sleep.... BLISS.

Landing on South African soil is always bittersweet - sad that another holiday is over but very, very happy to be home amongst our very friendly people.

Visit to Steve, Portia and gorgeous Kai

Sunday 3 May 2009

Craig and Dion were up at the crack of dawn (6.30 and 7:00) and spent some good quality boy time chatting .

I then woke and joined the boy chat.

It was raining so lovely to laze around in pajamas, having tea with good friends.

Aside from Craig, I (Dion) have another friend I know from Repteens living in Dublin: Portia. Repteens is a youth theatre group we attended in Zimbabwe, where we made many great friendships. Portia and her Irish hubby, Steve, both architects, had just given birth to a son, Kai, so we were quite keen to visit them.

Eventually we firmed up plans and set out to go over to Portia and Steve's house to see their newest addition, gorgeous Kai.

Jo decided that she needed alone girl time so the three of us set off.

On our way, we detoured via Penney's (where I bought the babies the softest blue and pink teddies I have ever felt), HMV and then grabbed some SuperMac chicken burgers since it was lunch time.

We met up at their house and for me (D) it was like it always is when meeting old friends: a few more wrinkles on both sides but everyone is still the same in personality.
 
So it was great catching up with Portia, meeting Steve and getting to cuddle Kai all afternoon! His name is Scandinavian, I believe. This was the first time I’d held a baby so it was quite nerve-wracking. But Kai was kind to me!

BTW, they’ve got a sunroof in their bathroom (trust architects!) so don’t go to GoogleEarth or anything! ;)

Craig with Kai

Steve, Portia and Kai

Gorgeous, tiny Kai - 6 weeks old

Craig, doing the thing he does so well, listening

Dion and Kai

cute baby hands

and cute little feet

Group pic time - Dion, Steve holding Kai, Portia, Marcia

and this time with Craig

Beautiful (expensive) streets

Saturday 2 May 2009



We were supposed to go to Howth today but Jo had gone with a friend the day before so obviously that was pointless.

So D and I were having breakfast when Craig woke up and said, "let's go out for breakfast".

As a pregnant lady with a mad appetite, I continued to eat and finished my breakfast, not knowing how long it would be and I didn't want to feel sick from not eating.

D decided to only have half his portion to tide him over.

We all went by car to St Patrick's hospital (Craig's work), left the car and took a bus into the city.

Then got out to walk.



Hectic - trying to keep up with normal healthy people while hugely pregnant.

After much wandering about, C & J finally decided to stop at a nightclub for PIES (for breakfast at nearly 1 pm). The pies eventually arrived after nearly an hour. BTW, they were 11 euro each.

Well, about 15 minutes later I'm hungry again so I was left at the Metro Cafe for scrambled eggs (okay, not great) while C & J went to buy a sheet at Penney's and D went to HMV on Grafton Street to look for a John Barry compilation CD (who on earth is John Barry?!) and the Once soundtrack.

They all met me back at the Metro Cafe for muffins and coffee and then we all went home to rest.

Wicklow Tour - part two

Inland we passed a burial site that Germany actually owns! Apparently during WW2, some German pilots lost their way in trying to bomb London (now that's really going off course) so the Irish, being friendly hosts, gave them some ground to bury their dead.

You can see acres and acres of turf or peat collecting, which is basically cakes of mud they cut from the ground and use for fuel. Amazing.

We passed Loch Tay, which is apparently part of the Guiness Estate. These Guiness people own a lot round these parts.

This is the famous part of Wicklow, Sally Gap, where P.S. I love you was filmed. I literally gasped when I saw this breathtaking view for the first time.

This sight never fails to amaze me - WOW - I don't think any pics do it justice

Absolutely magnificent and ICE cold wind in the cheeks

not looking too great but I didn't give a hoot

I wasn't paying too much attention to the tour guide at this point - churches, cemeteries and such simply are not my thing :)





This is the little bridge I crossed going back to the hotel for tea while Dion went to see the lakes.


There actually should be a part 3 as Dion did the last section of the tour by himself. I was knackered and elected to have a nice cup of tea at a nearby hotel while the fitter members on the tour hiked an extra 30 minutes to see some lakes.

A beautiful tour. We got back in the evening and ate late (for us): 10pm. Risotto & chicken. Mmm. No hard and fast plans tomorrow - but, of course, one thing leads to another...

Tour to Wicklow - Dun Laogharie leg

Thursday 30 April 2009
Wild Wicklow

Ok, so Marcia insisted we tour Wicklow by coach - even though we successfully self-drove through it the previous year. Hmmph.

Got a lift to Heuston (?) station with Craig and took the LUAS into the City Centre as the tour left from a hotel whose name escapes me at the moment.

The Irish boys are not as South African, well-behaved boys are - it's strictly each man for himself even though there's a HUGELY pregnant woman on the tram. Grrr. Not impressed.

STOOD all the way and then had to run/ walk fast to the departure point all the while thinking, "was this a bad idea to do this tour? I am pregnant, after all."

Just about made it in time and off we set.

Our guide was Kevin Murray, who shared wonderful anecdotes as we rode towards the coast and headed south.

We passed Blackrock Boys College - now, doesn't that sound like the perfect training ground for Irish bad boys? Well, actually it's quite a larney place, with a price tag of some 30 000 Euros for a year's education, 50 000 for boarders.

Drove on Merrion Road where the houses go for some 30m Euros. Sounds like a status tour but anyway, we'd soon get to the rocks and waves and stuff. We learned that Bono (u2 lead singer) started out somewhere around here as a petrol pump attendant.

We also passed St. Vincent's Hospital where apparently 50% of the nurses are Philippinos, for some reason.

Finally we reached the coast and got out to stretch legs and take some landscapes and self-portraits:

hmmm, gorgeous grey skies

Marcia says the photo's terrible so I have to take it again (this kind of thing goes on all the time thru out trips - I'm sure we could see double the sights if we didn't spend so much time redoing photos):

Marcia in her element, grey Irish skies above, cold nipping at her nose, colourful Dublin doors on the sea-facing houses:

Ugly night shots of the city

Meeting up with Jo in Henry Street

Tues 28 April 2009

Dion and I woke at 8.30 but we're so slow that we only left the flat at 12.00.

Showers, eating, faffing around, unpacking, then a last little snack before we left.

Yes, that's how we roll.

Funny when we arranged to meet Jo at 2 pm under the Spire at Henry Street (I get a kick out of that - have always wanted to meet someone at a landmark - is it weird?), we thought it was very late.

Turned out we had to do quite a bit of rushing around to make it on time!

Took the bus into the city and walked up O'Connell Street while detouring into Penney's.

We found each other easily. Notice the spire in the background and the Penney's bags. No, I don't know who's the guy on the right of the picture.

Jo insisted on a pic without the guy...

Some more pics, this time with Jo



After a bit of shopping, we decided to get some tea and scones. Quite honestly, any excuse to rest my pregnant body which was not used to all the city walking.

doing one of my favourite things in the world - eating tea and scones (this was at Brambles) and talking!

We then went to book our tours for the rest of our holiday. We LOVE tours without which we do a lot of faffing around and no real holidaying.

The three of us then took the LUAS to Craig's work where we detoured via the canteen for the most delicious chocolate doughnuts ever. Seriously. We'd been dreaming of these doughnuts for a YEAR and they did not disappoint. Also had a chance for a quick catch-up with Colette.

Then went home for supper. Dion's note in the book says "helped to make Chicken Korma". I don't remember the helping part but maybe Dion helped and I vegged?

Dublin city pics

It used to seriously annoy me when Dion would stop in the middle of nowhere to take city pics until I saw the Singapore night city pics.

So now I know that even though it is still sooooo frustrating when I want to go go go, it'll be worth it afterwards.

And it always is.

Look.

look at that blue building to the right of the pic. That's where we're supposed to get off the bus. This time (our first to the city in about a year) we forgot which is how we ended up here.

Here's that blue building again

And here's a close-up of the blue building, taken by me from below. I've a slight obsession with windows and doors.