Day 1 and 2: In Transit and Dublin

Note: I started drafting this on Monday, but jet-lag and expensive WiFi stopped me from finishing.

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After the weeks and months of waiting, the day of departure finally dawned.

Not surprisingly, I did not sleep well the night before. Just as I headed for bed, a migraine hit. In the morning my head was pounding. All I could think about was getting to the airport - without forgetting anything important.

Last-minute items stuffed into suitcases. Final briefing for the kids. Took a taxi to the airport - and almost got in three accidents on the way, our driver was such an aggressive driver. But we checked in early, whizzed through security, and found a restaurant for lunch.

Goodness, how I love those eyes!

Fortunately, all of our flights went smoothly - connections were a breeze, landings were unremarkable. The sun was just rising as we landed in Amsterdam.

From there we flew to Dublin, where we were greeted at the airport and checked into our rooms right away.  After a short rest (but NO NAP!) we went on a really short cruise on the canal that was right across the street from our hotel.

Our boat barely made it under the tunnel.

For anyone who has cruised on the Rideau Canal, this experience will be nothing spectacuar. BUT, this one came with a welcome cocktail.

Steve welcomed his first Guiness of the trip.

After the wee cruise, we had a bus tour of downtown Dublin. Oh, the architecture!

Georgian doors.
Apparently neighbours were very competitive when it came to ornamentation of their entries.

I want this window.

By then, everyone on the tour was fading fast. A quick dinner at the hotel, then back to our rooms for a good 12-hour nap.  The itinerary for Day 3 included a tour of the residential areas of Dublin (where many of the tragedies of The Troubles took place) and then on to Belfast.