Come check out the Indelible Adventures website and see the latest photos from our adventures in Ireland.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AAP:
OFFICIAL…DUBLIN……………………………………......……..March 12, 2015
It was announced earlier today behind a closed-door
press conference that all parties had seen the weeklong mission to Ireland as a
huge success. There was a broad
consensus that all of the objectives of the mission to Ireland had met or
exceeded, although the majority of the parties now see this as merely the first
step in a broader European agenda.
Head of the Mission, T.W.Wallis said that the financial
viability needed to be assessed prior to the release of a more detailed plan but
remained hopeful, although remaining non-committal on the specifics of the
possible visits or timetable. “Further
planning is pending but hopes are high for a more thorough plan by mid summer”
said Aide-de-camp Samantha Wallis.
In a post press conference exclusive interview with
Chargé d'affaires Zach Wallis he was a little more retrospect highlighting the
fact that for this broader European agenda to be fully realized exports of
Indelible Adventures Inc. needed to continue showing growth in the written
word, as well as in the speaking and photography sectors.
The mission is due to return to Canada Friday.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes we had a wonderful time in Ireland –
thanks for asking! Although circling
southern Ireland and driving over 1300 kilometers in our weeklong journey was
in retrospect perhaps a little ambitious it was an amazingly fun trip and even
though it was only a week ago it felt like a month (yes, I mean that in a good
way! J).
This trip was chock full of firsts! For starters it was the first time that I
felt like I was traveling with friends rather than my children, I wasn't lonely
which is a good sign and felt that I could have intelligent, adult like
conversations about all sorts of topics.
It was also the first time Zach and Sami had been to Europe, although as
you can tell from the make-believe news bulletin above future visits have been
discussed, in fact many, many times…
One of the first things that struck us when
we arrived was the local customs agent at the airport in Dublin. He was extremely chatty, but not in the cold
and interrogative way that we've become accustomed to traveling in North
America. In fact quite the opposite
really, he wanted to be helpful and provide us with some places to visit during
our stay, so incredibly friendly and genuinely concerned about us having a good
time in Ireland. He chatted amiably as
the others passengers waited patiently in line, although I could feel the cold
glares on my back…much as I would if I'd been waiting in line.
We all agree that the Irish hospitality is
the thing that stands out most about our visit, and must definitely be the
front-runners for the world’s most friendly race.
From the moment we decided on Ireland as
our destination Sami had made it clear that she wanted to visit the Waterford Crystal factory in Waterford. Arguably the
factory tour was one of the high points of our trip, with Sean as our tour
guide he introduced us to each of the artisan and explained in intricate and
painstaking detail of each step in the process.
Fortunately for us Sean had worked in the factory for 40 years as a
crystal cutter before retiring and taking on his new role as tour guide, and a
role which you could tell he loved.
During our tour Sean had Sami pick up and
hold one of this year’s People's Choice award crystals that they were just
finishing – understandably Sami was thrilled!
Other major trophies they were working on during our visit included six
PGA golf tournament awards, NCAA football, The one of a kind St Patrick’s Day
bowl which will be presented to President Obama this coming week and a host of
others too long to mention. For my English and Aussie readers I got close
enough to touch the latest Ashes trophy that had just been engraved. Nice work
Sami – great choice!
The other must do in Ireland is to drive
the Ring of Kerry. Wow, what an
experience! We set out from Killarney driving east to west and stayed over
night at a B&B on the Atlantic in the village of Ballinskelligs (population
100). Sami was first sniff out that
Ballinskelligs had a chocolate factory, although after we went looking for it
we finally located it over a nearby mountain in a cove by the ocean. Many samples later we left with a haul that
would do us for the remainder of the trip – I didn’t even know that they made
chocolate that tasted of Gin & Tonic or Lime & Peppers…who knew? They were delish!
Our two days spent out on the Ring of Kerry
were amazing, stopping frequently to take photos and us to explore the various
little places that seemed interesting along the way. With no set timeline or agenda it gave us the
freedom to take our time and Zach even willing wanted me to take his photo,
which was a rarity, but fun.
The other major highlight of our trip was visiting
the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. We
left Limerick in an absolute downpour (spring showers we soon realized) and
drove north west to the coast hoping that we’d be able to catch a glimpse of
the famous natural wonder even with this inclement weather. To our surprise as we neared the visitor
center the rain suddenly stopped, the clouds parted and sun began to shine
brilliantly, clearly luck was on our side.
Fortunately we were three of only a handful
of brave souls who ventured out along the Cliffs that morning, with gale force
winds from the Atlantic and steep cliffs providing an almost impossible task of
walking directly into the wind we finally made our way to the edge and braved
it long enough to get some terrific photos.
Zach rode shotgun for the majority of the
week, but I could tell at times he was a little freaked out sitting on the
“wrong” side of the car and being driven on the opposite side of the road. I could feel him physically flinch as we neared
each car on the narrow Irish country roads and hairpin turns, which peppered
our journey. I think Sami took solace in
the fact that sitting in the back and knitting took her mind off the potential
dangers of driving in this odd fashion.
And so ends our March break trip for 2015,
another great trip in the books for the Three Amigos, but as I said earlier I
can already feel the planning happening behind my back for our next European
adventure! J
No comments:
Post a Comment