Cork City, Ireland Part 3

In between meeting up with my amazing family we were still able to get in the little trips on the side and on this day we decided to go to Killarney. Killarney is only about 1 hour away from Cork City. Upon arriving at the town centre at lunch time we decided to grab a bite to eat and after finding this gorgeous little cafe I have to say that my stuffed pork with mash, vegetables and salad was absolutely amazing!

 

We drove on towards the Killarney National Park which is the start of the Ring of Kerry but because we didn't have enough time to drive around the whole ring we thought we would go a short distance and just driving along the scenery was breathtaking. 

The last time I went around the Ring of Kerry it was 20 years ago with Uncle Gus, Aunty Mary and my cousins all loaded up in the van. The one thing I remembered back then was the big bus full of tourist that is upon you on any corner in the middle of the road and it happened again hahaha You definitely have to keep alert when you are driving around....

Beautiful view from where I was sitting waiting for Ash and the kids climbing a hill

 

 After spending a bit of time there we decided to head back to Cork for another catch up with my family and as we were driving along I noticed the outside temperature was hitting 26c which is quite warm for the area. I fell asleep for while and upon arriving back in Cork the temperature was at 18c and we had hail hitting our window. Love how the weather can just change in an instant!

Cork City, Ireland Part 2

We went to Blarney Castle located only 4kms away from where we are staying. When you first walk towards the castle it totally blows you away because how majestic it looks and you get a feeling that lots of things had happened here many years ago. It took a while to get to the top of the castle to see the blarney stone as there were heap of tourists and the narrow winding stone stairs slows you down a bit. I was impressed that Emily kissed the stone as I didn't think she would. After finally getting back down again we decided to take a 45 minute walk along the river which was so peaceful and relaxing.

View from the top

The line waiting to kiss the Blarney Stone

Cork City, Ireland Part 1

Having a brilliant few days in Cork catching up with loads of family and there are so many memories from when Dad and I was here that I'm reliving it's been a absolute blast. Upon arriving at Cork airport we were greeted by quite a few of my family which was fantastic and I felt like I've just slip right back in to where I left off and 20 years had not passed at all. It saddens me that a few other family members are no longer with us but know they are looking over us and would be thrilled that we are all together again.

In between seeing family we went for a drive down to Cobh which is only just over a half an hour drive and what a beautiful little town it is. When you come around the corner you are greeted by St Colman's Cathedral which literally takes your breath away because it's so big and you keep saying "Wow!".

St Colman's Cathedral, Cobh County Cork

The Titanic was on her maiden voyage when she pulled into the Port of Queenstown (Cobh) which would of been the last port of call. You see lots of Titanic information around the town and there is a guided tour which would of been fantastic to go on but the tour was sold out.

Sonia O'Sullovan (Olympian) is from Cobh

In memory for those who perished in the sinking of the Lusitania

It's a beautiful day

Another beautiful day coming up in Coatbrige. I went for a walk this morning to lap up the sunshine with hardly any clouds in sight. I've been here 3 days and we've had 3 days of sun with only a small amount of rain on the first day but I know it could change in an instants so will enjoy it.

Yesterday we took a drive to MandD's Scotland Theme park which is located in Strathclyde Country Park only 4 miles away. Unfortunately we went on a day that is was closed but will definitely get the kids back there as it looks like so much fun. It's a place with lots of rides and attractions for both kids and adults as well as having Scotland's only indoor tropical rainforest.

Although it was closed, Emily was happy to settle for strawberry icecream cone and marshmallows

After some shopping in town we came home and enjoyed a couple of pints at the local and Jason got stuck into his Irn Bru and crisps.

Tomorrow we head to Cork Ireland for 5 days and see all the family. I'm very excited as it's been 20 years next month since I have been there. Can't wait to see my Uncles, Aunties and all the cousins and it's going to be a great reunion. I know Dad would of been so happy and proud that I have returned and he will most definitely be with me on this whole trip.

Good morning from Coatbridge

We have arrived

The plane trip over wasn't so bad. We were absolutely shattered by the time we finally arrived in Glasgow and the kids have decided they now want to stay here than to travel all that way back home again. The day started with us waking up at 1.30am and after some last minute packing we were on our way. The plane was due to fly out at 6am but we took off around 5.30am and I wondered if it was because of the storm heading towards Perth. When I checked, the wind gust was around 90kms at Rottnest Island, a little shaky taking off but it was all smooth sailing from there.

The kids were excited at the start of the journey to Dubai

 

11 hours later...

 

What I love about Emirates is the ICE entertainment with so many movies, music and boxsets, the kids were entertained for hours. By the time we flew into Dubai the kids groaned when I told there is still just over 7 more hours of flying to do. I really enjoyed the meal selection, the food was so yummy and it feels like all you are doing on the flight is eat.

A couple of pics of the meals served

We arrived in Glasgow around 7.30pm and picked up our hire car which is a Volvo AWD (very nice) and headed to Coatbridge with Jim for some much needed shuteye. It's now Sunday and we have finished some clothes shopping this morning and after downing square sausage and blackpudding rolls, we are now all just relaxing and having a quiet afternoon (I've noticed that Perth time is 11.30pm and the kids are not showing any signs of tiredness but they will probably crash soon).

So for me the highlight was the food and the lowlight was Jason deciding to reenact the vomiting scene from The Exodus!

Not long to go now....

Here I am sitting here at 6.45pm and we have just over 11 hours until we fly out well, that depends on the "biggest storm to hit Perth in years!" which is suppose to hit here at 6am and we are flying out at 6am. It will certainly be bumpy or delayed so we will see how that goes tomorrow morning.

Just about packed, still doing washing and drying and filling my onboard bag with medicines because the kids are still experiencing sore throats and coughs but they are getting better. The kids are very excited for the trip but I don't think they realise just how big it is yet. I hope we don't get a lot of "Are we there yet?" on the 11 hours to Dubai and then another 7 hours to Glasgow.

Feeling a little anxious but I feel anxious all the time lol. I will update when we are in Scotland with any stories to tell about our journey over.

Take care

Terri