April 30th, 2023 Day 117 of 128

Dun Laoghaire, Ireland

Good morning from Ireland! As a mostly Irish Lassie, I am very happy to be back in Ireland this morning. I have had the blessed opportunity to have been here before, but not to this port. I am happy to be “home”. Megan and I were up at 7:30am this morning and we were quick to get off the ship. Today is a tender port and we were encouraged to get off by 9:00am or we would have to wait to later in the day after all the excursions got off, so we jammed off quickly. We had NO excursion today since our planned one was previously cancelled. We researched the port and the surrounding area and found there was a lovely farmer’s market within walking distance of the ship and lots of shops. Unfortunately, it is Sunday and a lot places were closed or didn’t open until after noon again. We started our morning down by the pier where we watched people swimming in the very cold water. It made Megan homesick and desiring a bathing suit. It was warmer today, jeans and t-shirts were still needed, and it got cold whenever the sun snuck behind the clouds. NOT warm enough to swim. It was nice to not need scarves, hats and gloves today as well. We had a nice walk through the park, enjoyed a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, bought some cookies for later, and enjoyed just sitting and watching all the families with their young children enjoying this sunny Sunday at the park. Lots of young families here, lots of children and so many dogs out and about. We then walked through the downtown area and found one of the only places open to be a coffee shop. So we sat and talked with a lovely local family who had their three little ones, one little girl, two days younger than my granddaughter. Their oldest was curious about our travels and asked if we had been to Australia. She had a friend that had just moved there and asked to see photos. It was super sweet. The girls name was Molly, which was the name of the first stuffed animal my daughter Valerie ever made at build a bear. It was a sweet coincidence. At noon the shops opened and we walked through some, but we weren’t looking for anything in particular. Our next quest was for a Guinness beer. We walked past at least four pubs and they were all closed. We finally resigned ourselves to heading back to the ship and as we walked down a street I saw men smoking cigarettes outside and I said to Megan I bet that is an open pub. And I was right. We walked in to see chef Tiffany from the ship enjoying a Guinness herself in this pub filled with local men. She was happy to see some other females come in and we sat beside here and enjoyed some time chatting with her. The bartender loved telling us local sayings and jokes. We enjoyed two Guinness and a local Irish whiskey before heading back to the ship. There is just something about drinking Guinness here, where it was made. It tastes fresher, the foamy head is creamier, and it just tastes better. We walked back to the ship and came home to decide our evening plans. It had started to sprinkle a little as we were heading back to the ship on the tender and as we came back into our cabin we were greeted by the most beautiful rainbow outside. To us they symbolize a greeting from heaven from my late husband. And since he was an Irishman I considered it an amazing blessing that he gave that gift to us as we were here visiting his home country. We decided we weren’t very hungry so at 6:00pm we went to the main stage and thoroughly enjoyed this evening show performed by three local Irish musicians and four local Irish dancers. It was the best show I have seen on the ship so far. If I wasn’t so tired I would have gone to the second performance just to see it again. Tomorrow is our second port of call in Ireland in the town of Cobh. This is a repeat port for me and I loved it the first time so I am excited to share it with Megan and you all. Sweet Dreams and we wish you a very happy tomorrow.