Ireland

I have been in Ireland now almost a week.  My friend Misty picked us up at the airport with her boyfriend, John, and her 2 year old boy Finn.  I rounded the corner headed toward the exit and little Finn saw us coming and ran and jumped into my arms.  It was the best welcome I could have asked for.  We headed to their home near Galway on the west coast of Ireland.  It was so nice staying at a friend's house and not having to worry about getting around and finding a place to lay our head every night.  We cooked big dinners every night and baked lots cookies.  We spent our days going and seeing the sights.  We drove 2 hours to the Cliffs of Moher, which are a famous natural landmark in Ireland.  They are, as the name suggests, tall vertical cliffs.  It is really a stunning sight.  I had seen them before when I traveled to Ireland, but they were even prettier this time. 

We went to a couple of castles in the area, one with a little river running underneath it built on limestone cliffs.  It was a neat setting for a castle.  It was closed, but that didn't stop Jeff from going underneath the bridge and walking over to the lawn to take some pictures of the inside for me. 

Downtown Galway is full of  beautiful old buildings, some dating back to the 1300's.  Jeff and I saw a cheesemonger shop, and since I love cheese I had to go in.  We sampled lots and bought a couple to take home for dinner.

Evenings were my favorite.  I got to sit around with my best pal and chat for hours, while Jeff usually played with Finn.  Finn got a tool set for Christmas so him and Jeff spent many hours "fixing" the couch, the chairs, the doors, the TV and just about everything else.  When I was packing my bag to go Finn asked me where I was going, so I told him I was going to Belfast.  He said "Ok, but Jeff's not going, he's staying here".  Then at breakfast John sat next to him and Finn promptly told him "You better hurry, Jeff's sitting by me".  He informed us all that Jeff was his best friend.  It was pretty cute to watch them together, even though we all had to take a back seat to Jeff. 

We have 2 and a half days left in Ireland, which we will spend in Belfast and then Dublin.  Then its off to Spain.  We, of course, have canceled our our Egypt leg of the trip, which really makes me sad.  I was looking forward to the Red Sea most of all.  As of now the area we were going has been safe, but there is no telling what could happen given the situation in Cairo.  We are now going to go only to Jordan then straight to the Philippines.  I guess I will save Egypt until next time.