Not such a great day...
Trip Start
Jun 27, 2009
1
9
30
Trip End
Jul 26, 2009
Cork, County Cork, Ireland
Saturday, July 4, 2009
But breakfast was at least yummy - all the right cereals to keep us all happy, toast, fresh juice, hot coffee and fresh fruit as well, nothing to complain about there. But Reilly made sure that it wasn't too relaxing - he was ready to run amock!
Back to the room to download some more photos etc, pack bags and then time to head off. Of course, the kids then had to get back out of the car to go back and say good-bye to the hotel cat, a lovely three-legged black cat.
(BTW - the hotel was LOVELY! And it appeared to be a favourite with families
Good morning sleepy heads!
. One group we ran into in the hall, on their way to the pool, had 6 kids in their group of 2 families, and this wasn't their first visit. And we couldn't complain - it was a lovely room with King size for me & Mark, single for Pat and Reilly got to stretch out on a fold out sofa. Very nice bathroom and plenty of space as well.)Then it was off to the Waterford Crystal Factory and the boys went off to have a ride on a little tourist/kids train ride thing, and let's just say that neither was impressive!
I had gone to the Waterford factory particularly for the tour where you would be shown them making the crystal objects, however, the factory had closed in January so there weren't any tours. (Funny how none of the leaflets or brochures have been updated with this fact yet!) So there is just a cafe, a 5 minute film with a quick background and behind the scenes glimpse and then the shop. There were a few lovely examples of their works around the visitors centre, but probably not as exciting for me as seeing them being made! Oh well, I made up for it with a little purchase in the shop - don't panic, I had them shipped home, there was no way I was going to try to pack them with us for the rest of the trip!
Waterford Trophies
So then I just waited in the cafe until the boys came back from their little adventure. And it turned out that they hadn't had much fun either - they didn't even find a leprechaun in the leprechaun forest!
Then more driving along the coast roads through to Cork. The coast was not exactly stunning scenery, but it was nice enough, and probably more interesting than the motorway! We made one little stop along the way at a nice thatched roof pub where the kids could run around for a bit in the beer garden beside a lovely stream, and thankfully it was sunny again for a bit. And Mark & I enjoyed a refreshing beer - ah!
Then into Cork to find a hotel for the night - decided on the Commons Inn - let's just say it looked better in the photo! It's ok, but just a bit tired and in comparison to last night's hotel, it's just not as nice! But we have two queen sized beds, a TV and ensuite, and there is free wifi near reception (where I am now), so not too bad. Went into the town proper for dinner at Scoozi, a nice and friendly Italian place. Patrick must be feeling a little better - he actually ate half his generous kids pizza tonight! The food was lovely and since it was reasonably busy, no-one could hear Reilly carrying on a bit, which was good
Waterford Clock
!Then back to the hotel to get two very tired boys off to sleep and time for me to get this blog, finally, up-to-date!
Against a lot of advice, we are going to head to Blarney castle tomorrow, so I'll let you know if Reilly's already powerful "gift'o'the'gab" improves!
Oh, we have a new way of describing Reilly that we quite like - he's just "busy". We both think this is quite fitting!
