Scotland & Ireland

Our big vacation this year was heading over to Scotland and Ireland.  It started out rough as we got a call that Lemiuex was really sick, followed by lost luggage, and a train ride from hell.

We will start with the train ride from hell.  Gordon thought it would be a great idea to fly into Manchester and take the train to Edinburgh to give the kids a good experience.  In principal it was, but there was a huge storm that knocked trees down on the tracks.  We were let off the train in some random town and had nowhere to go (and no luggage, so no change of clothes).  We had to run to the mall close by to buy tennis shoes, pants, and warmer weather stuff.  Then we ate lunch on the ground of the train station like some homeless folk. We somehow got a car rental and then had to drive 3 hours to Edinburg.  Great way to break in driving on the wrong side of the road.

The trip got better from there.  We checked into our Air BnB, met our friend Marcin and started exploring.  So much fun going to the castle and walking to all the shops and breweries.

2 days later we started out for Loch Ness.  Driving through the Highlands was beautiful, but scary on the windy mountain roads.  We took a boat on Loch Ness (Brynna claimed she saw Nessie) and went to an old fort.  We got to explore the little town in the Highlands for 2 days right on Loch Ness and then headed to the airport to head to Ireland.

Dublin was first and what can I say but yuck.  Not what we had in mind overall, just a big dirty city.  We got to watch a guy pee on the side of the road in broad daylight after visiting Guinness.  We could not get out of Dublin fast enough.

Next we headed to Kerry.  On our way we stopped in several towns including Killarney which was really cool.  Our house in Kerry was quiet and had the best views.  We even went to a neighboring town that had a "huge" festival that happens to be quite an honor to get.  The kids weren't impressed as it was very small compared to what they are used to.

Kilkenney

Kerry Cliffs

Of course we can't forget horseback riding in Ireland, that was the highlight for Brynna.

The last town we went to was ???  We stayed in a very old farm house way out in the country.  The kids were not huge fans be we loved it.  We hiked down to the little lake and Jaden and Steph saw wild horses on one of their walks.

Overall we loved Scotland and really enjoyed Ireland.  Scotland is a must to visit again.