Two pooped puppies tour Trim
Trip Start
Mar 20, 2011
1
15
16
Trip End
Apr 01, 2011
Trim, County Meath, Ireland
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The weather was very chilly, windy and slightly drizzly. One thing I can say is that in our entire time in Ireland, we never used the brand new, wind-resistant umbrella we bought for the trip! It just didn't rain, it only misted a bit. That was just something we didn't expect but truly welcomed.
We had ideas of going to Newgrange or Navan to tour the historical sites for our last day in Trim but once we got there I realized that my legs were ready to collapse. I had been fighting a lot of pain in the lower legs (started with the ankles, moved to the shins, calves and was now up to my knees and radiating to the hips when I would lay in bed. The idea of much more walking or energy expenditure seemed impossible to me. Bill made the decision that we would stay in Trim and walk slowly around the castle and decide if there was anything else we could see.
We went to the TI (tourist information) and they gave us a walking tour to follow. Well, we ended up walking about 5 miles! It was a beautiful river side walk along the River Boyne (as in the Battle of the Boyne, famous Irish military battle), around the castle, through another graveyard, to some incredible ruins (Trim is one of the oldest towns in the country) of a church, chapel, burial grounds, etc. The Castle in town (although closed for tours during the week until Easter) is one of the oldest as well, a true Norman style castle. What we could see and from what is left, was glorious.
The town is a typical suburban town with some newer homes. There were pastures set up around the river that held cows, horses, sheep, all the basics of Irish countrysides. We found some beautiful areas and enjoyed our very prolonged walk but to say I hurt at the end would be an understatement. Searing pain up my legs is not my idea of fun. Since we had decided to pack the night before (leaving at 4:15 am kind of requires it) and had a lot of re-arranging to do, we headed right back to the hotel and had a light dinner in the Baileys Bar.
I found myself a bit overwhelmed with pictures, packing and priorities. Even though we made all the best efforts to get to bed early, it just didn't happen. I made the last minute decision to check a 2nd bag (no matter the cost) and we even knew we were packing one bag very heavy and would probably be dinged with an overage charge. We didn't care, we just wanted to get home to our beds and our adorable cat, Little Bit.
We got up at 3:30 and realized that neither of us slept well. We got dressed and took the luggage to the car. It was raining lightly but not anything to worry about. We had our light breakfast and took off in the dark for the airport. It was at this point that I couldn't picture driving on that other side of the road again. I had truly acclimated to the left side of the road! I was even going to the correct side of the car as either a passenger or driver. What had been unthinkable 12 days earlier, was now habit. Remarkable, truly remarkable.
We got to the airport, through security and to the airport lounge without a problem. We even checked the 2nd bag and put the overweight Bertha (we had nicknamed our big bag "Big Bertha") through Aer Lingus with no extra charges. God bless Aer Lingus. We were sure that any American air line would have not been so kind. I will not mention the agent's name because he may be scolded for not charging us!
We got to London Heathrow without any issues. Got through security (I had my first full body pat down, it was uneventful and handled with dignity) and were going into the lounge to wait when I decided to ask for a bulkhead seat. I knew it was a long shot but you'll never know until you ask. Sure enough, we were moved to the back bulkhead. Since I had checked my 2nd piece of cabin baggage, it didn't bother me to have to put everything in the overhead bin. The only problem is that our particular overhead bin had a faulty latch and on both takeoff and landing it fell open with our luggage threatening to fall out. Well, in fact, it did fall out on the landing and rolled a bit toward the flight attendant who quickly caught it.
We got through US Customs without incident, came home via a quick taxi ride and couldn't wait to pick up Little Bit and kiss her. Like any other cat, she was annoyed with us and ignored us for about 3 hours. When she couldn't hold out any longer, we found her on the bed with us, curled up and purring like a very contented kitty. We were content as well, our family was complete.
We had a good trip, saw some beautiful countrysides, cities that shined through their history, castles and ruins, friendly and always helpful people, learned to drive on the "other" side of the road and even endured narrow and treacherous roads that threatened to end our trip! The hardest part were the flights over and back, they are very long, especially in coach. Next time I'll have to really save up those miles so we can fly business or first. And there will be a next time, I promise you that!
Comments
Karin - It felt like I drove with you on the roundabouts, meandered through the fields, rambled over old castle ruins, and hit all of the restaurants, pubs, and ice cream shops. You described and photo journaled your wonderful trip so beautifully that it seemed as though I had tagged along.