Random thoughts on Ireland as we leave -- Monday June 17, 2013

Today's going to be a lost travel day.  We have to return the rental car by 11 am in order not to incur charges for another day, but our flight does not leave till 5:30 so we will spend it in the airport all day.  Not Ed's favorite pastime!  He's grumbling all ready.  We can't even get the check in process over right away because it's too early.  All my toys are charged up however, so I'll spend a few hours writing my blog until the juice runs out.

Ed is reading about Scotland --one of the areas we head to next week.
The ride from Limerick to Shannon is very easy.  And dropping off the car is simple as well, so things are going smoothly. Before we left for our trip, Ed purchased a card to put into our GPS that has the maps of Great Britain on it.  I don't have any idea how anyone can travel thru and around these countries on vacation without this kind of technology.  It really makes traveling to your destinations quite simple (she who is not driving says calmly!)
The flight is somewhat delayed but we have Exit row seats again and it's a short ride to Heathrow. 
Heathrow Airport, however, is another story.  It is expansive and it takes forever to get from the plane to the baggage area.

We found the Hertz rental car place and pick up our car for the remainder of our trip.  Guess what?  You know those digs Ed wrote about in his Journal about the BMW and VW drivers in Ireland?  He's now one of them.  We are driving a VW now!  You cannot believe the leg room in this car!  It's huge.
Scary though.  I think I see his eyes sparkle as he's driving this one.
We are heading back to our friends Jane's house (thanks Jane) tonight to do laundry and regroup.  We are heading out in the morning to the St. Helen's, England area.

The GPS takes us a completely different way from the airport to Jane's house, though, then Jane did.  Nothing looks familiar as we're driving and I'm thinking we put in the wrong town (these countries all have towns with the same name in different counties).  Soon, however we are there!  Technology is great.
We do a load of laundry, get pizza for dinner, and it's off to bed.  New adventure tomorrow.

My general observations and notes about Ireland:

• Scenery is absolutely spectacular.  Beautiful greenery all over!
• The flowering purple bushes---they look like Rhododendrons--and an orange bush/tree (which looks like a Broom plant) seem to grow wild)
• When it rains, it's not really all day.  Comes and goes
• Many houses built in the last 100 years, have cinder blocks as decoration up and down the two front corners of their homes painted a different color then the rest of their house.  It looks nice.
• Supermarkets: 
• Most have parking garages
• You pay for using a cart and get your coin back when it's returned to the stall
• They do not give you bags--you either bring your own or carry your groceries separately (like BJ's)
• Toilets:  All their toilets seem to flush enthusiastically and most covers do not fit on the toilet
• All brown bread is pretty much the same...not tasty.  If you sprinkle the bread liberally with salt, a slight sprinkle of sugar and spread it with butter, it's actually pretty good.
• In most pubs you go to the bar to order and  pay for your drinks & food and give them your table number.  The server then brings it to you.
• Ed only had 1 shamrock decorating his Guinness the whole time we were in Ireland!  I guess because we weren't in Dublin or where Guinness was made.  Sad.
• My two favorite spots in Ireland were the Connemara Coast and Dingle Peninsula