You step onto the road

"You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." JRR Tolkien

We have been having some lovely, quiet days in Ennis. Sheldon is still a bit off kilter with a cold, we think the cliffs may have agitated his lungs, too much too soon and cold and damp. He is on the mend however, partly due to the quiet days! We found ourselves quite a bit further out of town than the website indicated when we booked. As we have been flying by the seat of our pants for this trip it seems you run in to these little "problems" now and then. Such as the popular "map says a kilometre". So the website showed two kilometres to town centre when it is actually two miles, and I have managed to walk there and back a few days this week. Kelsey and I went in the first day here for groceries and cabbed it back, we bought food for the week, which is so fun for me because I love all the different items! Plus it's nice to cook, we have still managed to order dinner in twice this week but, trust me, that is much less! Ross and I walked in one day to find shops closed but Cafe open, so we had a snack and a visit. Then we went in again so he could get a book to read! We have been having issues with wifi disappearing and it has been a bit of a blessing, both boys are reading novels! We only have five tv channels and one is in Gaelic, a language like non other we've encountered so far. Beautiful, but unlike the Scandinavian languages, I can hardly pick out any similarities to English. It's really neat, and it is said to be making a comeback which I like, I think it should. As intimidating as it is to not understand a word being spoken, I like encountering the different languages. Maybe it's because most people we speak to also know English! The English here is spoken in that BEAUTIFUL Irish accent (obviously) and I can not get enough, I am going to miss it SO much when we leave.

We are heading to a small village in a few days and will have a bunch of connections to make to get there, a long day of trains. Dublin has two stations that are not connected by train, the Heuston and the Connelly. We arrive in the Heuston and need to depart from the Connelly to get up to Northern Ireland. We plan on seeing Belfast and area, the town we are in will be close to countryside as well so we can continue our lovely walks. Our way of choosing where we go next has Kelsey and I a bit topsy turvy. We are both a bit unnerved this whole time of not having a plan and spend much of our time planning our next destination. I know most of you are thinking "that sounds fun" and there are aspects of it that are, and I am not complaining of the predicament in which we find ourselves, but my brain is more often in the "what if we have to sleep in a train station?"department rather than the "wow this is fun!"place. What I am finding the most interesting, is that we seem to end up exactly where we should be. Scenarios such as chosing Delft and THEN I learned it was Vermeers hometown. This place has brought with it a wonderful lady named Avril, which has made a place that could be a frustrating disaster, into a comfortable stay. It seems like everything is working out, I hope it continues this way! We have run in to a bit of an issue with the trains in France, we have learned that we need to make reservations for all, even though we have passes. That in itself is no big deal, but they have limited seating for eurail passes and recommend booking months in advance! Plus, we haven't been able to reserve online. So when you don't plan in advance you may end up in a couple difficult situations. For us, worst case scenario is we have to pay for something  we've already technically paid for which is disappointing. We've also underestimated the time needed to see all these wonderful places. We won't be making it to Britain or Scotland, part of this is because we are tired and enjoy our longer stays in one place. Part of it is the travelling, trains and ferries and planes are different when you are carrying a thirty five pound bag on your back and  worrying about four other people! So we are simplifying and will be missing out on some stuff. Again, NOT complaining! We are having fun, sometimes we need to sit and absorb what we've seen, it is so much!

So, I think we are off to Bunratty folk park this am, as long is Sheldon is up for it! It's touristy, but we haven't done that for a bit. Wouldn't trade what we are doing for anything but miss home and all you in it. We were marvelling how it can feel as though we have been gone ages, and yet some parts seems like yesterday, and how it seems as though we have only days to plan for and not enough time to see everything, and its still two months left! Anyway, off to see where my feet take me today. XO

Enjoying the last few days being outside of town and walking around the area, just a few pictures of the scenery.

Visited ruined church

Clare abbey is a ruined Augustinian monastery that was founded in 1195 near Ennis

The people in Ireland are very easy to talk to and help in any way possible when we look lost. Yesterday we stayed on the wrong train and the conductor helped us get to right one, first person we saw on street walking from bus asked if we needed directions cause we were looking at the map. A lady walked out of her store and almost walked us down the street to show us the mobile phone shop was, and I got asked to help push start a car in the street so we are fitting in. It seems like most of the people we talk to here as in most of the last few places we have stayed ask "why did you come here"?   We keep ending up in these little towns for various reasons but they are always a great place to stay and Ennis is no exception. The bed and breakfast we are in is amazing and the people running it are incredible and very helpful with info too. We walked to the bus stop today and took the public bus to the Cliffs of Moher on west Ireland, the countryside is beautiful and the cliffs were amazing to see. I realized today my favourite thing to do when travelling is seeing different countryside and scenery as well as the types of building and architecture from area to area. The homes and buildings here are as old as anywhere we have been but the style is different and the farmland surrounded by stone fences that have been there for years is neat to see. we spent the day venturing out on the cliffs in between rain showers all day and got a good dose of fresh air mostly gusting wind. Before we got off the bus the driver made sure we were going ride it back and let us know he may be a little late but not to worry he would pick us up before 6 when park closed. Bus was due at 5:10 and at 5:40 they announced the bus would be arriving around 630, so at 6:00 we were locked out and the ranger let us know to stand on highway cause bus could not get in the gates. The bus arrived at 6:31 and the driver was very apologetic that he was stuck in traffic and wanted to make sure we got the message he was going to be late! I would like to thank Wendi and the kids they all managed to stay calm and positive while we were stuck on the side of the highway 10km from nearest town as the sun went down waiting for the bus that may show up. I tend to get a little worked up when I think we are in some kinda danger and my mind goes into protect mode, I start running scenarios in my head how I'm going to rescue them!

"There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting." From the Aran islands 1907

Today we took a train from Dublin to a town called Ennis, in the county Clare. It was probably the first time on this journey where a person had gestured to us that there were seats available next to and across from him. So Ross, Amber and I sat with a very kind Irish gentleman for the first part of our trip. At first I just smiled at him but when it was mentioned that we were on our way to Ennis he pointed out that he had lived there. So we began to chat, and when he heard we were from Canada he mentioned that we were making headlines. I told him how, as big as Canada is, it is still like a small place when tragedy strikes. I also said I had mixed feelings about being away on such a lovely holiday when people back home were upset and worried. He kindly said that you can't worry about things like that or you'd never get out of bed in the morning, worrying about getting hit by a bus or something. Of course, he said it much more eloquently than that and with that beautiful lilting Irish accent which I am madly in love with! Everyone sounds so charming, it truly is calming. He also said that we (Canada) are fortunate in that these type of headlines are rare, and since Ireland has such a turbulent past, this does make sense. So I find myself once again trying to focus on the good that will come out of this rather than the hatred and the violence. I wondered at one time "why do things always happen when I go away?" Then I realized that things always happen, us staying home wouldn't have changed anything! However, it does trouble us, even all the way over here, so know that we are thinking of our friends, our family and our home. XO

A pint in Dublin

Pretty cool place to try a pint of guiness in the oldest pub in Ireland just down the street from the Guiness factory!

Misc pictures from Delft

Smoked eel from market was delicious 

Canal house

Last remaining gate of old city is now an art studio and private residence

Market on Saturdays and Thursday's