Saturday, March 30

After a fairly intense travel schedule this week, today was a bonus day to do a few of the extras on the wish list. That meant there was nothing we absolutely had to do so we let kids sleep later. The adults still got up at a reasonable hour and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and mid-morning run in the park. Again the sun was shining and it may even have been a few degrees warmer though we're not sure it hit 40 degrees. Jeff and I (Anne) went 4.2 miles in a run/walk combo and soaked up the beautiful surroundings. It will be tough to get back on a treadmill.

We headed out around noon riding the bus once again to the Temple Bar area, known for cobblestone streets and well, The Temple Bar. The O'Connell Street Bridge was a colorful spot and made a good backdrop for a few last photos. The river as full of rowers and it could not have been more picturesque. 

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Porter House, an authentic spot with many Irish favorites. Whoever told us that Irish food wasn't that great didn't eat at the places we did. I ate a lot of soup this week, and today's special was roasted red pepper and sweet potato that I paired with a walnut and goat cheese salad and finally - an Irish coffee.




We wandered for a bit into a fresh air market and then split up for a little shopping on Grafton Street. Erika found a nice ear warmer and Tyler got a CD from a band on the street playing Irish music.

We dined in for dinner with "take away" pizza. (In Ireland, instead of picking it up, you come to "collect" it.) Now we're watching Marquette basketball in the Elite 8, getting packed up and thinking about our Easter Sunday which will be a little long and even one hour longer as we spring ahead for Daylight Savings Time.



We can't thank our hosts enough for a wonderful time and our kids for being amazing travelers who were open to all the experiences of a foreign country. I'm hoping someone will want to join me for a little live music in a pub tonight, which is the last thing on my "must do" list. Then again, if it doesn't happen, we'll just have to come back to Ireland again!