Our Irish experience was a lasting one with the beautiful rolling hills, winding roads, 'castles' everywhere and a bit of hurling thrown in to top it all off. After growing up hearing names and stories from Ireland it was great to finally get there to meet the family and see the area where my granddad grew up. After being on the road for so long it was really nice to stay in one place for a while, and explore Ireland at a leisurely pace.

Staying on the farm was a great chance to catch up on some sleep, laundry and reading. There were plenty of guests and visitors coming through to keep things interesting and the faithful (though suffering from incontinence stimulated by excitement) farm dog (Rusty/Bubbles) keeping everyone on their toes. We got in some good road trips around the local countryside, across to Glendalough and up to Galway. We had amazing weather the whole time we were in Ireland with the exception of our last day 3-a-side football match that couldn't be postponed.

We met so many people that it was hard to keep track of who was related to who and how (cousins fathers sister-in-law, etc) but there was always a hot cup of tea and cake, whether it was 11am or 11pm. We were continually entertained by the Irish humour, and were treated to great food (from chip butties through to delicious roast dinners) and many a cold pint of Guinness... and yes it does taste better in Ireland. It would be an understatement to say we got spoilt and enjoyed ourselves.
It really was a treat to have so much time to spend with all of the family and we hope that it will not be too long before we get to see everyone again!