Thanks for tuning in this concludes the European vacation broadcast for now. On board for the flight to Toronto then on to Dallas. Yee Haw, and Aloha!!
Parents will never be able to fly again without lounge access, LOLw
Getting settled in for the flight from Dublin to Toronto
Dang.. it went fast!!! Last day on vacation, and heading back home tomorrow. Took the car to Malahide Castle for a few hours. Enjoyed the castle and the vast botanical gardens as well. (LOVED the butterfly house they had) Ate lunch at the garden cafe, then sadly returned the rental back. Had one last dinner with some Guinness Pints, Jameson whiskey, and authentic Irish food. Then headed back to the apartment to pack for the journey home.
Malahide Castle!!
Castle Interior
mirror, mirror….
Displays in the castle’s dungeons
Having fun in the beautiful botanical gardens
A throne fit for a king!
Dad helping a butterfly to find a perch…
We really need to get mom a snack or a Snickers… LOL
Beautiful botanical garden!
Dad figuring out how to lay siege to the castle…
The most important “Royal Throne”
Lord and Lady Varner at the entrance to their castle
Walk like an Egyptian.. 🎼
The castle library, with painted LEATHER wallpaper… weird!
The grand ballroom of the castle
The Oak Throne room
One last pint of Guinness and glass of Jameson… bye Ireland! 🍀
Fish n Chips.. drool! with a side of mashed peas too!
Beef pie with mashed potatoes.. drool!
Last proper pint at a proper pub
This advertisement should be illegal… NO ONE at the World Cup is drinking budweiser… puke!
Got a rental car today, and the parents got their first taste of driving on the left side of the road. Exciting times to say the least! Went cruising along the coast and stoped at some castle ruins, and a few beaches to do some walking and beach combing, with a picnic lunch thrown in as well. It was great to get out of the city for the day, and enjoy nature.
The #1 driver
The ruins of Black Castle in Wicklow
Ruins of Castle Black, with a great view
Mom getting her turn driving on the left side of the road.
On a beach at the Irish Sea
Dad taking his spin at the wheel
Awesome beach with an awesome view
Someone bumped a rock wall. Hint, it wasn’t me, and it wasn’t mom. LOL
Switching to the #1 driver (me)
Picnic lunch overlooking the Irish Sea
We survived the driving.. car is now parked, and it’s time for a cocktail!!
This morning we had reservations for a tour/tasting at the Jameson Whiskey distillery, then the Guinness brewery. We then all met up and went on a Viking Splash tour on an amphibious vehicle and had a blast! Tomorrow we’ll be renting a car, so wish us luck!! LOL
Found the Jameson Distillery
Chandelier made of Jameson bottles
Learning how Jameson is made
Time for tasting at Jameson
Comparing Jameson to American Whiskey (Jack Daniels) and Scotch (Johnny Walker Black)
Found the Guinness Brewery
Entry to the Guinness brewery
Dad is turning more Irish by the minute!
Bartender at the Gravity Bar pouring our pints. Amazing views and worth all the stairs
Cheers
Riding the WWII amphibious vehicles, the DUCKS
Argggghhhh!! We are Vikings
Now we’re Vikings on the water. Arggghhhh!
Clowining around on the Viking Splash tour
Arghhhhh!
Rolling Stones mural in Dublin
Arghhhh… on the Viking Splash tour
Dinner back at the apartment
Happy Father’s Day! Today I booked dad and myself to the Father’s Day tour at Teelling Distillery. It included the tour, tasting, a cocktail, and a flask. Was a fun time, then we met up with mom to continue cruising around on the bus. Tomorrow we’re touring the Jamison Distillery and Guinness Factory, then going on a land/water tour.
Ready to start our tour n tasting
Just two of the three big stills
Delicious!
Cheers
The Father’s Day package also included an Old Fashioned cocktail, and a flask.
Mom found her happy place while we were at the whiskey tour
Riding the double-decker bus
All alone on the bus, after my parents ditched me to take the front row seats. LOL
Here’s the hop-on/hop-off bus we’ve been using to get around town
Spire of St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Good ending to a good day
Got checked in to our apartment, and it’s lovely and in a great location. Got tickets for the hop-on/hop-off double decker bus and spent the afternoon cruising around. Several of the distilleries are having Father’s Day tasting/tour specials this weekend, so I booked one for today, and one for tomorrow. Today’s tour was at Pears Lyons Distillery. We all finished off our day with a great meal, then some relaxing time at the apartment before bed. The weather is overcast and cool (62 degrees), but we’re liking it better than being hot and sweaty.
Ate breakfast at Eddie Rockets… what they call Johnny Rockets over here. It was delicious.
Traditional Irish Breakfast. Eggs, Bacon, Sausages, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Tots, White & Black Pudding. Yummy
On the big red hop-on/hop-off bus to explore
At the pub enjoying a pint before our distillery tour
Distillery is built at an old church grounds, including the cemetery with over 100,000 people buried.
The next batch of wort is bubbling away
The most beautiful alter I’ve ever seen in a church! 😉
Another beautiful alter in the church. 😉
Tasting the whiskeys on our tour
Our Father’s Day tour included 4 tastings, plus a signature cocktail. And then they threw in gin to sample as well. Very glad I didn’t try to book us on two of these in one day!!
All these delicious Irish beers and ciders… and everywhere I go… there is a Coors Light tap. weird!
Dinner time!
Forgot to take a picture of our dinner first, but it was delicious
Love traveling to try all the different Pringles flavors. Tonight’s selection is “Shrimp Cocktail”, and they were delicious!
Just like home, LOL. A lazy-boy and the TV clicker
Yay, made it just fine to Dublin. We had to get a hotel for one night, as our apartment wasn’t available until tomorrow. Dad is on the mend, and doing a lot better today. I’m confident he’ll be almost 100% tomorrow for some more adventures.
Mom n Dad are getting spoiled by my airport lounge access, LOL
Wheels up for Ireland!! ☘
Ready to land in Dublin
No benches at the shuttle bus waiting area, so we improvised with the discarded airport wheelchairs.
Delicious ale & whiskey before heading to bed.
Time to say goodbye to the Netherlands. Was a rainy blustery day today, and dad wasn’t feeling much better, so we booked him to see a local doctor to get patched up. A visit and antibiotics (with some other cold meds) was only $50, and he’s now on the mend. I went to the Van Gogh Museum (which was closed last time we were here). It was great, but they were very strict on pictures, and could only take them in front of the reproduction art in specially setup areas.
Afterward met up with Mom and we finished our last minute shopping, then enjoyed some beer and cider. Went back and had some dinner at the apartment, then had to pack up for our flight the following day.
Van Gogh reproduction so people can take a picture without damaging the original
Now that all of our shopping is done, we’re thankful for the umbrellas and heaters at the pub, its cold and rainy today!
Enjoying a beer under an umbrella in Haarlem Grote Markt
Getting out of the rain again, before heading home for bed.
We kept seeing flyers everywhere for Herring Fest (Harring Party), and decided we needed to check it out. The festival is to celebrate the new 2018 harvest of the fish that is a staple out here in the Netherlands. It was so unique, I felt it deserved it’s own blog post, so make sure you keep scrolling to see the post about the rest of the day we had prior to the fishy fest. (A bit about the Herring Fish for anyone curious)
Herring Fest, gotta love those fishies! Looks interesting, and we’re willing to get roped in.
Herring Fest
Entry to Herring Fest
Our Herring Slices, to eat and celebrate the 2018 harvest. (raw sushi style) Time to eat it up, yummy
Ready to taste the Herring. How bad can it be?
Herring is nasty… I was the only one to finish my piece, but honestly I’ve smelled bait sitting in the sun for a few days that smells better.
How bad is Herring?? Just watch below what happens to it…
Jaegermeister is the only thing to get the nasty Herring taste out of our mouths and noses
Cheers, no more Herring taste in our mouths!!
Today we’re feeling a bit better and the weather was great, so we went to the town of Zaanse Schans. Ended up renting bicycles and riding around to see all of the old and beautiful windmills. Then we continued on the train and ended up strolling on the beach in Zandvoort aan Zee, enjoying a great dinner at a sea-side restaurant. Tomorrow is predicted to be mostly rain, so we tried to squeeze a bunch of outdoor things in when we could.
Nice day for a bike ride
Perfect day to bike around and see windmills
Endless Windmills
Windmills!
Beautiful country bike ride scenery
Hunting for sea shells
Beach bums
Hunting for sea shells
Cheers
Dinner on the beach
Fish n Chips by the sea
Scratchy time, but no lucky winners