Ireland and England

The last leg of our trip has been spent with friends and family. Travis and Margaret took us into their home in Ennis, Ireland, a beautiful town in County Clare. Their little ones, Taylor and Saorse charmed us while baby Griffin, twelve days old when we showed up, awakened to the world. We got to see the Irish countryside including the Cliffs of Moher and had a great time at the local pubs. Due to Ireland's ambitious quest to lessen lung cancer and drunk-driving, the pubs may not be as packed as they once were, but they are still Guinness-fuelled musical fun. Mike imbibed a pint or three and I suffered the olfactory curse of the infamous Guinness Gas via Dutch Oven.

In London, Mike's aunt Mary picked us up at the airport in her cool convertible and took us to their home in Beaconsfield, where she has been spoiling us ever since. We have gone to Oxford, Windsor Castle, Stratford-upon-Avon and London, which brings me to my favourite dead Brit, William Shakespeare. We walked through Shakespeare's family home and the adjoining museum and we were starstruck. The house is restored to what it probably looked like when Shakes was a child. We tried to absorb genius vibes. The next day, we went to London and saw Othello, The Moor of Venice at The Globe Theatre. It was a dream come true for English teachers. We stood in the yard with the scrubs and it was a long show but fantastic.

Coming soon... the last blog. We're almost home.