DUB. and Cork.

We were oh so happy to arrive in the land of the pub! The Irish people are so friendly and the culture is a little more familiar to us. Odd side note, when we first arrived from France, the Irish seemed fat. That's the best way to put it...it was the oddest thing. Now, having been here just about a month, we're fully acclimatised and everyone is happy and healthy!

After a late flight from Nice to Dublin, on what we found out mid-flight was the dreaded airline Ryanair (and was confirmed on the scariest landing of my life...complete with arms bracing the seat infront and screams from everyone) we safely made it to meet Marc's Mom Denise!



There's a funny story with this picture, it was on our first full day in Dublin. There was a homeless man sitting on a nearby bench with a couple tall-boys (beer). He gave great advice that smiling makes the best picture, mumbled something else very friendly, then let out a loud burp. It made us giggle, but immediately afterwards he apologized for being rude. It was a great welcome to Ireland, how many times have you meet a friendly, respectful drunk bum?! Only in Ireland...

...at the end of the must-do Guiness brewery tour.

...and noticing that Marc's hair is soon to surpass Denise's hair in length.

Our first taste of Irish pub food, with mushy peas.

After one day in Dublin, we took the train to Cork to scope out the city before Marc starts working. We found a great place to live and did the usual touristy things.














...Cork City Gaol tour - a fun experience with walkman tapes to guide you and wax statues to complete the experience.
























Cork city view.















The tour books make the surrounding towns sound like they all have charm and special experiences to offer. So, we picked a day trip to Midleton. This is when we realized the tour books slightly exaggerate. This little town didn't have much going on. But we did find a pretty stream with 2 fluffy white dogs, a crane, and a duck with her ducklings, all just hanging out. Here is Marc and his Mom checking out the scene.
















































After Cork we took a ferry to the UK and toured London, Manchester and Birmingham (all posts of their own). After that, we took the ferry back to Dublin and spent a couple more days with Denise before heading home to Timmins, and Marc and I settling in Cork.

The National Leprachaun Museum - we learned the truth behind the magic!

...and we got to create a picture at the end of the tour. Here is Marc's...

...and here is mine. They were put on a wall of the museum for the day, then uploaded onto their flickr website, so technically, we are published artists!

One last Irish pint with Denise!

We did tons of great things in the England and have lots to post...they will be good!