We've made it to Ireland!  Unfortunately, two of our suitcases didn't.  They were misplaced at the Charlotte airport, and we had a real headache yesterday tracking them down.  Hopefully we'll have them delivered tomorrow.  Once we arrived in Dublin, we had to check in at the hotel, then quickly run to a shopping mall to buy some clothes for Asta and Terry before they closed.  We were awfully tired after 36 hours of traveling, so we ate at the hotel restaurant and went right to bed.

This morning, we had a private walking tour of Dublin.  Our guide, Maitiu, was just wonderful!  He showed us the castle, the Temple Bar area, Trinity College, St. Stephen's Green, and many other points of interest.  He even sang for us! We wanted to make the most of our short time in the city, and the tour was ideal for that.

We had to be at our cottage in Co. Mayo by dinner time, so we drove off west in our rental van shortly after noon.  We took the scenic route, and saw the Hill of Tara, and Trim Castle on the way.

Trim Castle

                 Passage Tomb on the Hill of Tara

Our rental cottage is north of Galway, near a town called Ballinrobe.  It's outside of town, and donkeys and cows graze just across the stone walls.  Catherine, the owner, had scones waiting for us when we arrived.

After unloading our luggage (such as it is), we drove in to Ballinrobe for dinner at Carney's, a local pub.  We made a quick trip to Tesco for groceries after, then returned to the cottage.  Time for bed-- we have another busy day tomorrow!