That 630 alarm was nasty. Especially after having been awake from 3-5am with insomnia.
Out the door - checked out and fueled up. Preloaded maps on the phone and off and running.
10 minutes later we were on the M7 heading north to Dublin.
A completely overcast windy rainy dreary day. Perfect for travel and so thankful for the tremendous day we had yesterday in the glorious sunshine. One has such a better impression of a place when it's sunny than when it's raining. We have lucked out our entire trip to Ireland as not one drop of rain prevented us from having the absolutely best time possible at any location that was weather related. So lucky.
The highway was desolate for nearly an hour but as we got closer to Dublin, the busier it became. There were a few idiot drivers that would fly past you and cut you off and then slow down 20 km/hr so you'd have to drive around them. This one lady in her BMW must have done this 5 times while on her cell phone or fixing makeup. Comical.
We switched over to the M50 and wrapped around the city to arrive at the airport. We put an extra 10 Euros of fuel into the car to top it off even though we only started with 7/8 of a tank. Missed that in the preboarding checkin on Aug 2nd in the pouring rain at 10pm.
The car drop off went lickety split and we bid farewell to our little Toyota Yaris. Great on fuel - easy to park and never put a mark on it. Phew.
We hopped on the first shuttle that arrived and were a bit nervous about getting to the right place after having shown up at the last airport and it being the WRONG AIRPORT!
We were relieved to find our flight on the departure board! Yay us!
We went to the bag dropoff and it wasn't even open for 15 minutes we were do early. We camped out and waited for the Flybe girl and we're ready to go by 1005.
We headed upstairs and had breakfast consisting of 2 eggs, 2 massive slabs of back bacon, sausage, baked beans, toast, hash browns and tea for 10 Euro.
We made our way through security easily and were quite shocked worth the number of shops available to us before heading to our gate. There must have been 40 including a Starbucks which Krista magically fought off the urge to invest in a chai latte. :)
Our little purple plane arrived at half past 11 and it was a twin turboprop little purple puddle jumper that would take us across the English Channel to southern England into Exeter where we will spend 2 nights with Uncle Paul and Aunt Anne.
As we departed Ireland in the rain it was completely socked in and quite dark
Once we broke through the clouds, the brilliant sun reflecting off the top of the clouds was near blinding and cheered us up for the remainder of the flight.
We are flying at a whopping 80mph at 4000 ft. A bit different than the other 2 flights we've taken this trip. ;)
Our flight was one hour long and as we came into land the plane bounced around quite a bit with the air currents but soon enough we were on the ground.
We depart of the plane from the rear exit and walk down onto the tarmac and into the very small terminal. As flights travel from Ireland over to Exeter, the airport was considered International! Such a small Airport but yet it had International status.
We retrieved our luggage and quickly found Paul and Anne waiting for us in the lobby. They had hardly changed bit since we saw them last on our honeymoon here in 1999.
We caught up a bit and headed to the two cars in the parking lot and headed to their home in Dawlish.
It was nice to be driven there and not have to drive through rush hour traffic. As we pulled up to their estate, all the memories flooded back of our trip here 17 years ago.
The side Garden where we watched the full eclipse at 11 a.m. that beautiful August day. The memories of the castle we went to two watch a rock concert and have a picnic. The outdoor Shakespearian play we watched while also having a picnic. So many wonderful experiences as newlyweds.As we entered their home, memories of the numerous rooms came back to me as we wove in and out of endless hallways.
If you could picture the house of the professor from the lion, the witch and the wardrobe movie and then expand it somewhat then you might be able to grasp the vastness which is this home at RedCliffe.
Anne's family has own this property for over 300 years. The original part of the house has been added on to several times and now has almost 20 rooms, 5 staircases and several wings with which one can give lost in with ease.
Do to some major bathroom renovations, many of the sitting rooms and always have furniture from over centuries. The paintings, photographs, tapestry and rugs in this home are worth a fortune.
Just like the movie Notting Hill where Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts climb over a fence into a well protected Garden and park that is secluded from the street, that is Red Cliffe.
Almost to acres of property well hidden from the street with numerous Gardens and pathways filled with every fruit tray, vegetable and herb garden imaginable set a an Southern England overlooking the ocean. What???
I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if I could enter Narnia from one of the wardrobes in one of the numerous bedrooms here. Seriously!
After a brief visit and catching up, Paul, Krista, the boys and I took their three small white dogs for a very lengthy hike down to the ocean and a good solid kilometer until we reached some cliffs and caves to explore. The railroad tracks ran a long the ocean and we watched many trains coming in going and both directions while we hiked on the beach. The boys through rocks in the ocean and Jacob absolutely loved walking one of the dogs on a leash.
We decided to take a different route back down a walking past but stumbled upon us summer fair being held on the point. Not only did they have shops, but game and a go kart track. We purchased rides for the boys for 10 minutes and they were ecstatic to say the least. Nicholas let the way for much of the race but because Jacob is lighter and had a more powerful car he was able to finally pass Nicholas and pumped his fist in the air ecstatic about his achievement.
We bought some mini donuts and a slush and then returned a different way through some walking paths. The path had a lovely paved track and work completely surrounded by fully enclosed tree canopy overhead for most of it. At times we were able to clearly see the ocean and ships going by.
We slowly returned to RedCliffe. Krista and the boys went into the house to relax and Paul and I toured thru the gardens and property for 30 minutes.
We sat down for a good long chat over some cider and snacks late into the evening. It was time to call it a night as we had had a wonderful but long day with little sleep last night. Very eager to see what tomorrow brings in this new beautiful part of the country.
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