Hari Raya 2011

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri to all our family and friends

Maaf Zahir & Batin

Prayers for our loved ones

Muslims the world over visit relatives' graves during Ramadhan especially the run up to Eid. This morning my family we went to the graves of my great grandparents, grandparents and Aunt. We said our prayers, cleaned the graves and gravestones and poured water scented with perfumed barks. AlFatihah..

All set for Hari Raya

I took the kids out today for the inevitable fireworks shop. They were all very happy with their loot but have been warned that they are not to set off any for the next two nights at least until Donncha gets back. I think we did well not getting any 'bombs' which in recent years have got louder and louder - which all the bigger boys love. Ours are more of the 'flower' types with the exception of the rockets and the boxes.

Ayden's excited face says it all!

Cliffs of Moher

Donncha and I had one outing without the kids whilst in Ireland and we went to the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare. We had been there once before the day before Claire and Rob's wedding in 2002 but a combination of the weather and time prevented us from going for a walk. This time we paid for our 12 Euro entry and took all the pictures. The beauty of such cliff walks are breathtaking but they are also very scary which was why we were relieved that a slate stone barrier has been built to keep the over-curious tourist away from the edge which also explains the 12 Euro fee!

The closest we have come to the Aran Islands ... one day...

Note the stone platform before, I think pre-barrier days, people were able to go to the edge

These tourists have gone beyond the boundries

And some were too close for comfort

There's so much more to see and do in County Clare and unfortunately we were pressed for time so the Burren National Park is still unticked. I'm voting to come back to Clare again!

And the holidays roll on...

Second night sleep back in Brunei. Donncha was back sleeping on an A380. Jack fell asleep 9:30ish and I had to force Iman and Ayden to bed close to midnight. I was dreading the thought of Jack waking up at 3:30 again and wanting a drink and a snack, thankfully he didn't though inevitably they did all manage to come into the bed (spot the space I had!). All still asleep at 10 this morning!

A Visit to Croke Park

A big item on the agenda for Dublin was a visit to Croke Park, which is the home of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland and where hurling and gaelic football are played. It's place in Irish history means that it's often spoken about and even Queen Elizabeth visited there on her recent tour of Ireland. English fans will recognize it as being the place where Ireland mauled an English rugby team a number of years ago (Donncha's comment)

Iman got to try on some old jerseys, complete with the hat and traditional hurley

As part of the tour, a visit to the player's lounge was included (basically an empty bar !) but interesting to know that the amateur players were at least given a free drink and some food after playing in front of 84,000 people.

No visit to a stadium would be complete without a visit to the dressing room - kids were happy to show their Tipperary heritage (Grandad was not happy about that!)

A walk on the sideline of the hallowed turf (apparently it's changed 4 times a year .... so not that hallowed these days). Ruairi was happy to come to Dublin and join the visit to Croker.

Grandad very proud to be showing his grandkids around .... meant a lot to him

Everyone enjoyed getting a tour of one of the corporate boxes, though they are not necessarily the height of luxury.

Donncha's cousin Liam joined the tour, which as usual for a person living in the city, was his first visit to the Croke Park Museum. Thank's to Liam for spending the morning with the kids.

In Dublin's Fair City...

The last time we were in Dublin was over six years ago and it's been in the list for a while. We found an apartment in Smithfields (below) which is a short walk from the city centre. We stayed in a 3 bed duplex which was spacious and beautifully furnished - we highly recommend it to anyone going to Dublin for more than a couple of nights.

On the list of things to do was Dublin Zoo, Croke Park (we shall put pictures up separately), meeting family and friends and walking around the city. Donncha and the kids even managed to catch the Ireland vs Croatia friendly with Grandad and Ruairi and part of the Micallef family - though with a 0-0 finish, the kids described the evening as "BORING". Overall, a great few days in Dublin!

The Liffey

Walking through Temple Bar - nice and quiet early in the day

The quick toilet break turned into a pit-stop with music

Performers on Grafton Street

No visit to Dublin without calling to Donncha's uncle's bar

An afternoon with the cousins - the kids had fun running around the garden and messing with the lads.

And of course we had to get a few rides on the LUAS. If only the two lines were connected - Irish logic at it's best !!

An outing to Waterford

Whilst at Castlemartyr we went for a drive to Waterford. We were lucky it was such a lovely day and the kids had a great time at Ardmore beach. Ireland at its best with blue skies!

The main reason for the drive was to see an old school friend of mine Sally who I went to school with in Bedford. We have't seen each other for 20 years and it was great to catch up! And it was great that the kids got on so well!

Castlemartyr

From Nohoval we made Castlemartyr our base for four nights. Our accommodation was the Mews, and not exactly as the website had advertised. The bedrooms were great but the kitchen/dining/lounge left a lot to be desired - so much so I didn't even take a photograph even after some ingenious furniture arranging by Donncha. But the kids loved the open space just outside the front door and as always made friends to play with.

Lovely grounds around the hotel for walks

And the village just outside the hotel grounds

One of the things we love about Ireland is the quality of raw ingredients available here. Not much has to be done to produce a great meal. One day we headed to the English Market in Cork City - (now made even more famous after the visit of Queen Elizabeth in June) - and bought trout fillets, asparagus, samphire and salad. So simple but such amazing flavours!

For the kids the highlight of Castlemartyr has to be the pony & trap ride which they couldn't get enough of. And it was nice to see them comfortable enough to pat the ponies.