Today is our last full day here in Ireland. We took a train about 45 minutes south of Dublin to County Wicklow. Myles' great grandfather, Lawrence Gartland, came to the US from County Wicklow in the 1880s. We still are not sure how he landed in St. Louis. We are also not exactly sure what town he was from, but we made it to the right county for sure. I'm sure Myles' dad's Irish Eyes are smiling from heaven today!
My grandfather's family came to the US from Tipperary, Ireland. That is in central Ireland and we were not able to make it there due to our time constraints. The scenery on the train ride to County Wicklow is breathtaking. The train goes right down the coast of the Irish Sea, which is very rocky and rugged.
We had lunch in the town of Greystones and then walked along the beach. It was pretty cold and windy out today, much colder than in Dublin (which was probably about 42). The waves were pretty big today. Myles wanted to put his hand in the Irish Sea and did not anticipate the big wave coming which soaked his shoes! I was plenty far back from the water so that incident was more than a little amusing. We walked for a while and took advantage of the photo ops.
We took the train back to Dublin and Myles took Ben and Natalie back to the apartment. I had a fun surprise for Abbie and Trey. We went to see The Princess and the Frog. In English! They were so excited. It was cute. In Poland, there are plenty of American movies. The regular movies are in English and there are Polish subtitles. I have not been to a movie in Gdansk, but that's what I've heard. But kids' movies are dubbed into Polish so my kids would not be able to understand. They enjoyed it and laughed all throughout the show. Natalie opted to hang with Ben and her dad since she is far too mature to see The Princess and the Frog. I really think she wanted some computer time!
I have really enjoyed our time in Ireland. The people here seem very happy and are generally quite loud. There is much laughter and gregarious conversation. The people seem to always be looking for ways to help each other. It is a very friendly culture. One of my favorite things here is that everyone always thanks the bus driver when they get off the bus. And the drivers are so nice--they make an effort to give direction and are very kind to tourists.
Tomorrow we are going back to Gdansk. It will be good to get back, but we have sure enjoyed our break from the below freezing temperatures there! Spring is sure to arrive in Poland eventually...we hope!
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