Our flight from Newark to Dublin left on Sunday night around 5:30 PM EST, and we arrived in Dublin around 5:15 AM GMT. The flight was about 7 hours plus a 5 hour time change. They served us drinks with some Penn State pretzels that were delicious. Ironically, these are produced in the UK. They didn't name them after PSU but after the state of Pennsylvania because 80% of the pretzels produced in the US are produced in PA, and people in Pennsylvania consume on average 8 times more pretzels per year than those in the other 49 states. This was news to us! Shortly after the drinks were served we were served dinner which consisted of either tortellini or chicken and rice with a roll, salad, and a delicious red velvet dessert. We were each given a complimentary headphones, blanket, and pillow. Unfortunately, we each got very little sleep. Shortly before we landed they gave each of us a frozen orange juice and a apple Nutri-grain bar. We weren't fans of the OJ.
We quickly went through customs, and the car rental place was on site, which was very nice, but we had some unexpected surprises with the rental car. We have rental car insurance through our credit card, but if we didn't pay for insurance, they were going to put a $5,000 Euro charge on our credit card, which was an unacceptable option. When I first was deciding whether or not to rent a car for 12 hours in Dublin, I had come to the conclusion it was cheaper to rent the car because of needing to pay for taxi rides to and from the airport plus pay to store all our luggage at the airport for the day. Once I realized we couldn't go to the Gaol, I began to question my decision as I knew we could just drive to the center of town, park the car, and walk to and from all our sites. If I could go back in time, I would definitely have opted not to rent a car in Dublin. Paying for taxis and storing the suitcases would have been cheaper and less stressful, especially for Paul since he's not accustomed to driving on the left side of the road. We didn't have to pay for any gasoline because we used so little. It helped that the SUV was a hybrid. It didn't help that we had trouble using the QR code that was proof I had prepaid for our stay at the parking garage. We thought we were at the wrong lot so we went across the street, and at the end of the day found out we had paid for the other parking garage. So we paid two different parking garages to park in Dublin. So much for trying to save money by prepaying. I'm writing this on Thursday, and I can say this wasn't the end of our parking woes although today I think we managed to make it through unscathed. I really wish we had just stayed in the first parking garage because the second one was connected to a shopping mall, and we didn't know that green exit signs are fire exit signs, and we ended up very lost in a place they don't expect customers to go, and it took us a very long time to figure out how to get out of the maze back into the mall. I came close to having a panic attack.
Thankfully, we still had enough time to enjoy a delicious breakfast at Lemon Jelly Cafe and walked over Ha'penny bridge before doing the Book of Kells experience at Trinity College. Our next stop was the Little Museum of Dublin, which was my favorite stop of the day. Our tour guide, Sean, was hysterical as he explained the history of Dublin. The exhaustion really kicked in at the GPO museum. It ended up being a waste of money because I was the only one who wasn't struggling to stay awake. Had Paul gotten more sleep, I know he would have loved the museum. So I bought coffees and sodas for the kids and Paul to wake them up. I wish I had done that sooner! Our last stops were the EPIC Irish Emigration Museum, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Christ Church Cathedral. At one point along the way we got food from Leo Burdock's Fish and Chips which had very high reviews online, but we weren't impressed. The fries were large and very soft. We prefer them crispier. We threw away the vast majority of the chips (partially because the servings were so large), but we would have liked to have had more fish and chicken. Over the past four days I've been impressed that #1 we haven't had to pay to go to the bathroom yet (I remember frequently having to pay during other trips to Europe) and #2 that we've been given free glasses of water at our meals which again wasn't possible in other countries in Europe. The kids have been blown away by all the traffic circles. I don't like traffic circles at all so I am amazed at Paul's finesse in handling them, especially while driving on the left side of the road.
The traffic back to the airport was much worse, and we made some wrong turns, so our stress level was high as we began to be worried about missing our flight. Thankfully the return of the rental car went very quickly, and we didn't have to wait long for a shuttle back to the airport, and there was no wait to go through airport security (albeit that body scanner nabbed me again - I have to say I hate those machines!). So we actually were waiting at our gate for more than 30 minutes before they began boarding. We were all together in a row on our long flight to Dublin, but on our flight to Manchester Paul and I were both sitting by a stranger. Ian was also by himself, but Nadia and Oliver were directly behind him. The flight was less than one hour long. I enjoyed seeing the topography of Wales from the sky. Paul was sleeping.
We were *supposed* to be flying to Liverpool, but we ended up flying to Manchester because Aer Lingus cancelled that flight. At Manchester we had to wait a longer time to get a shuttle to the rental car center, and we were there a long time and again had to pay (a lot) for insurance because our credit card would only pay up to $50,000, and they said the SUV we were renting sells for almost $100K. If we ever travel to a foreign country again (which at the moment I'm not sure I ever want to aside from Canada), I do not want to rent any more vehicles. They also put a large hold on our card, so then when we tried to buy dinner a few days later our charge was declined. I had to make a payment so we could resume using the card. I always pay the full balance every month. We went over one bridge that involved a toll for which there wasn't a toll booth so we need to figure out how to pay that $2.40 toll. We have only encountered one other toll, but we were able to pay that one with a credit card. On our drive from Manchester to Liverpool, we encountered a road closure which lengthened our journey to our first lodging. We were beyond exhausted by the time we got there. I had been without sleep for 36 hours straight. We parked in a ParkBee facility and walked through town with our luggage to our apartment after 11:00 at night. The apartment was lovely, but Nadia didn't end up sleeping on the twin bed in our bedroom because Paul's snoring was keeping her awake. She opted to sleep on the floor in the living room, and because the boys were already asleep on the couches, she didn't offer them the choice of sleeping on the twin bed.
Because we had gotten to bed much later than I had anticipated, we skipped the first thing on the agenda for the day (a hike at Great Orme) so we could sleep in a bit longer. Unfortunately, this meant my departure time wasn't correct for ParkBee. If I had entered the later time from the start, we wouldn't have had to pay extra because I paid for 12 hours. But because we left an hour later than planned, we had to pay for one more hour (which was about 50% of what 12 hours cost). Oi vey. At least I didn't pay twice as much as necessary. Our first stop was lunch at Indulgence Cafe in Llandudno, Wales, which we highly recommend. The food was very delicious and reasonably priced. Our next stop was Conwy Castle. which was very impressive to the kids as it was their very first castle. We bought a family 3 day explorer pass which meant we got in free to two other castles we visited in Wales in addition to Conwy. Our next stop was Snowdon Mountain. We rode a train for one hour up to the summit (3,560 feet elevation). We spent an hour up at the top, and then rode back down for another hour. It was VERY cold and extremely windy at the top, but the views were amazing which was an answer to prayer as it was very foggy and cloudy in the morning, and the visibility is sometimes nonexistent at the top of the mountain. I had planned for us to have dinner at the Crown Y Goron, but it turns out they only serve breakfast and lunch. A customer at their bar recommended we eat at the Black Boy Inn (evidently the rules of political correctness in the USA are different than in Wales). The prices were higher that I would have chosen, but we were very hungry as it was only our second meal of the day and it was almost 7 pm, which is much later than we usually eat dinner. Our lodging in Caernarfon was amazing! We had a three floor townhouse that was right next to the castle wall. Nadia had her own bedroom, the boys each had their own beds in one bedroom, and Paul and I had our own bedroom on the third floor. We also had two full bathrooms. Woohoo! Staying next to a castle was very cool, and the woman left our kitchen well stocked for breakfast. I scrambled six eggs and we had crumpets, bagels, toast, bananas, yogurt, juice, milk, etc. I used some of the bread to make PB&J sandwiches for our lunch later that day.
The next morning we toured the Caernarfon Castle and then drove over 4 hours to Cardiff. I was NOT a fan of the drive because it involved many turns which made me nauseous even though I was in the front seat of the vehicle. After a couple of hours I suggested we stop at a gas station. We still had 1/2 a tank as our SUV is also a hybrid. The kids have a lot more room in this one than the one we had in Dublin, but this one is wider which can present challenges for Paul with driving and parking. It's very fancy though in terms of cameras to help with some of those difficulties. We went to the bathroom and bought some snacks (which helped my stomach). Our third castle of the trip was Caerphilly Castle, which so far is the one Paul liked the most. We then had dinner at a restaurant that overlooked the castle. We've learned that in Wales you either place your order (at a sit down restaurant) using an app on your phone or you go tell the bartender what food you want to order. You also go get your own silverware, napkins, and such. We had trouble using the app at some of the restaurants, but today (at the Three Elms) we finally had success. On Wednesday night we were given a choice of "chips or fries" with our meals so we mistakenly thought the chips would be the things we call chips in the USA. Wrong. Fries are thinner. SO we again ended up with a lot of uneaten chips. Unfortunately, I paid 50 pence too little for our parking (I forgot we were having dinner near the castle), and so our vehicle was in an expired spot for about 25 minutes. Sadly, we got a big parking ticket. I was literally in tears over that mistake. One more reason never to rent a car again in a foreign country. We spent the night at Holiday Inn right on the Cardiff Bay. Usually we get one room for 5 people, but it's much harder in the UK to find a room with 2 queen size beds plus a sofa. SO we had two rooms. The kids had one queen plus one couch, and we had just a queen. Their room faced the water, and ours faced the lovely parking lot.
This morning (Thursday) we had a hotel breakfast. They didn't serve exactly the same menu that they do at Holiday Inns in the USA. They served hot tomatoes, baked beans, croissants, etc. They didn't serve the cinnamon rolls that are standard in the USA. They had a very nice assortment of foods though. I've never seen slices of bacon that big in my life. Nadia loved the fact she could have an espresso, latte, or cappuccino for free at breakfast. Our first stop this morning was the Cardiff Market. Nadia bought a t-shirt, Paul got some nuts, and the rest of us got some Welsh cakes and Turkish delights. We had the Welsh cakes as our lunch at the Cardiff Castle, and we at the candy for dessert after our dinner. Our second stop was the Cardiff Castle. This one isn't included in the Explorer Pass. We also paid for a guided tour of the apartments. We have been walking up many, many flights of small turning staircases as we've toured 4 castles so far. Thankfully we've hardly needed our umbrellas at all which has been a blessing. It's been a bit chillier than anticipated, but I'll take that over pouring rain. Almost every time it has rained we've been inside. Our last stop today was St Fagans National Museum of History, which is primarily an outdoor site (kind of like a Williamsburg type experience). We've seen SO many sheep in Wales the last three days, but we got closer to them today. There are 10 million sheep in Wales compared to 3 million people. We had dinner at Three Elms in Cardiff which was the most reasonable dinner we've had so far, and the food was delicious. We then drove to a Holiday Inn in Swindon, which means we have returned to England. Oliver is sharing a room with Paul and I, and Nadia and Ian have their own room tonight. The kids like that they each get their own twin size bed tonight. Tomorrow, Saturday, and Monday we'll be in England.
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