There
really is something special about boarding that last aircraft for the final leg
home. The trip home from Ireland was long. 8 hours or so from Dublin to Abu
Dhabi, a few hours in the airport there, then another 8 hours odd to
Johannesburg. We flew Etihad which has to be the most pleasant economy class
travel around. You actually have leg room, they feed you continuously and the
list of movies and TV programmes is endless. I hardly sleep on a plane so the
entertainment was great and time passed quickly.
Ireland is
lovely – what can I say about it? Well, the country-side is lush and green, and
green and green and green. We missed spring but there were still plenty of
little buttercups and daisies, irises, poppies and other flowers to provide a
welcome break to the green grass, hedges and trees. There are lots and lots of
sheep and cows dotting the landscape. We mostly kept to all the little back
roads; travelling at about 80kph max on these well maintained roads we went
from the east coast (Dublin side) to the west coast, down south a bit to county
Dingle then across to the west cost again to a beautiful nature reserve in the
Wicklow area. Then back to cousins in a small town outside of Dublin called Malahide.
We did a
great deal of milage, hiking, walking around small towns, some cities and
villages. Every place we went to was neat and clean and mostly pretty. Always
lots of pubs and the buildings are painted in bright colours. No litter – in fact:
some of the towns proudly display their awards for the ‘most litter free town
in 20??’. There are No Dumping signs all over the place and you will get a
3000euro fine if you are caught dropping your trash. The towns and cities are
festooned with hanging baskets of flowers – they are glorious and I just wish I
knew what their secret is to doing this so well. The people are really
friendly; they are interested in you and ask lots of questions about where you
come from, what you do and so on. And they speak English – well sort of. There
were some times when you just had to say “what? Please say that again”. 
I also
think the Irish have a ‘charming gene’…they are very charming; but it is so
nice to be around charming polite people. Even their drivers are charming and
polite. At a zebra or other pedestrian crossing they stop for you – this took a
bit of getting used to! Driving on the same side of the road as us is a bonus –
they have lots of roundabouts and being on the same side of the road makes this
much easier. (I rode a bike in France and would hold my breath when I had to ‘do’
a roundabout there – quite terrifying!)
Whenever I get
back I tell myself that that is that for the next few years. But already I am
planning my next trip – not sure where yet but Bhutan is quite high on my list.
But in the meantime it is back to work tomorrow…
Photos:
1. We went on a fabulous walk in the
Burren – a spectacular spot on the west coast. Oliver Cromwell went into Ireland
he said of the Burren (and I para-phrase: there is not enough water to drown them
nor enough trees to hang them and not enough soil to bury them – charming fellow)
2. A huge field of poppies – it was
jaw-dropping!
3. Hanging baskets – I like the cone
shape.
