Mark Visit Continued.

I left you off at the 17th of March... St. Patrick's Day!

In the morning we were treated to a delicious homemade breakfast from the Loras College students. After that, we took the train to the city centre of Dublin... found our way and parked at a good spot for the St. Patrick's Day Parade. This parade was not your typical..."oh that's a nice float..." type of parade. It was more like a bunch of street entertainers/dancers dressed up in wacky garbage/recycled colorful outfits. It was definitely interesting and enjoyable.

After the parade, we went to the park - St. Stephen's Green - with the rest of the world visiting Dublin. I am not great at being a city girl, despite living in London, so sometimes large crowds are just annoying to me. Thankfully Mark felt the same way. In order to dodge all the crazy green-colored tourists, we headed south of Dublin to a small town called Bray.

The train ride to Bray was beautiful, as most of it gave a great view of the Irish Sea. We got off at Bray and took in the sea, the carnival and the hills/mountains in the distance. Michael had told us to go to Bray to climb Bray Head, which has a large cross on the very top of it.

We made the hike - almost all the way to the top, and then I stopped. I realized on top of the Eiffel Tower last month that I do not really like heights. Mark went on up without me, so I sat there for a couple minutes thinking, "When I am ever going to be in Bray, Ireland again? Those big rocks can't be that bad..." So then I went and met Mark at the top. I think he was quite surprised that I got over my wussy-ness. (I'm so glad I did... the view of the mountains and the sea was truly amazing.)

After that we were ready for a good meal, so we went to a local pub. I had the fish and chips and Mark had bangers and mash. We took that setting in for a while... the Irish are such kind people. So friendly and fun. It was definitely a dinner out I will always remember.

After our Bray excitement, it was time to call it a St. Patrick's Day... and a great one it was - especially when you spend it with your Irish American Boy.

18 Wednesday

The next day our flight left Dublin very early, so once we arrived back in London we were exhausted. We layed low around the Vandon area - got some groceries, ate a pasty (a pastry with your choice of hot deliciousness inside) and rested for the day before attending The Lion King at night.

Mark had already seen The Lion King before in New York, but I think the British accents added so much more to the performance in London. ;)

After some great Lion King songs, (do they ever get old??) ice cream capped off another great day and night across the pond.

19 Thursday....

We are getting closer!