MN Girl in Eire: September 2014

Sunday, September 28, 2014

The Zoo!

This morning we took advantage of the beautiful autumn weather that we are having and went to the Dublin Zoo. We took Gemma there for the first time back in June, but she was coming down with an ear infection then, so she didn't have too much energy for it. She LOVED it today. As soon as we got there, she kept talking about the elephants, and when we left, she said her favourite were the giraffes.

One of the tigers

Giraffes!

Zebras and giraffes

Rhino

Gorillas

Penguin

Elephants

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Gemma Pics!

As I haven't shared any pictures of Gemma in over a month, I figured I better catch up!

Playing with her Aqua Doodle- a birthday gift!

Looking at the ducks in the river after dinner in Lucan village one Sunday evening.

Chilling out in her tent- we only had it up for about 48 hours before it broke!

Playing dress up!

Love these curls!

At a BBQ at Sean and Jean's

Pasta and strawberries for dinner!

Play Doh is a favourite!

Helping Mommy make dinner

Snuggling in the cot

She LOVES the playhouse at the toy store

Studying the Smyth's (toy store) winter catalogue!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Mediterranean Cruise

Paul and I were very lucky and took a 5 night Mediterranean cruise on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas from September 13 to 18. Gemma went on her holidays to Granny and Grandad in Mayo, and we had a wonderful, relaxing vacation!

We flew to Barcelona, Spain in the early morning on Saturday, September 13, walked around the city a bit, then boarded the ship around lunch time. We departed around 8pm that evening. The first day was a sea day, and on Monday morning, September 15, we awoke in Civitavecchia, Italy, which is the port of Rome. It is about an hour by train from Rome's city centre. We explored Rome on our own that day.

On Tuesday, September 16, we found ourselves in Naples, Italy. We took one of the organized tours that day of Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii. Capri is an amazing island with exclusive shops. Sorrento is a beautiful town along the Amalfi Coast, and Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was a full day, but it was wonderful! I would highly recommend visiting all three of these locations!

Wednesday, September 17 was another sea day, and in the early morning of Thursday, September 18, we arrived back in Barcelona. We flew back to Dublin that morning, eager to get back to see Gemma! I drove down to Louisburgh that afternoon to get her, and the two of us headed back to Dublin on Friday morning, September 19. It was a great vacation, but we were glad to be back to our little girl as well!

Here are a few pics!

The market in Barcelona