Visitors!

A week ago Sunday, on November 23rd, my mom, aunt, and sister arrived for a week long visit! It was the first time in six years any of my family had been over, so it was absolutely wonderful! 

They arrived early Sunday morning, so we went back to our place to relax for a bit and take a walk to get a bit of fresh air (and keep the travellers awake)! After Gemma's nap, we drove to Newry, just over the border in Northern Ireland. We met Paul's parents, sister and her husband there for dinner. We also celebrated mom's birthday a couple of days early with a beautiful cake!

We got a good picture of all 10 of us, but I think it's on mom's or Paulette's camera!

On Monday we slept in and took it easy again in the morning, then headed into Dublin to tour the Jameson distillery after Gemma's nap. 

Mom got to be one of the special taste testers and tried a few different types of whiskey. 

Tuesday was mom's 60th birthday. We started the day with breakfast at Queen of Tarts, a yummy restaurant in Dublin. 

Next we toured Glasnevin Cemetery, where important people from Ireland's history, literature, and more are buried. 

After our tour there, we walked around near Grafton Street (one of the main shopping areas and decorated beautifully for Christmas), then had tea at the Westin Hotel. 

We finished the day with a 'birthday cake' (pumpkin pie squares) back at our place!

On Wednesday we dropped Gemma off at creche, then headed to the airport for an overnight trip to Edinburgh, Scotland! 

We arrived, took the tram into the city, got a wonderful pub lunch, then checked into our apartment rental. After that we walked around a bit and made our way to the Christmas market. It was amazing!

On Thursday, our first stop of the day was The Real Mary King's Close, a tourist attraction where a character takes a group on a tour of the closes (small alleyways) and depicts life in medieval times. It was very interesting!

After our tour there, Mom and Paulette went to tour Edinburgh Castle, and Margo and I walked around the Royal Mile and the Grassmarket (two of the primary areas in the city centre). 

At Edinburgh Castle

St. Giles Cathedral

We met back up, then did a bus tour of the city, some shopping, and got tea before collecting our bags and heading back to the airport. 

We got back to Dublin around 10pm that night, headed home, and had another helping of pumpkin pie squares to celebrate Thanksgiving!

On Friday, we again dropped Gemma off at creche, then headed south of Dublin to County Wicklow. Our first stop was Glendalough, a monastic site founded in the 6th century. 

We had lunch at a hotel there, then drove to Wicklow town, where we explored the seaside there. We drove on to Greystones, another seaside town, and had coffee there. The next stop was back at creche to collect Gemma. We spent the afternoon getting some souvenirs at the grocery store, then ordered dinner in and Margo and I went to the cinema in the evening. 

On Saturday, everyone started packing up in the morning, then the four of us headed into town to do a bit more shopping and taking in the Christmas atmosphere in the Grafton Street area. Paul and Gemma joined us in town after her nap, and we all went out to dinner. 

Paul and Gemma headed home after dinner, and the four of us headed to a couple of pubs for some drinks and in search of some traditional music. Unfortunately the one pub where we found some was so packed we walked right back out!

On Sunday, November 30th, Mom, Margo, and Paulette left our place around 9am to start their long journey home. It was a wonderful visit filled with lots of great memories!