Ireland

We went on a Hop on Hop off bus tour of the city and saw many cool things.

One of the coolest was Kilmainham Gaol. This is now a museum but it was a prison for 200 years. When it was first made there was no glass in the windows - just window holes cut for ventilation and light. The cells held up to 10 people in a tiny place with beds only for the men (women and children had straw on the floor). The rain would come in through the windows and would flood so often you would be ankle deep in water. The toilet bucket wasn't always emptied so it would overflow into the ankle deep water and all you had to keep you warm was a thin blanket. Not very nice at all!

We were driven around the city - it's really quite a lovely place, only very cold in October! I saw the Molly Malone statue so we had to get off the bus and go and get a photo. I was very excited!

then we went for lunch in the Temple Bar area of Dublin... and of course we had to stop over for a while and have a drink!

We've enjoyed our holiday away. Seen some amazing things ... and yes, we will force you all to watch slide shows of our photos. Still, it is nice to be coming home. The funeral for Sandy was today (4 am our time here) and we really felt the distance. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Now, four days of plane travel.....

Well I hope you learnt from our adventures, lord know we didn't. We would like to thank you all for reading and keeping in contact . People who deserve special thanks are Will and Sarah, Dad And Sonja and Bernie* for looking after Macy *(if not my bike). Mary Knight and her wonderful Kids Richard and Lizzy for the food in the belly, roof over our heads and great company while in London. Mum and Pete for keeping us informed about Sandy and for showing our trip to Him And Grandma. and of course like the Oscars anyone else i have forgotten, ( but hey lets be honest if you have not been metioned you must not have done anything worth thankin you for !) see ya all real soon.

G'day All,

Well we are not able to get back to Oz any sooner as ALL flights are booked out! No amount of Begging, Sob-Stories, Threats of Violence and Swearing can change this unfortunate fact so we are continuing on our trip. We will be flying to Brisbane the day we land in Cairns ( Friday the 24th ) so we will be seeing the Family then. Even though the loss of Sandy has been hard for us (especially due to the distance) we are making the most of being in Ireland. Thanks again for all the emails of support.

So today we felt better and headed off from Killarney, an Awesome place! and made our way to Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone. Sure it's 'The Thing To Do', but when you see 18 people lined up to press there lips against a rock that is exposed to the elements and which has had countless other pairs of lips pressed against it, and they dont wipe it afterward it's just 'Next!'. You've got to wonder about Hygiene standards. Still that didn't stop us. Now, wait for the 'eloquence' to kick in ......

We then made it to Cork and let me tell you the Irish really need to invest in street signs! Cork is a massive place and a major city. It's a shame we are only here for the night and have to head out early tomorrow to get to Dublin. It would have been cool to check it out.

I am looking forward to giving back our rental car,we call Squeally McBreaks as the Irish really have no idea when it comes to driving and i think it would be a lot safer for tourists and the Irish if the UN stepped in, took their keys away and then they could just do what they do best, DRINK, FIGHT and write songs about Drinking and Fighting! anyway Heres Lisa

Hey everyone. It's been a strange couple of days. When we realised we couldn't make it back any earlier and that we still had booked things to do, we decided to keep going on with the holiday. It's very weird to be in such a beautiful place seeing incredible things but knowing that people we love are hurting and that we can't do a thing about it.

Like Phlegm said, the messages have meant a lot. Can't wait to see the family in Brisbane and smile/hug/cry with you all.

To Julatten school - I love hearing from my kids! I miss you guys as well! All your messages made me smile. Now, make sure you're doing your homework!!!

Will and Sarah - Coz we're going to be in Brisbane for a few days, would you mind looking after Macy from this Friday until Monday? I know this is a pain but I will forever sing your praises (like I do already, but still... I'll do it more, and louder!). I'll be home on Sunday or Monday (will talk to you about that Monica in a school email!). I'll call you guys at home anyway. If you can't then that's cool. I have a plan B ready to go.

Ness, you're a sweetie. Have been thinking about you guys - especially when we went past Loch Ness! Hope you are looking after yourself... and your wee one.... and Scott, of course.

Mum and Mary, we lit candles in St Mary's cathedral for Sandy and Grandma and Pop.. but also for Tony. Thought you'd like to know. We're not very religious but it felt like the right thing to do.

will talk more soon. Check out the photo gallery coz we'll add more photos.

Well, after tearfully trying to get earlier flights, it looks increasingly like there aren't any. Not even first class.

That means the flights home will be the same so we'll be leaving Singapore on the 23rd and arriving in Cairns early on Friday the 24th and then catching a flight to Brisbane (if we can) later on that day. So Peter, we'll aim for a midday flight so we can travel back with you guys but there's no guarantees.

We'll keep trying but it doesn't look good - coz the flights are over the weekend and fully booked. Also, we're running out of time to make it to the funeral.

Will email family personally so keep checking your inboxes or facebooks.

Love you all, Lisa and Phlegm

Well its hard to know what to say. We've just heard that Phlegm's wonderful grandfather, Sandy has passed away earlier this morning. Family have been great - letting us know as soon as. This means a few things:
* We'll be leaving Ireland earlier than expected and flying straight to Brisbane instead of through Singapore and into Cairns.
* I may need to apply for bereavement leave so I can attend the funeral and still be back in time for school. Will email you Monica with details when we know them.
* We feel miles and miles away from everyone we love, and yet the place we are in is so incredibly beautiful. Very ambivalent feelings, believe me.

We are okay. We will look forward to posting happier news in the next few days. Thanks to all family members who got in touch - we really appreciated it.

Love Phlegm and Lisa

So we landed in Belfast International airport (which is 30 mins out of the city).... and then got on the wrong bus! We nearly ended up going to the wrong city! Luckily, Phlegm asked the driver a question before we'd left and we quickly realised we were in the wrong place. Phew! Could have been REALLY bad.

Ireland has been freezing but really beautiful. Irish weather makes Melbourne weather look stable and predictable. It's crazy - raining one minute, sunny and blue sky the next.... but ALWAYS cold! Belfast wasn't too crash hot. It had amazing murals and fascinating political history - all about the "Troubles", which were the decades of guerilla warfare between the Unionists who wanted to stay British and the Republicans who wanted a free Ireland. Check out the photo of the 'peace lines' - a huge wire fence between two areas of the city that gets locked every night.
Otherwise Belfast was kind of dingy. Mind you, they have only had peace for about 10 years and are on their way up. Give this city another decade and things will have turned around. A very VERY good fast food place here called Spuds. Served fantastic potatoes (who'd have thought?)

Derry was the next stop on our itinerary. Before we got there we passed two fantastic things: the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and the Giant's Causeway.

Derry was a much cooler city. Had a lot of political history too - this is where the Bloody Sunday massacre occurred
The place is also looking up and it has lots of potential. The city centre is entirely surrounded by 400 year old city walls that are all intact (so cool). We walked them and they were wicked.

Will write again tomorrow. Great to hear from you Tom and Eddie (seems we've lost an Eddy and gained an Eddie... hmmm). Phlegm's making me hurry - he must be hungry! - so I've got to split. Have fun at school and I'll see you guys soon.