Easter in Ireland - April 4th 2010

My sister came over on her birthday, happy days!, and we decided to go to Achill Island I rushed out of work and we collected our car at the airport, driving straight to Westport where we would spend our 1st night. The weather was magnificent, and the drive through the country very enjoyable.

We stayed a very comfortable and hospitable B&B from where, after having thrown our luggage on our bed, we started a long walk through town and to the sea while the sun was setting.

Getting out of town 2 - March 28th 2010

... Bray second!

Of course, I took the shortcut through the bushes to the top. I even found a lot of horses grazing and more broom bushes, the first leaves...

Getting out of town 1 - March 21st 2010

The winter is over! And although it may still be quite cold, getting out of the house on a weekend is a must!

Howth first, having missed it. I wanted to climb up the mountain, but in the end I decided for the shorter walk.

Dublin Botanic Gardens - March 6th 2010

After having seen Kew Garden and London and haven't loved it so much, I had put my mind on going and seeing the Botanic Garden in Dublin. I didn't expect what I found. It was much like a miniature of Kew Gardens, Victorian glass houses, beautiful plants, a nice long walk through the green. Not all plants were flowering... have to go back in summer!

February 2010

With days getting longer and warmer, I started to walk to work. With the sun rising in the morning, what a sight!

Cavan with Margot - Jan 23rd 2010

Not only to escape the lack of water, but also just because the RD Cavan is such a great place to chill, I brought Margot along. It was freezing cold and foggy for the better of the whole weekend. Swimming in the outside pool through fog, walking through the forest, dark and almost disappearing in fog, was magnificent! Magic...

First snow, ice and hail, now no WATER! - 17th January 2010

Ok, to be fair, there hasn't been that much snow all over the country within the last 50 years. Nobody was prepared. So it was not surprising that it took days to have the streets gritted (as salt and sand ran out and with only 5 machines for an entire city, it was expectedly slow). And there are still people stuck in the mountains cut off supplies or others too far off from work to be able to make it there. Then we had floods again.

Now, we don't have water. Maybe, because people, obviously afraid of frozen water pipes, let the water tubs run, or because of broken pipes thanks to the icy conditions. However, the effect is the same, the water ran out.

And this is not funny at all. We are not in a desert. We are on an island, surrounded by water, with rivers all over the country! Maybe the ground is frozen... I actually don't care. I want the water back! I don't want to go to the gym (and let's hope they still do have water!) to have a shower. I don't want to buy extra-water at Tesco's to be able to cook rice or soup!

I think it is time to leave.

Sadly.