We said goodbye to our new little friends and got a few more family photos before heading to Caergybi (Holyhead) for our ferry crossing to Dublin.
Yet another mode of transportation! After planes, trains, the Underground, taxis and a not-known-in-the-US rental car, it was time to board an international ferry boat. The ferry companies helpfully show you what their boats look like in ads like this one...
...helpful, because actually boarding the boat looks a lot like walking into a parking ramp.
Here is Coco enjoying the calm waters, before the rough passage began. A staff member circulated through the cabin with “sea sick bags.” Coco stared at the horizon and took deep breaths and made it across the Celtic Sea.
Affordable housing is a global issue. Coco and Bri considered going to this march, but the small possibility of being arrested in someone else's country seemed like a bad plan at the end of our trip, so we stayed with our plans.
A National Geographic article mentioned some gems in the villages north and south of Dublin. Caviston’s, south of the capital city, piqued our interest and we stopped for some picnic noms - bresola, smoked pancetta, and a baquette before continuing our journey to Enniscorthy.
Moving from the U.K. mainland over to Ireland brings us to the metric system on the highway and in our BMW rental. It seems strange that while the speedometer is only marked in kilometers/hour, and fuel is priced in Euro-cents per litre, the fuel economy is shown in miles per gallon on the dashboard. Strangely, too, the speed limits on the highway here look the same as they do in Britain and Wales, except here they include “km/h”... while in the U.K., where many measures have switched to metric, gas was also sold by the litre, but the speed limit is posted in unitless numbers! :)
We stopped for a pint and dinner in Wicklow at Philip Healy - maybe an uncle to our family on Long Island? Brian enjoyed an earthy, malty, fresh Guinness.
We arrived at Anam Cara B&B about 8:30 p.m., to the warm hospitality of Moira and Michael.