Last Day in Ireland :o(

Today we decided to ignore our schedule for once and take a bit of a respite. Slept in until 8:30 then after the girls showered, dressed and ate (yes room service ala Tom again- see pic top left) we ventured to the myriad of shops downtown to buy postcards and gifts for the
family back home. Saturday in downtown Galway was bumper to bumper and packed with shoppers many visiting for Easter. Parked in the Eyre Square shopping mall garage then took the "lift"(elevator for you Americans) down to the main floor. I parked myself at O'Brien's gourmet coffee (see 2nd pic) shop with book in hand while the girls did .. well ... what girls do. They found success at a place called the Treasure Chest who for a small fee offered to mail our purchases back home which we gladly accepted to save weight (as our luggage is already close to overweight as the airlines have told us). Also, no tax if you mail it.

Afterwards we lunched at the Skeffington Hotel tavern ... a cozy place with warm paneled walls and awesome food. Angela and I had a tuna sandwich on toast with a cup each of Vegetable soup while Terri dined on roasted potatoes and chicken fricase, and we all ate a few bites of hers too. Terri and I topped off with a cup of tea (and Angela a scone). Later we went to the beautiful Galway cathedral and spent some time with the big guy thanking him not only for our safe travels but also for the beauty He has shown us this week. Afterwards, we lit some candles for the family then headed back so Terri could use the loo. Angela napped while Terri and I packed for tomorrow.

(Terri interjects a few words here) ****Since we haven't washed any clothes while here, Tommy McPoterucha was out of "roos" so he learned how to handwash clothing today. Cathy and Keith Dahlgren (Michael's aunt and uncle) told us about washer sheets that come in a pack like disposable baby wipes. They work like a charm - what worked even better was laying Tom's underwear out on the radiator in our room to dry. Who needs a dryer, that thing dried his undies in less than an hour. No offense to Tom, but I made sure he really cleaned those undies well before I let them steam over the radiator! I also had to keep an eye on the door as Tom likes to leave it wide open and so does the guy across the hall in our B and B and I really didn't want the guy to get a view of Tom's tighty whities wafting with steam. I think Tom was even impressed with his handwashing skills. Now if I could only get him to learn how to use the washing machine at home. Maybe I should go back to the cathedral and light a candle for that :o)

Tom's back ...

We toasted the end of our wonderful Ireland trip with a dinner at McSwiggans pub (recommended by the former butcher now cab driver who drove us downtown (limited parking downtown late). Terri had roasted chicken (the beef is a little gamey in Europe for our tastes so chicken is always a safe bet), Angela chicken salad followed by a banana split and me Baked cod with mashed potatoes that had little chives in them. Superb! Tomorrow at 8 a.m. we head to the airport for our 10 am flight back to Winchester. We will be sad to leave Frank and Joan here at the Petra House as well as the other guests who have been so kind and friendly to these Americans.

Wish us luck as it will be tricky making all of our connections tomorrow to get to Winchester ... rental car to airport, flight from Galway to Manchester, bus to Manchester Picadilly, train to Reading, bus to Winchester, taxi to Holiday Inn - all on a holiday ... I think we should have prayed a little longer at church today.


Happy Easter to all!