The four of us flew to Ireland on Friday to meet up with our extended family from Switzerland. They live just outside of Dublin now and we wanted to see them because Greg and their son Johnny were close friends when they were little and our families spent much time together!

When we arrived we spent the day in Dublin, using the ‘Hop and Go’ bus tour where we saw lots of  interesting sites in Dublin. We walked through Christ Church (1100’s), toured the Guinness Storehouse, and walked through the bar district of Dublin taking in some music at ‘Temple Bar’.  Greg grabbed some shot glasses for his Irish friends back in Peterborough and we picked up some other memorabilia. We learned a great deal about the history of Dublin and area based on this bus tour and had a fun driver who sang and made jokes the whole afternoon.

After we toured Dublin, we rented a car near Trinity College and drove out to Julianstown where our friends the Osters live. The boys reunited and we had a relaxing visit that night. They were such gracious hosts considering they are preparing to move very shortly!

The next day we drove to Powerscourt in Wicklow County to see the world famous gardens and learn about the history there. The largest waterfall in Ireland is also close to Powerscourt, so we went to see that as well!

That night we enjoyed a great BBQ with  Arthur and Mary (Fiona’s parents).  The kids got to know each other better and we agreed it was so important that we had brought them together again!

On Sunday, we drove to Newgrange to see the famous UNESCO Heritage site  where stone age man built tomb structures over 5000 years ago. These tombs are older than the pyramids and were very impressive to see in person! For details on this site go this link.

After Newgrange we visited the Old Bridge House where the Battle of Boyne took place a few miles west of Drogheda. It is a spectacular site. No year in Irish history is better known than 1690, when William III’s won victory over James II in a famous battle at the River Boyne.  James, a Roman Catholic, had lost the throne of England in the bloodless “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 and his battle against William to try to regain it, is infamous.  The house was built in the 18th century, but what is important is the historical significance that the site that it’s built on.

After touring these two sites (Newgrange and Old Bridge House) we went back to the Oster’s house and the boys went to play a (9 hole) round of golf from 2:00pm-4:30pm before our evening flight. It was a sunny, warm afternoon and everyone had a great time. Thank you so much to the Oster’s for hosting us; it was just so great to reunite with them this weekend on their anniversary!!  The Waylings loved Ireland!