Home again, home again jiggety jig

So tonight is my second night in Ireland and what a day it’s been. Let me rewind to catch up to the present.

Friday I arrived in Burnley, England, an hour north of Manchester. We ate dinner, played board and video games, and caught up. Saturday we woke up and got pies from the market. Jessica got her coveted pork and apple, Liam got pork, and I got chicken and mushroom. Didn’t know I was going to eat this cold. Didn’t know how displeased I would be. We wandered town centre then went to the Singing Ringing Tree on the outskirts of Burnley. For those who don’t know, this “tree” is a beautiful, metal sculpture made out of pipes that play haunting music when the wind blows through. It is smaller than the internet made it seem, maybe 10 feet tall. It was super windy, but there was a beautiful view of the English countryside.

From there we (Jess, Liam, and I) went to Hurstwood and hiked in the woods. We climbed a HUGE hill and looked at the view from the reservoir. Exhausted, we went home and chilled until tea (supper/dinner). Jess and Liam took me to get curry and it was great. Spicy and authentic. We went to the store and bought a few items for when Rose, the child Jess takes care of, comes over and sweets for us. Repeat of the night before with Mario Kart and Netflix thrown in.

Sunday we woke up and drove to see Jess’s mum and have a proper English dinner. Jess’s best friend Chloe tagged along. We met her mum and her brother James at their house and walked over to the Dining Room for dinner. I had roast beef, roasted potatoes, mash, carrots, leafy greens, and Yorkshire pudding. So good. I also saved room for pudding and had salted caramel cheesecake. We left lunch happy and full and picked up Rose. We came back to Burnley stuffed and ready to nap it off. We took Rose to the park, snuck out and got waffles, and had a great last night.

That morning we woke up SUPER early and took a bus to Todmorden. We picked up another kiddo to occupy Rose and had my first English breakfast. I’m still not with it with beans and toast. Everything else was good. We went to another friends’ place and chatted while the children played. We left, printed off my boarding pass, and headed to Manchester. I said my goodbyes and off I was to Dublin.

I landed and got my first stamp in my passport this trip! I met the Whites at the gate and they were as lovely as can be. I’ll tell you how we’re connected next time. We rode 2 hours from Dublin to Birr and arrived at their lovely home. It’s huge in Irish standards and fairly modern. We also had Indian food with Twix ice cream for dessert. It was so nice to talk to people who know all about my people. They were closer to my great-grandma than I ever was. I’ve loved hearing the history.

Keep up for the next adventures in Ireland and more trip anxieties.