Patrick and I headed off to pick up the hire car whilst Julianne packed up our bags...again. In the spirit of being miserly, and trying to claw back the €1 I was scammed out of on Day 8, we took advantage of the few remaining hours left on the hop-on hop-off bus, went half way, took a few more photos on the way and walked the last 15 minutes, saving ourselves about €5 in bus fares. So it now stands at Europe 1: Higginses 5 - woo hoo!
Easy drive back to the hotel where we found a legal park right in front of the hotel. Bundled everything in the car and acquiesced to Isabel's pleas to go to the Dublin zoo, based largely (in Isabel's defence) on Sean's recommendation. Equally easily found a car park outside the zoo on the main road passing through Phoenix park, the largest (or at least the second largest) public park in Europe, and pleasingly free of the seemingly ubiquitous Pay and Display car parking which until now have been everywhere. Quite possibly the best zoo we have seen so far - lovely grounds and well presented exhibits, both for ease of viewing and for the welfare of the occupants - didn't see any animals pacing back and forth - perhaps the sloth was, but we didn't have enough time to find out. Seemed to be a cross between an open range zoo (similar to Monarto or Dubbo back home) and a more traditional zoo. And in keeping with the friendly nature of the people we have met so far the keepers we talked with were more than happy to engage with us and give of their time and knowledge.
Left the zoo after a lovely four hour visit, and slowly (even though it was only four o'clock) found our way to the motorway, where road signs indicated a speed limit of 60 due to roadworks; however, it would seem that such signs are more of a guideline than an actual rule (to quote Pirates of the Caribbean), hence why I probably received my first toot as cars zoomed past us. Subsequently found our way to the village of Ardee where Sean, Diane, Tarryn and Jenna live. [To put it into context, Sean came out to Adelaide when Julianne was on maternity leave to take over her job, and then Diane looked after Patrick when Julianne returned to work and Sean had managed to bluff his way into another job for an extra year before returning to the U.K.]. However, having found the town of Ardee, finding the name of their road (or indeed the name of any road) was rather more difficult, as the concept of road-signs was akin to speed limits - more of a guideline, perhaps even less so. With the help of a passing local we discovered that we were parked at the intersection of their road - with nary a street-name in sight.
Having found the house, we then reacquainted ourselves with the Ford-McCoys. Put it down to age-related failing eye-sight perhaps, but as with Cheryl in London, Sean and Diane do not seem to have changed a bit - again, it was lovely to catch up as if there had been no passage of time at all. And it seems that we are not just to move in, as the Ford-McCoys are moving out! Literally - they are staying with friends a few houses away. In terms of catering to the interlopers it has to be said that they have really set the bar particularly high. Either that, or the thought of spending any more time with us than is absolutely needed was just too much to bear. The bathroom situation is yet to be assessed, but the freshly laundered and folded towels (? freshly bought!) augers well. Full report tomorrow.
Later in the evening we accompanied our hosts to Tarryn's school for an information evening. On our drive home the little town of Ardee (population 4,500) experienced a spot of traffic congestion, the likes of which we are sure will make front page news in tomorrow's paper.
Left the zoo after a lovely four hour visit, and slowly (even though it was only four o'clock) found our way to the motorway, where road signs indicated a speed limit of 60 due to roadworks; however, it would seem that such signs are more of a guideline than an actual rule (to quote Pirates of the Caribbean), hence why I probably received my first toot as cars zoomed past us. Subsequently found our way to the village of Ardee where Sean, Diane, Tarryn and Jenna live. [To put it into context, Sean came out to Adelaide when Julianne was on maternity leave to take over her job, and then Diane looked after Patrick when Julianne returned to work and Sean had managed to bluff his way into another job for an extra year before returning to the U.K.]. However, having found the town of Ardee, finding the name of their road (or indeed the name of any road) was rather more difficult, as the concept of road-signs was akin to speed limits - more of a guideline, perhaps even less so. With the help of a passing local we discovered that we were parked at the intersection of their road - with nary a street-name in sight.
Having found the house, we then reacquainted ourselves with the Ford-McCoys. Put it down to age-related failing eye-sight perhaps, but as with Cheryl in London, Sean and Diane do not seem to have changed a bit - again, it was lovely to catch up as if there had been no passage of time at all. And it seems that we are not just to move in, as the Ford-McCoys are moving out! Literally - they are staying with friends a few houses away. In terms of catering to the interlopers it has to be said that they have really set the bar particularly high. Either that, or the thought of spending any more time with us than is absolutely needed was just too much to bear. The bathroom situation is yet to be assessed, but the freshly laundered and folded towels (? freshly bought!) augers well. Full report tomorrow.
Later in the evening we accompanied our hosts to Tarryn's school for an information evening. On our drive home the little town of Ardee (population 4,500) experienced a spot of traffic congestion, the likes of which we are sure will make front page news in tomorrow's paper.
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