2019 UK Trip

Spent most of Sunday in the air. 1st leg of about 7 hours to Dubai with a 3 hour lay-over. Then the long haul (13 hours+) to Brisbane. None of us slept much but we did see a lot of movies. So good to be back on home soil. Thanks to Emma and Karly and Archie for picking us up.

We had some time on our hands so we compiled a summary of the trip. We did this individually so the answers will be a surprise to each of us.

Best accommodation: W- Glasgow, M- Longueville, D-Lisbon (pillows and pastries), A – Killarney (bathroom and view)

Worst accommodation: all voted Galway (Donna added noisy)

Best meal: W- Guinness stew at Guinness factory in Dublin, M- paella at Burough Markets on our bike ride in London, D – Cascais lunch because we had gelato, A- Beef and Guinness pie in Belfast

Worst meal: W- Arab Safari, M- Maccas at Mallow in Ireland, D- Codfish cake at Lisbon airport, A- first night in London when I didn’t get my meal (thanks for sharing your meal with me, Wayne)

Favourite city: W- Belfast, M- Lisbon, D- Lisbon, A- Lisbon

Favourite tour: W- Cork races, M- Drive through Glencoe in Scotland, D- Bike tour in London, A- Fly fishing at Longueville

Worst tour: All voted Viking tour with apologies to me from Donna as it was my idea – I seriously imagined that the ride was going to be on a Viking ship and there would be lots of Hagar the horrible (cartoon). Mark added Pena Palace (the palace we lined up for ages and didn’t get in because we had the wrong palace tickets).

Biggest regret: W – Not walking Glencoe in Scotland, M – Not fly fishing at Inverness (the host at Inverness said the boys could use his dam prior to the the booked session in Ireland), D – Not walking at Glencoe and not eating more Portuguese tarts, A- losing my favourite hat in Dublin

Best service provider: W- ‘gliding’ girl (waitress) in Dublin, M- NOT the ticket man at Lisbon station, waitress at Brazen Head Pub in Dublin, D- Raymond (owner of the apartments at Glasgow), A- Adrian, our fly fishing instructor

Favourite bar/pub: W- Brazen Head – oldest pub in Dublin, M- Graca restaurant in Lisbon, D- Brazen Head in Dublin, A- Bar/drawing room in Longueville

Favourite drink: W-chocolate milkshake at Kinross in Scotland, M- Gininya (cherry liqueur), D- strawberry daiquiri in Dublin, A- Guinness at the Guinness Factory – Donna has one too.

Worst drink: W- apple brandy at Longueville, M- apple brandy at Longueville, D- Pimms (with no Pimms in it – same place where I didn’t get my meal), A- Negroni in Edinburgh YUCK!

Favourite new friend: W- Dennis the cab driver from Cork races, M- Emmanuel the doorman at Dubai, D- the sexy Scotsman that called into visit us in Inverness, A- Adrian the fly fishing instructor

Most embarrassing incident: W- Grubby falling in the river during fly fishing, M- falling in the water, trying to unlock the wrong door in the apartments at Glasgow (it was the floor underneath ours and the owner did not look happy), D- Wayne’s purchase a Horley (what happens on tour, stays on tour), A- Grubby buying 80 Dirhams worth of dates in Dubai (he thought the guy said 18 Dirhams ). Unfortunately, no photographic evidence of any of these – you’ll have to take our word for it.

Biggest blunder of the tour: W- following Siri in the car, M- Getting tickets for another palace rather than Pena Palace & leading the team to the wrong train on the tube, D- Ok, me and the palace tickets, A – using the dryer as a washer

What we learnt about one another

About Wayne:

Mark learnt that Wayne has a hate for Siri.

Donna learnt that Wayne can become stressed and angry – particularly at Siri.

I learnt that Wayne has a huge reliance on a paper map – he can’t stand Siri. I already knew how good he is at organising a trip but he took this one to the next level. Great accommodation choices and organisation behind the scenes.

About Mark (Grubby):

Wayne learnt that Mark can speak Portuguese.

Donna learnt that Mark really, really loves Wayne and really, really loves dates.

I learnt that Mark is calm and not flustered by anything. He really, really loves dates and we can end up on the wrong train. He also walks really, really fast and can swim in waders (even though at the time, he thought he was going to drown).

About Donna:

Wayne learnt that Donna is a good fisherperson.

Mark learnt that Donna (my wife) is capable of doing anything even under challenging circumstances.

I learnt that Donna has an Eagle eye and can spot anything from a mile away. She is also incredibly well-prepared – has everything you need except scissors (turns out she did have scissors – they were the ones confiscated from Grubby’s first aid kit at the bag check in Lisbon).

About Ann:

Wayne learnt that I don’t know the difference between a dryer and a washing machine.

Mark learnt that I like trying different kinds of food and drink.

Donna learnt I have Mark (Grubby) pegged.

Final words:

Wayne: Bring on Canada!

Mark: Entertaining tour, full of laughs!

Donna: Pleasure to travel with our tour team. Haven’t laughed so much in years.

Ann: It has been the most amazing trip and our friendship has deepened. Loved travelling with Wayne, Donna and Mark. A shout out to Mark and Wayne for taking the stress of driving off of us.

Let’s do it all again next year. Canada, here we come!

We stayed at the Holiday Inn near Gatwick and extended our stay until 6pm. Donna researched what we could do: ten pin bowling, horse riding or cinemas. We chose the pub crawl.

Walked the 3km into Horley and started at ‘The King’s Head’. Went to go in and it was shut. Lo and behold while one our new friends was taking a photo of us, it opened….so in we went.

We then walked to ‘The Tavern’ and had a half pint.

We then finished in ‘The Foresters’. A couple of pints, a Pimms for Donna and the golf which was happening near the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland (we were there on Day 15). Boys made a new friend by discussing the golf and our travels and I met Annelise, our bartender and photographer. We had lunch before walking back for an afternoon sleep.

Arrived at airport with plenty of time to spare. Mark again given the once-over.

I had to admonish Wayne because he kept going ‘walk-about’ and then ambled back. Not good when you have been asked to board.

About to cross back through the time zones. 9pm in England but 6am tomorrow in Brisbane. Does my head in!

Our plane was leaving at 3:10pm so we continued ticking off our list:

6. Do some serious shopping – Donna and I split from the boys for a couple of hours and gathered a few more things to add to the weight of our bags. Never found the little dresses we both wanted but I guess we didn’t try hard enough.

Meanwhile, Wayne took Mark shopping as Mark wanted some shirts. He ended up with an extra-large woman’s shirt – neckline and tag with ‘lady’s’ on it didn’t give any hints. Moral of the story – take Donna, Mark! Not your buddy Wayne!

7. Indulge in a final pastry – we went into two patisseries near our hotel but nothing caught our fancy. We were also too full from breakfast. This is a photo of one we saw on a previous day.

Donna did have a final biscuit from the array of complimentary sweets available at the hotel. She confessed that this was actually the last of many biscuits and Portuguese tarts that she had eaten during our Lisbon stay.

Patricia popped back in to say goodbye and thought this gentleman was Mark. Thankfully we stopped her giving him a goodbye hug. Mustard, 3/4 pants would look good on you, Mark.

We squashed into a taxi and headed back to the airport – wiser this time as we established the price prior to leaving. No more than 15 euros. On the way in we paid 33 euros and tipped the driver two euros, just to rub salt into the wound.

Mark got pulled over in the bag check and did look a bit worried when the gloves came out. He has been through five airports with his first aid kit and this time, they deemed the scissors too long. This was all communicated to Mark through gesture as the guy didn’t appear to speak English.

Speaking of which, when Donna was placing her items into the tray for the bag inspection, she didn’t realise the guy behind the counter was talking to her. When she finally looked up, he was right in her face asking if she spoke English! I had to stop myself from laughing as those guys are scary.

Our plane was delayed in taking off, due to operational problems. When one pulled into our bay, Wayne went and did a 100 point inspection. He deemed it safe and then we hopped onto the plane next to it!

We made it to London and had organised a car transfer to Gatwick. Took awhile for the driver to find us but we were glad we had the transfer as it took over an hour to get to our hotel.

It was after 8:30 by the time we made it to the restaurant and had dinner and some quiet drinks.

Hard to believe our journey is nearly over.

What a day we had! Began like a normal Lisbon day (for us). Lateish breakfast and then off on our adventure. We had heard about the long lines, so Donna bought online tickets to the Pena Palace prior to leaving the hotel. ‘ Good one!’ we said, ‘That will save time and progress us in the queues.’

Walked 10 minutes to a different train station than the day before. Mr Portugal (Mark) who seems to have adopted the language and get us anywhere, lined up and bought the tickets. We thought the ticket guy was laughing and joking with Mark but apparently he was joking (not in a nice way) with his colleague about the tall Australian in front of him.

Caught the train and arrived at Sintra without incident except I couldn’t understand how we were at the front of the train when we got on at the back of the train – lucky I had a couple of train experts (albeit exasperated) to explain it to me.

Being at the front of the train, you would think that we would have beaten the crowds. We encountered the worst system in the world for moving people efficiently. One big line that didn’t move. Several buses with open doors parked beside the line but not letting people on! Suddenly the line seem to break and people began squeezing onto the bus from all directions – who needs to line up? Finally, the bus driver having to individually negotiate and explain the ticketing system before taking money (cash only) and issuing a tickets. He also jam-packed the bus so it took half an hour to get going.

The bus then followed this winding road up to the Pena Palace and by the time we got there, Donna and I were both feeling a little ill.

As Donna had pre-bought the tickets, we jumped the queue and got scanned straight in or should I’d say ‘up’. A walk uphill and steps left me puffing (I have some work to do when I get home). We rounded the corner and encountered another line, this one snaking about 100 metres from the palace. We joined the queue and moved about 1 metre every few minutes.

At least an hour and we finally got to the entry point…to be turned away at the last hurdle. Our tickets were for the National Palace not the Pena Palace. Wayne wanted to screw the guy’s nose off but the guy wouldn’t relent.

Again you have to question the system. Scanned in incorrectly at the bottom and one guy checking everyone on at the top.

We did the walk of shame back past the line, walked quickly around outside of the castle where Wayne had to console a distraught Donna – she was actually laughing about it – what more could go wrong on our day in Sintra?

Mark lined up (surprise surprise – another line) for water and then we left – to be squashed into another crowded bus for the return trip.

We returned to the township of Sintra had lunch and then did the panoramic walk up to the palace that we did have tickets for. We did the whole tour because we could (although we had been told it was just another palace). Photobombed by our random photographer’s friend, Dueg.

Got to the railway station as our train pulled out so waited 30 minutes for the next one.

You may think we were scarred by this day’s experience but look at the positives. Donna’s resourcefulness got us into two palaces for the price of one. Google shows us the interior of the Pena Palace (you weren’t allowed to take photos inside anyway). We got to spend more time together. What more could you ask for?

No rest in the afternoon – gift hunting to say thank you to Patricia, a few drinks, a shower, a goodbye to Patricio and we were out to fulfill our list of ‘things to do’ while in Lisbon.

1. A tuk tuk ride – OK, the girl had finished but she still promised to take us up to Graça, the hill with the tree. She drove 50 metres and exclaimed, ‘Oh no. My battery is flat.’ We clambered out and she drove off. Flat battery, my foot!

2. Drink of cherry wine from the hole in the wall – Wayne made a new friend who had photos of him with a number of racing and motorbike riders on his phone.

3. See the sunset from the top of a hill – we actually found another tuk tuk rider who took us up to Graca (the hill with the tree).

4. Enjoy tapas – we didn’t find tapas but we did accidentally find this exquisite and upmarket restaurant just down from the tree that had views over the city. Although we didn’t have a booking and possibly were a little louder than the normal clientele, we were given a table and boy was it special. No crowds,great food and spectacular views.

5. Listen to some fado music – we didn’t find this during the evening but during the day, we did hear this guy playing in the streets.

What a finale for our last night in Lisbon!

Caught a train to Cascais today. That’s what you do when you have two train experts travelling with you.

Weather was cold one minute and hot the next. Walked the red path and discovered this beautiful site. Once again, the heights worried Wayne, particularly when he saw people fishing and posing on the edge of the cliff.

Had lunch at this beautiful Italian place – pasta and gelato. All healthy for me – fruit in the sangria, vegetarian cannelloni and fig and almond gelato.

All had a bit of a nap on the return train trip and then a long nap back in our rooms.

No dinner required tonight (Wayne still needed some chocolate). Drinks in our favourite waterhole (the outdoor bar across the road) and then final drinks in the drawing room.

The title of this is post is a direct quote from Mark as we trawled the streets of Lisbon this afternoon. Wayne then stated, ‘Shut up, legs!’ We had heaps of fun walking through the streets of Lisbon WITHOUT a map.

Today was relatively tame. We waited an hour for our other half of the hop-on, hop-off bus. Went through the more modern parts of Lisbon, including where a lot of buildings and displays had been set up for Expo 98.

We got off the bus and walked back towards the hotel. Wayne was nearly taken out by a motorbike – but luckily saved by Grubby (Mark). Please note: boys were still using maps at this point. Even Donna was drawn to a map.

We found an outdoor cafe for lunch. This was at around 3pm – starting to adjust to the long days in this part of the world.

Had a bit of a rest and went for the walk I mentioned above. Dinner at another outside restaurant near the hotel. Donna tried the sardines and I had the octopus, much to the disgust of Wayne. Mark has told Donna she’s sleeping downstairs.

Enjoyed another nightcap before retiring to bed.

Slow start followed by breakfast in the hotel.

Caught a hop-on, hop-off bus and visited the Belém area. We did what all tourists to Lisbon must do and saw the Jeronimo’s Monastery. We saw it but we didn’t go in.

We had the most beautiful Portuguese tart from a patisserie recommended by Donna and Marks’s son, Brayden. I may or may not have succumbed and bought some jewellery from a street seller. She begged me and I couldn’t resist.

The buildings were impressive and the walk beside the water was lovely, albeit lots of tourists (including us).

Had a ‘toastie’ in this little outdoor cafe near our hotel. The boys decided to cut back on their beer consumption. I’ve changed my drink of choice to delicious sangria.

We walked to the top of another hill and met Brayden’s friend, Patricia. Had a couple of drinks there (boys returned to normal sized beers – too many trips to the bar), and then Patriciatook us to a little restaurant she and her friends frequent. It was also near out hotel. Donna and I tried this beautiful codfish dinner and Mark had a cod/seafood risotto. Wayne had pasta.

Obrigado, Patricio. Another great night.

Final hurdles in Dublin: Wayne finding a rock in his chocolate (part of his tooth); negotiating the narrow exit from the underground park (hadn’t scratched or dented the car/s up to now, so needed to keep a clean slate); finding a petrol station on the way to the airport; finding the rental drop-off (signage not particularly good in Dublin) and; getting through departures (Donna’s phone barcode wouldn’t work, and both Wayne and I given a very thorough pat-down after red-lighting through the body screening.

Plane was making a peculiar noise (like a big dog barking in the cargo hold) and was late taking off, but otherwise trip was uneventful. Except at the end, when I discovered I had left my hat at Dublin airport. I think it was taken when I was distracted by the body search (LOL). Oh well, left something of me in that beautiful place called Ireland.

Our Lisbon hotel is beautiful. Went for a walk to the sea.

Partook in a lunch of paella and beer or sangria. Donna had an aperol spritz which was made in front of her.

We then walked up one of the hills in Lisbon to see Castello S. Jorge. Magnificent views. Wayne stayed at the bottom while the three of us when to the top of the turrets.

Returned to the hotel and had a drink in the lounge. Boys studied the guide. Hard to believe we were just in Dublin this morning.

Tried to go for a walk this morning but Longueville House doesn’t unlock the doors until close to 8. We weren’t game to go out in case we couldn’t get back in. When the door was unlocked (I was listening for it), Wayne and I went for a 2 km walk down the driveway and back again.

We left early and had breakfast at Mallow. Boys had dessert as well as toasted sandwiches (and quiche for Mark). It was then declared that we wouldn’t need lunch.

Drive back to Dublin was without incident and quite quick. Mark drove this leg. Both Donna and I appreciated all the driving both boys had done – around both Scotland and Ireland. They had to deal with tricky things at times like stalling the car because the gears were different. By the end, both were driving like they were born here. Well done, lads.

Wayne booked another great place – we are starting to get use to the luxury.

Wayne and I walked into town and after having a quick look at Trinity College, met my friend, Caoimhe. I haven’t seen her for six years and it was like we saw one another yesterday and will be back at school together next week. Loved catching-up with this girl.

Caoimhe took us to Sheehan’s and I had my last pints of Guinness and a final Guinness and beef pie. I’ll miss this fare but my waistline won’t.

It’s been nearly 30 years since I’ve been here but once again I have loved Ireland – the people, the scenery, the food, the Guinness, the things to do, and catching up with great friends.

It doesn’t get much better than this. This morning, after a sleep-in and opulent breakfast, we met Adrian, our fly fishing tutor. I must admit I didn’t know that fly fishing is called that because the ‘lures’ emulate the life cycle of a fly. You judge the fly to use depending on what you are catching and when.

You can imagined the hysterics getting into the waders and then finding out that one of us would have to drive to the river as Adrian’s car was only a 2 seater.

After a quick but in-depth lesson, into the river we all went. Wayne caught the first fish and you can see the pride on his face. Mark starting catching one fish after another. The size of these beauties was staggering. Wayne received the ‘Dud of the day’ award.

On learning that we had a massage in Lisbon riding on the outcome of our efforts, Adrian drove Donna and me further up the river. You can see I knew my place and Adrian even whistled for me to get out. We had to go through thick foliage and I may or may not have put my hand on some stinging nettle as I fell in a bit of a hole. Hands up!

The ‘Catch of the day’ award goes to Donna who brought in this beauty. To make things even more noteworthy, we girls had been left on our own upriver while Adrian checked on the boys. It did take a bit to remove the fish from the hook, being careful not to ‘burn’ it but Donna did it.

As I was the only one without a fish, Adrian pulled out all guns. A special pole to wade further over the rocks and into the river, a special fly called ‘a duck’s ass’, special oil from the duck gland to help the fly sit up on the water, and special tuition to catch a fish (apologies to the team as I did monopolise Adrian’s attention).

I, unfortunately, don’t have photographic evidence of my catch. In the scramble to get my camera out, it got off the line. All I can say is that it was probably the smallest fish of the day. Adrian did say however that I was the best caster so I give myself the ‘Caster of the day’ award.

Mark and Wayne rejoined us and I wondered why Mark had removed his shirt and just had his jumper on. Guess who fell in the water, waders and all? Unfortunately, no photographic evidence of this either, but boy did we laugh! Hope you’re OK, Mark and you get the ‘Dunk of the day’ award.

Our three hours turned into over four and I would say that it was the most peaceful and beautiful way to spend four hours. We all loved it. Mark even saw a family of otters (of which I am extremely jealous).

We came back to the lodge for a quick rest before heading to the races. We had finally jagged an event that was on the same time we were visiting. Dennis, the cabbie picked us up and dropped us at the races.

Wayne was so excited, he took off to see the stables… in the wrong direction. Luckily, we were able to point him to the horses.

All bar one of these races was a jumps race and they went for at least 2 miles. We got to see the horses parading and put our bets on at the bookie. Donna’s bravery with this gave me the confidence to do it as well, ‘5 on Number 5 and 5 on number 7, please.’ Here you say the number, not the name. Of course, in fields of 20 horses at times, name selection was important. Mark chose ‘Robin the Hare’ and I chose ‘Citizen Al’ -a good omen we thought as Al is Wayne’s brother and he is married to Robyn who is a very fast runner. Alas not to be!

Once again, Donna took the award. She picked our only winner (although we were close a couple of times).

Dennis picked us up again and when we returned, we retired to the drawing room to enjoy a wee after-dinner drink and recap the day…Donsy’s Day….which was brilliant.