Crazy week!

Hi all!!!!

So Adam and Lindsay arrived safe and sound in Belfast on Wednesday afternoon, so Hazel and I went to pick them up! Poor kids were exhausted. Didn't do a whole lot on Wednesday...got back to Larne and then the 5 of us went to Mama's Indian Kitchen (formally Tamarind)

and had dinner. It was ridiculously slow...even for Ireland, which is slow anyway. But it was good, and filling. Adam was brave and tried the Vindaloo (which even Indian people don't eat b/c it's so hot) and he really liked it, stating that it was "the best tasting and hotest food" he's ever had. Look at that spread.....yum!

Then we headed back to our apartment and relaxed....good thing, too, as the next several days would be insane!!!!

Thursday was fairly mellow, we got a late start, walked around Larne, then headed home to get Brett and go to the Larne Leisure Centre for swimming! Adam and Lindsay worked out in the Fitness room and then Lindsay joined Hazel and I in the pool a little later! We went home and hung out a bit before going to bed.

Friday, we got a late start (Poor Adam and Linds have jetlag) so we hung out here until time to go get Brett, and then we all piled into the car, got Brett, and him and Adam went to the bank while Linds Hazel and I went to the library to return my books. We then drove up to Glenarm to walk around a little and show Adam and Linds the castle and such. It was gorgeous up there.

To kill a little time before we went to look at our house in Ballygally, we decided to take a walk in the forest at Glenarm Castle. It was just amazingly beautiful and we got to see the castle from the back which was so cool. It looked like something straight out of Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility. It makes me want to figure out how to become royalty so that we can live there.

From there we went to Mattie's Meeting House for dinner. The idea was to have a nice traditional Irish dinner...Mattie's has a fab beef & guiness pie...however, when we got there (we were meeting Matt and Jenn) it turns out their Thursday, Friday, Saturday menus are quite a bit fancier (not necessarily better) so we ended up having a less than traditional meal, which was fine.

Saturday and Sunday were absolutely mad. Just ridiculous days. We got up Saturday morning and went to Ballygally Castle to introduce Adam and Lindsay to Ulster Fry. Then we headed to County Down for some exploring. Our first stop was Nendrum Monastic Ruins on Mahee Island. It's gorgeous theres, one can easily see how you can have a religious experience on top of that hill. Here are a few pictures....

Then we drove back down the tiny tiny tiny one laned road towards civilization and made our way to our next destination....Downpatrick. Our first stop...Inch Abbey....

It was so beautiful. There was a monk on site to give us a tour and tell us about the monastry that was there. He told us howthere were educated monks and laymen. The laymen were brothers who took care of the every day necessaties such as carpentry and masonry, cooking, etc. and the interesting thing is, they weren't allowed into certain areas of the main building such as the Chapel. I just found that really interesting! Also there was the foundation of a guest house that sat right next to the river side b/c (as the monk told us) the brotherhood was very private and while they were glad to provide lodging for travelers, they wanted no contact with them. Basically they would bring them food, and guests were encouraged to rest and then leave ASAP.

After that, we headed into town to see Down Cathedral and Saint Patrick's gravesite...both were really cool, but the cathedral was just gorgeous. St. Patrick's gravestone was really neat..it's a very large boulder with a cross and Saint Patrick's name engraved in the top...it's very worn, but still ledgable! Well, in the picture you can only see "Patr."

The front stained glass window with all the saints and the altar....The organ in the choir loft...

This church didn't have ordinary pews as we know them...there were individual "boxes" with cushioned seats inside. All the boxes were different sizes and each was numbered. some boxes looked like they would only fit 2 or 3 people while others seemed as if they would hold large families!

After that we headed for more exploring!!! But I will post more later as this post is already so long!