CAPH52

Hi, Joan and LoveItaly!

I leave March 21st. We now have plane tickets and hotel reservations for Paris and a reservation for a night on Inis Mor. So things are falling into place. And I'm getting very excited!

But I need to tear myself away from thoughts of Ireland and Paris to help my husband and son with their trip planning. They have tickets for NCAA basketball games in St. Louis while I'm in Ireland (far more exciting to my 17 year old than any old trip to Ireland and Paris!). They'll be staying with my mother-in-law for those. Then the three of them will drive to Charleston, WVA to visit my husband's sister and family. My MIL will stay there and DH and DS will head for Atlanta for three days. They're planning to come home by way of Memphis. So I need to help them find hotels in Atlanta and Memphis. We should all have time over the weekend to work on it.

As much as I wish we were all taking a trip together, I think these will be very good mother/daughter
father/son "bonding" trips. I think that's especially important for my husbnd and son. My husband's illness was especially hard on my son. And, with him going away to college in the fall, I think this trip will really be good for them.

We're supposed to be under a winter storm warning all weekend. So it's wonderful to have trips to plan to keep us from thinking of the weather!

Hope you both have a wonderful weekend!

12perfectdays

CAPH52-
So great to hear how well she is doing. Was just catching DH up the other day about your daughter's internship and can now pass on the news of how wonderfully she settled in!

Have a wonderful trip! Look forward to swapping trip reports after we both are back.

Stay warm!
Dawn

CAPH52

Thanks so much for the good wishes, Dawn!

Hope you have a great trip too! Sounds like you have a very nice itinerary planned. Have you decided yet between Connemara and NI?

We spent two nights in Westport last March and really enjoyed it. One of the best parts was the day trip we did to Achill Island. If you think it would help, my trip report is, I think, under "Our wonderful Irish adventure".

Good luck with the decision!

12perfectdays

Hi CAPH
Thanks for asking, althought you may be sorry! I've given myself until Monday to decide and am at about 75% to stay in Connemara. I cannot believe how much I keep wavering! If we stay in CM it will be more relaxing and after a year of 60 hour work weeks, maybe I shoulod try a slower vacation...if I can do it!

Besides, there is always that big day trip we can do from Dublin...train and bus thru Glens to Giants causway, rope bridge and Dunluce castle. (we can alway go for a stay on our 3rd trip, if I can wait that long)

on the other hand, or we could, or, or...aak! see what I mean! DH is at the point of tossing a coin and doesn't want to hear anything but my final answer, which is why I pulled my "phone a friend" option and applied myself to all fodorites!

Take care- I'll let'cha know what happens!

CAPH52

Just a quick update. I'll be there in less than two weeks and will post a trip report when I get back.

But, having had a long conversation with her on Skype today (what a wonderful invention!), I thought I should just post to say that she's doing very well. She's very happy with her internship. They seem to be happy with her contributions. And she feels that it's very beneficial for her.

And she's also very happy with her living situation. She's actually on the other side of Salthill, in Knocknacarra. So it's a 20 minute bus ride in to work. But she really likes the area. And the rent is quite reasonable! But, best of all, she really likes her housemates. They've been wonderful to her and have really included her in their social circle. They refer to her as "the Yank" and she calls them "my Irish boys"! She seems to be quite anxious for me to meet them.

She's run into a few little glitches. For example, when she went to register (because she'll be there more than 90 days), they told her they needed proof that she could support herself and proof of insurance. They wouldn't accept her insurance card because it doesn't have a date on it. I called Blue Cross Blue Shield and they sent me a certificate of coverage, which I then sent on to her. She should get it early next week (I already sent her a copy of her bank statement). So I'm hoping she'll be able to settle all of that in time for us to fly to Paris. Otherwise she won't be able to leave for fear they won't let her back in the country!

But, on the whole, things are going very well! And I'm so looking forward to my visit!

chatham

CAPH52,

Thanks for the up-date. If you get a chance maybe you can e-mail when you are over there. If we don't chat again, have a wonderful, wonderful time and love to the daughter.

Joan

CAPH52

Thanks, Joan! I probably will have a chance to e-mail while I'm there. I guess it depends on how busy she keeps me!

12perfectdays

Have a wonderful time! I am sure all the paperwork will get settled in time for Paris and you will have a grand time!

BTW-on another thread we spoke of a day tour from Dublin to N.I. with Rail Tours Ireland. If you are still possibly interested I wanted to let you know that there is a one hour stop at Giants Causeway for a walkabout. The description was rather ambiguous and I gave them a call for more details. (still wish it was 2 hrs. and skip the distillery, but am happily signed up anyway!)

Looking forward to your report, enjoy yourself!

Dawn

canterbury

CAPH

I just now found this thread - and I'm happy to read how well your daughter is doing. She seems to have settled in nicely and already having fun. How fortunate that she won't have class when you arrive!

I can't wait to hear all about your trip. DH and I are going to Ireland next fall, 2008, for the first time. This will be our longest trip yet so I hope you take some good notes!

Just enjoy yourself and this time with your daughter. You are a special mom to do this - something you and she will always remember. Plus, think of all the fun and bonding you are promoting for son and DH!

Safe travels to all

c.

CAPH52

Thank you, Dawn and canterbury!

Dawn, we've pretty much decided that we'll do the N.I. tour only if something comes up that causes us not to be able to go to Paris. But I do appreciate your sharing the info on it. And I'm very anxious to hear how you two like it!

I'll definitely take notes, canterbury! And post a trip report. We were actually in Ireland a year ago. My trip report from that one is on Fodor's if you think it would help you plan. Ours was a fairly short trip in a fairly small area. But, fortunately, there's lots of great info here about Ireland. I'm sure you'll be able to get lots of planning help no matter what part of Ireland you plan to visit. And I think you'll have a wonderful time! I sure hope your girls have a great trip this week! I'll bet the daughter they're visiting is really looking forward to seeing them.

And then you and your husband will be there not too much later, right? I'm sure you're getting excited about that. Have a great trip!

Itallian_Chauffer

CAPH52:

A link on cell phones for you:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/200...c=netflash-rss

Enjoy your trip.

Bob

CAPH52

Thanks, Bob. Both for the link and for the good wishes!

CAPH52

I thought maybe I should pull up this thread and kind of wrap things up. As you may have seen on my trip report thread, my daughter returned home last week. Her experience in Ireland was everything she'd hoped for and more.

The internship was great, as were the people with whom she worked. And she got to be very good friends with her housemates. In fact, one of them has become, shall we say, more than a friend! She spent three or four weekends with his family outside of Dublin. She enjoyed that so much.

To be very corny about it, she left her heart in Ireland in more ways than one! However, he's moving to Toronto in September (after visiting us here and driving to school in Massachusetts with her). So we'll see...

Anyway, I just wanted to thank all of you again for helping to make her arrival in Ireland a little bit easier.

Padraig

We have an apposite saying here: Ní h-eolas go h-aontíos.

I'll add my own: Go n-éirí go geal léithi (may things go well for her).

chatham

CAPH52,

I have read your other posts and knew she was back but thanks for the up-date. Wouldn't it be nice to have in-laws in Ireland? I could be the great grandmother-in-law. I hope everything goes well for you and yours.

Kind Regards, Joan

canterbury

So glad everything went well for your daughter, CAPH. It's really an experience she'll treasure forever.

(Our DD found a "special friend" also. He's English, which is great - I love England!)

CAPH52

Thanks for the good wishes, Padraig and Joan! I agree, Joan, that it'd be lovely to have in-laws in Ireland. What worries me is that I'll wind up having a daughter there! My brothers think that would be wonderful as they'd have someone to visit. I'd prefer to be able to see her a little more often than the cost of plane fare would allow! Not that it wouldn't be wonderful to have an excuse to go to Ireland!

canterbury, as I said on your thread, I'm so glad your daughter's experience was such a good one too! So do your daughter and her "friend" have plans for meeting up again? Maybe you'll just have to escort her to England to see him!

SiobhanP

I have been away from "home" for 12 years but I still talk to my mother every other day like I always did and she comes for long visits and it works Don't worry

lucielou

CAPH52

I'm so pleased your Daughters stay went well for her, you must be so pleased to have her back home again. It cant have been easy for you to watch her leave.

Sometimes its so hard being a parent, when they are babies, you dream about a time when they are grown up and you will then be able to relax that you've managed not to kill them! ( new mothers angst!)

THen when they go to school, you think, it will be good when they are adults and can handle things by themselves, then they reach adulthood, and your saying, oh please god keep them safe on their travels!...It just never ends!

You just cant cut yourself off!!

I wish your daughter well and hope she will be happy, and mabye you will keep us up to date on the " friendship"

Good luck

Hugs

Lucie

CAPH52

Thanks, Lucie! Boy, are you right about the whole motherhood thing! Our youngest just graduated from high school a week ago yesterday and will be off to college in the fall. So this has been a tough stretch for me in terms of "letting go". Sometimes I wonder whether it's really the kids or the parents who are doing the "growing up"! My husband and I are definitely about to embark on a new stage of our lives. But we were married ten years before we had kids. So I hope we'll be able to make the transition back to just the two of us. However, as you said, the worry of being a parent never stops!

I'll be glad to keep you updated on "the friendship"!

Good luck to you and your daughter. I hope things are going much better for her.