Considering the beauty of Ireland, its capital seemed a little drab. It could have been the drizzling rain or the crowds, or the lack of a good sleep that was distorting our opinion. We had one full day to see the sights, but our focus was 
to spend some final time with Matt.
We met up with Matt for dinner. He was looking really worn out as he has been working long hours on an urgent contract. He has seen nothing of Ireland in the 9 days except his office & hotel room. The next day, we all did the tour of the Guinness Storehouse. Bruce and Matt learned how to pull a pint and we then enjoyed the drink itself from the Gravity Bar at the top of the building with an amazing view over the city.
Well, in truth, only Bruce enjoyed the drink, as Matt only drank it because it was free alcohol and I detest the stuff.
We took a horse and cart ride to St Stephen’s Green and found a family of swans – the protective parents and seven little fluffy cygnets. It was soon time to say goodbye to Matt and head to the airport for our final night in London.
The Hilton London Kensington sounds like a nice hotel right? No – sadly, the tiny room was outdated and shabby, with a shrieking fire alarm thrown in! Luckily (or unluckily) we didn’t have to evacuate. Anyway, this was our very last day of the holiday and London turned on the most glorious spring weather.
We still haven’t seen the changing of the guards, but a sleep-in took precedence in this instance (we’ll save it for our next trip) but we nevertheless had a wonderful day. Walking through probably the only parts of the city that we hadn’t managed to reach on this trip – Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Northbank, The Mall, Trafalgar Square.
The parks were full of sun worshippers and colourfully striped deck chairs which remained empty (as a fee is required to use the chair). We had a delicious Italian lunch at a favourite haunt of ours (Ponti’s – just off Oxford Street) and then hopped a bus back to the hotel. What a lovely note to finish on.
Even though Matt was currently exhausted, this whole trip was designed to reassure us as parents that he was happy & enjoying his new life. This is certainly what we discovered and we are very proud of his achievements.
Our ride home, a Qantas A380, was departing at 9.20pm and even though we have had the most incredible holiday, there is no place like home. I have a favourite saying “Life is not measured by how many breaths you take, but by how many moments take your breath away.” Bruce and I felt very blessed to experience many breathtaking moments during this trip and will no doubt be planning our next trip with anticipation to do it all over again.
We hope you’ve enjoyed travelling with us and we wish you your own safe travels.
Mary & Bruce xx
(24-25 May)
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