We took an overnight flight from Atlanta to London. We were delayed because the pilot could not read how much fuel was in the plane. Kind of a big deal. This caused us to miss our connection to Belfast. Spent a few hours in London Heathrow airport. I recently read it was in the top 7 of the nicest airports in the world, pfft, not hardly. It was there we were introduced to the meal deal, which became our staple in-a-pinch meal throughout our stay in Ireland. I think all 4 of us passed out on the tiny 40 minute flight over to Northern Ireland. Since we flew from London we were able to fly into the domestic airport instead of the international one. Customs in London was quick and painless, Manchester on the other hand coming back was an entirely different story. Belfast has a tiny airport. One baggage carousel and you exit the plane via the tarmac.

 We caught a cab to our Airbnb. The apartment complex was gated and we were having an issue at first figuring out how to get into the gate but luckily it all worked out. The cab drivers in Ireland are the nicest and most helpful I have ever come across. Let me tell you, these people love their country and love to point things out to you. This turned out to be the case with every Irish person we met. I still can't get over how nice and friendly everyone was.

 Once we were inside we unpacked quickly, and took in the amazing view of the river and the rowing team boats that were going by. We hit the ground running.

 I took a million photographs with my new-to-me Micro 4/3 Panasonic Lumix camera. I have yet to download the pictures from that. Jetlag, work, and my daughters move has us swamped our first few days back. I am hoping to get to some next week. I am a bit nervous because this was my first time with this camera system and I am not sure what it will look like once I see it on the computer screen. They look fantastic on the camera but we shall see. The camera was so tiny and lightweight, it only made sense to bring it instead of the big guns. I did use my iphone a lot just so I could share right away. Keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks for a full report on the trip. It was a great one, full of stories, inside jokes and beauty. I will get through it faster than I did Costa Rica because I don't want to forget any of the little details from each day. It felt like we were gone for a month and not just 12 days. I wish we had more time. All 3 countries were entirely different worlds and deserve to be highlighted on their own.

There is an Irish saying, " When I die, Dublin will be written in my heart". I believe this is definitely true for me.