Since we had nothing particularly planned for the day, after breakfast we walked into town, enjoyed a morning coffee, then walked along the waterfront for Elaine to stretch her legs.
Once back at the apartment, we decided that a drive out to the countryside, specifically to look at two “new build” properties Roy has been keeping an eye on for the last year or so, delighted us when to found the houses were in a lovely area, located at the foothills of the Mourne Mountains, with stunning views of the countryside, the only area in Northern Ireland we would consider living.
From there we made our way to a favourite restaurant, Percy French, part of the iconic Slieve Donard Hotel & Spa, where we enjoyed afternoon tea and the tastiest sticky toffee pudding we’ve ever tasted.
Afterwards, instead of returning to the apartment, we stopped in to visit the ol’ folks and had a really fun visit, with lots of laughter, especially since dad was his witty self again and able to participate in the conversation. It was lovely to see.
It was early evening by the time we returned to the apartment for dinner and a relatively early night.
On Monday morning we were up early to get ready and set off on our road trip. This was our last area of Ireland to explore and hopefully find somewhere we like. However, before we could think of those logistics, we had other logistical issues to resolve; first the delivery of Elaine’s new glasses indicated they had been delivered and signed by someone impersonating Roy; we know this because on the delivery date we weren’t even in the country. Secondly, our Yellowbrick tracker was nowhere to be found after paying for expedited delivery with UPS. After ten days of excuses, including: “it has been mis-sorted”, “we have to wait for a full truck before we can deliver your parcel”, “the label is illegible”, “you changed the delivery address because you gave UPS the wrong address” and “it will be delivered tomorrow”, the latter received as an explanation for five consecutive days. Thirdly, our FedEx package from the US was sitting somewhere in Gibraltar and couldn’t be delivered because: “the address didn’t have a post code”, although Gibraltar only has one post code and two yacht marinas, where the address clearly stipulated Queensway Marina. Right now we have “1 for 3” in that the FedEx parcel is listed to be collected when we return to Gibraltar, but our Yellowbrick and Elaine’s glasses are both lost in the bowels of UPS and FedEx, respectively.
Our route took us through the hidden heartlands and counties Monghan, northern Leitrim and Fermanagh, where we stopped for lunch at the Bilberry Café in Garrison, before stopping for a refreshment and to charge the car just before reaching our Bed and Breakfast, the Avondale Farmhouse, set in the countryside outside the quaint village of Pettigo.
After receiving a very warm welcome from Mary, we decided to show Dianne the Ballyshannon areas of County Donegal we’d found and loved on our drive from Athlone, before stopping in for dinner at Mani’s Bar & Bistro in Pettigo.
Yesterday was another early start to set off into County Donegal, a day of exploring we were all looking forward, but not before we’d enjoyed a full Irish breakfast to start our day off on the right foot.
This turned into a day that provided so many fabulous options and possibilities, to the extent that each area was nicer than the last. By the time we reached the Ardara and Port Noo area, we were left breathless with the views. En route we stopped for a morning coffee at the Ahoy Café in Killybegs and for lunch at the Gateway Lodge Hotel, the latter after exploring Donegal town. Dinner was a delicious meal in a beautiful setting on Lough Erne at Ross Harbour, but not before we’d snooped around Lough Eske and stopped in at Eske Castle. Our trip to Lough Derg was wild and beautiful too, but far too isolated as an area to live in.
That concluded our reconnaissance of the island of Ireland, other than to return to Carrick-on-Shannon in County Leitrim to revisit the town and snoop around the neighbouring villages and countryside. It was now up to us to choose an area and start the process of finding a new home. To celebrate we booked into the Hillgrove Hotel & Spa in Monaghan and treated ourselves to a nice dinner, with a few spa treatments scheduled for tomorrow.
