ireland

we had a fantastic time in ireland & northern ireland.  

not-so-patiently awaiting his flight.  we kept him busy with tea bags.

happy to have made it to istanbul airport

it was such fun being back in my old stomping grounds (i studied in belfast in 2000), with my husband and baby.  we even visited the place where i lived!  

my apartment was the top right - place has not changed.  they've even still got the same curtains!

we flew into dublin and drove up to belfast the first day - the foliage was beautiful against the green backdrop.  we stayed north of the city, near my old neighborhood, at a country club.  it was gorgeous, peaceful & quiet.  which was good - emre went to bed at 7pm - and woke at 6 each morning, as did we (ok, we stayed up slightly later than 7, but only slightly)!

ready for bed

visited a starbucks so i could have a pumpkin latte

loved this quote

my eskimo baby in his new hat

it was great fun being back in belfast, though i could barely recognize the place.  it seemed everything had changed, with the exception of the parliament building!  losses from an economic downturn were evident everywhere.  ben pointed out too that my 20-year-old-self and my 33-year-old-self probably have a slightly different perspective on what makes a city 'cool' (i disagree).

we ventured up to belfast castle for spectacular views of the city, as well as some beautiful grounds.

emre & daddy in front of the castle

emre & mommy.  emre could not care less about the castle.

for mom

and we had a delicious lunch in my old neighborhood at 'bureau.'  another place that has totally changed - it used to be the jordanstown inn, a pub, that i took my parents to for beers when they visited.  it's much nicer now though, i must say!

yum!

we took it slow and spent plenty of time relaxing at the hotel... something that's become routine during our travels since we became parents!

our little prince, happy to be on vacation

on the third day we drove down the coast back to dublin.  unfortunately, i took barely any photos, but it was a beautiful drive through several coastal towns.  

doing his 'look, i'm funny!' face

keeping warm & kinda cranky

low tide with green pastures across the bay

can we get back in the car now?

we stopped off in dundrum for a break where we had coffee and scones at a lovely little cafe.  it was such a tiny town, everyone who walked into the cafe knew each other by name!

downtown dundrum

emre made friends wherever we went using his signature wave

all that socializing wears him out 

we arrived in dublin in the late afternoon, with enough time to settle into the hotel and then set out into the city to find some dinner before e's bed time.

e's welcome at the hotel

our hotel was adjacent to st. stephen's park, a beautiful spot for a morning walk!

st. stephen's park at sunrise

it's cold! and my mosquito bites have STILL not gone away.

we toured the city & ended up at the guinness brewery.  i was disappointed to find it has been completely commercialized since my last visit, but they do at least still offer free pints at the end of the tour (though the tickets weren't cheap!).  oh well, at least we had our guinness.

chillin' with mom at the gravity bar

wondering why we didn't give him a taste

great views of the city from the top

our last day was a rainy one, so we hung out at the hotel in the morning before venturing out for lunch.  we found a cozy spot in temple bar, gallagher's boxty house, where we had a delicious traditional irish meal (though, ben thought our dinner at unicorn was better.  let's just say we ate well!)

stout or the food?  decisions!

little ham

mine: corned beef with champ & an amazing parsley sauce, ben's: shepherd's pie, with a side of caramelized onion cooked with smoked paprika.  emre's: butternut squash & pear puree with rice cereal.

emre spent pretty much the entire trip staring at people.  he would literally sit with his back to us to people watch at restaurants (reminding me of my mother), and as soon as he caught someone's eye he'd either give them a big grin & snort or wave to get their attention.  at this pub he became good friends with a couple seated behind us and refused to turn around.  what a nut!

eyeing his friends

another one for you, mom!

we finished the trip off with a visit to the jameson distillery, where i got ben a spot in the whiskey tasting at the end of the tour.  they still do it - and they still give out certificates to the 'official' whiskey tasters at the end.  fun!

ben's now an official irish whiskey taster - just like me!

it was a loooong (12+ hours) journey home, mainly due to a marathon taking place in dublin the morning of our departure, so we had to leave super early for the airport.  but emre was a trooper, and we are so happy to have finally made it to ireland!

emre's favorite pose (note the feet)