Day 5- October 18th

This morning was very cold; I could see my breath as I went outside to get on the coach. Today we are off to Ireland! We drove for a bit and then had a convenience stop at a sort of rest area. It had a gas station, restaurant, and a convenience store. I just bought a bottle of water. On the road again! Our main stop of the day was in a seaside resort town called Tenby. It had warmed up considerably by then. This was also to be our lunch stop. The town still had quite a few Norman walls and the entrance to the main shopping area was called The Five Arches, as the Norman wall here had five arches. I walked around with Jane, Audrey, Terry and Marcia today and along the way I had lots of lessons about Australia. I ALMOST bought a very pretty Welsh love ring but there were none in my size. We ate lunch at a restaurant called Candy’s. It overlooked the seaside. I had fish (cod) and chips. It was very good. I had a laugh and had to take a picture because on the menu there was an item called “baby dinner.” Terry told us that there as a very good view of the coast from the toilet. Jane went up and took a picture - Terry was correct! We walked around and took some photos and then continued to browse the shops. There wasn’t that much to do in the town. I bought my requisite postcard. It was time to get back on the coach and we drove to the docks in Pembroke to catch the ferry to Ireland. The ferry had 11 decks and was pretty large. Inside there were restaurants, game rooms, bars, and a duty free shop. It took about 4 ½ hours for the crossing and to dock in Ireland. I sat with my lunch companions and we chatted along the way. They told me stories about their adventures on their previous tour of Europe. The sun was setting during the crossing and I got some lovely photos of the sunset and a lighthouse seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The motion of the ferry wasn’t too bad, probably because it was such a large boat. It did bother me a little bit, mostly just giving me a headache. We docked around 6:30pm in Rosslare. We drove to the hotel, Quality Inn, and I was rooming with Kellie tonight. Dinner tonight was the best so far. There was a choice of 3 starters: leek and potato soup, chilled melon, and Cajun chicken strips. I had the chicken strips, which weren’t breaded but rather grilled. They were delicious! For the main course the choices were roast pork with red wine au jus, pan seared chicken, or salmon. I chose the pork and it was also very good. Dessert was a choice of ice cream, double chocolate cake, and something else I can’t remember. Of course I chose the chocolate! I was very tired, side effects of the motion sickness, and called it a night early.

Hotel: Quality Inn. Food was excellent here! The room had a double bed and a twin bed. I took the twin. The TV in Ireland is much better than in England.

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