ConnieTact

Went for a late breakfast at Garden cafe. Again, not too busy. I was very pleasantly surprised to see they have a good class of Earl grey on stock. I’m delighted!

We ended on Gatsby’s and hid a duck in there. We did a few hides yesterday- it was fun!

Next was bliss but it was Rock night and too full on for me that evening! Two thirds of dance floor was men dancing and it was different. The band were skilled and sound very good. I just needed a more peaceful end to my day. Getting old 🤔

Next we went toO’Sheehan’s bar for our dinner as we fancied something light and quick. Really great food and service in there. then we popped into the show, which was Chloe Barry’s second performance. It was great and she sang all kinds of different songs of different styles to please everyone. We were at the back so no great photos!

Last night the sail out looked almost like a river cruise as we were so close to the shoreline. It was lovely but cold. Some locals came out to wane us off. It was good.

The last tender back to the ship was 8pm. of course yours may differ. Hope this helps.

MrCT took some shots of peat cutting. They cut it by hand for personal use but also sometimes use a machine. We don’t do this now in England so it was unusual for us to see. They dry it and use it for burning. In earlier days they put it under the thatch making it it impossible to get insurance nowadays.

I think the pictures tell the story well enough! We loved it all.

We are on our way back from a very worthwhile excursion to Donegal & Glencolmcille craft village. Here it is in pictures!

It all depends on how interested you are in each museum. They can be done relatively quickly if your not stopping to study a lot of the exhibits. if there is one you particularly want to go to and enjoy to the full maybe that’s best. How much time do you think you’ll have? I hope @ziggyukputs up some pics of Waterford Crystal and bishops palace and gives you an idea of how long they take. I only spent 15 minutes in the Silver museum. Mr CT said his 30 minute museum of time was not enough for him but I’m sure it would have been for me! I guess best to prioritise but I think you could easily get two in.

Good to meet you and Mrs IC last night. Layers are the way to go! I spoke to soon about the peaceful start! We started getting loud alerts in our room from 9.45 about staff drill happening. It’s good to know we’re in safe hands though!

We arrived in Killybegs and at just after 8am, the gangway is in place a the announcement was made that people can go ashore. There is a shuttle available for €2 each way or it is a 10 minute walk into town. All aboard is 7.30. It really is great to not have those tender announcements every few minutes as it makes it a more restful wake up!

Went to Gatsby’s and enjoy piano music and songs from Tony. met our friends to catch up the day and soon after they left to head for bed at 11.30 the bar staff indicated we could now have alcohol again. We passed and went to bed as didn’t feel the need at that time. We are now on the top of Ireland! Good night!

Had a fabulous evening of good company, conversation and food with officers. I’m grateful to be rewarded with extra treats such as this. I must say David is an excellent Cruise Next manager, member of staff and host! The evening with three other officers, was made entertaining, comfortable and fun, under his lead and supervision. It was our first experience this event, and I look forward to our next. No photos I’m afraid! ☺️

We’re back onboard now having a rest before we go to our Sapphire Latitudes, ‘dinner with the officers’. It will be another dry nite as again, no alcohol will be served because of ‘UK port rules’. I am aware there is another post discussing this at length so enough said about that! Suffice to say the squirrels are not the only ones who store treats away for another day! We have a fridge on our room and have enough acorns, I mean wine, for tonight!

The gardens are completely free and so is the museum. we paid for standard taxi on the way, as it was there and easy. This cost £18 but we gave him £20. The driver’s chat was amusing and fun. For our return journey, we called ‘ Value Cabs’ who are always cheaper. There number is (028) 90 80 90 80. Their charge for the same journey was £12.80 so we gave him £15. That driver was also pleasant and friendly.

We went back to the Botanic gardens and we were so glad we did as this time we walked a different way around the side of the Ulster Museum and found the delightful Temperate greenhouse and tropical ravine. They were amazing. The palms were huge and there were all different exotic plants. A real feast for the eyes.

It’s US dollars. We haven’t needed to spend anything yet but have a credit card that does not charge for foreign currrncy.

We will pop back to the park soon to finish off seeing the last bit. There was an outdoor Mother’s Day exhibition and we’ve not seen the herbaceous borders yet!

We are now at Maggie May cafe indulging in very large, ‘super special’ shakes. Mine is The Pink Lady and MrCT chose Mag’s Millionaire milkshake!

I nearly forgot the squirrel pictures!

We had planned to go to Ulster museum and botanic gardens but slipped up on not noticing the museum is closed on a Monday! We still came to botanic garden anyway and weren’t disappointed. It felt so fresh to be walking around the park after being in the shop. we saw squirrels that had been fed chips by passers by and birds sang to us through the walk! We went in the huge greenhouses that had been there since 1840, although restored in 1983. There was a good selection of plants but with many repeats.

It was delicious! One of those I declared, “worth getting fat for!” 😜 I’m not sure if it was buttercream or that cream cheese frosting but it felt light and the sponge was so fresh. I was told they bake their cakes each day!