Well maybe not mad, but we had a jolly good time!
As the children get older we are finding more spare time to be able to do things as a couple again or on this occasion, as two couples. This 50th year has been a good moment to take stock and assess priorities.
Along with our good friends, Cara and Nigel, we had been talking about going away for a major International rugby match for several years. This was the year we finally bit the bullet and Dublin seemed the perfect destination especially as the match fell the day after St Patrick's day.
Neither myself or Tim had been to Ireland before and our brief time there has made us hungry for a further visit to explore more.
We stayed at Dun Laoghaire which was a 20 minute train ride out of the city centre and on the coast. It was a perfect location as it meant we could see a little bit more scenery and it was a lovely place for walking in the morning.
We arrived on St Patrick's day, not quite in time to see the annual parade but certainly
early enough to soak up the party atmosphere and drink copious amounts of Guinness in a typical Irish pub. It sounds like a cliche but the people there really are as friendly as their reputation and were certainly there for the Craig!
The rugby result turned out to be somewhat disappointing for us English but nonetheless we had an excellent time and more( much more) Guinness was duly consumed- well it would have been rude not to!!
The weekend felt like a week ( in a good way). It's amazing how time stretches out without any added responsibilities. We had already decided to plan the next trip on the plane journey home!