What an amazing trip. Visiting the rope factory was good for work and getting to see snow was fantastic.
Unfortunately I got sick on the way home thanks to people who were sick on the plane. Very typical really and not a great surprise.
Lots of work to do now to catch up and pay for this holiday. There are plenty of more places in the world I would like to see. I would also like to get back to Ireland as I really only got to see a small piece of a very beautiful country.
Well I have arrived here in Germany and spent the day wandering around the Liros factory watching how they make all our rope. There really is a lot that goes into it!
The most exciting part though is the amount of snow and fog. It is also fairly cold but a nice cold unlike Paris which was just windy and very cold.
My last day in Paris was fairly typical of the tourist.. As you will see in the photo.
My family and I once did the trip to Canberra to see snow. I know I was young but really do not remember it. So you can imagine my surpise whilst sitting on the train to Versailles I realised it was snowing outside! What made it more exciting was as I got off the train the amount increased and the sky really did look amazing. I never expected to see this in Paris. Of course this made it a little cold and wet wandering around a palace outdoors. Ok more than a little.
Versailles was amazing. Although I must say the gardens were not much after Hampton Court but I guess you can not have everything. The amount of Gold was incredible as was the hall of mirrors. Very cool indeed. Of course whilst you are there you forget to look up at the painted ceilings with all sorts of scenes from history or myth. Just to add to what you are looking at.
Never have I seen so much Gold.
Now if you do not know this place then there is something wrong. The Louvre. I only got a couple of hours to starting wandering this MASSIVE place. Yes that is the best way to describe it.
I managed to spend a bit of time with the Egyptian artifacts as I figure there are way to massive to ever visit Australia. They really are big and heavy some of those stone carvings.
I doubt I will have time but I would love to spend more time here.
Dinner tonight was lovely Brie, Lettuce and Bread. Oh so cheap after paying for the rum last night…
Can you believe I made it to Paris. Yet again I had to deal with a serious plane delay. This time for more oil.. What is with that!Paris is certainly interesting. I’ve managed to get use to the transport but seem to be very good at walking in circles…
Whilst walking in circles I stumbled across an Australian bar which was going to be showing the Australia V France Rugby game. So in I went and found they had Bundy! Yes they had rum which was very exciting as I go to watch the game surrounded by the french drinking rum in Paris. Now that is something I will not forget.
Oh and of course the picture is Notre-Dame. Which to me was not as impressive as Westminster at all.
What a week and what a day. The trade show is over and we have a few prospects which look ok. The best part of course was meeting Suppliers who I have been dealing with for the last couple of years. That was fantastic. Especially the Forespar guys as I have been talking to Art for years almost weekly. I was amazed at the size of the show as it is just so huge. 7 halls of stuff! So much to see it was amazing and took hours to actually work out how to get around to make sure you see everything. Or at least attempt to see everything.
Today was a nice day as I got to sleep in watching it blow about 40 knots outside then had a nice chat with people on Skype before heading out for the day around midday. Yes it was great to get a full nights sleep finally!
I headed to the post office to send the catalogues back home as they weigh 8 kilos! Yes can you believe it. It was an adventure yet again on the Trams. After around an hours I found the post office which is no-where near Central Station where I am staying. Then I find out that they will only accept Credit Cards from their Country! No I am not kidding! So 50 Euro later… Which is almost 5 cheap bad meals… So all up it took me nearly 2hours to ship back this package to avoid more excess on planes and just carrying it all around.
Then later in the day when I go to get the Canal boat I find that the new credit card which mum got us should be used with a PIN over here so I can not use it at all! Yes I am serious! So my other credit card which I used to pay for things before i left is the one to use… Not much room though…
Today I was seriously cold for the first time. Ireland was bearable but here I am not so sure how they do it. Ireland also has the benefit of being a beautiful place. Today I wore thermals properly for the first time and still I had a bit of a chill. I also wore my musto jacket over a coat to get that extra layer and to cut out the wind. COLD!
Well I have left wonderful Ireland to head to the METS trade show. Yes the real reason I flew 24hrs to this side of the world. I was very sad to leave Ireland but it had to be done. There were so many places I wanted to go but never got to. I will just have to go back sometime hopefully soon.
The trade show is amazing. I have never seen anything like it. Unfortunatly Cameras are frowned on so you will all just have to imagine such a very big boat show.
Anyway back to work for me.
Blue skies really do happen!
The Beautiful and haunting Kylemore Abbey.
So we are driving along when the car suddenly comes to a sudden halt (just one of many times) so that I can jump out and take a photo of something nearby.
Whilst driving along in this amazing country you can literally almost miss some of the most amazing places. You see a car stop and wonder why then realise what is happening under the bridge is an amazing amount of water rushing past.
The time here seems to be flying bye as there has been so much to see and do. Yesterday I got to see the most amazing sight in amongst the driving we came across one of the lake which looked like polished glass due to no breeze. It was surrounded by mountains and clouds. Looking just stunning as you can see.
The little house I have mentioned is not actually that little. It is just dwarfed by the hills and water surrounding it. It is a great area. The last few days have been spent in this region and I have really enjoyed that time.
We think this house is actually over a century old.
What a view. I have seriously not known when to stop taking photos and video. It really is beautiful in this area. If it weren’t so cold I could live here very easily. In fact I found a place which I will have to go and take a photo of as it is in the perfect spot. On the water at the bottom of some beautiful hills. It is spectacular. Words can honestly not describe just how amazing this region is. I have also been I believe extremely lucky as we have had sunshine for most of my time here so far. I have even been briefly in short sleeve tops! That was very briefly though.
The connection here is not fantastic so I will have to upload photos at a later stage.
Much to my surprise I actually made it to Ireland. No thanks to the door on the plane which did not wish to leave London. It wanted to stay attached to the airport and not leave… So in the end I was about an hour late to Ireland which was not fun at all sitting on a plane.
The last two days have involved literally being driven across Ireland then lots of time again in the car to see very cool places like the Cliffs of Moher. Below are some shots. I have only just got back to where I am staying and it is 8pm! Just a bit of a long day sitting in a car to see the sights. It was worth it though. Some of the places are absolutely beautiful. On the way back stopping at a pub to watch the sunset go down over a simply beautiful bay to have a drink was a great way to finish the day. Now for dinner!
Melissa Yeomans 