Why is it that vacations always seem to go by so fast, even when you’re going to be gone for nearly 2 weeks?  For whatever reason, today is our last full day in Ireland.

This morning we went to church with Aaron and Katie.  Their church is a good deal smaller than our home church but the pastor gave a nice sermon and we knew about half of the worship songs that were sung.  After church we walked around St. Stephen’s Green.  Once again, I could not find the IRB…I know they’re around that park somewhere. Oh well, while strolling through the park, Noah and I did enjoy snickering at Aaron for taking pictures of a frozen pond.  Apparently ice and snow are not very common to Ireland and Aaron, also being from Southern California, is enamored with it. 🙂

We then headed back down Grafton Street, which was a lot more lively during the day (and sunny weather) and met up with another one of Aaron and Katie’s friends for lunch.  As we all sat down around the table Aaron gave the following introduction to his friend, “Seo mo chara Casey agus a fear céile Noah.”  Even without understanding the Irish language, I was able to conclude that Aaron just spoke, “This is my friend Casey and her husband Noah.”  Perhaps it was the hand gestures that gave it away. 😉

After lunch Aaron and Katie took us by an Irish-speaking only pub, then dropped us back off at the apartment so we could relax, organize and pack in preparation for tomorrow’s departure.  We all did spend one last night together for dinner as Noah and I had remaining groceries to cook.  So we enjoyed spaghetti with either breaded pork chops or pan fried chicken breast and an episode of Father Ted.  We also watched the film, Once, which Aaron tried to get me to rent prior to our vacation.  The movie is very indy in style, but we didn’t watch it for the storyline or plot but for the location as it was filmed in Dublin.

Now it’s time for bed as tomorrow is going to come very early and we have a very long day of traveling ahead of us.  We need to be at the airport around 8am, which means getting up around 6am.
So, Ireland, as we head ready to return back to the States, may I part with the following valediction: slán go fóill (goodbye for now), as I plan to come back again — probably during a warmer season. 🙂