The Most Amazing Day...

It's nearly 1 AM, Dublin time... What a long, amazing day we've had! My internet connection here is really marginal, so I hope I can get this posted before I get booted off again.

Our day began with a full Irish breakfast: Eggs, rasher bacon, blood sausage, potatoes. The eggs were completely different from those we get at home. They were... hmm... not sure how do describe it. I guess what we settled on was to say that they're more "eggy". Very rich and pure tasting. Delicious!

We took a quick train ride to visit a couple of museums here in Dublin. We're here at a very historical point in time, with all the political changes that are taking place even as I'm typing this. More proof was in the shared exhibit of artwork that included works from Northern Ireland.

At the second museum, John and I had a rather moving spiritual experience. It hit us both as we viewed the last cubby in an exhibit that our guide, Giles, steered the two of us towards. More on this later, but suffice to say we were dumbstruck. We experienced a very primal sense of 'belonging' as we viewed some clothing and personal artifacts. I, of course, decided to wear MAKEUP today which was a doubly bad idea, as you'll see later. The exhibit brought tears to our eyes, so I ended up looking like a rather chunky raccoon. LOL!

A word about Giles, our guide: What a delightful man! Knowledgeable, a joy to listen to, and brimming over with the warmth we've come to find in all the citizens here.

John had let Cheryl Coburn-Browne (our Beadventures host) know that we really, REALLY needed to get to the ruins of our ancestral castle (Castleknock) while we're here. She, in turn, found out that Giles lived near there, and he graciously offered to take us there at the end of the day. So into Giles' car we piled: Giles, Cheryl, John and Me.

We got to the grounds, which is now a private school, I believe, and Giles knocked at a door and explained why we were there. That person was kind enough to point us in the right direction and give us his blessing. So up a tiny dirt road we went... It was raining, and getting muddier by the second. We got to a point where we could go no further, so Cheryl trotted down the road to see if she could find it.

(My 'net connection is getting worse by the moment, too, so I need to wrap this up!)

We found the ruins, and they were BEAUTIFUL! We have lots of photos to share later. There was one archway intact, and as we were standing beneath it soaking in the history of our ancestors, John turned to me and said, "I can't think of a more perfect time, nor a more perfect place..." And he got down on one knee.... And took a ring box from his sporran... Opened it... And asked me to be his wife.

The ring was the ring that his father gave his mother a long, long time ago.

I, of course, said yes!

After much hugging and smooching and crying and more hugging, we made our way back down the hill! Cheryl and Giles knew all about the plan, and were John's co-conspirators!!!! Cheryl has some great photos of us with the castle ruins in the background, and I will share them as soon as possible.

We then went to Giles' home, met his LOVELY wife, were toasted with champagne and served a fabulous meal. The conversation was scintillating and inspiring, and if we hadn't been so exhausted, we would probably be there still!

So I have to say that this was probably the most amazing day of my life. No kidding...