DAY 92: The Deportation Saga- Part 3

The Driveway on the Boyne to the Mill

The Bridge over the Boyne

We "woke up" in the airport and went to check into our flight. Once our bags were checked, we found a nice cafe to eat breakfast and relax until our flight.

Everything went off without a hitch! By noon we were climbing off the plane in Dublin. We held our breath as we presented our letter from Oliver that stated we were staying with him. The Immigration Officer barely looked at us as he stamped us through. SWEET VICTORY!

Oliver told us in an email to take a bus to Navan (the closest town to his B&B) at which point we could borrow someone's phone to contact him to pick us up. We took a beautiful bus ride just a bit north of Dublin and he picked us up in his tiny red Volkswagon.

Oliver was a very nice old man who knew much about Ireland. He was fun to chat with as we drove to his Bed and Breakfast. Oliver's place was a small stone house that was home to his B&B manager, Star, and to guests only. Oliver lived in a mobile home on the property which was where our room was located. Also on the property was a large old wheat mill- one of its rooms had been restored for use, but the rest was rather derelict. The plan, Star told us, was to renovate the entire mill to be used as an even larger B&B. The whole property was located right next to the Boyne River.

This is the B&B

FUN FACT #61: When Ptolemy first mapped Ireland in the 2nd century, it included the Boyne. That's probably because it is 70 miles long, and was used by the Celts, Vikings, and everyone after them. The Battle of the Boyne in 1690 during the Williamite (Jacobite) War is one of the most important battles in Irish History. This battle was fought in an effort to return Catholic James II to the throne in favor of William of Orange. The Catholic Irish lost, and James returned in exile to Italy, and from this battle forward British rule was solidified in Ireland until the 20th century. James II's son would eventually try the same thing in Scotland with the same results, but that's the story for another time...

When Lizzy and I arrived we were overcome by the unbelievable beauty of the area. The B&B is literally right on the river with a small stone bridge and an old falling down Abbey across the street.

FUN FACT #62: Bective Abbey was built in 1147, but has since fallen into disrepair. It was, however, used to film the 1995 film "Braveheart". In fact, most of Braveheart was actually shot in Ireland, and not Scotland. Why? That's a good question...

The River Boyne and Bective Abbey behind it

Following our disinfection and complete scrub down of our living quarters (which looked like they hadn't been inhabited in quite some time) we unpacked and got used to our new digs.

 That night we showered in what was quite possibly the worst shower of my life. 5 seconds of freezing water + 5 seconds of warm water + 5 seconds of scalding water = WORST SHOWER IN THE HISTORY OF EVER. Fortunately Star informed us afterwards that we were allowed to use her shower in the main house for the rest of our stay which made us extremely happy. We fell asleep with springs poking into our backs, but hey- we made it!