A Great Summer

It has been a  glorious summer of warm weather and refreshing cold beers !

At the start of the summer I was in Ireland working with some old friends for a few days. We were based in Dublin and we managed to take advantage of some of the great pub culture that you find all around this wonderful city. The first pub we went to was "The Hairy Lemon" which is just off Graffton street. This is a lively bar with excellent bar food, I vaguely remember the barman telling us about some awards that they had won for original Irish Cuisine, but we just stuck with the burger and chips ! 


Below are a few pictures of "The Hairy Lemon" and the beautiful people I was there with......

Later on we wandered a little further into town and ended up in "The International Bar" . I like this bar because there is a lot of traditional music played here. I've been here many times and listened to the singing whilst enjoying a pint of Guinness, this time I decided to join in so I borrowed a guitar and sang a few songs with the local's. I really enjoyed it and thought I sounded great ! But apparently opinions on my performance vary. 


After this bar shut we went to the downstairs bar and listened to some jazz musicians  giving it big licks until the early hours.........

After I got back from Ireland it was time for my family holiday and we decided that we would go to France and camp in the Loire Valley. We drove all the way from my home town of Broxburn, which is just outside Edinburgh, to France. We stopped over in Dover and then again in Rouen. I found out that Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in the ancient market square in Rouen, there is now a church there which has been named in her honour. 


The large cross marks the exact spot where she was killed. I then raised a glass to mark her passing.........

The following morning we headed further south to the campsite, via Le Mans and a quick trip to the 24hour race circuit and museum. If you like cars then this is a must ! The amount of cars in the museum is staggering !! I took about a thousand pictures but I'll limit the amount her to just two..... 

We arrived at our campsite, and to cut a long story short, we had a great time !!!

We visited vineyards, hired a tandem bike, picnicked by beautiful rivers, swam in the pool, drank great wine which was mainly bought directly from the producers, saw fireworks, etc, etc, etc.............

Until the next time........