A Word In Your Ear

Went to the aunt and uncle's house last night as my cousin was over from New Zealand which was the ideal time to pick his brains about X, Y and Z. We talked about a lot of things which made us rethink some plans, big and small.

He came over with his youngest of three kids, as his other children are now teenagers who are old enough to reminisce about Northern Ireland, and he has become homesick for a country he cannot remember. So they are on the tourist trail this week and todays itinerary will take them up the east coast and long to the Giant's Causeway - long established as a place to see but not to travel to (as there is next to nothing much to see on the way there).

We got some great advice and support across the spectrum from putting us up, arranging with his friend to get a good car for us, to recommending what to bring with us i.e. apparently good shoes are very expensive and hard to find so we should bring as many pairs with us as possible.

He also stated that wine and beer is expensive which I thought would be the opposite since New Zealand is a (fairly large) wine-producing country. The good thing though is that the Guinness is supposedly the second best in the world next to Ireland so that is great comfort to me.

With only four months left before we leave, this sound advice came at a great time and we will surely be researching more into these avenues more over the next few days.