The Return to Motherwell

Monday, June 28th
The conclusion was made long ago by both of us that we WAY over packed...it was difficult because it is sooo bloody cold in the UK and we will be entering some really hot weather in Europe in a few weeks. So essentially we had to pack for all weathers. However, today we decided it was time to cut out some things...we had to be ruthless and just get rid of the excess. The shipments are en route...not too expensive either!! Anyhow, we went into Motherwell and shipped our treasured goods back to Canada, picked up some essentials (food, converters, gravol) and were headed back to Motherwell. Just as an aside...we must tell you how difficult our search for Gravol was. I had gotten nauseated on the bus the other day and usually I bring Gravol to sedate myself on plane rides but I was running low and only had one Gravol left. So, we decided that while we were near a drugstore we should pick up an anti-nauseant. Being as worldly and culturally competent as we are, we figured that we may not have luck asking for Gravol but rather ask what they take for nausea...we were greeted with blank looks and jaws we had to pick up off the floor. haha. The lady looked absolutely blankly at us as if we were not speaking English. We tried to ask what they took for nausea and for some suggestions...we were told Gavisgon or antacids which are pretty much useless for nausea. When we asked Carol Ann and Margaret, they had no idea either...apparently Scots don’t have nausea...or in their words, they just throw up. Moving on...we went back home and made stir fry which was a nice treat to be able to make something that wasn’t pre-packaged and had some good flavour. We also made a pizza that we ate cold on the bus at night. While I was showering and packing, Heather went to her Aunt Jana’s for a quick visit. They had a nice time and got some pictures together to show the family back home. Francis, Clare, Orla, and Kiera also came by to say farwell and to meet us as well. Francis came by himself the other times and we wanted to meet Clare and the girls. So Aunt Margaret hurried us off to the bus stop so we didn’t miss our bus. Off to Ireland!! We had pre-booked a bus to the ferry, the ferry ride and figured we would take a taxi to the hostel as it was late at night and as I am sure you are all aware of, our navigational skills are touch and go. So we get to the bus terminal and don’t you know it, the bus goes to Belfast, so once we got across on the ferry, we could have picked up back on the bus and got into Belfast...oh well you win some and you lose some. So we had the worst bus ride so far, of course being as it is our last. The bus was full!! Heather and I had a great system working where we could sleep if we had our own two seats and could ride comfortably. Also, we had figured out from previous experiences that the middle to front of the bus is best as the bathroom usually smells pretty foul by the time you get to your destination. EW!!! Anyhow, small price to pay...the ferry was really nice though! We got on the 8pm ferry from Stranraer to Belfast and enjoyed a cappuccino and some tunes. Once we got to Belfast we easily found a taxi and actually shared it with a couple of Scottish girls who were living and working in Belfast. We arrived at our hostel and were greeted by a cute young Irish boy who was just started working there and it was his first night working and he was on his own. He did really well and gave us the low down on what to see and do while in Belfast. We packed it in for the night pretty early as we had decided to do the Giant’s causeway tour the following day.