Don't say I didn't warn you: Ireland again

I think this blog might have been pronounced dead already, but with a little help from the twin witchdoctors Caffeine and Procrastination, I'm hoping to have it up and lurching about in no time!

I have returned from Ireland, where I was on holiday with the boyf (although he was slightly less on holiday as he lives there, and we spent quite a lot of time in his house). He has a shiny new netbook, which I am not allowed to play with, so I'm going to go ahead and blame that and forgetting my camera cable for the lack of blogging. Have you noticed how it's never my fault? That's because I'm a paragon of virtue, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

So now we will have a few pictures of our exploits, to get this holiday thing well and truly out of my system (not really - I'm going home to Scotland next week, to see my family (and especially my mother, as it will be her birthday (any anonymous suggestions of what might make a good present very much appreciated))):

First up, cake! We did a proper sightseeing day in Dublin, and one of the stops on our itinerary (OK, vague list of things to do) was the Queen of Tarts, a very charming little cake shop near Dublin Castle. I recommend the carrot cake, if you ever visit it. I can vouch for Irish carrot cake in general, actually!

And tea, of course

We also visited Dublin Zoo! It was extremely exciting, although as pretty much the only two adults in the entire zoo without any children in tow, we drew a little envy from the other punters.

You can just about make out the flamingoes in the background

These pigs were really cool, although the big version looked like the inspiration behind most of the puppet monstrosities that made children's films and television terrifying in the olden days (Labyrinth, I'm looking at you).

They also have very long tufty ears

I don't normally get overly gooey over animals (I try not to, anyway), but this kid was just so adorable and pathetic. He has a tiny cast on one of his legs where he must have broken it or something, and all the bigger goats kept chasing him away from the food.

What hope is there for a goat outcast?

We also went on a trip to Cork, which was pretty cool (I particularly enjoyed the Butter Museum (not joking - actually fascinating) and the Cork City Gaol. We found some coupons to go to attractions for much reduced prices, which was very handy.

We also made a quick trip to Blarney Castle. It's absolutely beautiful, so well worth a visit even if you are too afraid of heights to kiss the stone (we both did, so any increase in eloquence can be attributed to that).