A warm welcome

So we duly arrived via transfers in Singapore and Dubai. Frankly the stopovers didn't unduly bother me, apart from the queuing to get back on the plane. I saw them as opportunities to stretch the legs: in Singapore we walked the length and breadth of the airport for the duration of the hour-long transfer and then piled back on board for the next leg to Dubai where we had a longer stop. We have treated ourselves to a Qantas Club membership (our only concession to luxury) as we have another trip to Panama next year on Qantas and there was a special deal offering a discount on the membership ... This meant that in Dubai we were able to enjoy the luxury of the ENORMOUS Emirates lounge and got a welcome shower, a good coffee etc.

On one of the legs I enjoyed one decent film - The Man Who Knew Infinity with Dev Patel and the always brilliant Jeremy Irons: a really interesting and sad film about a mathematician from Madras who goes to Trinity College in 1913 to work with some crusty old dons, some of whom give him a terrible time.

As we came into Dublin, we flew over green, green and more green - and lots of coast: a reminder of how much this is an island and that the water will be never far away.

There was an interminably long queue to get through passport control. I amused myself reading the signage in Gaelic, the official language of Ireland. Gaelic was the predominant language of the Irish people for most of their recorded history, but its decline began under English rule in the 17th century.

The sign saying 'No Photography' at passport control translates as aon ghrianghrafadóireacht. I don't think I'll be learning any Gaelic any time soon!

But finally we were reacquainted with our luggage and Kate and Peter Harper were patiently waiting on the other side of the barriers to greet us and to take all the angst out of doing what we so often have to deal with on arrival: look for the transport to get us to where we need to be - a potentially fraught task after so many hours in the air.

Peter skilfully drove us south to Vine House where we will be staying with them until Sunday. This is in the village of Shankill (in Gaelic this is Seanchill and means "Old Church"): a cute village which, once we were off the freeway, we found to have numerous lovely homes partially hidden by lovely stone walls bordering the very narrow roads which we know we will be very acquainted with on our journey through Ireland. We passed huge hedges, most of them clipped neatly; some were fuschia hedges which I have heard are common here.

We swept into a stone driveway with a large forecourt as befitting the elegant-looking 2-storey home that is Vine House and beyond the blue-painted wooden front door we passed through to the lovely kitchen and family room bathed in the sunshine that had now emerged from the grey clouds and looked out onto a "oh wow" terrace overlooking a lovely landscaped garden with sweeping lawns and lovely trees.

This is County Wicklow.