Surprise Birthday Lunch in Dublin - and Link Up

We spent the weekend in Dublin, a short hop from the UK and so similar yet so different. It's always a fantastic place to visit.  The reason for our trip was a surprise birthday lunch for John's sister Sue, celebrating a milestone birthday.  She knew she was going to Ireland for a few days but she didn't know that her nearest and dearest from the UK, Ireland and Nice were also going to be there.
Goodness knows how it stayed a surprise, because on the Friday Sue invited those of us in London to the pub for an informal celebration, so we all turned up and tried not to mention Stansted or Gatwick (where John's brother was going by mistake).

John and I decided to fly out on Saturday and after checking into our hotel we went straight to the Gaiety Theatre for Riverdance.

It was a fantastic performance - very talented musicians, Irish music and superb dancing. The theatre got behind it  (it was a matinee) and the whole thing was very joyous.

We then met up with John's sister Kate and husband Neil, who had flown in from Nice, and went to a traditional Irish pub, Darkey Kelly's, complete with band.

The next day was also warm and sunny, and we had a pleasant walk and found the statue of Phil Lynott.

After a quick change of clothes we set off to the lunch destination, a short walk from our hotel, a magnificent building that used to be the Mansion House and is now a restaurant called Fire.

Unknown to her, Sue's sons were on the same early flight, but some nifty WhatsApping from Don had kept them at bay, although he had a heart stopping moment  when he and Sue boarded the bus to the terminal and saw the boys striding out behind the bus. He frantically waved his phone at Sue as a distraction.

When we got to the restaurant to wait for Sue and Don there was a slight hitch when we were told we were too early and they weren't open yet. We went to the cafe opposite but had hardly any warning before the couple were pulling up in a taxi. Some of us were still racing across the road as Don was paying the driver.

But somehow it still remained a surprise for Sue. When she and Don arrived at Fire, all the family - including the Irish relatives on John's late mother's side, who live in Dublin and further afield in Ireland - were in place.

Her face was a picture.

A very enjoyable lunch then ensued.

Sue had another surprise. 

The lunch finished very late for some - John was still getting messages after 11pm from the same venue - but the Muttons had long since retired to bed. We don't have the constitution these days!

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Last week's most clicked post was from Penny at Frugal Fashion Shopper with her post "I'm back and here's some cruise highlights." Penny is the personification of style on a budget as she shows with the fantastic dresses she wore on a recent cruise, all thrifted.

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