A/N Twilight belongs to SM, sadly, not me. One honeymoon coming right up ... I hope you'll enjoy it, I have to say, writing lemons is really hard, pardon the pun. It's awkward as hell, dialogue is difficult to not have it sound like a 13 year old boy's fantasies. Please drop me a line and let me know if I sound like the aforementioned horn-dog or if I got it right. Much love to my pal Stems71, thanks to everyone who has subscribed and left feedback, I appreciate it more than I can express. It is my goal to grow as a writer so your constructive feedback helps me tremendously.

Chapter 35 Rocky Road to Dublin (Liam Clancy and Luke Kelly)

The Whitlocks took pity on the newly weds by having a small feast ready for us in Jasper's truck. Alice, henceforth to be known as Alice the Great, packed us a delicious breakfast of everything bagels with my favorite spinach and artichoke spread and a thermos of her kick-ass coffee. Did I mention I love her?

We'd been so rushed to be ready on time we hadn't even pondered food and let's face it airport food, even in Chicago, is pretty lame. Alice also packed us some Italian sub sandwiches for the plane - including tiny containers of dressing so the bread wouldn't get soggy before we ate it, and she added baggies of my favorite veggie puffs from Trader Joe's. Yum! I was in awe of my buddy and vowed then and there that I'd spoil her rotten with goodies from our trip, and possibly even name my firstborn after her. Yeah, I was that hungry.

I must've been quite the site because Jasper was chuckling at me as I inhaled breakfast while he drove, or rather idled in the ever-present traffic, on I-90.

"FANK YOU!" I said around my second bagel. What? I had worked up quite the appetite! Jasper just shook his head and chuckled. I whipped out my phone and sent Alice a text telling her I love her and thanks for the food. She responded with a smiley face and a reminder that she wears a size 2, like I could forget, skinny little pixie!

Meanwhile, Edward let his head drop back against the seat rest, occasionally lifting his coffee cup to his smirking lips.

"Rough nite?" Jasper teased as Edward grinned. I shoved more food in my pie hole. Man I was starving ... well that and a full mouth meant no talking, I wasn't raised by wolves, after all. "Nice," he teased some more. "Bella I've never seen you so hungry, didn't Edward stop to feed you?" I blushed, remembering our dinner break and the subsequent activities. Jasper saw my expression and laughed some more.

After more stilted conversation, we finally reached international departures and Jasper dropped us off, with many hugs and thanks, we were off for the international terminal.

Poor Edward. That's all I could say. The poor guy, got tapped for random search by Homeland Security! I've traveled internationally countless times and never been nabbed, but they nabbed my poor husband right out of the gate. They whisked him away to some unknown location for what seemed like forever before he returned looking rather careworn and cranky, shaking his head and groaning like Lurch from The Adams Family.

Fortunately we'd allowed extra time to deal with things like this, I was no stranger to hurry up and wait, having served my time in the Air Force. So I knew passing security and checking bags and all that crap took extra time. We took some time to call the kids and our parents to check in before shutting off our phones. By the time we boarded, Edward and I were both ready to pass out. I brought a book but there was no way I could focus enough to read. In fact I was out cold within minutes after takeoff.

When I awoke several hours later, it was dark and I was pretty sure we were somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean. I was feeling discombobulated, with a numb arm and damp chest. I looked down and couldn't help but laugh. Edward had leaned over onto me at some point during our nap, he had rested his head on my shoulder and had drooled on my shoulder, neck and collar bone! He had an arm wrapped around me, holding tightly to my opposite hip, and his body weight pressed down upon me, making me lose circulation in my entire arm.

He woke with a start after I laughed, gasping and sucking in his drool. "Huh? ... Oh, hey baby." He smiled a groggy, sweetly crooked smile at me. I laughed some more. He had a crease on his forehead in the shape of a curl. Then Edward looked down and swore, "Shit, baby I'm sorry. I drooled all over you!" I laughed some more, wiping at it with my sleeve.

"That's fine, baby, it had been far too long since we exchanged bodily fluids." We both laughed, until a Barbie-wanna be flight attendant came by.

"Oh I see you're finally awake!" She literally purred at Edward. What. The. Hell? Clearly she'd seen him wrapped around me as we slept. I could feel my eyebrows up in my hairline. "Do you need anything?" That dirty slut!

He looked over at me, clearly as shocked as I was. "Well my WIFE and I could use a couple of cokes." She huffed and it was funny because I could tell she wanted to make a face, but clearly the botox injections wouldn't allow her to make any expressions. She stormed off to get our drinks. We both chuckled as she departed.

"I hope she opens the cokes here, I'm scared she'll spit in mine," I whispered to Edward.

He chuckled and kissed my nose. "You're too cute. And I'm hungry, how 'bout we break out our sandwiches?" At the mention of food my tummy roared. "Jeez woman, I definitely need to remember to feed you more often!" We laughed as my tummy growled its agreement.

The bimbo returned with two unopened cans and two cups of ice. I know Edward thought I was joking but I really was relieved the coke wasn't already opened, who knows what I'd catch if she spat in my drink!

Somehow, the top two buttons on Blondie's blouse had conveniently come open, with her huge fake tits nearly falling out as she conveniently leaned across Edward to place my drink on my tray. She all but rubbed them in his face! Seriously, this was like something out of a bad porno what did she expect him to hop up and follow her to the head to bang her?

I snapped my fingers at her. "Hey!" She looked up at me shocked. "Yeah, you. Get your tits out of my husband's face!" I shoved my crumpled up cocktail napkin into her clevich, "And while you're at it, get some self respect! How 'bout you button up your blouse and do your job instead of hitting on married men!" Her jaw dropped - I guess the botox didn't prevent all facial expressions. She straightened up, huffed, stomped her foot and took off.

Edward looked at me shocked. "Well hot damn Bella, you're sexy when you're possessive and pissed off!" I laughed at him.

"Was I supposed to let her crawl in your lap next?" He leaned over and kissed me.

"Oh I wasn't complaining. I hate when that shit happens. I wish those women knew how unattractive that really is. But if you want to rub your breasts in my face, I'll only be too happy to oblige." He gave me a smirk.

I winked at him and said, "Maybe later, doll. I wouldn't want to give anyone a show." He groaned then dug into his sandwich. "OH Wow! This is great! So much better than airline food."

I nodded my agreement. "You like?" He nodded. "I'll make them for you sometime, I taught Alice when we were in school. We always brown-bagged our lunches, and she was seriously jealous of my sandwiches so I offered to give her a lesson ... I worked at White Hen during high school, so I was good at making sandwiches. Jazz all but kissed me for that lesson. It seemed he'd been enduring his daily bologna sandwiches with mustard on white bread up till that point." I shuddered thinking of the gross monotony. "Suddenly he had delicious subs on good bread with different meats and cheeses. He was so grateful." Edward laughed at that.

"You laugh, you should've seen how happy he was when I started teaching her how to cook! And I'm not talking fancy, hard meals here. Apparently her repertoire consisted of spaghetti with sauce from a jar, tacos, hamburger helper, mac 'n cheese, and scrambled eggs with bacon. Jasper, being a manly Texan, handled the grill and the chili for them, otherwise they ate a lot of carryout. I taught Alice how to cook and do menu plans to help them save up to get a bigger place. Jazz was still in grad school at the time, working nights and weekends tending bar, while Alice went to school with me during the day and sewed custom clothing orders at night to make extra money. They lived in a tiny studio apartment with a galley kitchen no bigger than the airline bathrooms! Alice's gear took up most of their space!."

"Wait, where did you learn all that stuff?" Edward asked.

"I did that for Charlie and me. He gave me a grocery allowance. Money was tight and he was ... is ... a horrible cook so once I was old enough I took over cooking. Mrs. Cope took me grocery shopping with her on evenings when I stayed with her during Charlie's shifts. At first I was too grand in my meals and it was hard for Charlie to afford ingredients. Mrs. Cope explained that maybe lamb chops would be okay once in a while but I needed to plan more meals with chicken breasts and ground beef. I caught on and was grateful when we didn't have to eat ramen so often. She also taught me how to do planned leftovers, where I'd cook extra chicken to use in other meals. It helped a lot."

"You're remarkable! How old were you?"

"I dunno, maybe 12 or 13 when I started. Once I got the hang of it, it was easy. And boy did it stretch the money out. Mrs. Cope taught me how to cook for the freezer, making big portions then freezing smaller portions so Charlie could have a home-cooked meal at the firehouse. I'd make lasagna but instead of a huge pan, I'd make four small pans and freeze them individually. That kind of stuff really helps when you have a tight budget, plus when you want to eat it, it's ready and waiting for you, just thaw and cook. Alice's dad wasn't around so her mom worked all the time, and she didn't have any grandparents or nice neighbors to help so Alice didn't know that kind of stuff. Jazz's mom is a bitch to Alice so she wasn't any help either. It was fun teaching her and seeing what a difference it made for the year they were ready to rent a bigger space so Ali could have a sewing room. That was a huge deal for her. He always believed in her talent and worked to help her career."

"Did you commute from your dad's house?"

"At first, but it was a pain, the train ride is over an hour each way and no matter how much my dad worked, I was still an adult returning home from the service living with him. That was not really comfortable for either of us. I mean, he never said that, but it just felt awkward. I moved back in for a bit after I graduated AI before my house was livable, then stayed with him while he was fighting cancer, but that was more out of necessity. When I was going to AI I had the GI Bill to help offset costs and I'd saved nearly all my pay while I was an airman, I didn't have to work, so I got a tiny little place in the city and Charlie kept me well-supplied in mace and pepper spray."

Edward laughed at that. "Little did he know you didn't need that, you nearly kicked my ass when I tried to grab you in the forest!"

I smirked, "You won't do that again."

He laughed at that. "Damn straight! But I also won't worry as much about you staying safe when you have to work in the city."

I smiled at his concern. "Yeah, so, when Alice and Jazz started looking at places they found a great apartment a little further North, that had three bedrooms. It was awesome, an older building with hardwood floors and great bones ... lots of natural light. They asked me to move in with them and it was great. Ali and I got to share a studio space - they let me take the master suite since it was more isolated and I wouldn't have to hear their nocturnal activities." Edward chuckled at that. "We all got along great and lived together for the next three years."

"When did you start your business?"

"During the summer after my second year. It was hard going at first, but once I got a customer base and was able to hire someone to be there when I couldn't it was great. Angela Webber, you know her right?" He nodded his head, "She's our retail manager now, but she was our neighbor back then, and she had just graduated but hadn't found a job yet. So just when I was starting to worry how I'd return to school if I had to keep shop hours, she mentioned how hard it was to find a decent job. It worked out beautifully, she's such a nice person, I knew I could trust her. The company wouldn't have survived without her help, and, of course, Alice. Alice was the one who pushed for our other locations later. I was nervous about expanding but she was right, there was definitely a market for our unique brand. Hell Alice has been a driving force for most of our changes. The woman is a dynamo."

"Well it takes one to know one, Bella, you're exceptional, too."

I blushed and smiled at him. "Thanks, babe."

Any further reply was cut off as our favorite slutty attendant was back and this time she turned sideways as someone else passed her in the aisle, conveniently dragging her ass along Edward's arm. "What the hell is wrong with her?" I whisper yelled.

Edward started laughing and shaking his head. "You wouldn't happen to have any wet wipes in your bag would you? She just wiped her ass on me!" We both broke down into fits of laughter. He was lucky I had some wipes in my purse. I laughed as Edward made a funny show of wiping down his hand and sleeve.

I swear if Blondie could've shot lasers out her eyeballs, we'd have been fried. She stomped away, again, and we miraculously had a different person tending to our section. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending upon your outlook, the new attendant was an extremely effeminate man who clearly had a crush on ... both of us! Poor Edward. Clearly Skippy, as I mentally referred to him, found Edward very attractive and doted on him without crossing the lines his predecessor had. I swear you could see hearts floating around his head whenever he looked at Edward - not that I could blame him, Edward is a hottie. However, Skippy also recognized me and went all fan girl on me about how much he loves my company and can't wait to see our clothing designs! He all but did jazz hands as he danced in his pants while talking with me about Eclectic. I felt kind'a bad giggling about his behavior, but he really was odd.

Don't get me wrong, I'm in design and am no stranger to queens - I have no issue with gay men in general, he was just really odd and the way he flittered between worshiping me and wanting to jump Edward had us both nearly in tears with our silent laughter. And we were held captive in our seats so there was no escape. Add that we really just wanted to be left alone to continue our chat and it really was a miserable ride. Eventually we decided to just go back to sleep so he'd leave.

By the time they opened the doors to disembark, Edward and I all but ran for the door, glad to have that flight done. Also glad to begin our new adventure in Dublin!

Edward planned everything. It was such a treat to just relax and go with someone else's schedule and details.

"So ... do I get to know where we're going here?" I asked, giddy that we were finally on our honeymoon.

He hesitated, making me squirm a bit more. "Okay, so I figured it'd be great to see as much as possible so ... we're doing a self-guided driving tour. We'll only see the Southern and Western portions, so we'll have to come back for an anniversary and see the rest." I squealed and threw myself at him, hugging him and kissing all over his face. He laughed and after I calmed down a bit, he continued. "On Saturday we'll leave Dublin and drive to Wicklow and Kilkenny, then onward to Waterford and Cork, Kerry, Clare, and Galway, before doing the Midland Driving Tour as we return to Dublin." Fantastic couldn't possibly begin to convey how much I loved his plan. "Each night, while we're on the road, we'll stay in a different bed & breakfast. I figured it'd be better that way, rather than staying at inns, it allows us to meet the people and see the sites up close and personal."

I kissed him again. "Edward this is perfect! I love that you put so much thought into this!"

"Well I know you like to meet new people, I figured the B&B route would be best."

I smiled and kissed him again - could you blame me? The man is insanely hot and so thoughtful and best of all ... MINE! "I love you baby, thanks for being so thoughtful." I kissed him again, and again, and then he pushed me back.

"Baby you have to stop before I take you right here at the baggage claim!" I giggled.

"Fair enough, but let's hurry to our first stop because I'm feeling rather refreshed from my latest nap and I do believe I have a husband to ravage."

He groaned, slapped me on my ass, (such a sexy punk!) then adjusted himself as we gathered our luggage to find the car rental counter.

Edward had opted for a small SUV, figuring we'd have room for our luggage and space to maneuver. I was glad he opted for a smaller one because the roads are narrow and we were adjusting to driving on the other side of the road. The drive to our hotel was harrowing to say the least. Since I was navigator, I had a map to read, something I'd be eternally grateful for, as Edward scared the crap out of me at least four times inside of a mile as he got used to driving on the other side of the car and street. We actually had our first fight!

"Aaah! Look out!" I screeched.

"WOMAN, don't do that! I see what's going on."

"Obviously you didn't see or you wouldn't have been that close!"

"Obviously I DID see or I'd have hit them!" He sniped back. "And yelling at me doesn't help. Just navigate and let me concentrate."

I shut up and let him drive at that point. We were both stressed and didn't need to be yelling at each other.

When we finally pulled up to the hotel, Edward parked and sat a minute as we both caught our breaths. Dublin's roads are very busy! After a minute he turned to look at me. "I'm so sorry, Baby I didn't mean to yell at you."

"No. I yelled first, I'm sorry."

We both cracked up, "Well we survived our first fight."

I scoffed, "That wasn't a fight."

"What? That was totally a fight."

I grinned, "That was a stressful moment, you haven't seen a fight till you've gone shopping with Alice on Black Friday." He cringed and we both laughed.

He smirked at me, "That was totally a fight, I think we need to go upstairs and have hot make-up sex now."

I beamed at him. "You may be onto something there."

"I love you, Bella. I'm sorry I stressed you out."

"Love you too." I leaned in to kiss him but someone had knocked on Edward's window. We startled back into our own seats. It was the valet and he gave us a knowing smirk.

The man got the porter and they unloaded our bags as we checked into the hotel, no small accomplishment given the lady at the desk spoke at the speed of light and with a heavy accent. We really couldn't understand half of what she said. It was very frustrating for everyone involved.

By the time we got to our room we both fell onto the bed laughing till we cried.

"Is it just me or did you feel really stupid trying to talk with everyone?" Edward asked between chuckles.

"We're not in Kansas anymore Toto." I said with a laugh. "I know what you mean, it's just so hard when they talk SO fast! I mean that woman made Alice seem depressing and slow! It's gonna take some time to adjust, I think." We were positively slap happy, it was probably the jet lag making us act so giddy but I didn't care, it was fun to laugh with Edward.

"They probably think we're really stupid, I swear I've never said the word 'what' so many times in such a short time span!" We laughed some more.

When we both calmed down Edward spoke. "So you wanna join me in a shower? I really need to wash the flight attendant funk off me." I laughed again.

"What was that anyway? I wondered if Aston Kutcher was going to pop out and tell us we were being punked." I said laughing.

Edward got up and offered me his hand. I gladly accepted his help in getting up. I'd worn myself out laughing. All the laughter really warmed my heart and told me that even though we hadn't been together very long, I'd picked the right man to be my husband. I knew that laughter would see us through anything.

We walked into the bathroom and I took a moment to grab our toiletries and set them up as the shower heated.

"So what do you want to do today?" Edward asked as he washed my hair.

"This is your show, did you have anything planned? I asked, groaning a little at the way his wonderful hands massaged my scalp.

"Well I have a list of points of interest, but other than that, not really. I mean I know I want to take you to Quentin's one night, but I figured that'd be our last night here, after our road trip. Now Rinse."

"Oh that sounds nice! I've read a lot about that place" I turned to rinse my hair, and he grabbed my body wash, lathering up my breasts, making sure they were squeaky clean. I grinned at him.

"What I gotta make sure the girls are nice and clean, right ladies?" I chuckled and smacked his chest. "Ouch, woman why are you so violent? We're not even married two full days and you're already abusing me!"

I laughed then kissed his boo boo. "Is that better?" I asked in a patronizing voice.

"No. You missed! It's lower." I kissed above his heart and he smirked at me. "Lower." I laughed and kissed his belly button. He shook his head. "Still too high." I smirked, someone was looking for some sugar.

I dropped to my knees and kissed the tip of his rock hard cock. "There. You found the right spot."

"I sure did," I smiled then licked at the head of his cock before swirling my tongue around it as my hand pumped his length. He groaned delightfully. "Tell me, dear husband o' mine, is this what you wanted?"

He answered with a grunted "Uh huh" and thrust into my mouth. Damn if that wasn't sexy, I loved seeing Edward unleashed and primal!

I nibbled and sucked and swirled my tongue as I whipped him into a frenzy, and he watched every single movement. The intense look in his eyes had me panting as I pleasured him. I swear I could literally feel his gaze on me. I never felt sexier or more alive than with Edward. He surprised me when he pulled out of my mouth before completion.

He offered me his hand, "Stand up, Bella."

"But I wasn't finished," I huffed out.

He grinned at me, "Oh, I know, but when I come I want to come inside you." I shivered at his words. "Your mouth is fantastic, Baby, but nothing compares with your hot, tight pussy." Gah! My dirty-talking' man returned. "Now, stand up and let me return the favor."

I nodded and took his hand, standing up, but my knees were a little weak and the hot water was running out. We quickly finished washing up and toweled off before Edward swept me up off my feet and carried me back to our bed.

He set me down on the edge and unwrapped my towel. My skin immediately reacted to the cold air after the hot mist of the shower, or perhaps to his lustful gaze.

"Mmm...mmm... Bella, you look scrumptious." His voice was low and sexy and his eyes were full of lust and love. I'll never get tired of looking into those gorgeous green eyes. He pushed me further up the bed, kissing me as we moved. He kissed along my jaw to my neck then up to my ear. "Do you have any idea how fucking sexy you are? Here you are, laying under me, with your legs wrapped around mine, your beautiful pussy all wet for me, I can smell you, you know. I can smell how turned on you are. You smell fucking delicious. I'm gonna eat you until you scream my name!"

... And there went my IQ points dropping again. He kissed below my ear and licked, nibbled and kissed his way lower, taking time to lavish "the ladies" as Edward calls my breasts, with lots of affection. Meanwhile my nerves went haywire. I was all but whimpering as he worked his way in a tortuously slow manner toward where I needed him most. By the time he gave me a long, slow, lick my back was arching and ready to come undone. He groaned and the added vibrations sent me flying into my release as he lapped and nibbled and sucked while his fingers pumped inside me, sending me higher and higher still. When I finally finished I had indeed cried out his name and probably several saints' names and possibly even spoke in tongues, certainly gibberish. The smug look on Edward's face told me how pleased he was by my reaction as he dragged the tip of his tongue back up my body while I panted.

"Always so responsive," Edward said. He sat back and licked his fingers. "Mmm and so delicious. I love eating your dripping pussy, such a tasty feast. You're my favorite meal, Mrs. Cullen. And I get to eat that manna for the rest of my life." His words were killing me.

Edward, still sitting back, held up my feet, pulling them apart as far as his arms reached, as he gazed down at my sex. "So fucking sexy." He said then plunged inside me with a relentless pace. His gaze was not on my face like before, he was watching himself disappear inside me.

When I moaned his eyes returned to my face and he smiled at me then lowered my feet to wrap them around his back as he lowered himself to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer so we were completely wrapped around one another. He slowed his face as our tongues met in luxuriously long strokes. I was overcome with my love for him as his body joined mine again and again.

This was such a beautiful joining. We had consummated our marriage on our wedding day and the morning after, many times over, but this was different. This was what the catechists were talking about when they called sex a "one flesh union." We were one flesh and I'd never, ever, seen or felt anything so beautiful. I looked into Edward's eyes and I could see he felt the same.

Gone was the fun dirty talk and the bit of kink we enjoyed together. In it's place was warmth and love and eternity. It was beautiful and emotional and I felt every bit of love we shared between us in every kiss, caress and thrust. Hours or possibly minutes later I came undone, pulling Edward over the edge into bliss along with me. He once again collapsed on me and I loved the feel of his weight upon my body as we lay still connected and panting slightly.

I heard a muffled "Wow." from where Edward's face lay buried between my neck and shoulder, smothered by the pillow.

I smiled. "Wow, indeed."

He shifted to pull out of me and remove his weight from my body. I immediately felt the loss. He laid on his side with his head propped up on his elbow, gazing down at my face then leaned in to give me a brief kiss. "I love you so much, Mrs. Cullen."

I smiled. "I love you too, husband o'mine." I leaned in and pressed my body to his to snuggle a bit.

"As much as I'd love to wrap you in my arms and sleep, we really shouldn't if we want to acclimate to Irish Time." I groaned, feeling suddenly exhausted. "How 'bout we go have one of those famous Irish breakfasts then take in the city?"

"Sound's good." I said. "My hair's a rat's nest now, I'm gonna rinse off quickly in the shower then get ready. Why don't you look through your notes and see where we should go?"

"You got it, any requests?" Edward asked.

"I'd really like to see The Book of Kells, but if we don't see it today, we can catch it when we get back." I said.

"No that sounds good, I'll check out the maps and brochures in the lobby."

"Thanks, babe!" I said before grabbing my clothes and heading into the bathroom. I also grabbed a little treat for later that I stashed in my makeup bag in the bathroom so I could surprise Edward later.

I met Edward in the lobby a little while later, all freshened up and dressed in my favorite jean skirt paired and a cute emerald-green top, with my favorite wedge sandals - they're seriously even more comfy than my sneakers. Edward was talking with the concierge, finding out where we could get our Irish breakfast. Apparently the guy first told him some hoity-toity place then Edward asked where he'd go for the real deal and we finally hit pay dirt.

Ralph's was a little rundown but the food was phenomenal. I couldn't get over the smooth consistency of the "black" and "white pudding" which is what they call these sausages. They are simply delicious! When I asked about it, Ralph (pronounced Rayff there) told me that if I wanted to enjoy them again, I'd be better off not knowing. I laughed then quoted Mark Twain, "Those that respect the law and love sausage should watch neither being made."

We laughed together at that. Ralph also told me he's got a lot of family in the Chicago suburbs, near where Alice and Jasper currently live. It truly is a small world. Ralph also had a vast knowledge about places we should go and things to do while in Ireland. Once we got him started the only thing that stopped him was when other customers needed him. We were grateful, both for the information and for the intrusion as we really wanted to enjoy each other's company.

And we really did enjoy each other's company, the whole day was fantastic, even though we were exhausted, Edward and I really enjoyed exploring Dublin. We saw The Book of Kells at Trinity College, it was truly magnificent and awe-inspiring. It sent my creative brain into overdrive but I managed to shut it down. Edward bought me a book about the book so I could be inspired again at home. I loved the colors and fonts, everything about them was stunning.

We got really lucky in our wanderings, as we approached St. Patrick's Cathedral they were about to celebrate Mass, so we were able to participate. Some would think that an odd way to spend the first day of our honeymoon, but we both felt like it was a way to start our trip with our best foot, or rather knee, forward. The Cathedral was amazing, such a visual feast! That's one of the things I especially love about being Catholic, I can go pretty much anywhere in the world and celebrate Mass, it may be in different languages or influenced by the local custom, but underneath it all, it really is universal, the participant knows what's happening - even when the priest speaks at the speed of light!

By the time we returned to our room we were ready to pass out. We had nosed around and window-shopped our way through the city then topped off our amazing day with pub fare, fish and chips, washed down with a real Guinness - well Edward had Guinness, I had a black and tan, which is half Guinness, half Harp, but I digress. I swear what with having the puddings then fried fish, I could feel my arteries hardening. But that's what vacation is for, trying the specialties and enjoying yourself. Soon I'll be back to reality.

I was so tired I nearly forgot my little surprise for Edward. With a groan I peeled myself off the bed and headed to the bathroom. It was difficult to move but this would be so worthwhile.

Thanks for reading, please take a minute and review - a round of black & tans on me for all the lovelies who write to me.

P.S. For those who didn't get the Quentin's reference, you might like to read Maeve Binchy's books. She's an Irish author who writes wonderful stories and they usually include a restaurant called Quentin's. Her most famous book is called "Tara Road" and it's very good, but my favorite is "Evening Class," though I also loved "Nights of Rain and Stars."