Dia duit, álainn Connemara

When my parents had come for a visit several years ago, they had said how beautiful Connemara was and how they liked Kylemore Abbey. As we wind down living here, I have to see the last little bits of the Emerald Isle, and that was one area I had yet to see. Catherine had wanted a sleepover at her house, so I decided to combine the two, overnight roadtrip! Catherine's American cousins were visiting their mother in Galway so we stopped for tea. It was great meeting her extended family and of course eating some yummy biscuits and chocolate cake. First stop after Galway was Oughterard to see Lough Corrib, the biggest lake in the Republic. A few girls were swimming in it, and they were quite brave. It may have been sunny, with a few rain showers, but certainly not warm enough to go for a swim. We decided to take the scenic route through the Connemara National Park on our way to Letterfrack. The landscape was dotted with small lakes and rivers. The rolling mountains were beautiful and craggy, where I had her pull over from time to time so I could grab a photo. We passed through Kylemore Abbey for a few quick shots, but as they were closing for the day, we kept on going to our hostel. We took a quick nap, before heading out to scope out the town for a place to eat. We decided on a seafood place, as we were by the sea. I forget portions in the country are much larger, so we made the mistake of getting a stater, a main, and of course sharing a dessert. We stopped in the one pub on the way back for a night cap, before heading to bed. Early the next morning, it was eat a quick breakfast and off to Kylemore. Since we beat all the tourbuses for the day, we got to see the Victorian Gardens all on our own, wandering through the multi-acre garden. As we walked back to the Abbey, that was when the tourists arrived. There is not much to see in the main Abbey, except for part off the ground floor, but it was breathtaking. The view of the Abbey, or once castle, over the lake is stunning. Great photos! We walked down to the tiny gothic church the man had build for his deceased wife. I could see how the King of England had thought of buying the place. We were fortunate enough to get out of there before it was too crowded and the rain started. We drove until Clifden so we could stop for a tea and pick up a postcard/stamp to send her parents. The sun was finally shining, so as we passed through the heart of Connemara, we had great views. I had packed lunches and when our tummies started to rumble, we turned up a small side road, hoping it would lead us to the sea, so we could eat our lunch. The sun was shining, as we could overlook the Aran Islands as we ate our peanut butter & jelly sandwiches with apples. How much more American lunch can you get? Catherine enjoyed it, as did I. After a few photos we were back on the road through Spiddal where all the Gaeltach kids were studying, and finally through Galway to head back to Dublin. Although there are SuperMacs in Dublin, we had to stop once more in Roscommon before getting home after a great road trip.

Strange Anomaly #72

Because space is so tight for houses and gardens, it was great to see a full-sized bouncy castle taking up an entire front garden. It was hard for me not to want to jump over the little fence and have a go at jumping on it. Someday I will fulfill my dream of all of us married ones dressing up in our wedding dresses and bouncing in a bouncy castle to be grown up princesses!

Donegal and my last Irish Counties

It was my goal when I moved here to get to know the country I was living in, so I made a point to make it to all 32 Counties. I only have three left and this grip marked the last of them: Donegal, Cavan and Fermanagh.

Ben had a recommendation to stop at the Ulster American Folk Park just outside Omagh. It was a recreation or preservation of homes found through out Ulster starting with a 1600's single room farmhouse up until the late 1700's. There were chickens and geese running around. I really wanted to play with the chicks, but as Ben predicted, they ran from me. We walked down a recreation of a typical street frontage found in the late 1700's before boarding a boat showing the conditions of what it was like for a family to immigrate to America on. Four adults had to fit into a bunk (either on the top or bottom) that was the size of a double bed, for about 2 months. Amazing what people had to endure. When we disembarked, it was into a typical American street found in the same time period. From there it was homes found on the East Coast of the States up through the late 1800's. There were log cabins, and modest clapboard homes. Throughout the park, there were people dressed up in period costumes discussing what life was like. It was very informative, and I love hands on, visual learning.

From there we stopped in Letterkenny for a bite to eat before reaching our final destination, Dunfanaghy. The co-worker that had recommended the folk park, was orginally from one village over from where we were staying, so John headed over to show us around. We drove around the cliffs to get a view of the peninsulas and islands. We had a bite to eat before heading to the pub since there was a festival going on. As we left to drive John to Carrigart it started to rain. I am so thankful Ben grew up in the country as he can manage to drive curvy dark country roads with ease, even in the rain. This city girl had to ask him to slow down for my sanity.

In the morning, the breakfast at the little B&B was huge and delicious, to get our day going. It was a bit drizzly as we headed to Magheraroarty to catch the ferry to Tory Island. We watched the ferry come in and were some of the first on. I was super excited as I had been wanting to go to Tory for years! The boat ride started out smooth, but as we passed the last island, the waters turned choppy. I was glad that I had taken some anti-nausea as it was not so smooth with swells a few meters high. It was sunny on the island, with clouds all around. As we disembarked I was anxious to see the King of Tory Island, the last King of Ireland, but he was no where to be found. I was a bit disappointed, but I was not going to let that rain on my parade. We headed off to the western tip of the island first toward the lighthouse. The sun was not really out, but it was not really cloudy, we were just happy that it was not raining. With half the loop done, we headed to the eastern village. The landscape was rugged, and became hillier as we headed east. Up past sheep running around, dodging sheep poo, we climbed the highest cliff to gaze out over the Atlantic. I had to tie my jumper around my head as the wind was blowing from every direction. We stopped for a bit of lunch, ham & cheese toasties with a cuppa tea. I got to speak a bit of Irish as most people on the island would speak Irish as their first language. I was excited! With the sun dipping behind some dark and ominous clouds, it was time to catch our boat back to the mainland. If we thought it was bad coming out, it was way worse on our way back. We both fought off getting sick. It was a miserable 50 minutes. When we docked, we saw the king driving up to the pier, but I was not about to go talk to him, I wanted dry, solid land. We had to sit in the car awhile before Ben felt well enough to begin driving down the coast to Ardara. We passed through many little towns, where there was no English to be found, it was great! We followed the signs to our hotel, which was out of town, nestled among the trees, in a very quiet and remote area. We opted to eat dinner at the hotel as it was a three course meal. It was a splurge, but well worth it. After an amazing meal, the sun was still up so we figured we would watch a movie after I check my email in the lobby. About 10 minutes later when I got to the room, Ben was nearly asleep, and for the first time in weeks, he got a quiet nights rest in a large comfortable bed, sleeping well over 10 hours. He never does that.

For our final leg of our tour, we took the scenic route. I knew it would be longer, but little did I know, it would take hours longer. We headed out along the coast, stopping to take photos on the way to Gelncolumbkille. The steep cliff roads had sheep blocking our way, not that much in a hurry to get out of the road. These were also my first sheep I had seen with wagging tails! The cliff roads were only one car wide, and there were several places I held my breath as we neared the edge. There were beautiful views, I was just glad Ben got out to take photos and not me. At the end of our detour was a hike to see the tallest sea cliffs in Europe, Slieve League Cliffs. We parked the car at the base of the hill where there was a gate. We figured at the top of the hill would be the sea. No. We had to walk about 45 minutes to the top car park area. All we would have had to do was open the gate. Ben's head had gotten quite burned the day before, so he took my jumper and tied it like a turban to keep the sun off him. We started hiking to the top of the cliffs, when Ben stopped to take a photo and my fear of heights kicked it. The rule is, keep walking, don't stop, I can follow you all the way to the top. Once I am at the top, I can make it down just fine and feel ok about it. It is just making it there. He did not understand the rules, even after all this time. After my mini melt down where I was happy to sit on a rock, just off of the trail, away from the edge, Ben had to go to the top alone as I gazed out over the sea and cliffs. We of course had to treat ourselves to ice cream after that, I mean the sun was out! We made our way down and headed finally to Donegal town for lunch. We stretched our legs for a bit before getting back in and heading to Enniskillen, for Lake Erme. There was a few ruins there we stopped at, and that was when we saw the black clouds. As we drove into Cavan, the heavens opened up and lashed rain. I did not mind returning home to rain, as it had been nice for most of our trip!

Berlin as seen from a Segway

By the time we got to the hotel in Berlin, it was quite late so we went for a traditional German dinner. I was in heaven! We took a stroll out to where we were going to meet our tour group the next morning so we could time how long it would take us to walk there. Their parks are pitch black at night, and felt a bit dodgy, so we headed back to the hotel and hoped for the best in the morning. We had a Segway tour. Those cool two wheeled things. It was perfect for my sprained ankle and for Ben's interest in technology. By the time we got to the hotel in Berlin, it was quite late so we went for a traditional German dinner. I was in heaven! We took a stroll out to where we were going to meet our tour group the next morning so we could time how long it would take us to walk there. Their parks are pitch black at night, and felt a bit dodgy, so we headed back to the hotel and hoped for the best in the morning. We had a Segway tour. Those cool two wheeled things. It was perfect for my sprained ankle and for Ben's interest in technology. We had an English tour guide, guide us through the city. We covered early Berlin history up through the end of the GDR. We had ten stops along the way learning interesting tidbits over the four hours. We had a great time riding the Segways in the street, passing cyclists. Top speed was 30 kmh. Ben was the one encouraging me to go faster.

We explored a few other things on our own once the tour was over, the large aquarium in the Radisson hotel and toured through the GDR museum. It was a great hands on, touch things, interact with exhibits type museum. I know a lot about Germany history, but East Germany was one of those things I knew very little about. At the time, I was bored when my father made me watch live video of the wall falling, but now I am glad I have that memory and can now fully appreciate what those people went though and what the wall falling truly meant.

The following day we went out to a Stasi prison, way out of town, that was guided by prisoners who had spent time in there. It was depressing the conditions that the inmates had to endure, both Russian’s, after WWII, and East Germans who were suspected of bad things. I was heart wrenching and instead of doing something more upbeat, we went back to the holocaust memorial and toured through the museum there. As I was quietly sobbing after reading diary entries, and being overwhelmed by so many emotions, Ben reminded me that it was our actual anniversary. I love history, but I wish I had picked happier touring things to do that day. As we walked home that night after another fantastic dinner, did I mention I love German food, we noticed many scantily clad women who seemed to be soliciting men. When we got back to the hotel I had to look up prostitution and sure enough, it is legal in Germany. They were the hottest hookers I had ever seen, even put most strippers in Portland to shame. They were good about not approaching men who were with women, so one look at Ben and they quickly looked away since I was with him. I was the one who could not tear my eyes away.

The best day was the third zoo in a third country within a month. The Berlin zoo has been remodeled so recently due to wars so it is very modern. They was no point in having a map as the paths serpentined around but we still managed to see everything. It was a beautiful day, as we were tired of having rain. The monkeys were going bananas it was great. A spider monkey even fell in love with Ben and made faces with him. She followed him around as he walked through the monkey enclosure. With Ben's camera in great working order, he was having a great time capturing them as they frolicked around their cages. We even managed to be at the big cat enclosure as they were being fed. The lions and tigers were growling so much, roaring like crazy. You could hear them all across the park. I could feel their roars in my chest as we were only a meter away from them. As always I made Ben take photos by the rhinos as they both have great grumpy faces. I saw my first panda, but he was sleeping, and I caught sight of a foot and his bum. As the day grew to a close we took a snooze on a bench in the sun to really enjoy our holiday. We spent the entire day at the zoo much to my pleasure, and left as they were closing. We were tuckered out after so much walking.


The next morning I stuck Ben on a train to the airport, as I got on my own 8-hour train ride down to Sarrland to visit my bestest Germany buddy Katrin. I was to stay with her over the next 5 days to see her new place, visit her new office, and of course meet the new man in her life. I had met a few of her friends before, so it was great to catch up with them, and head out for a night on the town! It was a relaxing week as I wrote, read, slept at Katrin’s while she worked. The weather was not all the cooperative: rain profusely in the morning but then sunny just about the time Kat got off work. One night, we had a great walk from Saarbrücken, Germany over into France. So funny to think the boarder is about a 20 minute walk. It was a great relaxing visit spending time with my buddy and seeing how fantastic she is doing since I have missed so much since she moved back home.

Strange Anomaly #71

Car reg, or license plate, starts with the year of the car, than what county it is registered in, and then what number it was when it was registered. There for 02 D 666 would be a 2002 from Dublin and was the 666th car registered that year. So while walking home I saw a 2008 Bentley cab driving down the road looking for a customer. Either it was someone who got bitten as the Celtic Tiger retreated, or some one out for a laugh.

J’taime Paris

With long work hours, Ben was happy to get away, even though he is not the biggest fan of traveling. For our five year anniversary we headed off to Paris for 5 days. We had been before, but this time we got to see what we wanted to, and go at our own pace. We stayed on the Rue Clar as we had done before, so we knew where we were staying. After dropping off our luggage, and stripping off some of our layers, we went for a wander to the Eiffel Tower right around the corner from us to grab some lunch. Just up the street was one building that was a must see for me, Jean Nouvel's Musée du quai Branly as I have always wanted to see its Green living wall that is quite impressive even after being constructed a few years ago. With the sunshine out, we booked a trip down the River Seine on one of the many boats, to see everything in one go. We ended our first night with an amazing meal including escargot and creme brule. Yummy!

This was our day to see all the little bits and pieces. I was smart enough to book the Eiffel Tower in advance, so when it was our time, we walked right up, got through security, and was in an elevator heading up to the top. It heads up the wide base first, where you can take photos, and then up a smaller elevator all the way to the top. It was brilliant seeing over the whole city. It may not have been the nicest weather, but it was not raining, and was not that cloudy. We went to both decks to get photos. We spend more time going down, than we did going up. As we headed down, we could have stopped by the resturant on a mid-rise level, but I did not want to spend a fortune on food that was not going to be that great. We had enjoyed our view, but it was onto our next stop. We passed Notre Dame and went on to Centre Georges-Pompidou by Renzo Piano. It was something I had always wanted to see. Next on our architectural tour was another Nouvel building, L'Institut du Monde Arabe. The louvers on the windows I had studied in school and wanted to see them in action. I was on my must see list. After seeing some post modernism, it was onto The Panthéon Church which is the tomb of France's most famed. It was like every other NeoClassical building, so it was not as impressive, but still interesting. As with the previous night, we had even more delicious food. I knew there was no point in watching my figure on this trip.

With the weather not that cooperative, we spent the dreariest day in the Musée du Louvre. We got up early and wandered past the old smaller palaces and up the river. It was great to see the grounds nearly empty, even if it was not sunny. We had a plan of attack though, start up on the top most floor and work our way down, since we had the least interest of the stuff in the basement, Middle Ages. There were just so many paintings. We did cast our eyes over every piece, but towards the end we were nearly walking at top speed, quickly passing by masterpieces. We were able to complete the whole museum in a day, but I would not recommend it if you really want to see everything. It was great to recognize paintings I had studied over the years, and got to be Ben's personal art guide. As we went down in floors, it got more and more crowded. As we neared the Mona Lisa, we were overwhelmed by Tour Groups. When we finally got to the painting, it was 15 people deep. We waited to get to the front, be after waiting, waiting and waiting, we realized that the people were not even leaving. We gave up and moved on since there were hundreds of other things to see. Even across from the Mona Lisa was a painting that I had just worked my 4000 piece puzzle of Paolo Veronese's 'The Wedding at Cana' that was ignored, even though the painting was enormous, 20'x30'! People were just in there for the sake of being in there, they did not even know what things were, like the Venus de Milo, or one of the many other da Vinci's, or Michelangelo's statue. As we neared the end, I was reading the map, and fell down the last few steps spraining my ankle. Of course I laughed which is how I react to pain. It is always hard for Ben to take me seriously when I do that, but I can't help it. I walked it off the best I could but I knew in the morning my ankle would not be so happy.

The next morning, my ankle was very swollen, but Ben got me a brace and drugs, so that we could continue our tour. For our last full day we headed out to to see the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and Salvador Dalí's old studio. We hiked up from the Subway to the summit of the butte Montmartre. I was slow and steady, but I was not going to let my leg stop me! When the rain came we did a tour of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica catacombs as I did not want to hike up to the top of the basilica. As the rain abated, we headed to the Dalí studio where many other Surrealist artists had their studios. Dalí is my favorite artist so it was great to see where he got some of his idea, inspiration and how his work was created. When the kids started to outnumber us, we fled for lunch and to check out where Moulin Rouge is. We did not want to spend a fortune to see the show, but we wandered about, realizing that it was in the heart of the porn district. Quite interesting. We headed back into town to meet up with Ben's friend, Nabil, for dinner. It was great catching up with an old friend, who had just moved to Paris.

Our last morning we had to see one more museum, Musee d'Orsay which is housed in an old rail station. It contains the largest Impressionist exhibit where Manet was the featured artist. The sculptures were fabulous as well. There were several Van Gogh's to see and other painters of that era. Even Whistler's Mother. We had enough time to collect our things, have some lunch in the park adjacent to the Les Invalides and catch the bus to the airport. Next stop, Berlin!