As this trip is now just a wonderful collection of memories, I feel compelled to write some kind of 'wrap-up'.
The trip itself was an emotional 'wrap up' for me. I took it six months after my father passed away, eight months after my ex husband died, fourteen months after my divorce was final, and a year after retiring from a wonderful 37-year teaching career.
To me it represented many things: closure on grief, relief from a strained financial existence, the end of a period of relationship limbo, and a statement of independence, individuality and a new beginning. This trip was a delightful as I could have ever imagined it would be. Each phase of the trip brought its own excitement and beauty. The people with whom I traveled and stayed were excellent hosts and companions. It was all so unbelievably enjoyable. Am I spoiled for future trips? What variations can I make on this and still capture the same excitement and joy? I don't know but my appetite has been whetted and I am hard-pressed to stay at home now. At least one future trip is already close to being set.
Thank you to everyone in the Shumaker clan, Beth, Sylvie, Claude, Pauline, David, Pam and Brian for being who you are, for being excellent companions and hosts, and for sharing your experiences and homes with me. I have been irreversibly changed and am ever so grateful for the gift of your presence in this experience, let alone in my life altogether. I have been richly blessed by you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Monday, June 17, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Sunday Power Hike
After our rollicking-good evening on Saturday, we slept in on Sunday. (No, we weren't drunk.) I woke first and went for a walk.
Pam took us on a hike for three miles along the coast. There were dozens of other hikers. It seems to me that the Irish are big striders; they don't waste time when they walk. We were passed by many. I took my cell phone for the photos. They don't need captions. The weather was so atypical that I netted a significant sunburn.
At low tide the lighthouse looks close.
Irish tide pools and super-clear water
the lighthouse from the hike
the end of the hike
the hikers
Pauline and I made our return trip late in the afternoon. We loved our weekend mini-vacation.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Pam took us on a hike for three miles along the coast. There were dozens of other hikers. It seems to me that the Irish are big striders; they don't waste time when they walk. We were passed by many. I took my cell phone for the photos. They don't need captions. The weather was so atypical that I netted a significant sunburn.
At low tide the lighthouse looks close.
Irish tide pools and super-clear water
the lighthouse from the hike
the end of the hike
the hikers
Pauline and I made our return trip late in the afternoon. We loved our weekend mini-vacation.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Ballycotton, County Cork, Ireland
Dublin Out
My last day in Dublin, the last day of my trip , the last day of warmth in Ireland.
I took the bus into the city, counted 28 stops, and got off at St. Stephen's Green. I walked through the green, and continued on to Grafton Street. I walked up and down the street, went to the bank, and headed right to Trinity College. The line for the Book of Kells was forty minutes long but I saw everything and then went up to the famed Trinity Library stacks.
I walked through Temple Bar and had lunch in a sidewalk cafe, wandered some more, bought some things, and caught the train to meet Pauline by her work.
We went home and she, David and I went to a great pub for 'pub grub'. When we got home David took me to the computer to print out my boarding passes. This is where the fun began.
Was my flight on Delta, Air France or CityJet? We kept having to go back and forth to the different sites. Finally the Air France site said the plane to Charles De Gaulle was cancelled. News sources advised us the French air traffic controllers were staging a planned, three-day strike. It would start early on Tuesday morning and end on Thursday evening. Administrators would work and only international and large flights would be directed through. My flight from Dublin to Paris was dispensable. I was out of luck. If I could get to Paris I could catch the plane to Los Angeles. I didn't want to get to Paris. I contacted my travel agent in LA and, after over an hour on the phone with Delta, she had me leaving Dublin at the same time as the Paris flight but this time going directly to Atlanta, changing planes there, and arriving at home a half hour after my original arrival time. It was 1:00 a.m. when my itinerary arrived.
David took me to the airport and I not only checked through to Los Angeles, but went through U.S. Customs as well.
Pauline and David were great hosts and fun friends. I told Pauline she was a hoot and holler. We will have to take another travel adventure soon.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I took the bus into the city, counted 28 stops, and got off at St. Stephen's Green. I walked through the green, and continued on to Grafton Street. I walked up and down the street, went to the bank, and headed right to Trinity College. The line for the Book of Kells was forty minutes long but I saw everything and then went up to the famed Trinity Library stacks.
I walked through Temple Bar and had lunch in a sidewalk cafe, wandered some more, bought some things, and caught the train to meet Pauline by her work.
We went home and she, David and I went to a great pub for 'pub grub'. When we got home David took me to the computer to print out my boarding passes. This is where the fun began.
Was my flight on Delta, Air France or CityJet? We kept having to go back and forth to the different sites. Finally the Air France site said the plane to Charles De Gaulle was cancelled. News sources advised us the French air traffic controllers were staging a planned, three-day strike. It would start early on Tuesday morning and end on Thursday evening. Administrators would work and only international and large flights would be directed through. My flight from Dublin to Paris was dispensable. I was out of luck. If I could get to Paris I could catch the plane to Los Angeles. I didn't want to get to Paris. I contacted my travel agent in LA and, after over an hour on the phone with Delta, she had me leaving Dublin at the same time as the Paris flight but this time going directly to Atlanta, changing planes there, and arriving at home a half hour after my original arrival time. It was 1:00 a.m. when my itinerary arrived.
David took me to the airport and I not only checked through to Los Angeles, but went through U.S. Customs as well.
Pauline and David were great hosts and fun friends. I told Pauline she was a hoot and holler. We will have to take another travel adventure soon.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:In the Air
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Saturday in County Cork
On Saturday we went to the farmers market in Midleton (yep, it's spelled with one 'd'), just about 10 minutes away from Ballycotton.
Mushroom grower
smoked fish
We went to the Jameson's factory. Here it's pronounced "Jam - ih - son".
I didn't buy this, but I bought some other things.....
Then we went to lunch at the cooking school, They were making pizzas. It was the first time I had had pizza with nasturtiums or peas.
We saw the Ballymaloe Hotel and Pam took us on an hour walking tour of the grounds at the cooking school. The school and the hotel are not at the same place.
The hotel:
At the school:
They're growing mushrooms here, too.
Prep area between two of the teaching kitchens
kitchen
Le palais de poulets (a home for wayward chicks with attitudes)
One herb garden
Another
The pond and the wildlife
the cutting garden
heading for the glass house
It's an entire acre! And there's a tractor inside.
The Dairy
Pam turns her very own cheese.
Back to Rocket House.
The day was blissful.
Pam made an outstanding didnner, and Pauline treated us with Irish coffees for a nightcap.
and then serenaded us with excerpts from "Camelot".
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Mushroom grower
smoked fish
We went to the Jameson's factory. Here it's pronounced "Jam - ih - son".
I didn't buy this, but I bought some other things.....
Then we went to lunch at the cooking school, They were making pizzas. It was the first time I had had pizza with nasturtiums or peas.
We saw the Ballymaloe Hotel and Pam took us on an hour walking tour of the grounds at the cooking school. The school and the hotel are not at the same place.
The hotel:
At the school:
They're growing mushrooms here, too.
Prep area between two of the teaching kitchens
kitchen
Le palais de poulets (a home for wayward chicks with attitudes)
One herb garden
Another
The pond and the wildlife
the cutting garden
heading for the glass house
It's an entire acre! And there's a tractor inside.
The Dairy
Pam turns her very own cheese.
Back to Rocket House.
The day was blissful.
Pam made an outstanding didnner, and Pauline treated us with Irish coffees for a nightcap.
and then serenaded us with excerpts from "Camelot".
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The Journey to Ballycotton
Pauline and I decided to meander on down to see Pam and Brian in Ballycotton.
We left a bit after 10:00 a.m. Pauline was so kind as to drive.
Sitting in the what I have always considered the 'driver's seat' with a steering wheel is a bit like being on a ride at Disneyland. I am getting used to it now.
We stopped at a house Pauline owns in a town called Avoca.
She has the most beautiful wisteria growing.
Snowbells
and labernum
It was a yellow with green trim. So is mine.
Next we went to the original weaving mill of Avoca weavers.
And then she showed me a market called Lidl and bought a few supplies. It's a super, super discount grocery.
We were so excited about going to lunch at a posh country hotel called Marlfield where we were going to treat ourselves to a lovely lunch in the conservatory. When we arrived there was a Rolls Royce in the driveway.
And Pauline said,"I have a feeling they're not serving today.
So we looked around before the bride and groom arrived.
We then discovered a cute little restaurant called The Cowhouse where we had a delicious meal and finished with a Bailey's cheesecake with malteasers.
We passed so much gorgeous Irish countryside.
The bridge at Waterford.
The Old Thatch
And finally Ballycotton
And Rocket House
Pam and Brian weren't home yet so we went down to the nearest pub so a pint.
We both decided that a glass, and not a pint, was more my speed.
So I had my first Guinness in Ireland.
The bartender offered an unusual service.
Pam and Brian were unpacking the trunk when we returned to Rocket House. The weather was so warm that we had hors d'oeuvres outside.
The best view by far was from the sitting area.
It's a cozy cottage and bigger than I had imagined.
However, the end of this perfect day was greatly hampered by news that Will Rogers, the school where I had spent my teaching years, had been on lockdown because it is adjacent to Santa Monica College, where several people lost their lives due to a gunman.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We left a bit after 10:00 a.m. Pauline was so kind as to drive.
Sitting in the what I have always considered the 'driver's seat' with a steering wheel is a bit like being on a ride at Disneyland. I am getting used to it now.
We stopped at a house Pauline owns in a town called Avoca.
She has the most beautiful wisteria growing.
Snowbells
and labernum
It was a yellow with green trim. So is mine.
Next we went to the original weaving mill of Avoca weavers.
And then she showed me a market called Lidl and bought a few supplies. It's a super, super discount grocery.
We were so excited about going to lunch at a posh country hotel called Marlfield where we were going to treat ourselves to a lovely lunch in the conservatory. When we arrived there was a Rolls Royce in the driveway.
And Pauline said,"I have a feeling they're not serving today.
So we looked around before the bride and groom arrived.
We then discovered a cute little restaurant called The Cowhouse where we had a delicious meal and finished with a Bailey's cheesecake with malteasers.
We passed so much gorgeous Irish countryside.
The bridge at Waterford.
The Old Thatch
And finally Ballycotton
And Rocket House
Pam and Brian weren't home yet so we went down to the nearest pub so a pint.
We both decided that a glass, and not a pint, was more my speed.
So I had my first Guinness in Ireland.
The bartender offered an unusual service.
Pam and Brian were unpacking the trunk when we returned to Rocket House. The weather was so warm that we had hors d'oeuvres outside.
The best view by far was from the sitting area.
It's a cozy cottage and bigger than I had imagined.
However, the end of this perfect day was greatly hampered by news that Will Rogers, the school where I had spent my teaching years, had been on lockdown because it is adjacent to Santa Monica College, where several people lost their lives due to a gunman.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:County Cork
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