Cliffs of Moher and more with Janet & pre-wedding Erin

Janet and Erin’s visit!

We got to enjoy a few days with Aunt Janet and Erin in April.  Short, sweet and loads of fun.  It was especially nice since it was so close to Erin’s wedding day.

We toured Dublin a bit, shared some pints and vitals, drove to Galway, and county Clare where we explored the the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren and more, heard trad music, took in more incredible sights even some posing cows, savored banoffee pie with carmel sauce and of course had plenty of laughter!

Janet and Erin at Trinity College!

Checking out the sparkly lights at Powerscourt Centre

Love this shot! Browsing around before heading to dinner at our favorite gastropub, L. Mulligan Grocer!

Off to the west… Rain…well, of course!

First stop Galway, a quick meander around and a stop for food. Erin even found something special for Kevin, her kitty.

Erin finds a souvenir for Kevin

Roaming around Galway

Namesake music store in Galway

En route we pass a castle; we  stop and take a closer look…

The castle

Since our hotel was on the way, we decided to check-in and drop our bags off before visiting the Cliffs Moher and Doolin.

Cliffs of Moher- (southwestern edge of the Burren region, County Clare)

Feeling the wind & loving the views-

Family shot at the Cliffs

As usual we love the Irish signage; Erin got a kick out of them as well.

Taking in the view… trying

Emmie testing out the wind.

We drive through Doolin-and consider returning later for drinks and music at Gus O’Conners… though wanting to avoid driving we asked our hotel owner, and she recommended a pub down the hill to hear some trad music.  We liked this idea, so Scott would not have to drive. After a lovely dinner at our hotel,  we took her advice and strolled down the hill.  Fantastic!

The Roadside Tavern

Roadside Tavern

~~ Next day

Guinness- it’s everywhere.

Searching for some Celtic Crosses

Celtic Crosses

On our way to the Portal Tomb, Poulnabrone, which we referred to as the Table we spot more ruins and a field of cows who seemed to be accustomed to passer-byes almost posing for us and anyone else interested.

Posing cows- We wondered what they were thinking.

We imagined the cows were laughing at us as we snapped their photos!

The cows seemed to line up for a photo so naturally.

ruins beside the field of cows

On to the moon…

Burial sight and tomb from almost 6000 years ago…The rocks surrounding the Portal Tomb made us feel like we were on the moon.

Poulnabrone, The Portal Tomb

Fast… view…due to the crazy wind

What next… dinner in Limerick and back to Dublin.

We had the top floor to ourselves… more room for silliness!

Fan of the banoffee pie and carmel sauce- all of us were, actually!

Gorgeous last day in Dublin!  A fantastic visit.

St. Stephen’s Green

Midterm Break -España: Montserrat

We bid our good-byes to Barcelona, taking the metro to the airport to rent a car. It was actually my first time to drive a car since August. We rented a GPS as well, which was quite interesting, providing many moments of entertainment for the next several days.  After a few attempts at programming the GPS and strange sounds, later identified as mooing not Grace’s I-Pod; or Grace yes, mooing. We finally located Jane our English guide. Her first job; guide us to Montserrat.

Montserrat

Breathtaking-Montserrat. No mistake we were approaching the rugged mountain and dramatic monastery! We parked and with no time to dawdle took the next cable car to the top of the 4,000 ft. mountain Monastery and Basilica. Spectacular vistas on the ascent.

Passing cable car

Grace & Emmie watching as we ascend.

Up to the Monastery

Familiarizing ourselves with Montserrat on a basic level, we took the funicular to view the Capella de la Santa cova, planning to return in time to hear the boys choir perform at 1:00. The approximate 50-member Escolanía is one of the oldest, and we‘ve read most esteemed boys’ choirs in Europe, dating from the 13th century.

Keeping a steady pace, glancing at a few of the shrines on the path, planning to linger on the return only to arrive to a closed & locked gate.  Darn! ¿Cómo se dice en español? Maldito!  It offered us more time to pause and honor the shrines or statues depicting scenes from Christ’s life, say some prayers for family and friends, and admire the views.

The Funicular-Capella de La Santa Cova.

Glorious!

 

One of the statues on the path to the Capella de La Santa Cova.

Gate closed & locked to the Santa Cova Chapel.

The plaza outside the Basilica. The sun was glorious!

Grace and Emmie- love to see those genuine smiles!

The front of the Basilica

Lucky to find seats a few minutes before the strike of 1:00; the four of us did nothing but stare and gaze around the Basilica; its detailed ceilings, paintings and alter.  Even though we read a description of where the La Moreneta or Black Virgin is enshrined, it still came as a surprise to catch the motion of people in a window above and behind the alter. Ahh, the location of the La Moreneta!

Waiting for the L’Escolania Choir to sing “Salve Regina”

The Basilica

The angelic voices of these boys felt spiritual and magical.  The combination of their singing, the churches overall dedication to the Virgin Mary, and the spiritual beauty in the surroundings made me fill up with tears and Scott with a sense of reverence.

We hoped the crowd of people present for the choir would not also be heading to view La Moreneta. The line was  ok and it actually was interesting to be present for the silence and other people’s quite anticipation and reactions to being in her presence. For years we’ve heard about Aunt Mary’s search for Black Madonnas, so this was quite special.  Here too, I was speechless, enthralled with emotion.

Paintings of Saints lined the hallway to see La Moreneta.

Peacefully exiting, we reflected on our surroundings and headed for the cable car down in order to begin our drive to San Sabastian.

Rothar

Rothar (pronounced roher) Bikes: 

We now have our bikes; well, we still don’t have one for Grace, so 3 out of 4 of us have bikes. Not bad-It’s tricky when you’re counting on the unexpected donations and stock of second-hand bikes, but we’ll continue to be hopeful and keep looking. Despite the long wait, Rothar did a nice job assembling our bikes; we’ve made a few adjustments- Scott needed a new pedal crank, and I added a basket to mine.  Thus now, we can bikes to stores and other destinations, Scott can bike to work, and we’re hoping Emmie will bike a few days each week. And of course we can bike to explore;  I love to explore!

Scott’s bike is the black Raleigh and Christine’s is the blue Atlanta. Yes, with the pink seat!

Emmie with her bike!

Bikes for the girls

Returned to Rohar, and Emmie now has a bike on order.  Yea, three down one to go. The one Eoin, (pronounced Owen) proposed for Grace did not work, so we’ll return again next week to see what bikes are donated.  Similar experience as the other times, customers- potential and repeat ones, were interested  and willing to wait for one of the employees to talk with them.  We should be hearing anytime… Cross your fingers. We need… ok, we want our bikes.

Bikes

Our bikes should be ready soon!!  We are very excited- just imagine the exploration we’ll be able to do and the help with overall transportation! City biking may take some getting used to, but that is expected.  Many, if not most Dubliners seem to wear some sort of reflective vest to help with visibility.

Scott and I bought used bikes at Rothar (pronounced Rohar) in Dublin. Scott actually read about this place before we arrived.  Their mission is to refurbish used bikes and get them back on the road. And from first impressions their mission is being achieved. They also offer classes on bike repair and have another location and cafe on the south side of Dublin, but we need to learn more about them. Walking in the shop, you can’t help but notice the variety of ages of the customers- the shop is definitely known and having an impact on people – young and old. Bikes line the sides of each wall and floor right as you walk in Rohar.; there is barely enough room to fit more than a few people.  In fact, you may even have to exit the shop to make room if someone is needing to wheel a bike out. It’s a bike shop not a bike store, utilitarian in all aspects, but by the amount of people coming and going they are doing quite well. I think our favorite bike shop in State Colllege, Freeze Thaw would really like this place.

Our first time there, we talked to a straightforward guy who showed us a few potential bikes, but also encouraged us to visit other places. We did, but in reality new bikes did not make sense. I guess the potential for bike theft is present and according to some high here in Dublin, and we thought we could save some money for travel.  Thus, we returned and chose frames that will soon be our bikes.  We are looking forward to that text that will let us know our bikes are ready.  We’ll return for bikes for Grace and Emmie, so they can potentially bike to school and we can bike as a family.

The Bike Shop: Rothar

Walking

Repeat post but one added tidpit: Yesterday we broke a record for the number of Steps taken in a day!! 19,400 (rounded) 🙂

Walking: 

• All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.
• The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy; walk and be healthy. —The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose.
• Walking gets the feet moving, the blood moving, the mind moving. And movement is life. 

We are trying to avoid purchasing or renting a car for our year in Dublin; thus, we are doing a great deal of walking. We are getting to know our neighborhood, Drumcondra, and surroundings, the city, and naturally getting plenty of exercise. Scott and I also like to explore, (perhaps me a bit more) satisfying that curious side of me.

Walking is quite wonderful… most of the time. Showing up to Grace’s school before the official start to pass in some forms so incredibly wet, despite the fact we had our raincoats and umbrellas, was not ideal. Though I must admit, I have not seen or felt rain that hard since that day. Perhaps, any day now. I have come to learn that the weather can change quite easily here. However, overall, we have had lovely weather since our arrival.

I have not resided in a city since Scott and I lived in Boston about 15 years ago and do not recall the conveniences and inconveniences of having to walk.  We also take the bus, but we naturally have to walk to catch the bus and sometimes we just walk. There is an app for Dublin Bus which is useful and Scott has mastered no surprise. He even knows his typical walking pace and time to walk a mile (soon a kilometer). I am envious, really. 🙂  While residing in Boston, Scott and I still had cars to commute to work because we worked outside of the city, so we really don’t know what it’s  exactly like to only rely on ourselves and public transportation.

The first few weeks here we had many errands to do to settle in to the house and prepare the girls for school. This involved purchasing many things such as linens and towels, food, school uniforms and books, and naturally transporting them home walking and via the bus. We certainly pushed the girls with walking to so many places especially those initial days and weeks. They were troupers. The girls also walk to school every day which is only about 15-20 minutes depending on their pace. They walk with friends or us, and are enjoying the independence it affords. It is quite a sight to see all the students donned in their various uniforms walking to and from school. I close as I need to fit a run in and then of course walk to do some errands.

(Before writing, I searched for quotes about walking. Thank you Nietzsche Dickens, and the poet, Latet.)

Griffith Avenue- one of our regular routes

Errands

Emmie & Scott walking: first visit to Rohar

Girls from Dominican and Maryfield walking from school

Walking to School- Gym Day

Walking down Griffith- first week

Bound for Ireland and Arrival

~Thanks to both the hospitality and help from our wonderful friends Maggie and Jack, we were able to stay at their house once we had rented ours.  Naturally it was great to stay with such good friends as our departure date for our big move inched closer.  We transported all the items we believed we’d be taking to their basement. Scott and I debated the type of luggage to bring, but once we decided to use mainly duffle bags and borrowed and collected as many as we could, we, as in the  royal we, divided our clothes and belongings for the next 11+ months among all the bags. (7 duffles, 1 large wheelie bag, and 4 small wheelie bags, and of 4 backpacks).  Scott weighed each bag assuring that none of them exceeded the 5o pound limit. After mailing 2 small boxes, we had our intended baggage amount.   We rented a minivan and our dear friend, Fran drove us to JFK airport, of course after finding a good lunch spot! It was also pleasant surprise that our anticipated fee for a few of our bags was eliminated due to our Delta Sky Miles credit card!

Checking in!

Waiting to board!

Waiting for the taxi.

Second time is a charm. All bags in the van!

~And yes, our luggage fit in one taxi. We really were not sure what to expect when we arrived and whether we’d have to split up into two cabs, but fortunately we could stay together. It was a skinny van, but it all fit. Our first cab driver was not thrilled with us since it took two attempts to fit all the bags in the back of van, the boot of the car.  (He said it was due to regulations that all the luggage had to go in the rear of the van and not in the seating area).  Not sure about the validity of the regulation since two other cab drivers did not have any problem with putting bags in with seats. We pushed his patience that day. However, once we were on our way he seemed more relaxed and he certainly did give us a good tip about our reserved accommodations. In a nutshell, not a family friendly hotel.  The bar in the basement of the hotel … was a gentleman’s club. Oh, my!!! Needless to say we switched hotels!