I'm trying to think if I've ever been away from home for my birthday before. I think once when I worked for the bank I had to travel for business. It's kind of a strange feeling being away from home and the girls for my birthday.
We woke with no particular plans for the day. Tony kept asking me what I wanted to do. After breakfast I decided we should go out for a walk and head for Trafalgar Square. It is one place I don't think I really enjoyed as much as I should have last visit.
Tony didn't have his handy dandy map book and we wandered around a bit before we got our bearings. We found the square, watched the street entertainers, and then looked at each other to say "Now what?!" The tour buses all leave from there so we decided on that.
We took the bus around to the other side of the city and then got on the tour boat that was part of the tour we bought. While it was a beautiful day, it was getting a little chilly once evening settled in. It was fun, but we were glad to be heading back toward the hotel.
We ate dinner at a nice Italian restaurant Tony frequents awhile he's here. The waitress knew him and was especially nice to us. She gave us some Italian liquor on the house that tasted like liquid lemon drops. She asked to take our picture as I had my camera with us. Tony told her she must have known it was my birthday since she was being so nice. She smiled and wished me a happy birthday. She was very sweet.
We came in for the evening and Tony is getting ready for a week of work after being gone for two weeks. I don't think he's quite looking forward to it. Hopefully everything will go well, and it will be an easy day back for him.
It's supposed to rain heavy here all day tomorrow. I plan on a very low key day ending with a great massage. I found a great upside to being in London on my birthday. Downton Abbey has started its new season here already. It's been a stupendous day, and one I'll remember for quite some time.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Saturday, October 4, 2014
End of the road
After 15 days, 2,886 miles, a million castles, a million and one churches, a bazillion cows, and a bazillion and one sheep, we decided to call it a successful trip and head for London. We weren't due back here for another day, but after our wonderful stay at Lake Vyrnwy, neither of us could bear the thought of searching for a place to stay tonight.
We stopped in Shrewsbury today as the last little town to see before heading for the city. It's the birth place of Charles Darwin. We didn't pick it for that reason, we just discovered it when we got there. It seems all of these places have some celebrity associated with it. I guess that's what happens in countries that have such long histories.
It was a nice sized town with neat old streets and shops. Of course I had to take pictures of the castles and churches and cobblestone streets. The collection wouldn't have been complete without it. At the castle there was a wedding going on. I got a picture of the bride and groom during their photo shoot. Last trip I had gotten a bride and groom at a castle, too.
After seeing it though, I programmed Heathrow into the GPS and instructed James to make a beeline for the rental car return. I told Tony they were going to have a field day cleaning off the sheep and cow shit, bug guts, leaves, and mud we traipsed through. We also drug in quite a bit of dirt and sand. Oh, and don't forget the food crumbs from our various indoor picnics along the way.
On our way back, we thought of all we've seen and done in the last two weeks. It's been an amazing trip so far. I have London exploring to do this week and then we have to plan our adventure for this coming weekend. I have already scheduled a massage for Monday. I told Tony you know you're spoiled when you have a massage therapist on your FB friends list while you're on vacation in another country. I saw her last time and she was great. My body is sure looking forward to relaxing.
Monday I don't plan to do much of anything. Tony said he's going to call all throughout the day to keep me from resting while he has to work. I'm sure they're going to keep him there all day and night after him being gone for two weeks. He'll be too busy to think about me.
The unpacking has begun. There are a few things I'm going to hand wash to see if I can generate some clean clothes. I've pretty much gone through all of my clothes once. It hasn't been too bad yet as far as me being grossed out about rewearing dirty clothes. I haven't become European in that regard yet!! Let the last week of vacation begin!!
We stopped in Shrewsbury today as the last little town to see before heading for the city. It's the birth place of Charles Darwin. We didn't pick it for that reason, we just discovered it when we got there. It seems all of these places have some celebrity associated with it. I guess that's what happens in countries that have such long histories.
It was a nice sized town with neat old streets and shops. Of course I had to take pictures of the castles and churches and cobblestone streets. The collection wouldn't have been complete without it. At the castle there was a wedding going on. I got a picture of the bride and groom during their photo shoot. Last trip I had gotten a bride and groom at a castle, too.
After seeing it though, I programmed Heathrow into the GPS and instructed James to make a beeline for the rental car return. I told Tony they were going to have a field day cleaning off the sheep and cow shit, bug guts, leaves, and mud we traipsed through. We also drug in quite a bit of dirt and sand. Oh, and don't forget the food crumbs from our various indoor picnics along the way.
On our way back, we thought of all we've seen and done in the last two weeks. It's been an amazing trip so far. I have London exploring to do this week and then we have to plan our adventure for this coming weekend. I have already scheduled a massage for Monday. I told Tony you know you're spoiled when you have a massage therapist on your FB friends list while you're on vacation in another country. I saw her last time and she was great. My body is sure looking forward to relaxing.
Monday I don't plan to do much of anything. Tony said he's going to call all throughout the day to keep me from resting while he has to work. I'm sure they're going to keep him there all day and night after him being gone for two weeks. He'll be too busy to think about me.
The unpacking has begun. There are a few things I'm going to hand wash to see if I can generate some clean clothes. I've pretty much gone through all of my clothes once. It hasn't been too bad yet as far as me being grossed out about rewearing dirty clothes. I haven't become European in that regard yet!! Let the last week of vacation begin!!
Friday, October 3, 2014
Self induced timeout
You know you're getting old when you need a vacation from your vacation. Today was a much needed timeout from the mad dash through the UK that we've been making. We had to move rooms because the one we were in was taken for the night because we didn't book our room for two nights when we checked in. Tony thought we were just gaining a balcony from the looks of the outside and the price increase. But oh was he wrong!
Our new room is amazing. We have a sitting area, a fireplace, a monster sized bed, and a bathroom to die for in addition to the balcony. I don't ever want to leave!! We did drive around the lake today and explore the couple of buildings that make up the town. Once we came back to our room, we completely vegged and didn't have a guilt in the world. We went down to the tavern for a late lunch and made it last for dinner.
It's just past 9 here and we're ready for bed. Our rejuvenation time was much needed and appreciated. Tomorrow we are headed out in the direction of London. We'll stay somewhere in between here and there tomorrow night. Who knows what fun we'll find. I don't look forward to the hunt for a bed routine, but it will be the last night of that for sure. In London we'll stay at the hotel he always stays in.
I still have another week and a half, but he has work to contemplate starting Monday. We've covered a lot of territory and seen some amazing sights. I've been talking about this trip for months now and it's hard to believe I'm over half way through it. But that's just like time, it travels far too quickly.
Our new room is amazing. We have a sitting area, a fireplace, a monster sized bed, and a bathroom to die for in addition to the balcony. I don't ever want to leave!! We did drive around the lake today and explore the couple of buildings that make up the town. Once we came back to our room, we completely vegged and didn't have a guilt in the world. We went down to the tavern for a late lunch and made it last for dinner.
It's just past 9 here and we're ready for bed. Our rejuvenation time was much needed and appreciated. Tomorrow we are headed out in the direction of London. We'll stay somewhere in between here and there tomorrow night. Who knows what fun we'll find. I don't look forward to the hunt for a bed routine, but it will be the last night of that for sure. In London we'll stay at the hotel he always stays in.
I still have another week and a half, but he has work to contemplate starting Monday. We've covered a lot of territory and seen some amazing sights. I've been talking about this trip for months now and it's hard to believe I'm over half way through it. But that's just like time, it travels far too quickly.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Rejuvenation is necessary
Oh, what a night!! I had posted from the ferry last night before we got off of it. What was supposed to be a great time saving idea cost us dearly!! When we tried to find a place to stay in Fishguard, there was nothing. There was one place that had two twin beds, but it looked really rough and there were people outside cat calling and such at 12:30 at night. I wasn't too fond of that, so we looked elsewhere. BIG mistake.
We drove around until 3:30 trying to find a place up the coast of Wales. We finally hit a town that had a parking place right beside the beach. Really, I needed a bathroom and Tony had seen a sign for public toilets. It had no light and to say it was a little scary is an understatement. But I survived and told him we needed to stay right there for the night.
I can't remember the last time we slept in the car, if ever. It was not a fun experience!! It was about 40 degrees outside, so Tony left the car running. That totally freaked me out, but it's a diesel so there are no toxic fumes. I had bad dreams for the couple of hours we did sleep. I was awake for the largest portion of the time we spent there. NOT PLEASANT!!
Tony finally woke up around 8. I swear that man could sleep standing up if he had to. He said he didn't sleep well, but he slept nonetheless. We set off to find a place for breakfast. The little town we stayed in was actually very pretty. It had brightly colored buildings on the harbor and sail boats in the bay. We woke to see it had all sorts of hotels and bed and breakfast signs. None of them were welcoming us at 3:30 in the morning, however.
We found a place that had American breakfast. We both had French toast. Once we got a little bit of food in our bellies, we decided we could attempt to sight see for the day. We thought about just getting a room and sleeping all day, but it seemed like such a waste. So, off we went.
As we drove, we just weren't seeing anything that caught our eye. We both soon realized that sight seeing wasn't going to cut it today. Fortunately Tony had gotten an iPhone for here in Europe as we don't have international plans on our phones. I started doing some google searching on nice places to see and stay in Wales. I found the perfect place for us.
After we typed in the address and started driving in that direction, it felt like another wild goose chase. We drove, the roads got narrow, and it seemed like we were going nowhere anyone wanted to be. But then out of the blue, we came upon a dam and a beautiful lake. We had a bit of a problem finding the hotel, but we finally did.
Lake Vyrnwy is the name of this place. It's like an old country house on the first man made lake. It has what looks like a castle on the lake right out our window. We came in, showered, and then slept for 3 or 4 hours. It should be interesting to see if we can sleep tonight. I'm betting we won't have any problems.
I had suggested we spend two nights here and Tony took the bait. I'm so glad! I think we'll be plenty busy tomorrow exploring around the lake and seeng what is here. It's not a big town, but there is a lot of nature to see - just what we like.
We've had a wonderful vacation, but both of us have somewhat reached our limit. We've gone over 2600 miles so far and the night in the car put us over the edge. Hopefully a couple of days in one spot will rejuvenate us for the home stretch to London.
We drove around until 3:30 trying to find a place up the coast of Wales. We finally hit a town that had a parking place right beside the beach. Really, I needed a bathroom and Tony had seen a sign for public toilets. It had no light and to say it was a little scary is an understatement. But I survived and told him we needed to stay right there for the night.
I can't remember the last time we slept in the car, if ever. It was not a fun experience!! It was about 40 degrees outside, so Tony left the car running. That totally freaked me out, but it's a diesel so there are no toxic fumes. I had bad dreams for the couple of hours we did sleep. I was awake for the largest portion of the time we spent there. NOT PLEASANT!!
Tony finally woke up around 8. I swear that man could sleep standing up if he had to. He said he didn't sleep well, but he slept nonetheless. We set off to find a place for breakfast. The little town we stayed in was actually very pretty. It had brightly colored buildings on the harbor and sail boats in the bay. We woke to see it had all sorts of hotels and bed and breakfast signs. None of them were welcoming us at 3:30 in the morning, however.
We found a place that had American breakfast. We both had French toast. Once we got a little bit of food in our bellies, we decided we could attempt to sight see for the day. We thought about just getting a room and sleeping all day, but it seemed like such a waste. So, off we went.
As we drove, we just weren't seeing anything that caught our eye. We both soon realized that sight seeing wasn't going to cut it today. Fortunately Tony had gotten an iPhone for here in Europe as we don't have international plans on our phones. I started doing some google searching on nice places to see and stay in Wales. I found the perfect place for us.
After we typed in the address and started driving in that direction, it felt like another wild goose chase. We drove, the roads got narrow, and it seemed like we were going nowhere anyone wanted to be. But then out of the blue, we came upon a dam and a beautiful lake. We had a bit of a problem finding the hotel, but we finally did.
Lake Vyrnwy is the name of this place. It's like an old country house on the first man made lake. It has what looks like a castle on the lake right out our window. We came in, showered, and then slept for 3 or 4 hours. It should be interesting to see if we can sleep tonight. I'm betting we won't have any problems.
I had suggested we spend two nights here and Tony took the bait. I'm so glad! I think we'll be plenty busy tomorrow exploring around the lake and seeng what is here. It's not a big town, but there is a lot of nature to see - just what we like.
We've had a wonderful vacation, but both of us have somewhat reached our limit. We've gone over 2600 miles so far and the night in the car put us over the edge. Hopefully a couple of days in one spot will rejuvenate us for the home stretch to London.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Gift of gab
It seems we're beginning to run out of steam. We visited Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone. After that, we went to Cork to see the English Market. We weren't really impressed and decided to head for Rosslare which is where we'd catch the ferry to Wales. Tony suggested we take the 9 p.m. ferry since we'd make it on time. We did that just that.
Our ferry ride nearly didn't happen. We didn't know we had to have a ticket beforehand. We drove up to the gate where we waited for over an hour only to be told we had to park and go back for a ticket. We originally thought it left at 7 instead of 9. Tony was able to buy the tickets and we got into the next line to wait to board. Then they chose us for a security check point. Thank goodness all was ok on that front.
It is sparsely populated and very quiet. The ride is just over three hours. It should be interesting to see what time we find a hotel, let alone get checked in and asleep. Tomorrow may be our latest yet in getting started.
We've had a wonderful time in Ireland. We have seen the island from top to bottom, side to side, and quite a bit in the middle. Castles, sheep, cows, mountains, coasts, green grasses, cliffs, rainbows, and clover. We didn't leave a stone unturned. It was wonderful to visit the homeland of both of our families. We didn't see any Given or McCann signs, but there were times where it definitely felt like home.
We plan to explore some in Wales and try to fit Hampton Court Palace in before going to London. I need to start figuring out my tourist plan for next week while Tony works. I'm thinking Monday may include an entire day of horizontal activity with me looking at the inside of my eyelids. I may even try to track down a massage. We've run and explored to the point my body is begging for mercy.
Our ferry ride nearly didn't happen. We didn't know we had to have a ticket beforehand. We drove up to the gate where we waited for over an hour only to be told we had to park and go back for a ticket. We originally thought it left at 7 instead of 9. Tony was able to buy the tickets and we got into the next line to wait to board. Then they chose us for a security check point. Thank goodness all was ok on that front.
It is sparsely populated and very quiet. The ride is just over three hours. It should be interesting to see what time we find a hotel, let alone get checked in and asleep. Tomorrow may be our latest yet in getting started.
We've had a wonderful time in Ireland. We have seen the island from top to bottom, side to side, and quite a bit in the middle. Castles, sheep, cows, mountains, coasts, green grasses, cliffs, rainbows, and clover. We didn't leave a stone unturned. It was wonderful to visit the homeland of both of our families. We didn't see any Given or McCann signs, but there were times where it definitely felt like home.
We plan to explore some in Wales and try to fit Hampton Court Palace in before going to London. I need to start figuring out my tourist plan for next week while Tony works. I'm thinking Monday may include an entire day of horizontal activity with me looking at the inside of my eyelids. I may even try to track down a massage. We've run and explored to the point my body is begging for mercy.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
No room at the inn
We followed the best night ever with the most difficult night of finding a place to stay so far. We begrudgingly left the castle this morning and headed for Dingle Peninsula. Our waitress suggested it instead of The Ring of Kerry. She said it was just as pretty and smaller from a time perspective. We took off and were on our way yet again.
The beginning was by the coast. We made our way around the edge following the coast line for quite a while. We saw a beautiful double rainbow that was brighter than either of us have ever seen. We ended up seeing numerous rainbows throughout the day.
Before we knew it, we were headed up the mountain on what looked like a goat path. The mountain turned into sheer rock and there were streams rushing down the sides of it in numerous places. We came to a point where there was a parking lot. Tony realized there was a mountain lake at the top of a short climb, and he wanted to see it. There was a fine mist and I wasn't looking forward to getting wet. He insisted.
I knew climbing up was going to be easier than the climb down. The rocks were slippery and wet. Some of the rocks were bigger and we had to pull ourselves up and over them. But the lake at the top was gorgeous. And looking back down the gauley from the top was so pretty. There were three our four pools of water that were below. And I was right, the climb down was more difficult. But we made it injury free and continued up the goat trail.
When we topped the mountain and headed down the other side, the rocks were covered with green grass. We are always so amazed at how one side of a mountain has one scenery and just as quick it changes. We headed to the coast on the other side and found cliffs again. Not as impressive as Moher, but beautiful nonetheless.
We wound around to a seaside town where they drive right out onto the sand. There was a fishing competition going on, but we never saw anyone catch anything. We saw surfers in wet suits in 60 degree weather. We ate at the restaurant our morning's waitress had suggested. I had mentioned to Tony that we could stay there for the night, but he didn't take the bait.
We got in the car and drove on. We headed for The Gap of Dunloe. When we got there, they had the road closed for repairs. Tony was not happy. He wanted to stay until they were done for the night, but it turned out a piece of equipment broke down and it wasn't in the cards. He was NOT happy yet again.
It took some convincing, but he agreed to drive on to the next adventure. We headed to Cork to find a room. I thought for sure we'd find a place easily. That didn't work out. We finally came to a town that had a hotel. We passed it on the first go round so we had to make our way back. Tony had some sort of brain fart and decided to drive on the right side of the road at an intersection. Fortunately, he realized his mistake quickly, and we avoided any calamity. We're happy to be in our room even if it isn't a castle!
Tomorrow we go to kiss the Blarney stone. I'm sure we'll find yet another adventure and beautiful view. It's seems there aren't any shortage of those here even if we couldn't find a B&B tonight.
The beginning was by the coast. We made our way around the edge following the coast line for quite a while. We saw a beautiful double rainbow that was brighter than either of us have ever seen. We ended up seeing numerous rainbows throughout the day.
Before we knew it, we were headed up the mountain on what looked like a goat path. The mountain turned into sheer rock and there were streams rushing down the sides of it in numerous places. We came to a point where there was a parking lot. Tony realized there was a mountain lake at the top of a short climb, and he wanted to see it. There was a fine mist and I wasn't looking forward to getting wet. He insisted.
I knew climbing up was going to be easier than the climb down. The rocks were slippery and wet. Some of the rocks were bigger and we had to pull ourselves up and over them. But the lake at the top was gorgeous. And looking back down the gauley from the top was so pretty. There were three our four pools of water that were below. And I was right, the climb down was more difficult. But we made it injury free and continued up the goat trail.
When we topped the mountain and headed down the other side, the rocks were covered with green grass. We are always so amazed at how one side of a mountain has one scenery and just as quick it changes. We headed to the coast on the other side and found cliffs again. Not as impressive as Moher, but beautiful nonetheless.
We wound around to a seaside town where they drive right out onto the sand. There was a fishing competition going on, but we never saw anyone catch anything. We saw surfers in wet suits in 60 degree weather. We ate at the restaurant our morning's waitress had suggested. I had mentioned to Tony that we could stay there for the night, but he didn't take the bait.
We got in the car and drove on. We headed for The Gap of Dunloe. When we got there, they had the road closed for repairs. Tony was not happy. He wanted to stay until they were done for the night, but it turned out a piece of equipment broke down and it wasn't in the cards. He was NOT happy yet again.
It took some convincing, but he agreed to drive on to the next adventure. We headed to Cork to find a room. I thought for sure we'd find a place easily. That didn't work out. We finally came to a town that had a hotel. We passed it on the first go round so we had to make our way back. Tony had some sort of brain fart and decided to drive on the right side of the road at an intersection. Fortunately, he realized his mistake quickly, and we avoided any calamity. We're happy to be in our room even if it isn't a castle!
Tomorrow we go to kiss the Blarney stone. I'm sure we'll find yet another adventure and beautiful view. It's seems there aren't any shortage of those here even if we couldn't find a B&B tonight.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Super Spectacular
Super spectacular. My description for the day. Even those words don't properly define my mood right now. More to come on that.
The hostess from our last B&B obviously isn't a morning person. Her chipper and spunkiness was spent last night. She was all business getting our breakfast on and didn't have much to say this morning. We set off earlier than we probably have on any morning so far.
We saw yet another castle ruin and then headed down the coast. I forgot to mention that this is the Atlantic coast. I wanted to get a sunset picture since I have so many sunrises from back home. But our location last night wasn't truly on the ocean, but a bay. It didn't work out.
The Burren was the next sight to see. These are truly the "Rocky" mountains. They are nothing but layers upon layers of rocks. And in one picture, we captured a rock fence that went up and over the top for the cattle. I asked Tony how a cow could manage to make it up the rocks without a broken leg or four, let alone come down the other side. Crazy!!
We found a chocolatier and of course I had to buy some. The building it was in was so adorable. That's what we've found about all of these buildings here. The outsides look plain and simple enough, but when you go in them, the wood work and decorations are gorgeous. We've decided we like Ireland.
We wound our way through the rock mountains back to the coast. Tony wanted to stop and look at this one grouping of rocks along the way. We got out, walked out, and realized it was cliffs on the ocean. The drop was about 75 feet or so. He was all nervous, and I think I may have found another one of his Achilles heels - heights! He doesn't like burning fires either (well, outside of small campfires). I kept messing with him and would get close to the edge. One time he held on to the back of my pants as I took pictures. Funny.
We continued to drive and weave through the small villages. We saw another castle ruin, took another picture, and kept going. I've finally given up on trying to keep track of the names of them. It's a hopeless cause. We finally made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. And OH WOW!!!!
I really got to make him nervous a few times there. On one particular ledge we saw a guy sitting with his feet dangling over the edge. I didn't go that far, but I laid on my stomach and looked over the edge. It was crazy. My Mom would have shot me for sure on that one. She seriously disliked heights. It was about a 150 foot drop. So cool.
We walked and walked and finally turned around to head back. We had taken the "up" route and on the way back Tony asked if we were walking out to the other end. I knew that was his opening for me to say "No" and take the blame for skipping out. I gladly complied. He was relieved and agreed immediately. It would probably have been at least another 2 and a half hours of walking out and back. There was more to see.
We drove to a little town called Limerick. It was too populated and we wanted to drive out of it right away. I've been the route planner since the first day of Tony planning the crazy flight/drive to Edinburgh. We've hit pretty much every major attraction along the way and then some. At one of our B&Bs, another guest mentioned they were going to stay in a castle. A light bulb went off, and I started planning when we could do the same.
I researched all the castles that you can stay in in Ireland. A castle called Ballyseede in Southern Ireland looked like the best bet based on pricing and scheduling of sights. I had put it on today's schedule if it happened to work out. Once Limerick turned into a dud for us, I called the castle. They had an opening and we could get to it by 6 p.m. - our usual stopping time. I said "sold" and off we drove.
I wasn't very good at hiding my excitement. I think Tony knew how excited I would be to stay in a castle. I mean really, what little girl doesn't dream of living in a castle at one point or another as a child?! The thought of living in one for a night sent me over the moon!!
As soon as we checked in, our bellhop brought us to our room. This place is gorgeous. We've stayed in another place back home that's similarly nice, but this one is nicer. The room is huge and in one of the round turret corners. I oohed and ahhed and then it was picture taking time.
Right before Tony snapped a picture with his phone for us to send to the girls, I said I hope our room has a ghost. I took a picture with the big camera and then grabbed his phone to send the text. In looking at the picture, I swear I see a face in one of the windows and an orb in another. We're on the second floor! GHOSTS!!!!
After dinner I saw one of the waiters outside and of course had to ask about ghosts. I love ghost stories and wouldn't you know it, our castle has a ghost. Her name is Hilda and she supposedly appears on March 24th. That just so happens to be our anniversary!! There are NO coincidences!!
I told him about my picture and he said if I'd like he could tell me more about the castle and ghost a little later. We met him and a few other guests at 9:30 downstairs. He gave us a little more information and showed us some pictures previous guests have shared. I told him about my picture but that she was a young girl, not an older lady. I don't think he believed me. Maybe I'll have to find an email address for them and send it. She's there!!!
I'm writing this from a window seat looking out the window. I don't know that I'll sleep a wink tonight. For what we paid for this place, I'm thinking I need to stay up and enjoy every last second. It really is a cool experience, one that I won't forget any time soon.
So, super spectacular!! It's gonna take a lot to trump this day. I don't know that I'll even try.
The hostess from our last B&B obviously isn't a morning person. Her chipper and spunkiness was spent last night. She was all business getting our breakfast on and didn't have much to say this morning. We set off earlier than we probably have on any morning so far.
We saw yet another castle ruin and then headed down the coast. I forgot to mention that this is the Atlantic coast. I wanted to get a sunset picture since I have so many sunrises from back home. But our location last night wasn't truly on the ocean, but a bay. It didn't work out.
The Burren was the next sight to see. These are truly the "Rocky" mountains. They are nothing but layers upon layers of rocks. And in one picture, we captured a rock fence that went up and over the top for the cattle. I asked Tony how a cow could manage to make it up the rocks without a broken leg or four, let alone come down the other side. Crazy!!
We found a chocolatier and of course I had to buy some. The building it was in was so adorable. That's what we've found about all of these buildings here. The outsides look plain and simple enough, but when you go in them, the wood work and decorations are gorgeous. We've decided we like Ireland.
We wound our way through the rock mountains back to the coast. Tony wanted to stop and look at this one grouping of rocks along the way. We got out, walked out, and realized it was cliffs on the ocean. The drop was about 75 feet or so. He was all nervous, and I think I may have found another one of his Achilles heels - heights! He doesn't like burning fires either (well, outside of small campfires). I kept messing with him and would get close to the edge. One time he held on to the back of my pants as I took pictures. Funny.
We continued to drive and weave through the small villages. We saw another castle ruin, took another picture, and kept going. I've finally given up on trying to keep track of the names of them. It's a hopeless cause. We finally made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. And OH WOW!!!!
I really got to make him nervous a few times there. On one particular ledge we saw a guy sitting with his feet dangling over the edge. I didn't go that far, but I laid on my stomach and looked over the edge. It was crazy. My Mom would have shot me for sure on that one. She seriously disliked heights. It was about a 150 foot drop. So cool.
We walked and walked and finally turned around to head back. We had taken the "up" route and on the way back Tony asked if we were walking out to the other end. I knew that was his opening for me to say "No" and take the blame for skipping out. I gladly complied. He was relieved and agreed immediately. It would probably have been at least another 2 and a half hours of walking out and back. There was more to see.
We drove to a little town called Limerick. It was too populated and we wanted to drive out of it right away. I've been the route planner since the first day of Tony planning the crazy flight/drive to Edinburgh. We've hit pretty much every major attraction along the way and then some. At one of our B&Bs, another guest mentioned they were going to stay in a castle. A light bulb went off, and I started planning when we could do the same.
I researched all the castles that you can stay in in Ireland. A castle called Ballyseede in Southern Ireland looked like the best bet based on pricing and scheduling of sights. I had put it on today's schedule if it happened to work out. Once Limerick turned into a dud for us, I called the castle. They had an opening and we could get to it by 6 p.m. - our usual stopping time. I said "sold" and off we drove.
I wasn't very good at hiding my excitement. I think Tony knew how excited I would be to stay in a castle. I mean really, what little girl doesn't dream of living in a castle at one point or another as a child?! The thought of living in one for a night sent me over the moon!!
As soon as we checked in, our bellhop brought us to our room. This place is gorgeous. We've stayed in another place back home that's similarly nice, but this one is nicer. The room is huge and in one of the round turret corners. I oohed and ahhed and then it was picture taking time.
Right before Tony snapped a picture with his phone for us to send to the girls, I said I hope our room has a ghost. I took a picture with the big camera and then grabbed his phone to send the text. In looking at the picture, I swear I see a face in one of the windows and an orb in another. We're on the second floor! GHOSTS!!!!
After dinner I saw one of the waiters outside and of course had to ask about ghosts. I love ghost stories and wouldn't you know it, our castle has a ghost. Her name is Hilda and she supposedly appears on March 24th. That just so happens to be our anniversary!! There are NO coincidences!!
I told him about my picture and he said if I'd like he could tell me more about the castle and ghost a little later. We met him and a few other guests at 9:30 downstairs. He gave us a little more information and showed us some pictures previous guests have shared. I told him about my picture but that she was a young girl, not an older lady. I don't think he believed me. Maybe I'll have to find an email address for them and send it. She's there!!!
I'm writing this from a window seat looking out the window. I don't know that I'll sleep a wink tonight. For what we paid for this place, I'm thinking I need to stay up and enjoy every last second. It really is a cool experience, one that I won't forget any time soon.
So, super spectacular!! It's gonna take a lot to trump this day. I don't know that I'll even try.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Sheep, churches, and castles
Today has been a wonderful follow up to the not so great day we had yesterday. The hotel we stayed in was very nice. We had a pleasant breakfast and then walked to city centre of Galway. We bought a few souvenirs and of course I took a bunch of pictures of the buildings, trees, and anything else that caught my eye. We were surprised to find shops open on Sunday, but I guess we should have remembered we aren't in the Bible Belt. If there's one thing we've discovered about Europe, it is they'll be open to make a tourist buck any time they can. It was a neat area where we walked on the cobble stone streets and milled through a market area.
Speaking of breakfast, here they are all the same. They consist of eggs, bacon (which is more like our country ham), sausage, and toast. Every once in a while, someone will have hashbrowns or potatoes. Many places also have baked beans, sautéed tomatoes, and mushrooms. I've actually been living on the carnivore side and have been eating the bacon each day. So far it hasn't made me sick or anything. It is all good, but we'd like a pancake or waffle thrown in on occasion to change it up. I guess we'll have to wait until we get back home for that.
We finished up our city slicking and headed for the country. Today we went to Ashford Castle first. It is actually a hotel that you can't go into the actual castle unless you're staying there, but you can walk the ground and gardens. It's another castle that's huge, but was done in sections. We couldn't quite figure out how many additions or which side was the oldest. They did a good job of blending things in.
They also had a falconry and while they don't have a presentation, they do have private walks with the birds. We saw a couple out with one and a handler. I got a lot of pictures and we enjoyed the show at their expense - $180 euros for an hour. Ridiculous!! We took more pictures of the castle and off we went.
The next bit was sight seeing in Connemara park. It's a lot of mountains, sheep fields, and country beauty. Again I took a lot of pictures and again they don't do the scenery justice. I've had Tony stop and gets scooby snacks so we can skip lunch each day while we're driving through the beauty. We stopped along the way for out snack and looked through the binoculars at the sheep far up on the mountains.
Our last stop was Kylemore Abbey. We didn't go in because we've reached the point where we've seen so many we can't ooh and ahh any more. It's all just so beautiful. And everything we do here is a fee, so I took my amazing pictures and hopped back in the car.
We took the southerly route back around the lake that we circled today in the direction of Galway. On both the way there and back, we passed through many little villages. Every one had a beautiful church that I wanted a picture of. Again, we got to the point where one is no more or less beautiful than the other. I've learned to just not say anything so Tony doesn't try to find a place to pull over for a photo op.
We went about our way in search of the night's accommodations. We've had great luck so far and it seems that every place we stumble upon is the exact place we were meant to be. I'm a firm believer in that there are no coincidences in life, so I do my best to find the sunny side. Yesterday stretched my limits a bit, however.
The place we decided upon tonight is right by the coast. We saw the B&B sign and started down the road. It was a narrow curvy road that didn't look like it was going to fare well for us. We drove and drove and passed some less than stellar places. The sign kept urging us forward. The very last house on the very last road was the place. And it is a cute little seaside house with a rather interesting hostess. She kept us laughing while we checked in. She even made dinner reservations for us. Breakfast should be entertaining.
Tomorrow is more park and coast exploring. We have been very fortunate that the things we've planned to see are all beautiful and worth the sometimes long trip. We've decided to just forget about yesterday's events (or lack thereof). It sure proved to help us appreciate the beauty we saw today more than we may have without the bump in the road.
Speaking of breakfast, here they are all the same. They consist of eggs, bacon (which is more like our country ham), sausage, and toast. Every once in a while, someone will have hashbrowns or potatoes. Many places also have baked beans, sautéed tomatoes, and mushrooms. I've actually been living on the carnivore side and have been eating the bacon each day. So far it hasn't made me sick or anything. It is all good, but we'd like a pancake or waffle thrown in on occasion to change it up. I guess we'll have to wait until we get back home for that.
We finished up our city slicking and headed for the country. Today we went to Ashford Castle first. It is actually a hotel that you can't go into the actual castle unless you're staying there, but you can walk the ground and gardens. It's another castle that's huge, but was done in sections. We couldn't quite figure out how many additions or which side was the oldest. They did a good job of blending things in.
They also had a falconry and while they don't have a presentation, they do have private walks with the birds. We saw a couple out with one and a handler. I got a lot of pictures and we enjoyed the show at their expense - $180 euros for an hour. Ridiculous!! We took more pictures of the castle and off we went.
The next bit was sight seeing in Connemara park. It's a lot of mountains, sheep fields, and country beauty. Again I took a lot of pictures and again they don't do the scenery justice. I've had Tony stop and gets scooby snacks so we can skip lunch each day while we're driving through the beauty. We stopped along the way for out snack and looked through the binoculars at the sheep far up on the mountains.
Our last stop was Kylemore Abbey. We didn't go in because we've reached the point where we've seen so many we can't ooh and ahh any more. It's all just so beautiful. And everything we do here is a fee, so I took my amazing pictures and hopped back in the car.
We took the southerly route back around the lake that we circled today in the direction of Galway. On both the way there and back, we passed through many little villages. Every one had a beautiful church that I wanted a picture of. Again, we got to the point where one is no more or less beautiful than the other. I've learned to just not say anything so Tony doesn't try to find a place to pull over for a photo op.
We went about our way in search of the night's accommodations. We've had great luck so far and it seems that every place we stumble upon is the exact place we were meant to be. I'm a firm believer in that there are no coincidences in life, so I do my best to find the sunny side. Yesterday stretched my limits a bit, however.
The place we decided upon tonight is right by the coast. We saw the B&B sign and started down the road. It was a narrow curvy road that didn't look like it was going to fare well for us. We drove and drove and passed some less than stellar places. The sign kept urging us forward. The very last house on the very last road was the place. And it is a cute little seaside house with a rather interesting hostess. She kept us laughing while we checked in. She even made dinner reservations for us. Breakfast should be entertaining.
Tomorrow is more park and coast exploring. We have been very fortunate that the things we've planned to see are all beautiful and worth the sometimes long trip. We've decided to just forget about yesterday's events (or lack thereof). It sure proved to help us appreciate the beauty we saw today more than we may have without the bump in the road.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Hurling, sportily, not literally
Today was an epic fail. It started out well as Kathleen, our B&B hostess, reminded us both of our moms. She loved flowers, loved to talk, and seemed a little absent minded. She was very sweet and we enjoyed our breakfast with her.
We headed out for Dublin and all was going well. But as we drove, the road turned into a motorway that had a toll. We needed euros instead of pounds. We exited and spent two hours looking for an ATM that would work with our card. To say it was unpleasant in the car would be an understatement.
We finally decided to take a non toll road and to say to heck with the euros. Of course as soon as we gave up, we found an ATM that worked. Later in the day we ended up going through another toll. It accepted credit cards and had we known, two plus hours of our lives would not have been lost. UGH!!!
That should have been our sign that Dublin was not in the cards today. But instead of heeding the warning, we plowed on. Tony has been staying with a hotel called Ibis while he's been in London. We found one online in Dublin and thought that would be a great place to stay free with his points. We put the address in the GPS and let James guide us.
James is the GPS voice with a British accent. Last trip I practiced my British while trying to be patient (read to avoid killing Tony) because we didn't have a GPS (and he was honing up on his annoying British driving skills). I switched it to him so I could hear how some of the names of things are pronounced. Tony claims it's because the American chick made the faux pas with the ferry deal and I fired her. Whatever the case, the GPS gave him the name James, and I've went with it. I've also continued to work on my British, Scottish, and Irish accent along the way. I'm getting pretty good!
Tony sometimes listens to James, and most times doesn't. James even repeats himself two and three times. But it usually takes me repeating the instructions a couple times, increasing the decibels with each, for him to actually get it. Today was no exception. I was already irritated that we wasted so much of the day that after we got back on track, when Tony missed an exit off a roundabout, I got a little overheated. In turn, Tony got a little overheated. I think both of our valves were a little sensitive to the situation. Nonetheless, I decided I was done being the navigator's assistant, and he'd have to listen to James on his own. Needless to say, that didn't last long.
In trying to get to the hotel, Tony missed the exit the first time. The second time, he didn't want to take James' advice, and went on his own route. Finally on the third time, we made it to the hotel. It only took us 20 extra minutes in city traffic.
Maybe I should have mentioned earlier that we had tried to call the hotel to see if they had availability. For some reason we can't get the cell phone to dial the Ireland numbers. I suggested we ask to use Kathleen's phone. Tony, a.k.a. Mr. Let's Just Wing It, decided "Nah, we'll be fine." Me, a.k.a. Idiot That Still Trusts This Man After Nearly 30 Years Of Numerous Bad Outcomes, said "Okay".
We wheeled around the reception circle to put an end to this awful day. He walked in to find out that not only did Ibis not have a room, but probably no one on that entire side of Dublin had one either since the equivalent to our Super Bowl was going on tonight for their sport called hurling. They suggested the city centre (the equivalent to our Main Street) might have something.
So, he comes out to share the GREAT news. I switched back to patience mode and went along for the ride. That didn't really last too long. Let's just say city centre is NOT the place to be for a city's Super Bowl. I did really well for a long time. But when we hadn't gone a mile in about 30 minutes, I asked one of those questions with an obvious answer that most smart men get right - "Do you give up and want to find a room outside the city?" And of course you guessed it, Tony didn't provide the right answer. That's when things got a little warm in the car again.
Intelligence prevailed and we picked a place on the map to head to. When we got there, we tried a B&B. She let us know that we needed to continue to head out of town for no less than an hour because there wasn't a single room to be had around. UGH!!!
That was not the news that we wanted to hear after traveling all day. But oh well. It is what it is. Good bye Dublin, hello Galway. We traveled across the country from the east coast to the west coast. We've done it before in the US and we can do it here in Ireland. Fortunately here it's only about two hours.
As we were headed out of town, we stopped to eat. This place had a hotel that was also sold out, but this time due to a wedding. We ate and saw the hurling match on TV that had caused all the raucous in Dublin. It's a game that seems like a mixture of baseball, field hockey, soccer, and football. It's a very fast paced game and very physical. We watched and cheered once the waiter explained the concept. We decided maybe not being there was a great thing once we saw all the people. It would have been loud and obnoxious all night long I'm sure.
After dinner, we headed out. To cap off the wonderful day, the Ibis that my internet search said existed in Galway, doesn't. We circled the supposed address a couple of times and stopped at the next hotel. Fortunately our Irish luck kicked in, and they just had a cancellation. Seems there is an International Oyster Festival going on a block or so away and this town is jam packed full, too.
Tony is currently in search for some ice so he can calm his frazzled nerves with a glass of Jack. Personally, I just want a knock in the head. Tomorrow is a busy day of seeing sights. Hopefully we can afford to make it back to Dublin from a time perspective, or maybe not. Maybe that will be what brings me back for the next visit under much better circumstances!
We headed out for Dublin and all was going well. But as we drove, the road turned into a motorway that had a toll. We needed euros instead of pounds. We exited and spent two hours looking for an ATM that would work with our card. To say it was unpleasant in the car would be an understatement.
We finally decided to take a non toll road and to say to heck with the euros. Of course as soon as we gave up, we found an ATM that worked. Later in the day we ended up going through another toll. It accepted credit cards and had we known, two plus hours of our lives would not have been lost. UGH!!!
That should have been our sign that Dublin was not in the cards today. But instead of heeding the warning, we plowed on. Tony has been staying with a hotel called Ibis while he's been in London. We found one online in Dublin and thought that would be a great place to stay free with his points. We put the address in the GPS and let James guide us.
James is the GPS voice with a British accent. Last trip I practiced my British while trying to be patient (read to avoid killing Tony) because we didn't have a GPS (and he was honing up on his annoying British driving skills). I switched it to him so I could hear how some of the names of things are pronounced. Tony claims it's because the American chick made the faux pas with the ferry deal and I fired her. Whatever the case, the GPS gave him the name James, and I've went with it. I've also continued to work on my British, Scottish, and Irish accent along the way. I'm getting pretty good!
Tony sometimes listens to James, and most times doesn't. James even repeats himself two and three times. But it usually takes me repeating the instructions a couple times, increasing the decibels with each, for him to actually get it. Today was no exception. I was already irritated that we wasted so much of the day that after we got back on track, when Tony missed an exit off a roundabout, I got a little overheated. In turn, Tony got a little overheated. I think both of our valves were a little sensitive to the situation. Nonetheless, I decided I was done being the navigator's assistant, and he'd have to listen to James on his own. Needless to say, that didn't last long.
In trying to get to the hotel, Tony missed the exit the first time. The second time, he didn't want to take James' advice, and went on his own route. Finally on the third time, we made it to the hotel. It only took us 20 extra minutes in city traffic.
Maybe I should have mentioned earlier that we had tried to call the hotel to see if they had availability. For some reason we can't get the cell phone to dial the Ireland numbers. I suggested we ask to use Kathleen's phone. Tony, a.k.a. Mr. Let's Just Wing It, decided "Nah, we'll be fine." Me, a.k.a. Idiot That Still Trusts This Man After Nearly 30 Years Of Numerous Bad Outcomes, said "Okay".
We wheeled around the reception circle to put an end to this awful day. He walked in to find out that not only did Ibis not have a room, but probably no one on that entire side of Dublin had one either since the equivalent to our Super Bowl was going on tonight for their sport called hurling. They suggested the city centre (the equivalent to our Main Street) might have something.
So, he comes out to share the GREAT news. I switched back to patience mode and went along for the ride. That didn't really last too long. Let's just say city centre is NOT the place to be for a city's Super Bowl. I did really well for a long time. But when we hadn't gone a mile in about 30 minutes, I asked one of those questions with an obvious answer that most smart men get right - "Do you give up and want to find a room outside the city?" And of course you guessed it, Tony didn't provide the right answer. That's when things got a little warm in the car again.
Intelligence prevailed and we picked a place on the map to head to. When we got there, we tried a B&B. She let us know that we needed to continue to head out of town for no less than an hour because there wasn't a single room to be had around. UGH!!!
That was not the news that we wanted to hear after traveling all day. But oh well. It is what it is. Good bye Dublin, hello Galway. We traveled across the country from the east coast to the west coast. We've done it before in the US and we can do it here in Ireland. Fortunately here it's only about two hours.
As we were headed out of town, we stopped to eat. This place had a hotel that was also sold out, but this time due to a wedding. We ate and saw the hurling match on TV that had caused all the raucous in Dublin. It's a game that seems like a mixture of baseball, field hockey, soccer, and football. It's a very fast paced game and very physical. We watched and cheered once the waiter explained the concept. We decided maybe not being there was a great thing once we saw all the people. It would have been loud and obnoxious all night long I'm sure.
After dinner, we headed out. To cap off the wonderful day, the Ibis that my internet search said existed in Galway, doesn't. We circled the supposed address a couple of times and stopped at the next hotel. Fortunately our Irish luck kicked in, and they just had a cancellation. Seems there is an International Oyster Festival going on a block or so away and this town is jam packed full, too.
Tony is currently in search for some ice so he can calm his frazzled nerves with a glass of Jack. Personally, I just want a knock in the head. Tomorrow is a busy day of seeing sights. Hopefully we can afford to make it back to Dublin from a time perspective, or maybe not. Maybe that will be what brings me back for the next visit under much better circumstances!
Friday, September 26, 2014
Gypsy wanderers
After a fairly decent nights sleep, I thought I'd be prepared to get back in the car for the next day full of sight seeing. About an hour in, my tail was sore, and I was wiggling around. We walked out to a swinging rope bridge that connects cliffs over the ocean. It was gorgeous. But the walking flared up the blister I've rubbed on the top of my little toe with my new tennis shoes. A horizontal comatose position would probably be the best position for me for the next few days. But that won't be happening! We're 1500 miles in and about 2500 to go.
We continued down the coast and found a couple of castle ruins to explore. We drove through countryside and cities alike. We always like it best when the road narrows and traffic thins out. We're drawn to mountains and country settings like magnets.
We're in another bed and breakfast for the night. The little lady is as sweet as she can be. Tony asked for a glass of ice so he can drink his Jack Daniel's. She said she'd look to see if there is any. She doesn't have any, but put some in to freeze. She said she had no idea how long it would take, but she'd check back in an hour. They don't drink anything with ice here. They want everything to be warm because it's always cold outside.
We've actually been very fortunate with the weather. Today the sun has shown all day. While it's not hot by any means, it's not freezing. The wind cuts you in two, but the sun feels good when you can find a cozy spot to get out of it. It's mostly at night when it rains. We were very lucky that the one night we had to drive, it didn't rain. I still have images of Bambi being knocked to the pavement and scurrying to get up. UGH!!
The routes I have mapped out so far have worked out great. Tomorrow we head over to Dublin to see what's over there. We really need to sit down together and map out the next few days. But we're both always so tired when we get in that looking at a map isn't high on the priority list. Tonight it is a MUST though.
With as much traveling as we are doing, I swear we must have been gypsies in a prior life. Maybe I can trick Tony into believing there are a ton of things to do in one area and stay in one place for two nights. I've so wanted to sleep in but at B&Bs they want you up early and out.
We've seen so much that it is all becoming a blur. We pass castle ruins now and don't even flinch. We see mountains in the distance and don't feel the need to drive to them. I'm really glad I'm writing down the things we're seeing and trying to label the pictures I'm taking. I've already forgotten the names of places we've seen and been. Hopefully my future grandchildren will enjoy reading about the gypsy wanderings of their crazy grandparents!
We continued down the coast and found a couple of castle ruins to explore. We drove through countryside and cities alike. We always like it best when the road narrows and traffic thins out. We're drawn to mountains and country settings like magnets.
We're in another bed and breakfast for the night. The little lady is as sweet as she can be. Tony asked for a glass of ice so he can drink his Jack Daniel's. She said she'd look to see if there is any. She doesn't have any, but put some in to freeze. She said she had no idea how long it would take, but she'd check back in an hour. They don't drink anything with ice here. They want everything to be warm because it's always cold outside.
We've actually been very fortunate with the weather. Today the sun has shown all day. While it's not hot by any means, it's not freezing. The wind cuts you in two, but the sun feels good when you can find a cozy spot to get out of it. It's mostly at night when it rains. We were very lucky that the one night we had to drive, it didn't rain. I still have images of Bambi being knocked to the pavement and scurrying to get up. UGH!!
The routes I have mapped out so far have worked out great. Tomorrow we head over to Dublin to see what's over there. We really need to sit down together and map out the next few days. But we're both always so tired when we get in that looking at a map isn't high on the priority list. Tonight it is a MUST though.
With as much traveling as we are doing, I swear we must have been gypsies in a prior life. Maybe I can trick Tony into believing there are a ton of things to do in one area and stay in one place for two nights. I've so wanted to sleep in but at B&Bs they want you up early and out.
We've seen so much that it is all becoming a blur. We pass castle ruins now and don't even flinch. We see mountains in the distance and don't feel the need to drive to them. I'm really glad I'm writing down the things we're seeing and trying to label the pictures I'm taking. I've already forgotten the names of places we've seen and been. Hopefully my future grandchildren will enjoy reading about the gypsy wanderings of their crazy grandparents!
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Country hopping
Our time in Scotland has come to a close. We stayed in Kilmarnook last night and took the ferry from Troon to Larne. Getting on and off the ferry was incredibly easy. We drove into Belfast to see the downtown area. We were going to hit the Titanic memorial site but Tony didn't want to spend two hours walking through it. We saw Belfast castle quickly and headed for the coastal causeway.
WOW!! The Northern Ireland shore is magnificent!! The water is green and the cliffs and rocks are breath taking. There was one road that again was a go cart width up the cliff. I'm just glad we never met an oncoming car. We took so many pictures. The hotel we're staying in has fairly slow internet connectivity and Tony is falling further and further behind in uploading my pictures. That doesn't keep me from taking them, however.
Tonight we're staying in a fairly strange bed and breakfast. It's very pretty and looks castle like, but it's new. But the road coming in to it didn't give us much confidence when there was a sign for a "grave from famine" down one of the paths along the driveway. We didn't ask about it and just hope we don't end up in it by morning.
We both are completely pooped and didn't want much for dinner. We found a pizza place that had takeout and brought it back here. Maybe a good nights sleep will fuel the exploring tomorrow. Who knows what adventures we'll find.
WOW!! The Northern Ireland shore is magnificent!! The water is green and the cliffs and rocks are breath taking. There was one road that again was a go cart width up the cliff. I'm just glad we never met an oncoming car. We took so many pictures. The hotel we're staying in has fairly slow internet connectivity and Tony is falling further and further behind in uploading my pictures. That doesn't keep me from taking them, however.
Tonight we're staying in a fairly strange bed and breakfast. It's very pretty and looks castle like, but it's new. But the road coming in to it didn't give us much confidence when there was a sign for a "grave from famine" down one of the paths along the driveway. We didn't ask about it and just hope we don't end up in it by morning.
We both are completely pooped and didn't want much for dinner. We found a pizza place that had takeout and brought it back here. Maybe a good nights sleep will fuel the exploring tomorrow. Who knows what adventures we'll find.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
So long Bambi...
The day started out a little too early for me. I'm not sure why but I woke up at 6. It more than likely had to do with the snoring cow I was in bed with. At home I refuse to sleep in the same room as Tony. I don't really have that luxury in these hotels and bed and breakfasts. I do have my rain and thunder sound maker on my iPad. I'm sure it's quite confusing for the people in rooms close by that might hear it.
Our breakfast was nice and Mrs. Doubtfire talked with us. We figured out it's not penguins all over the house but puffins. Slight difference. LOL If she said "lovely" and "guud" once, she said it twenty times. Such a happy lot these Scottish. I like them!
We headed to Durness and saw some incredible sights. The coastline is rocky and cliffy. We found Smoo cave and walked down to it. We found beautiful beaches and stopped to take pictures. We were going across one little bridge out in nowhere and Tony wanted to hike down by the water to see it. Again, we meandered our way around the top left edge of the island and saw sights that words nor pictures can ever capture.
The roads through this part of the highlands are nothing more than single track lanes that go carts would traverse. Every 50 feet or so there are what they call passing places. The way it works is that when you see another car coming, the first one that comes to a passing place is supposed to pull over and let the other pass.
This works great when you know what you're doing. For those of us that are new to this fun little activity it seems a lot like playing chicken because of course the goal is to not have to be the one to stop. And let's not forget the added challenge of having sheep and cows in the road. If I don't have bleeding ulcers by the time this trip is over, it's gonna be a miracle!!!
After coming through Durness and heading south, I had to give Tony the reality check of his goal to see Ireland. We made the hard decision to skip Isle of Skye and head south toward Glasgow. It wasn't easy to give up on our planned route, but realizing we could spend a month in the highlands alone we're grateful for what we have seen.
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan so we stopped in to see the bridge the train crosses to get to Hogwarts. It's pretty but off at a distance. The movie production of it is far more glamorous than the hill top view we had. Nonetheless, it was cool to see it and get a picture. Now if J. K. Rowling would get back to writing about Harry. I miss him!!
On the way back to civilization the GPS took us on a "short cut". We were back to single lane roads that were very curvy and had trees. It became a little spooky as night began to fall. We saw a baby deer and got his picture. He sat and looked at us for the longest time. His momma ran out the other end of the road and we shewed him toward her.
We avoided the sheep, cows, and cars along the way. There was a body of water that was to our left and Tony kept looking for the bridge to cross. I told him we must be driving around the end of it because the GPS was counting down to a turn. However, when we got to the place to turn, the GPS said "Turn left and board the ferry". If only we had an in car camera to have captured the look on both of our faces. We just knew we were screwed and would have to travel back the way we had just come. Fortunately the ferry ran every twenty minutes for a fairly small fee.
We made it back on the road after a 5 minute ride across the water. We drove through a glen for the first part of the trip and the car in front of us hit a deer. The rest of the way was pretty much intense, and the planned sleep I was hoping for didn't happen. We're now in Kilmarnock and expect to head to Ireland tomorrow. Let's hope that trip is a little less eventful than today!!
Our breakfast was nice and Mrs. Doubtfire talked with us. We figured out it's not penguins all over the house but puffins. Slight difference. LOL If she said "lovely" and "guud" once, she said it twenty times. Such a happy lot these Scottish. I like them!
We headed to Durness and saw some incredible sights. The coastline is rocky and cliffy. We found Smoo cave and walked down to it. We found beautiful beaches and stopped to take pictures. We were going across one little bridge out in nowhere and Tony wanted to hike down by the water to see it. Again, we meandered our way around the top left edge of the island and saw sights that words nor pictures can ever capture.
The roads through this part of the highlands are nothing more than single track lanes that go carts would traverse. Every 50 feet or so there are what they call passing places. The way it works is that when you see another car coming, the first one that comes to a passing place is supposed to pull over and let the other pass.
This works great when you know what you're doing. For those of us that are new to this fun little activity it seems a lot like playing chicken because of course the goal is to not have to be the one to stop. And let's not forget the added challenge of having sheep and cows in the road. If I don't have bleeding ulcers by the time this trip is over, it's gonna be a miracle!!!
After coming through Durness and heading south, I had to give Tony the reality check of his goal to see Ireland. We made the hard decision to skip Isle of Skye and head south toward Glasgow. It wasn't easy to give up on our planned route, but realizing we could spend a month in the highlands alone we're grateful for what we have seen.
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan so we stopped in to see the bridge the train crosses to get to Hogwarts. It's pretty but off at a distance. The movie production of it is far more glamorous than the hill top view we had. Nonetheless, it was cool to see it and get a picture. Now if J. K. Rowling would get back to writing about Harry. I miss him!!
On the way back to civilization the GPS took us on a "short cut". We were back to single lane roads that were very curvy and had trees. It became a little spooky as night began to fall. We saw a baby deer and got his picture. He sat and looked at us for the longest time. His momma ran out the other end of the road and we shewed him toward her.
We avoided the sheep, cows, and cars along the way. There was a body of water that was to our left and Tony kept looking for the bridge to cross. I told him we must be driving around the end of it because the GPS was counting down to a turn. However, when we got to the place to turn, the GPS said "Turn left and board the ferry". If only we had an in car camera to have captured the look on both of our faces. We just knew we were screwed and would have to travel back the way we had just come. Fortunately the ferry ran every twenty minutes for a fairly small fee.
We made it back on the road after a 5 minute ride across the water. We drove through a glen for the first part of the trip and the car in front of us hit a deer. The rest of the way was pretty much intense, and the planned sleep I was hoping for didn't happen. We're now in Kilmarnock and expect to head to Ireland tomorrow. Let's hope that trip is a little less eventful than today!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Fairy tale castles
We woke to a nice breakfast and tried to get moving a little earlier today. I rested very well and was ready to take on the day. We drove into Inverness for a bit and got out to take some pictures. It's a cute little town. Last night we had walked downtown for dinner. There is a bridge that they have a light display on. It was neat. They also light up the castle. I didn't take my camera, so unfortunately I missed those shots.
Our goal was to drive to Wick and then stay in Durness. We happened upon a castle (Dunrobin) on the ocean front and decided to stop and check it out. It looked just like a fairy tale castle! The inside was done in four different phases over about 400 years, and it was interesting to see how they were tied together both inside and out.
There were beautiful gardens outside that we walked through, too. I find it amazing that they have colorful flowers that pretty much bloom all year long. And they are so meticulous in keeping them. It was very pretty to look down on them, and then once down there, gorgeous to look back up at the castle. A gorgeous wedding setting for anyone wanting to travel to Scotland to get married.
They had a guy on staff that did a falconry display. He had eagles, falcons, and owls. I was amazed at how well trained they were. He had them flying right at us as part of the presentation. One even landed on the head of this guy in the audience. Very cool.
The last part was a museum building that once we got into it, I wanted to leave immediately. It was an entire building of dead animals! Tony was in heaven. They were all the trophies that the 5 generations of dukes had killed over the years. There was a poor giraffes head and neck coming out of the floor. My girls would have died on the spot as they both love them. It was quite disturbing!!
We got back to the car and realized we just spent two hours on our folly. We made it to Wick and checked out the coast line. We tried to find some place to eat to no avail. They don't have a lot of signage here and everything is in extreme under tone. You won't see any flashing neon signs which is nice, but sure does make it difficult to find things.
It was on to Durness then. I ended up falling asleep in the car and the next thing I knew, Tony was pulling in to a hotel. Unfortunately they didn't have any vacancy. Nor did the next 5 places we stopped. Tony was getting in somewhat of a panic, which for those of you that know him is totally out of character. He falls asleep during MRIs if that gives you any clue. So, when he was driving like a bat out of hell between places, I just had to take deep breaths. I had resolved myself to staying in the car for the night if need be.
We went past a couple of hole in the wall places and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bed and breakfast sign. We turned up the road and started driving. First we saw sheep in the road. Next it was the cows with all the hair falling down in their eyes. The houses were less than appealing and we kept driving further and further. I told him I was hearing banjos and squealing pigs and it was time to turn around. He refused saying there had been a sign!
Fortunately his perseverance paid off. We are in a very nice place that is warm, has its own locked door and bathroom, and there are no children saying "redrum". It's the little things I'm learning to be grateful for on this trip! The woman sounds just like Mrs. Doubtfire, and I love listening to her talk. She does like penguins however and there are an abnormal amount of them throughout the house. Tony will just have to whip out his batman cape if a life sized penguin does show up, because I'm not getting back in the car to look anywhere else now that it's dark.
Tomorrow it's Durness and heading for Isle of Skye. We are starting to close in on the allotted time for Scotland and are falling behind on sights we've seen. It's amazing how even when you have two weeks to work with in planning a trip, the days fly by. But we're continuing to remind ourselves that it is vacation and there is no set agenda.
This morning I decided that we needed to call a truce. We've both been a little edgy, and I had had enough. However, as the day wore on, we realized we were not being very successful. I think it has to do with being in the car driving so much. At home I'm not a very good passenger with him as he has quite a few bad driving habits (as I mentioned in an earlier blog). Compound that by being in a country where everything is backwards and dwarfed in size compared to the US, and it makes for very testy relations. I guess we'll try again tomorrow to be nice.
The one nice thing about Tony's fear of not being able to find a room is that he starts looking relatively early in the day. That always means we're in early for the night. I'm liking this whole get to bed at a decent hour thing. Maybe, just maybe, I'm getting back on track in the sleep category. Hopefully that will help with the "make nice" effort as well.
Our goal was to drive to Wick and then stay in Durness. We happened upon a castle (Dunrobin) on the ocean front and decided to stop and check it out. It looked just like a fairy tale castle! The inside was done in four different phases over about 400 years, and it was interesting to see how they were tied together both inside and out.
There were beautiful gardens outside that we walked through, too. I find it amazing that they have colorful flowers that pretty much bloom all year long. And they are so meticulous in keeping them. It was very pretty to look down on them, and then once down there, gorgeous to look back up at the castle. A gorgeous wedding setting for anyone wanting to travel to Scotland to get married.
They had a guy on staff that did a falconry display. He had eagles, falcons, and owls. I was amazed at how well trained they were. He had them flying right at us as part of the presentation. One even landed on the head of this guy in the audience. Very cool.
The last part was a museum building that once we got into it, I wanted to leave immediately. It was an entire building of dead animals! Tony was in heaven. They were all the trophies that the 5 generations of dukes had killed over the years. There was a poor giraffes head and neck coming out of the floor. My girls would have died on the spot as they both love them. It was quite disturbing!!
We got back to the car and realized we just spent two hours on our folly. We made it to Wick and checked out the coast line. We tried to find some place to eat to no avail. They don't have a lot of signage here and everything is in extreme under tone. You won't see any flashing neon signs which is nice, but sure does make it difficult to find things.
It was on to Durness then. I ended up falling asleep in the car and the next thing I knew, Tony was pulling in to a hotel. Unfortunately they didn't have any vacancy. Nor did the next 5 places we stopped. Tony was getting in somewhat of a panic, which for those of you that know him is totally out of character. He falls asleep during MRIs if that gives you any clue. So, when he was driving like a bat out of hell between places, I just had to take deep breaths. I had resolved myself to staying in the car for the night if need be.
We went past a couple of hole in the wall places and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bed and breakfast sign. We turned up the road and started driving. First we saw sheep in the road. Next it was the cows with all the hair falling down in their eyes. The houses were less than appealing and we kept driving further and further. I told him I was hearing banjos and squealing pigs and it was time to turn around. He refused saying there had been a sign!
Fortunately his perseverance paid off. We are in a very nice place that is warm, has its own locked door and bathroom, and there are no children saying "redrum". It's the little things I'm learning to be grateful for on this trip! The woman sounds just like Mrs. Doubtfire, and I love listening to her talk. She does like penguins however and there are an abnormal amount of them throughout the house. Tony will just have to whip out his batman cape if a life sized penguin does show up, because I'm not getting back in the car to look anywhere else now that it's dark.
Tomorrow it's Durness and heading for Isle of Skye. We are starting to close in on the allotted time for Scotland and are falling behind on sights we've seen. It's amazing how even when you have two weeks to work with in planning a trip, the days fly by. But we're continuing to remind ourselves that it is vacation and there is no set agenda.
This morning I decided that we needed to call a truce. We've both been a little edgy, and I had had enough. However, as the day wore on, we realized we were not being very successful. I think it has to do with being in the car driving so much. At home I'm not a very good passenger with him as he has quite a few bad driving habits (as I mentioned in an earlier blog). Compound that by being in a country where everything is backwards and dwarfed in size compared to the US, and it makes for very testy relations. I guess we'll try again tomorrow to be nice.
The one nice thing about Tony's fear of not being able to find a room is that he starts looking relatively early in the day. That always means we're in early for the night. I'm liking this whole get to bed at a decent hour thing. Maybe, just maybe, I'm getting back on track in the sleep category. Hopefully that will help with the "make nice" effort as well.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Riding with Jason Bourne
The wonderful sleep that my body needs is alluding me. We thought we didn't have internet access last night so we crashed around 9ish. But then I woke up at 12:30 and could not get back to sleep for three hours. I kept having thoughts of ghosts and strange ideas about the children in the house coming into our room and standing over us. The fact the latch on our room door didn't work is probably what fueled all that nonsense. All I could think about was The Shining. CRAZY!!!
But by morning, no one had killed us and if there were any ghosts, I didn't see them. The bathroom situation was strange as we shared the one that had a shower with the family of the house. To say that Bed and Breakfasts here are a tad different than those at home is an understatement!! But breakfast was good and we headed off.
We made our way to St. Andrews first thing. The odd part for us in this part of the country is that there are sheep and cow fields as green as any mountain valley right beside the coast line. It's hard to wrap our minds around it. The soil here is rich and dark, unlike the sand along our coastline back home. Seeing fields of baled hay and then the ocean behind it is hard to fathom.
The roads here are a little tricky. For one, you'll be riding along and all of a sudden you're passing through a town. The sidewalk is about 2 feet wide in places and the buildings go straight up from there. Today as Tony was buzzing through a small town and we took a very sharp, very fast, left turn to simply following the road, it made me think of the Bourne movie series.
Watching the movies is intense enough in those crazy driving scenes where he drives on sidewalks and such. But to actually be experiencing it (albeit at a far slower speed) I was starting to turn a bit green. All the while, there are cars behind you urging you to go faster. Pair that with having no idea where to go (even though we have the GPS trying to tell us), and you can understand why we are often cussed as "dumb Americans" here.
The other nice feature are the cars parked alongside or in the road. Many times I just close my eyes and if I don't hear tires screeching, horns blaring, or the sound of crunching metal, I know we've made it through. One of our favorite lines related to precarious car driving is "Hold on to your ass, Fred" from Smokey and the Bandit. This whole driving adventure is a "Hold on to your ass, Fred" moment for sure!!
The Cathedral and castle ruins in St. Andrews were lovely. We drove through the little town but it was just so congested with college students along the sidewalks. Fortunately Tony knows my aversion to crowds and got us out of there. It was back to zooming through the country to the next little town.
From there we drove through the mountains toward Loch Ness. The mountains here are very different. There are hardly any trees on them and they have various colors of low lying shrubbery. I keep thinking that it's the altitude and the tree line is due to being too cold like the Rockies back home. But every once in a while we'll see a patch of trees at the top of a mountain. It's just very odd to see all these mountains with little to no trees on them. The other strange thing is that without trees, you can see the roads that snake to the tops of them and then over the summit. I can only imagine how long it would take to traverse up one of those roads.
Once we hit the lochs, there were tons of pine trees. They look like Blue Spruces, my favorite. They are straight up with beautiful, long branches with dangling boughs. At one point it totally felt like traveling along the Parkway at home. The Highlands are very pretty.
We are staying in Inverness tonight at a more traditional B&B. I've checked and the door does lock and we have our own bathroom. So hopefully I can get that much needed rest. Tomorrow is Wick and the northern tip of Scotland. From here Tony says the roads narrow, and I think we may have to share some with the sheep. We may even get to take an off road excursion up one of those winding mountain trails. I'll do my best to dream of it.
But by morning, no one had killed us and if there were any ghosts, I didn't see them. The bathroom situation was strange as we shared the one that had a shower with the family of the house. To say that Bed and Breakfasts here are a tad different than those at home is an understatement!! But breakfast was good and we headed off.
We made our way to St. Andrews first thing. The odd part for us in this part of the country is that there are sheep and cow fields as green as any mountain valley right beside the coast line. It's hard to wrap our minds around it. The soil here is rich and dark, unlike the sand along our coastline back home. Seeing fields of baled hay and then the ocean behind it is hard to fathom.
The roads here are a little tricky. For one, you'll be riding along and all of a sudden you're passing through a town. The sidewalk is about 2 feet wide in places and the buildings go straight up from there. Today as Tony was buzzing through a small town and we took a very sharp, very fast, left turn to simply following the road, it made me think of the Bourne movie series.
Watching the movies is intense enough in those crazy driving scenes where he drives on sidewalks and such. But to actually be experiencing it (albeit at a far slower speed) I was starting to turn a bit green. All the while, there are cars behind you urging you to go faster. Pair that with having no idea where to go (even though we have the GPS trying to tell us), and you can understand why we are often cussed as "dumb Americans" here.
The other nice feature are the cars parked alongside or in the road. Many times I just close my eyes and if I don't hear tires screeching, horns blaring, or the sound of crunching metal, I know we've made it through. One of our favorite lines related to precarious car driving is "Hold on to your ass, Fred" from Smokey and the Bandit. This whole driving adventure is a "Hold on to your ass, Fred" moment for sure!!
The Cathedral and castle ruins in St. Andrews were lovely. We drove through the little town but it was just so congested with college students along the sidewalks. Fortunately Tony knows my aversion to crowds and got us out of there. It was back to zooming through the country to the next little town.
From there we drove through the mountains toward Loch Ness. The mountains here are very different. There are hardly any trees on them and they have various colors of low lying shrubbery. I keep thinking that it's the altitude and the tree line is due to being too cold like the Rockies back home. But every once in a while we'll see a patch of trees at the top of a mountain. It's just very odd to see all these mountains with little to no trees on them. The other strange thing is that without trees, you can see the roads that snake to the tops of them and then over the summit. I can only imagine how long it would take to traverse up one of those roads.
Once we hit the lochs, there were tons of pine trees. They look like Blue Spruces, my favorite. They are straight up with beautiful, long branches with dangling boughs. At one point it totally felt like traveling along the Parkway at home. The Highlands are very pretty.
We are staying in Inverness tonight at a more traditional B&B. I've checked and the door does lock and we have our own bathroom. So hopefully I can get that much needed rest. Tomorrow is Wick and the northern tip of Scotland. From here Tony says the roads narrow, and I think we may have to share some with the sheep. We may even get to take an off road excursion up one of those winding mountain trails. I'll do my best to dream of it.
Best laid plans are sometimes better to be broken
Since my body was pretty much in shock, Tony felt sorry for me and we slept in today. I say it was for me, but he slept longer than I did. We spent the night in an Ibis which is much like a Holiday Inn Express back in the states. He stays in an Ibis in London when he's working. His there is the size of a tuna can. This one in Edinburgh was even smaller. It's a good thing we don't take up a lot of room.
It was fairly noisy as it was right in the middle of pubs and busy streets. But I didn't hear anything. I slept fairly soundly but was surprised that I did wake up a couple of times. And I also woke up at 7 and couldn't get back to sleep for about an hour. Fortunately I waited it out and slept a couple more hours. We ate a late breakfast and headed out.
We hadn't planned to stay in Edinburgh to sight see. But once we drove around a bit decided we should alter our plans. It's a beautiful city that is a manageable size to traverse. I took many pictures (shocker!) of the various buildings and sights. We found a memorial for Sir Walter Scott that had 250+ steps up to three different levels. We got to see the beautiful layout of the city from the very top. It's a beautiful Gothic structure built in the mid 1800s, about 100 years after he died. It's nearly black from all the pollution, but they can't clean it or it will eat away the sandstone surface.
Today when we did the bus tour of the city, a young man commentated. I love hearing the Scottish accent. His was not as thick as some we've heard. Even still, it was hard to follow what he was saying. It was just so melodic when it came out. I was thinking at one point it's as if we've traveled back in time. There was just something about his accent and voice, plus all the old buildings, that made me feel like it could easily be the 1800s.
We finally headed out of town toward St. Andrews. We took the scenic coastal route and still haven't made it there. I think we are only 10 miles outside of it though. We are staying at what is called a B&B, but is actually the house of a family of five. I'm pretty sure they are farmers. It's a neat old house, but doesn't have wi-fi. I'll be posting this at some later date. Who knows when we'll have internet access again on our trip.
The best thing about our trip is that the itinerary is totally dictated by what we want to do and see. We don't have to freak out that we aren't on schedule or that we have some place to be. I guess we really don't have any specific place to be besides two weeks from tomorrow for Tony to report to work. That's a pretty awesome feeling.
It's only 9:00 but we're both worn out. We've decided to hit the sack early. Our hot tub would feel really great right about now. Instead were in a chilly, old farm house in Scotland by the sea. What an amazingly, incredible alternative!!
It was fairly noisy as it was right in the middle of pubs and busy streets. But I didn't hear anything. I slept fairly soundly but was surprised that I did wake up a couple of times. And I also woke up at 7 and couldn't get back to sleep for about an hour. Fortunately I waited it out and slept a couple more hours. We ate a late breakfast and headed out.
We hadn't planned to stay in Edinburgh to sight see. But once we drove around a bit decided we should alter our plans. It's a beautiful city that is a manageable size to traverse. I took many pictures (shocker!) of the various buildings and sights. We found a memorial for Sir Walter Scott that had 250+ steps up to three different levels. We got to see the beautiful layout of the city from the very top. It's a beautiful Gothic structure built in the mid 1800s, about 100 years after he died. It's nearly black from all the pollution, but they can't clean it or it will eat away the sandstone surface.
Today when we did the bus tour of the city, a young man commentated. I love hearing the Scottish accent. His was not as thick as some we've heard. Even still, it was hard to follow what he was saying. It was just so melodic when it came out. I was thinking at one point it's as if we've traveled back in time. There was just something about his accent and voice, plus all the old buildings, that made me feel like it could easily be the 1800s.
We finally headed out of town toward St. Andrews. We took the scenic coastal route and still haven't made it there. I think we are only 10 miles outside of it though. We are staying at what is called a B&B, but is actually the house of a family of five. I'm pretty sure they are farmers. It's a neat old house, but doesn't have wi-fi. I'll be posting this at some later date. Who knows when we'll have internet access again on our trip.
The best thing about our trip is that the itinerary is totally dictated by what we want to do and see. We don't have to freak out that we aren't on schedule or that we have some place to be. I guess we really don't have any specific place to be besides two weeks from tomorrow for Tony to report to work. That's a pretty awesome feeling.
It's only 9:00 but we're both worn out. We've decided to hit the sack early. Our hot tub would feel really great right about now. Instead were in a chilly, old farm house in Scotland by the sea. What an amazingly, incredible alternative!!
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Tony and Machelle's Big Adventure
The Tony and Machelle Big Adventure has begun. Many of you expressed such interest in the blog I kept last time I thought I'd do it again this trip, too. And it's also a great way to help us remember all the things we will be doing. On trips like these, we see so much in such a short period of time, it all runs together.
I made the mistake of letting Tony plan the first day. He had the bright idea of spending the 12 hours related to flying to London, then spend 8 hours driving to Edinburgh. Needless to say, it is an idea he has lamented. I just hope it doesn't put us too far behind the eight ball in exhaustion that we don't recover.
I didn't sleep a wink on the plane for some odd reason. And for some other odd reason Tony can't follow the directions the GPS is telling him out loud (yes it's in American English!!) for me to get to sleep while he drives. I've had about an hour of sleep in the last 38. The one time I finally got to sleep, he missed an exit and got us about 30 minutes behind. I've refused to sleep since for fear of having to spend he entire night in the car.
To keep myself occupied, I've been reading the motorway road signs. I've found that they are more a conversation than instructions. They are very distracting and difficult to read the full sentences while trying to stay focused on driving 70 mph. However, they are entertaining. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Free recovery, await rescue - if your car breaks down alongside the road. Jennifer would probably become quite familiar with this option here. Hopefully it wouldn't require a helicopter rescue every time!
- No phone whilst driving - oh so proper.
- Tiredness can kill, take a break - Oh how I'd love to honor this one!!! I might just break Tony's neck for creating this exhaustion!!
- For Eccleshall leave at J14 - Wouldn't it just be easier to have the town name and the junction number?!
Nonetheless, my tired mind and body make me more than a little critical and grumpy while reading some of them. Tony says it's just being polite. Maybe tomorrow once I've had some rest I'll see them in a different light.
Tony has done well strapping back on his English chauffeur hat. We haven't had any other challenges than his usual annoying driving skills. I'm convinced he uses the little reflectors imbedded in the road between the lanes as curb finders. He's always needed to be on one of those tracks where the car has a single rail underneath to keep it on track. He's a sight see-er driver for sure, weaving back and forth.
We traveled up into the Lakes area of England today. Around dusk the sky was gorgeous with its sun rays peeping through a mostly cloud covered horizon. The grass was so green and the fields full of sheep made the scene look photo shopped. There are a lot of the new, modern, LARGE wind mills in this area. There are just one or two at a time dotting the landscape that they don't look out of place or an eye sore. We've also seen a lot of Holstein cows this trip. Their sharp black and white bodies against the vivid green grass is beautiful. At one point we saw a bridge over the motorway with what we thought were people walking across. It turned out to be cows. We've never seen Anyang like that before but both got a good chuckle out of it.
The further we drove, a mountain range came in to view. I told Tony that it must just be in our blood to gravitate to mountains. They are beautiful and a warm reminder of home. It's somewhat reminiscent of the Shenandoah Valley. We have mountains on both sides of us and beautiful green fields in between. The farms and old, rock homes are simply breathtaking.
Tomorrow starts the real vacation part of our journey. It was hard to pass all the beautiful sites today without a single picture. But I'm sure I'll see just as many tomorrow and all the days to come. Now to get some rest. Oh yeah, and to put my feet up. I've lost my ankles along the way and cankles have replaced them. UGH!!
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
A compliment is a gift
I love to give compliments and see the face brighten as it sinks in what was just said. Many people today are somewhat taken aback when you're nice because so few people are today. I really wish they'd get rid of the terminology "paying a compliment" because the daggone things are free and easy to give away!!
Today I was given one and it felt great! A person came in to buy a gift certificate. I'd never met her before and it seemed she was looking at me rather intently. I was a little self conscious as I had sprinted out of the gym before work today and didn't put on any make up. I figured she was noticing my raccoon black eyes and wrinkles.
One thing led to another and we somehow got to the topic of children. I mentioned mine are grown. She asked how old they are. Then she asked how old I was. When I told her I'd be 48 in October, she asked if I was going to share my secret. I wasn't really sure what secret she was talking about, and the look on my face told on me.
She proceeded to tell me how beautiful I am and how wonderful my skin looks. She kept trying to get me to tell her my miracle skin regime, and I had to be honest and tell her I'm awful at that stuff. But I did tell her that having Native American blood is most likely the secret. People with more pigmentation in their skin age better it seems.
Nonetheless, I thanked her and had a smile the rest of the day. I will have to remind myself of her kindness the next time I look in the mirror and wonder who the heck it is staring back at me in that reflection!!
Have you given someone a compliment lately? If not, try one on for size. I bet ya 10 to 1 you'll get one back in no time at all. Sometimes it's the very things we're insecure about that people compliment us on.
I'd love to hear of any experiences you have in this little experiment!!
Today I was given one and it felt great! A person came in to buy a gift certificate. I'd never met her before and it seemed she was looking at me rather intently. I was a little self conscious as I had sprinted out of the gym before work today and didn't put on any make up. I figured she was noticing my raccoon black eyes and wrinkles.
One thing led to another and we somehow got to the topic of children. I mentioned mine are grown. She asked how old they are. Then she asked how old I was. When I told her I'd be 48 in October, she asked if I was going to share my secret. I wasn't really sure what secret she was talking about, and the look on my face told on me.
She proceeded to tell me how beautiful I am and how wonderful my skin looks. She kept trying to get me to tell her my miracle skin regime, and I had to be honest and tell her I'm awful at that stuff. But I did tell her that having Native American blood is most likely the secret. People with more pigmentation in their skin age better it seems.
Nonetheless, I thanked her and had a smile the rest of the day. I will have to remind myself of her kindness the next time I look in the mirror and wonder who the heck it is staring back at me in that reflection!!
Have you given someone a compliment lately? If not, try one on for size. I bet ya 10 to 1 you'll get one back in no time at all. Sometimes it's the very things we're insecure about that people compliment us on.
I'd love to hear of any experiences you have in this little experiment!!
I cried in yoga tonight. Sad you say? Let me explain.
This past week on vacation I practiced yoga on the dock on the river most mornings really early. It was an amazingly peaceful setting. In the past when I've sat down to do yoga on vacation, I've always brought the burdens of life with me and asked my mat to cure them. This time, I had the realization that I didn't have any major burdens to bring.
It was a scary feeling instead of a relief at first. It was a distraction in that first practice. But I slowly opened my heart to it and settled into this new feeling on my mat. It was wonderful to feel comfortable and confident in my own skin. My mat no longer had to be about mercy!!
Tonight I shared that story with my class. And I was just overcome with the emotions around it. As I was telling them, I thought of all the reasons I'm in this good place.
I get to do the work I love day in and day out. I live in the most beautiful place a person could imagine. I have a wonderful husband that it seems I keep rediscovering. I have two great kids that while trying at times, that at their worst are far better than most people's best. I get to build and nurture positive relationships with all walks of people.
In summary, I'm in a zone. And while I know there are things that could be better, life is great! And I wanted to share that with my class to thank them for their participation in my journey. So that was what had me tied in emotional knots this evening. Nothing sad at all. But HAPPY!!
I wanted to share that story here too as so many of you are part of the fabric that has been woven into my happy place. I love seeing your pictures, sharing in your triumphs, praying for your needs, and rejoicing in your happiness. I am so grateful for FB and the miles it has diminished in keeping in touch with family and friends.
I love you all!!! Namaste
It was a scary feeling instead of a relief at first. It was a distraction in that first practice. But I slowly opened my heart to it and settled into this new feeling on my mat. It was wonderful to feel comfortable and confident in my own skin. My mat no longer had to be about mercy!!
Tonight I shared that story with my class. And I was just overcome with the emotions around it. As I was telling them, I thought of all the reasons I'm in this good place.
I get to do the work I love day in and day out. I live in the most beautiful place a person could imagine. I have a wonderful husband that it seems I keep rediscovering. I have two great kids that while trying at times, that at their worst are far better than most people's best. I get to build and nurture positive relationships with all walks of people.
In summary, I'm in a zone. And while I know there are things that could be better, life is great! And I wanted to share that with my class to thank them for their participation in my journey. So that was what had me tied in emotional knots this evening. Nothing sad at all. But HAPPY!!
I wanted to share that story here too as so many of you are part of the fabric that has been woven into my happy place. I love seeing your pictures, sharing in your triumphs, praying for your needs, and rejoicing in your happiness. I am so grateful for FB and the miles it has diminished in keeping in touch with family and friends.
I love you all!!! Namaste
Saturday, February 15, 2014
One Year
As February 16th has approached, we all have been feeling the weight of the date. Having survived the first year of loss of my own Mom, I know exactly what Tony is experiencing. He unfortunately is in London and can't be here. I've talked with him about it, but I think men deal with this stuff far differently than women.
I went to see Cassidi a week ago and the trip to Charlottesville reminded me so much of where we were a year ago. I've said it before, but the feeling of it being forever ago and then only like yesterday is still there. We survived all the firsts: birthdays, Mother's Day, July 4th, anniversaries, a great grand baby's birth, Thanksgiving, Christmas, a new year, Valentine's Day, and now this.
Of course we realize that the pain and suffering she endured in those last weeks were unbearable. We don't wish she was here to have to go through any more of that. But we wish for the times before cancer. When she was here as the matriarch of the McCann clan, the bossy sister of the Lafferty clan, the best friend confidant, and the organizing neighbor in The Garden.
So many times in the last year I've had the thought of doing something like Eleanor, saying something that sounded like her, or thinking in a way that reminded me of her. While our relationship was rocky at times, I think we ended up being more alike in ways than not. I have many of those same feelings about my own Mom. I think it's part of the aging process for us to become like our parents. Unfortunately our Moms aren't here anymore to see the growth we've made.
We feel her presence in our lives in the smallest of ways. We include her through pictures and memories and have frequent laughs about her. She entertained and looked out for all of us right to the end. We are trying to honor her memory as best we can. We attempt to muster a smile when our hearts are truly breaking. This day is one of those moments.
If you see a McCann, Lafferty, or close friend of the family today, please give them a special hug or kind word. It will mean more than you will know.
I went to see Cassidi a week ago and the trip to Charlottesville reminded me so much of where we were a year ago. I've said it before, but the feeling of it being forever ago and then only like yesterday is still there. We survived all the firsts: birthdays, Mother's Day, July 4th, anniversaries, a great grand baby's birth, Thanksgiving, Christmas, a new year, Valentine's Day, and now this.
Of course we realize that the pain and suffering she endured in those last weeks were unbearable. We don't wish she was here to have to go through any more of that. But we wish for the times before cancer. When she was here as the matriarch of the McCann clan, the bossy sister of the Lafferty clan, the best friend confidant, and the organizing neighbor in The Garden.
So many times in the last year I've had the thought of doing something like Eleanor, saying something that sounded like her, or thinking in a way that reminded me of her. While our relationship was rocky at times, I think we ended up being more alike in ways than not. I have many of those same feelings about my own Mom. I think it's part of the aging process for us to become like our parents. Unfortunately our Moms aren't here anymore to see the growth we've made.
We feel her presence in our lives in the smallest of ways. We include her through pictures and memories and have frequent laughs about her. She entertained and looked out for all of us right to the end. We are trying to honor her memory as best we can. We attempt to muster a smile when our hearts are truly breaking. This day is one of those moments.
If you see a McCann, Lafferty, or close friend of the family today, please give them a special hug or kind word. It will mean more than you will know.
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