Birds and Flowers

During the recent travels in west Cork and east Kerry Dana got many beautiful shots of flowers and plants, so we are just sharing a collection of them here.

West Cork

Sunday morning we had breakfast at our hotel in Glengarriff and then set out to tour the Beara Peninsula. Unfortunately, we had finally lost our good weather, so it was a little overcast as we crossed the Healy Pass, but we still got some nice pictures. The top picture is the winding road we had driven up; next is a view at the crest, looking into beautiful Co. Kerry! The third one is an example of the contoured hills.

At the west end of the Healy pass we found and toured Derreen Gardens(actually this was in Kerry - part of the west side of the Beara is in Kerry), a vast woodland. We then continued down the peninsula, but the rain got the better of us and we decided to head back to Kerry. We stopped for lunch in a pub in Castletowne Bere - had a choice of 3 pubs and happened to choose this one. They had big signs about this book, and Mary and I had both read it - we thought it was the actual pub picture, but you'll notice the spelling is different. But it is definitely one of the pubs he included in his tour! It looks the same except we didn't have a dog or a nun.







As we drove back to Kerry (another pretty pass, the Caha, with great tunnels - but no pictures) we found a great heritage park with an ancient stone circle, a famine cottage, and other excavated ruins. Dana and Mary toured it (I rested!) and found it very interesting. As we left, we had a very friendly little donkey! We stopped briefly in Kenmare and headed home - a great 4 day trip!

West Cork

Dana, Mary and I met up on Saturday morning, checked in to our hotel, and took a boat to Garnish Island. This is a beautifully landscaped island with an Italian garden. We enjoyed walking the island and had lunch at the patio of the tea room. On the boat over we saw a colony of seals.
We also saw Maureen O'Hara's house - she lives here full time now. This is her house, with the white gables. The week we were there they were holding a Maureen O'Hara Golf Tournament. As part of that, they were showing many of her films in the room across the hall from our room in the hotel! She was actually coming to "The Quiet Man" on that Sunday evening - we considered staying but decided to stick to our plans. Mary did do her exercises in the film room and thus viewed the special chair brought in for the star to occupy that night. Anyway, back to Garnish Island - it was so beautiful and we had great weather.









After exploring the little village of Glengarriff, we rested, then had dinner at a very old, traditional pub. A group of women from Cork City moved over so we could have a table - in talking to them, we found that they were lifelong friends (from preschool and/or secondary school) and were celebrating their 60th birthday year - sound familiar, like my group in OK! They had been to Italy, Spain, Kerry, and now West Cork. We joined them later at another pub - seee picture. Later still, Dana and I enjoyed music at the pub in our hotel.

June 09 West Cork

Mary and I had planned a little trip (after she returned from her other little trip to Edinburgh!). So on Thursday, Dana drove us to Cork. We all ate at my new favorite place - Quay Co-op and then she explored while he and I went to a doctor's appointment - the shortest one in history - hurray! We then met Mary and Dana dropped us off at the bus. We rode to Kinsale and checked into our very nice B&B. We then immediately took a boat ride on Kinsale Harbor - such a beautiful place and time of day (6 pm, still sunny). It was a little chilly, but as you can see they passed out blankets! We ate dinner and had a good rest. The next morning we took a walking tour of Kinsale, which was beautiful and fascinating. This Grey Hound pub dates from 1610!We then went to Charles Fort, a huge star shaped fort that dates from the 7th century (and was burned by IRA forces in 1922). It is interesting and huge and worth a return trip, as I slept on a bench for part of our visit! Diane (SLT from Cork) picked us up there and we did some mandatory shopping and then had a wonderful dinner at Fishy Fishy! Diane then drove us to Bantry where we had another nice B&B. The next morning (Saturday) we walked around Bantry, then took a bus to Glengariff. The plan was to meet Dana there - and amazingly, we found our B&B, walked out the door, and there he came down the sidewalk- great timing! Our B&B was actually a hotel in the middle of the little village. I'll continue this narrative in the next post. This post is all Mary's pictures!

June 09

On Mary's first day here, we had a phone call from Lea Anne Brooks, who worked with me in Early Childhood. She and her family were in Adare, Co. Limerick on holiday and coming to Kerry. They stopped by the next morning and we had a great visit/reunion! (I felt much better than I look even though I was only 2 days out of hospital!)

On the Saturday after the 21st birthday party (see separate post) we took a tour of North Kerry. We went to Carrigafoyle Castle and Ballybunion, where we finally got the traditional Virgin Rock picture of Mary - she somehow avoided this on her last visit!








And the following day we had a very musical day - church and hymns in the am, then to Killarney for the Co. Kerry music festival/contest and the open air ceile - look at all these dancers! Then we rushed back to Tralee for the Pipe Parade, which closed a day of contests for them. It was colorful and fun.

June 09

One thing Mary wanted to do was to see cheese being made, so we found a place in Castlegregory on the Tralee Bay side of the Dingle peninsula - and what an enjoyable morning.

Mija is a German who grew up and trained in cheese making in Switzerland. Hers is a very hands-on, one person operation (though her husband Oliver makes pate's and other delicacies). This was perfect for us, as we were in on every step and even saw the finished product! It was a nice, sunny day and we also enjoyed tea in the yard and some fun with the 2 little girls - Mija's daughter Jasmina and her friend Evie. They were having an idyllic summer day which culminated in naked running through the hose!
I am going to post pictures below of the cheese making. They may not be in exact order, but you'll get the idea!
Mary got to do her bit, too!

The house speciality is seaweed cheese - which does smell a lot like seaweed!

June 09

On Mary's first Saturday here she and Dana went to Dingle and had some nice times and pictures! These included a stroll on Bunawonder (got to love the name, an English perversion of some Gaelic) Beach, and getting very up close and personal with some sheep.


On the Slea Head Drive they discovered this "new" old church, and went to the bee hive huts and the Gallarus Oratorio.

June 09

We had another uniquely Irish experience in early June - the big, pub celebration of the 21st birthday of Mikey, the son of our landlords. These are even bigger occasions here than in the US, and are attended by all of the honoree's friends as well as all friends and relatives of the entire family. We had a great time meeting the extended family, and listening to great music provided mostly by family, including Mikey! This was during Mary Droho's visit, so she enjoyed the evening with us.


4 brothers, including Mike, second from left - Mikey's dad and our landlord!
MFE with Helen, our landlady and mother of the honoree - and the organizer and hostess for the beautiful event!

Listowel Writer's Week #3

This is the third year that I have gone on the Historical and Literary Bus Tour during Listowel Writer's Week. Once again it was informative and interesting, though perhaps less photogenic than other years. We also went on a Literary walking tour of Listowel - on one of the hottest days of the year (which in Ireland is low 80's!). Here are a few pictures to give an idea of what we enjoyed. The musical group includes banjo player Killian, a friend of ours who has appeared several times on this blog!


Above, the group watching an excerpt from "Sive" - a play by local author John B. Keane, celebrating the 50th year of its debut in Listowel. We are outside a pub in Lyrecrompane, a small village where he spent his summers. Below are 3 of the characters. The priest is the man who accompanies and narrates these tours every year.


This is a pub front in Listowel. During English rule, they were required to remove all signs in Gaelic; this one was covered up instead of removed and then very recently, during renovations by a grandson of the original owner, it was uncovered and refurbished. It says O'Sullivan in Gaelic.

Amsterdam

Diane sent a few pictures. This first one is the 7 bridges - her shot is much better than mine, and gives you the perspective of the 7 arches in a row.
This is me in Dam Square - just so you'll know I was there too! And finally, our favorite - right at the entrance to the flower market there is an open air urinal! We watched several men relieve themselves - and they always walked away while still zipping up - ah, a truly free-spirited city!

Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM! Diane and I spent a short time there - arrived Thursday morning, left Sunday morning - and fell in love with the city! Main impressions are beautiful canals, lots of bicycles, beautiful architecture, and very friendly, free-spirited citizens! Since Dana wasn't along, all pictures are by MFE; however, Dana did some work on some of them!

There were bikes everywhere and they definitely had the right of way! Below - a multistory bike park; to the left a mom and 4 kids. We decided these women must have really strong legs. We saw young couples all dressed up going out for Saturday night on 1 bike - man pedaling, woman seated sideways either behind him or on his lap!









We stayed in a small studio apartment in the Joordan district - a beautiful and picturesque area and very convenient. On Saturday morning we awoke to find a huge market outside our front door! Nearby were many small cafes, bars, and shops. These pictures are the market and Diane at one of the cafes.









We packed a lot in to our short time! We took a canal boat trip, walked around Dam Square and the Red Light District, and had drinks at Leidensplein - a huge area of tables, umbrellas, and street entertainers. We visited the Van Gogh Museum (and a special exhibit of Starry Starry Night - wonderful), the Riijksmuseum, the flower market, the Van Loon mansion, and the Anne Frank House. I visited a small house boat museum. We got very good at riding the tram and at finding our way around in general! (The only disappointment was not seeing fields of tulips - a little too late. We had tickets to the Keukenhof's final day, but were advised not to go as all the flowers were gone). This was minor in the overall enjoyment of the trip - definitely a city to re-visit - with my photographer!

2 pictures of the flower market:


At the Van Gogh Museum we were lucky to be there for the "Friday Night party" - a pretty good, small jazz group.
Diane and I in the Van Loon Mansion gardens
Sipping genevere - a very old traditional Dutch whiskey- at Wynand Fuckink (couldn't resist the name - had to visit)


A windmill, which was closed, but still worth a tram ride for a view. The galley of the houseboat museum.





Diane with a famous Dutch author



Various views of Amsterdam scenes, architecture and house boats:
The Grand Palace in Dam Square
There were cows everywhere, but this one was especially eye-catching
Dam Square
Canal scenes, including a "traffic jam"


































Oesterkerk, which was at the tram stop for our apartment.

Below: Magna Plaza, a big shopping centre in the gorgeous old post office
building, which we're told was almost torn down!

May 2009 Anna's First Communion

We were invited to a First Communion party in Asdee. Anna was the guest of honor - but we didn't get a picture of her in her beautiful white dress! Her parents, Donie and Joan, have very talented families. Joan's family and a few other friends played music. Eveyone danced, and almost all of the children performed. Anna took several turns and did a wonderful job, singing "Down in the River to Pray" and also doing some pretty decent Irish dancing. (The Speech Therapist in me couldn't help being proud of how much of the song was intelligible!!) There was some mild competition between dancers from Co. Clare and Co. Kerry!






Mary Frances and Joan solving the problems of the world, and enjoying it!





Joan's family (Co. Clare) Joan's Dad Donie's family (Co. Kerry)


Donie's dad and aunt (bro & sis)

May 09 Michelle's Visit

Michelle came to visit from South Dakota. (We worked together at the NWA Coop Early Childhood Program and have remained very good friends). She wasn't here too long, and during her stay she made 2 speeches at ITT which were very well received. She had been speaking in England and Belfast before arriving here, so this was a work trip with a bit of fun on the side!


On Saturday we went to Dingle. Dana got some good pictures of some scenes you've seen before, and a couple of especially good ones of Fungi the dolphin.
























Sunday we went to Glenbeigh, Cahersiveen, and Valentia. Most of these pictures are from the top of Geokaun Mountain. We had beautiful weather both days!




Ballycarbery Castle was especially fun on that day because the cows were grazing all around it - up close and personal!

May 2009 Limerick

On the May Bank Holiday weekend we went to Limerick. We had a nice B&B and a nice dinner. On Saturday we attended a concert of the RTE Symphony Orchestra with guest flutist James Galway. What a treat! He was really wonderful. His wife was supposed to be with him, but she had had an accident, so they had to change the program. Instead of the 2 flute piece planned, he played a medley of traditional Irish music and you have never heard it done so well! The concert was in the UL Concert Hall, a very nice venue. Our seats were in the choir, behind the orchestra, which doesn't sound great but turned out to be an very good vantage point. Dana could only take pictures before the concert, so no pics of the man himself!
On Sunday we roamed around town centre. The weather was cold and blustery, and Limerick is not renowned for its beauty, but we enjoyed it and found some very pretty sights! We also went to the Hunt Museum, which we enjoyed.

The pictures are: King John's Castle (on the Shannon); the Limerick Rowing Club, and a pretty bridge.

Blarney with Church Women's Group (LINKS)

Here is the whole group getting ready to walk from the Blarney Woolen Mills to Blarney Castle. L to R: Maraqueta, Edna, Vivienne, Evelyn, Mary, Olive, Gill, Barbara, Clodagh, Rhona, Phyllis).

On Saturday the Links group drove in separate cars to the Blarney Golf Resort. We had 2 wonderful lodges with kitchens, living rooms and 2 br/ba, plus 2 hotel rooms. My car (Olive and Maraqueta) stopped in Ballyvourney for lunch, then blazed a trail from the resort to the church which we would attend the next morning - and it was a good thing we did. The Church of Ireland in Inniscarra was not easy to find - the others have no idea how lucky they were we did the preliminaries! We had a great time exploring the countryside and didn't mind being lost one bit!

Soon everyone arrived at the lodge and we were invited by Gill and Phyllis for pre-dinner drinks - a great time of chatter and laughing.











We then went to a lovely dinner at our hotel - very nice food and service and more chatting and laughing!
Then back to our lodge for more wine and chatting and a late night! Next morning we had breakfast at the hotel the drove (very easily, the trail having been blazed) to the church. We were made very welcome at this beautiful little church - it was a joint service of 3 parishes, including Blarney because they are awaiting the arrival of a new vicar. After church we drove to Blarney for coffee and shopping at the woolen mills and then a short walk to Blarney Castle. A few went to the top but I don't think anyone kissed the stone - noone was in need of its gifts, as we were quite eloquent at all times! We then took a walk through the beautiful grounds. This was the first time I'd been there in weather dry enough for walking, so that was a treat. In fact, we had beautiful weather both days! We ate a late lunch and headed home - a great weekend of fun and getting to know each other better. MFE, Maraqueta, Olive, Evelyn

Dr. Coulter

Since Dr. John Coulter is now a major player in my life, I thought he should have a spot on the blog, so here we are at the April 2, 2009 appointment. He is a gyno-oncologist in Cork - his clinic is at South Infirmary/Victoria Hospital. He is originally from Australia.

Hungary - The Puszta and surrounding areas

Romania in the Snow

More Hungary/Romania Favorites

More beautiful pictures. The only comment I'll add is that the girl working the Rubik's cube as on a tram. She and her friend were very amused that Dana wanted to take the picture! Rubik was Hungarian, and we had just read that the cube is making a come-back! The rest of the pictures will speak for themselves - they are primarily in Budapest