Ireland First Report

Sitting in our hotel room at Carrickmacross, about 1 1/2 hrs north-west of Dublin. It is grey and misty  outside and the lights in the streets and window displays are beginning to come on...3.30pm! The major topic when the Aussies first came together in this hotel was the early onset of darkness and the late arrival of daylight causing havoc with all our body clocks.

A pleasant though long flight from Melbourne with a 2hr stopover in Doha.  We were amused by the central feature of the airport. A giant teddy bear that apparently symbolises the curiosity of childhood which in turn includes a fascination with Space. Arrived in Dublin 12.30pm Sunday. Green grass, white sheep and rendered homes near the airport signalled that we were not in Oz. Wanting to stay awake until the evening, we wandered down to the River Liffey and along the banks to the popular Temple Bar precinct. Busy with shoppers and tourists. Lana had asked us to check whether the coffee shop that she worked in during her stay here in 2004 was still there in Duke St, just off the major pedestrian mall of Grafton St.    No...West Coast Coffee seems to have faded away. Lots of buskers and more shoppers before we returned to our hotel to meet Gary who had arrived the night before.
After a re-fresh, a quick chat to the concierge directed us to "O'Sheas Bar"  at the next crossroad for a meal.    A medium- sized pub with all the atmosphere one expects from an Irish establishment.  Two drinks and hearty meal later the three of us agreed to call it a night. Looked at my watch. Good Grief it is only 7.10pm!! It had been dark since 4pm.

Next day we picked up a hire car and headed north. Fortunately the roads were quiet due to the holiday period, so exiting Dublin was relatively calm for our driver, Gary. On the way to the bride's hometown of Carrickmacross we were to pass by the ancient domed mounds of Newgrange, a site we had visited in 2004. We knew that Gary would find them fascinating so we dropped in. A bit more developed 15 years later and we had to wait for an available spot in a tour. Consequently we had lunch at the café and joined the 2.15 group. The chamber and its Celtic symbols carved in the grand boulders was still memorable, especially under the grey Irish mist. The River Boyne was a mini torrent and being aware of the fire crisis in Oz we envied the gushing flow of water.

Finally arrived at The Shirley Arms Hotel, our abode for 2 nights. Greeted by brother Col at the foyer and immediately started to take in familiar faces standing in the large comfy bar.  Changed into lighter clothing in order to cope with the warm interior temperature and joined the merry throng. More familiar faces filtered in until we were nearly our complete contingent of 30-ish. Finger food was welcomed as one moved around the crowd. A fun start to the celebrations.

Today( Tues 31st) was a calm start over breakfast with a few of the youngies a little worse for wear. Tony had expressed an interest in the history of the town to Amy's father the night before and lo and behold Dick was quick to arrange a friend to take any interested persons on a walking tour at 11am. A suitably rugged-up group of 15 or so greeted him. One claim to fame is the Carrickmacross lace, brought to world-wide notice as the style of lace on Kate Middleton's wedding dress sleeves!
Not sure what is happening tonight, New Year's Eve, as tomorrow is the Big Day.

Hope that you all saw the New Year arrive in your own happy method of choice and a HUGE Happy Birthday to our far-away youngest, Lana. xxx

The Doha Bear

Too early for a dram, Mark.

Grafton St busy at 3pm Sunday

First aperatif in Ireland

Outside the 5000 yr old ritual chamber. The jury is now undecided as to whether they were ever intended to be burial sites. 

A repeat of a photo from 2004. 

One can see where the now- popular Celtic designs originated.

An appealing ( for me!) window display in Carrickmacross. 

Main St

That lace.

Main St.

Our lodgings.

Christmas Day 2019

A sunny 25 degrees to celebrate Christmas.  Perfect for a Christmas by the beach at Carrum. Sixteen family members who partied far too long into the night.

And an opportunity for me to make sure that my new computer will not fail me on our next trip...Ireland on the 28th December. Tomorrow in fact. Cheers Karyn

Uncles, Aunties, Mums, Dads, Nieces, Nephews, Grandchildren, Grandparents.

Testing Gary's balance and corp strength!

Our three youngest urchins. 

Our beach

Higher Bailey!

At Home November.

My computer died and I was forced to buy a newy with a more recent OS. Does Blogger work????

Last Day Paris Photos

Paris...last day of our trip.

Today was a tourist day...or as much as we can in 8 hours or so!  Tony wanted to visit the Arc de Triomphe, last visit being 1978. We bought a day pass for the Metro and kept the network map handy.
We chanced upon the right exit at the Arc’s closest station as it was one of those emerge -from -the -stairs moments and there it was. Loved by the bus loads, but still an imposing presence. Despite the umpteen steps, Tony tested his knee and climbed to the top. The views are a treat.
After musing over the spread of Paris, we moved on. Actually hungry by now and found a classy Salon de Thé near Le Concorde, after catching the train there.  Despite the sweet temptations, we ate a salad!!! Tony was interested in the route of the final day of Le Tour. So having seen the Champs Élysées and the roundabout at Le Concorde the next Tour’s finale will mean a bit more.
Next was the forlorn Notre Dame. From the front she looks clean and normal, but oh so sad from the bank of La Seine. We leaned on a barrier and watched mesmerised by the workers moving so carefully around the vast scaffolding. Those “Flying Buttresses” are well and truly reinforced by chunks of oak. Cannot imagine the experience required by the engineering team. I remember that stopping the structure from falling in on itself was the first major priority.  The Cathedral is still a tourist magnet, unfortunately for sadder reasons.
Tony returned to the hotel as he declined my invitation to wander La Cimitiere Pere Lachaise. It was only a few stations away and I wanted to seek out the memorial to Oscar Wilde. I have always thought that his demise in Victorian society was disgraceful, if not a reflection on the era. So after a lot of wandering, I found it. A little sad that the site is such a popular one that the family have surrounded the memorial by reinforced glass.

After 5 most varied weeks, we fly home tomorrow. We both now have more understanding of regions that had been relatively unknown to us. Tony has had times of exhilarating fun on the bikes, but also some tiring days and annoyance with technology! Hats off to his skills. I always felt safe.
 It has been an adventurous holiday, time now to return home, to return to familiar routine and do very little for a while. Thanks for reading and a special thanks to my comment-tators. Cheers K and T xx

Pentultimate Paris Photos.

Pentultimate Paris

A slick early journey to the Barcelona airport, where the rot set in. Our original arrival here was marred by inadequate passport systems and now departure,through Air France, was worse. We lined up for the personal service only to be firmly directed to the “Quick Check-In” machines. Forty minutes later and with 2 malfunctioning machines, we defiantly lined up with The Person. We were joined by a bevy of equally disgruntled passengers. As there seemed to be several passengers that had ticket issues even with The Person, we put ourselves in two different lines to see who could be served first. Finally through and thumbs up to our fellow annoyed -people who were pleased that at least one of us  was on their way.   Security flowed well and arrival in Paris was slick as most of our fellow passengers had connecting flights so there were few people collecting baggage. Forty minute taxi to our small hotel.
After a hot and correct-strength coffee with a fresh bruschetta, we began to wander. Parisians were enjoying their day off, outside of their apartments.    We just happened to reach the St Martin Canal as cruise boats were negotiating the locks and the swing bridges. Watching the entertainment was a thing to do. So was les glaces.  The afternoon stroll revealed activities for everyone...children’s games, sand pits, enjoying the water play, painting. For the next generations there was skateboarding, youth building their muscles at park equipment, couples playing pétanque while sipping a beer, permanent table tennis tables, checker games and even the time for that favourite French pastime, a demonstration. This one was against the military regime in Algeria.
On the tourist side I walked to both Place de Republique and Bastille. The latter, with its grand modern Opera House, was a far cry from the smaller less congested meeting place where Lorraine and I celebrated NYE in 1973. I also found Place Des Vosges. True, the architectural design had that French appeal, but the revelation was the internal park area that was CROWDED with those wanting to relax on a patch of grass.
By the time we sought dinner, it was 7.45 and places were busy. We opted for a pleasant Japanese restaurant.   A sleep-in tomorrow.

Final Two Days...Nine Ten Photos..