Belfast

It was very nostalgic seeing Belfast again. I had spent many a Summer up there as a kid as it's where my parents were from. It was fun showing someone where my Grandparents lived and the different sights of Belfast.

We past the old Harland and Wolff shipyard. It is hard to believe that it was once one of the biggest shipyards in the world and that is of course, where the infamous Titanic was built. Today you can see the two giant cranes - Samson and Goliath.

A visit to The Crown Bar was mandatory. It is an old Victorian bar, with exquisite tile work and stained glass. It pretty much remains unchanged and was truly worth the visit.
Next, we travelled up and down the Falls Road looking at the murals on the wall which have now become a Tourist attraction.
After a great day of sightseeing, we spent the night in Belfast with my Aunties. From her apartment you could see Stormont (Northern Ireland Parliament Buildings) and it is where my Grandfather used to work.

Winter Solstice

Half way between the cottage in Carlingford and North of Dublin is Newgrange, a Megalithic burial ground built 3200 BC, making it older than the Pyramids. The passage and chamber of Newgrange are illuminated by the winter solstice sunrise. A shaft of sunlight shines through the roof box over the entrance and penetrates the passage to light up the chamber. The dramatic event lasts for 17 minutes at dawn on the Winter Solstice and since today was the Winter Solstice I thought it would be appropriate to have a post on this day.

Antrim Coast

Next stop after the Giant's Causeway was the Carrick-a-Rede Rope bridge. As we arrived and got out of our cars, the heavens opened so Margaret, Lori and I headed back to our car while the rest of the family crossed the bridge. After that we headed to the Bushmills Distillery. Unfortunately all the tours for the day were full so we only got to see the grounds. Margaret, Dan, Dermot and I decided to spend the night in Ballycastle which is a coastal town on the north east of Antrim. Ballycastle is where Marconi sent his first wireless message to Rathlin Island. The next day we had a leisurely drive through the Glens of Antrim. Our last stop before reaching the cottage was Carrickfergus Castle. It was bitterly cold and windy that day so we did not stay too long there. Anyway enjoy the images.

Fionn Mc Cumhaill

We all took a trip up to the North Antrim coast to see The Giants Causeway. The Causeway was formed over 60 million years ago by intermittent periods of volcanic activity. The basalt columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea.

Legend has it that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. There are similar basalt formations on the isle of Staffa in Scotland.

Led Zepplin's album cover for the Houses of the Holy was shot there, so I couldn't resist putting it at the start of my photo video.

Cooley Peninsula

The next stop on our trip was Ireland. The Richesons found Rampark House on the internet. It's located on the Cooley Peninsula near Carlingford which is 50 miles north of Dublin. The house is what everyone wants to see in Ireland - whitewashed walls, thatched roof and a dog thrown in for good measure - way cute. Dermot joined us for a few days at Rampark House.


The area near Carlingford is where, "The Cattle Raid of Cooley" (The Táin), took place. Turn up the volume and enjoy.

More of Spain

This is all my video of Spain.
First half of the video is taken in Park Guell. There was a lady in yellow who was dressed as a butterfly............ I could never catch her moving. She was on stilts and every now and again she fluttered around the place.
The second part is the video of La Sagrada Familia. It is a work in progress as you can hear from the clip taken inside. Strange to think that this Cathedral will not be finished in my lifetime. Glad I got to see it.

Barcelona Cathedral

The Barcelona Cathedral was not too far from our apartments. What a beautiful gothic Cathedral - see for yourself. This one is for you Kevin

"Happy Birthday Margaret"

To celebrate my mother-in-law Margaret's Birthday and our 10th Wedding anniversary, The Doren family decided on a trip to Europe. It had been a dream of Phil and Margaret’s to see Ireland , so what better place to celebrate her Birthday. For good measure, we threw in 3 nights in Barcelona.
Dan found great apartments in the El Born district, that is in the old Gothic part of town (a hip place to live now). The location was very central and with an underground stop at the top of the street, getting around was pretty easy especially in this hot weather. Yes - it was about 80 degrees and humid in Barcelona in OCTOBER!!

There was a pastry shop right under our apartments and several Tapas bars nearby. We enjoyed the Tapas bars........... ordering olives, ham or cheese etc, drinking a glass of Cava while people watching. What a great time!

It had been 18 years since Dan was last there and it was my first visit to Barcelona. We read books and checked the internet and so had a good idea what we wanted to see during our quick visit.................. Gaudi and Dali.

Unfortunately we didn't make it to the Dali museum. Ah well, we'll have to save that for another trip.

Woof Woof

I miss you Dan............. woof, Kerbi

Stained Glass

Both of us have always loved Stained Glass, so much so that we took a class several years ago. Here are some windows that we have seen on our travels over the past few years
A restaurant in Prague

St Vitus Cathedral, Prague

La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

The Crown, Belfast

Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin


St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

Our Anniversary Sept 26

It was our 10th Wedding Anniversary yesterday and Dan spoilt me with flowers.

A box of Calla Lillies was delivered to my work on Thursday. Needless to say I was thrilled. The flowers were so perfect that everyone thought they were artificial .

Then on Friday (our actual anniversary) another box of flowers arrive from Dan. This time they were Asiatic Lilies. At this stage I am the envy of every woman in the office. Some even asked for Dan's phone number so they could give it to their husbands for advice on how to spoil their wives.

It doesn't end there............... I decided to surprise Dan by sending him flowers. He likes Irises so I sent him flowers to work. He was stunned as I have never sent him flowers before. Now our home looks like a florist with all these bouquets of flowers in each room. I love it!

The Kennedy Family

Gen and Ger

Just before leaving for the airport.
Mike, Ben, Maurice and Ger

Ben's Birthday. Mike and Maurice at Falls Lake

Maggie mowing our lawn (for the 10th time)

Maggie and her Dad

Mike wearing the lates head gear.

Anticipation

My childhood friend, whom I know since I was four years old, is coming to visit us, with her family, in two weeks time. To say that we (well me more so) are both excited is an understatement. I know the McDermott family since we moved back from New York to Dublin, when I was four year old. Genevieve has been my friend since then and she now lives in London with her husband Mike and 3 children, Maurice, Ben and Maggie and of course the dog Fionn (which is the gaelic for Blond). Fionn I have never met. Anyway, they are coming here (minus Fionn) to visit us in August, for the weekend and well............ I'm wishing the days away 'til I see them all.
What better way to start our blog............................

!