Thanks a Million in West Ireland

  • February 17, 2010 7:25 PM

Wow, it’s been a while since I blogged. Sorry about that, I just needed a little break. All is well, and Thomas and I spent a wonderful Valentine’s Day in western Ireland. He’s working in Dublin for a couple of weeks, and I flew in to whisk him off on a relaxing weekend. Other than learning to drive on the other side of the (very narrow, pot-hole filled) road, it was very relaxing. We stayed in a little bed and breakfast in a village called Oranmore and explored the sights.

Dallas at Cliffs of Moher

On our first day, we drove through The Burren National Park to the Cliffs of Moher. The Burren is covered with large flat limestone rocks.  We drove little country roads lined with sheep.  I found it interesting how the farmers penned off the areas with hand-stacked rock walls.  One of the advantages of these walls, other than the abundance of rocks in this area, is that the farmers could easily unstack part of the wall to move their livestock to another area. The Cliffs of Moher, raising 400-feet above the sea, were quite a sight.  I was surprised to learn that they are competing to be one of the new Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

View from Dun Aonghasa on Inis Mor

For Valentine’s Day, Thomas and I rode a ferry over to Inis Mor, the largest of the Aran Islands. The islands are known for their traditional living and arts. People there speak the Irish language (Gaelic) rather than English.  Inis Mor is a quiet island, inhabited by only 800 people.  We rented bicycles and visited Dun Aonghasa, a prehistoric fort on a 300-foot cliff.  We lucked out with gorgeous sunshine all day.

Hills in Connemara National Park

The owners of the bed and breakfast suggested that we visit Connemara National Park on our last day. They drew out a map and marked specific sights we should stop at, and they were completely right.  It was a beautiful drive.  The area is filled with clear lakes and rolling grassy fields.  My favorite part was a drive out on a peninsula called Skyroad with stunning scenery jutting out into the sea.

Driving along the Skyroad Peninsula

It was a wonderful weekend to relax and reconnect with Thomas.  If you’d like to see more of our photos, I’ve put them on PicasaWeb.

P.S. The title of the post was from a phrase we heard wherever we went – rather than just Thanks or Thank you, the Irish said Thanks a Million!

Mind the Gap

  • January 25, 2010 10:35 PM

Incoming! Mind the Gap as you step into the car.

My favorite thing about London was the metro, which they lovingly call The Tube. It’s a huge network of underground subway tunnels and stations. I was shocked to learn that it has been around since 1863. In one station, Covent Garden, you can only get between floors via elevator or a 193-step spiral staircase. We took the stairs and laughed thinking about women in gowns from the 1800′s going up and down without falling.

Notting Hill Tube Station

The Tube is packed with musicians…really good musicians. As in, if they dimmed the lights and served pints down there, I’d sit and listen for a while. We heard everything from crazy polka music to rockers on electric guitars, but my favorite were the folk rock singers. All the musicians were licensed to be there and had special locations where they could stand (as Thomas demonstrates below). I’m not sure what it takes to get licensed, but it would be a fun job to audition them.

Thomas plays Air Guitar

Other than hanging out underground, we also went to three shows: Cirque de Soleil’s Varekai, Avenue Q, and Chicago. All were wonderful! We checked out the main sights, including the extremely crowded changing of the guard, and the museums. I couldn’t believe that the museums were all free…and they were packed with families. It was great! Anyway, it was a wonderful break away, and with being only an hour and a half train ride there, we will definately visit again.

Cool mosaic in Tottenham Court Road station

We didn’t make to much of an effort with photos since it rained the entire weekend, but if you’d like to see them, they’re posted on PicasaWeb:

Christmas in Sweden

  • December 30, 2009 12:12 PM

Last time I visited Sweden for Christmas (before Thomas and I were married), I felt a little overwhelmed…with the cold, the dark, the different traditions, and without my family for the holiday. This time though, at least in afterthought, I’m seeing winter-Sweden in a little different light.  Literally too — we had daylight only from 9:30AM – 3:30PM, but a couple feet of snow really helped reflect the light.

The days before Christmas, Thomas and his brother took me to downtown Stockholm where I was amazed by the great shopping. Stores were open late and I found several shops where I could have looked for much longer. I’m starting to appreciate Swedish design – clean lines, natural fibers, traditional prints. It does go beyond Ikea. :)

Downtown Stockholm

I also found some appreciation in the different holiday traditions. There were a couple dishes that Thomas’ mom made that I hope to try my hand at – bulla (saffron buns), rotmos (mashed parsnip and carrots), and rice pudding. We didn’t do it this year, but Thomas’ family used to have a tradition of making gingerbread houses  – sounds fun to me!

Fresh-baked Bulla

Along with most of Sweden, we watched the Kalle Anka (Donald Duck) Christmas Special on Christmas Eve. The mix of Disney short clips has been showing every year since the ’60s – same channel, same time.  It’s the most watched show of the year there. I was surprised to hear even a 70-year old say he was going to watch it.

Snowy Neighborhood

The other tradition I enjoyed seems to be a dying tradition, probably due to people traveling more and moving further out.  On Christmas Eve morning, we delivered small gifts to nearby friends and family. Thomas jokes that this is a chore, but I did enjoy it. And it was a great opportunity to peek inside some Swedish homes. I think it’s a really nice gesture to spend time delivering gifts to loved ones before Kalle Anka, Christmas dinner, and unwrapping presents.

Dallas and Thomas

Thomas and I haven’t had a Christmas by ourselves yet, but especially when we have kids, we’re going to need to be sure to incorporate traditions from both sides of our families. We already have some conflicts – his side opens presents on Christmas Eve, and mine on Christmas Day – but the other traditions I mentioned could easily be included.

If you’d like to see more of the photos (and a video) from our holiday in Sweden, I’ve posted them online:

P.S. I guess now that I’ve posted my Christmas in Sweden photos, I’m way overdue for my May Day in Sweden post. I will have to get right on that… :)

A Week in the Bay Area, California

  • December 26, 2009 11:44 AM

The final destination of our US Tour was in California. We spent a week in Mountain View where Thomas worked at his company’s mothership. On the weekend, we toured San Francisco and Monterey where we saw the major sights and visited a couple friends.

Thomas jumps in front of the Golden Gate Bridge

Mountain View seems like a decent town for some, but not my first choice in where I would want to live. Especially after living in Belgium where life seems very focused on family, Mountain View felt very focused on “the career.” That’s not such a bad thing if you love your career, and in Thomas’ case, he does… I’m not confident that my current life of being a stay-at-home wife would be able to hold it’s own there. It felt like a place where there is a lot of pressure to strive for excellence, and not a lot of time to let your hair down.

San Francisco Trolly

During the week, I was without a car so I entertained myself on the Mountain View main drag, Castro Street, where there was a tram to San Francisco, free public Wi-fi, and more Asian restaurants than I’ve ever seen in one place.  I particularly enjoyed the bubble tea shop – one of my favorite treats that you can’t find in Belgium.

Rocks at Point Lobos State Reserve

On the day we went to San Francisco, it rained all day. We checked out the Golden Gate Bridge and the beautiful hills in the nearby Marin Headlands. We had a delicious seafood lunch at the Fisherman’s Wharf. Unfortunately, the sea lions were hiding from the rain. We also drove through Chinatown, Haight-Asbury, and ended up at Golden Gate Park where we visited the Bizarre Bazaar Craft Show. I would really love to come back to San Fran sometime when I have a few days to just explore the different areas of the city.

Bixby Creek Arch Bridge in Big Sur

The next day, we headed to Monterey, a trendy town on the coast. We visited our past minister’s new church and one of Thomas’ longtime friends gave us a photographic tour of the best sights – Point Lobos State Reserve, Bixby Bridge in Big Sur, and the Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey. This area was beautiful and I really look forward to visiting again when I have more time to let it all soak in.

Seals and Birds at the Monterey Fisherman's Wharf

At the end of the week, we caught a double red-eye back to Belgium, and boy did the jetlag get the better of us…

I’ve posted the rest of the photos from this part of our trip online. I’m trying out Picasa, Google’s photo site, so if you’re a regular viewer of my “more photos”, please let me know how you like it.

Searching for Goonies

  • December 14, 2009 8:59 PM

One of the first blogs I ever read, and still read, is Running Stitch.  She was a crafty mama of a toddler living in a fern and tree-covered area in Washington.  I loved reading about her creative activities and close-knit family life.  She said she started reading my blog then too – I was in grad school in Indiana and had just started learning to sew.  While we were in Oregon two weekends ago, we met up.

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Cannon Beach

Stitch (she uses nicknames on her blog) and her family (her toddler is now 5 and she has a 3 year old too) met us out on the Oregon coast for a little hiking at Ecola State Park.  We thought about doing a geocache, but unfortunately ended up in a geocache-less park.  We did, however, stumble upon a letterbox (similar to a geocache but without coordinates).

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Stitch, The Man, Moo and Wah

The park was beautiful.  There were huge trees, big enough for Peter Pan-playing little boys to hide in, and a gorgeous view of Cannon Beach, where parts of the Goonies Movie was filmed.  Remember the shape of the key and where the pirate ship came out? That’s the Haystack Rock.  We hiked for a while and had a great time – Stitch and her husband are just as interesting as they sound on their blog, and their boys are tons of fun.

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Haystack Rock

After we parted ways, Thomas and I headed off to the beach to get a closer look at the Haystack Rock – and find a geocache.  We found the rock, the cache, and a really awesome quilt shop too!  The sunset was gorgeous and we had a lot of fun doing gymnastics and making silly silhouette photos on the beach, all the while, calling out, Hey you guys….

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Thomas jumps!

It was a wonderful day and I truly hope I get to meet up with Stitch and her family again someday.  I’ve posted more photos online, and Stitch posted on her blog about our meeting too.