Yes, this is my view above my pillow going to bed and waking up in our really cool house in Krakow. Not sure his name but we’ll just refer to him as “Horny”.
Sept. 13-16: Krakow by Jeff
Sept 10-13: Berlin
Thoughts on Berlin from aboard Polski Bus, by Cathy
I’m starting this post from aboard Polski Bus – our tomato-red, double–deck bus (“It’s a coach, Mommy!) from Berlin to Krakow! The first two hours of our seven-hour trip were smooth and uneventful, but at hour three, Wham-O! If I could put a pen on paper right now, it would look like a compulsive liar’s polygraph test or perhaps a 10.0 quake and its aftershocks. Were we on an airplane, oxygen masks would have fallen from above and folks would be praying. Not kidding. Continue reading “Sept 10-13: Berlin”
Sept 7-10: Amsterdam
I AmSterdam by Cathy
Our feeling about Amsterdam can quite easily be summed up in two words: LOVE IT. The canals, the boats, the ornate old buildings, the bridges, the brick and cobblestone roads, and the BIKES! Oh my god, the BIKES! Bikes everywhere (helmets nowhere)!
The Gaelic Games, by Mick
The Gaelic or Irish games are Gaelic football and hurling. These games are exiting, but no one really knows about them outside of the country. Today I am going to tell you a little bit about these games’ history and how they are played.
Galway: Sept 4-6
The drive from Doolin to Galway, along the coast (R477), was spectacular – more limestone, farms and ranches, stone houses adorned with bright flowers, and ocean views that mesmerize. We arrived at our condo in the Salthill area of Galway early for check-in, which gave us a chance to check out the neighborhood. Continue reading “Galway: Sept 4-6”
Sept. 1-4: Doolin, Ireland
What Do’in in Doolin? by Cathy
As directed by our Airbnb host, we picked up the keys to our Doolin cottage from Fred, the neighbor and local musician. The sign on the door said, “Knock loudly, and then be patient.” We knocked. We waited. Patiently, we thought. Then, thinking our knock may not have been loud enough, we knocked again. “Ulrigh, I ‘ear yuh!” we heard from inside. Moments later, the door opened to reveal Ted, a white-haired and bearded, jolly fellow, with one tooth and one leg missing (thus explaining the “be patient” part). He gave us the keys and a hand drawn map of the town with several pubs, one store, and one church marked. He told us which pubs were his favorites – O’Connell’s and McGann’s – which corresponded to where he’d be playing the following nights. We thanked him and told him we were looking forward to seeing him perform.
Our excitement about staying in this 100+ year-old house was briefly dampened when we discovered there was no WiFi.
Waterford to Doolin via Limerick
From the Penthouse to the Outhouse, by Cathy
The drive from Waterford to Doolin was like most drives in Ireland – varying colors of green out the window and, luckily, blue sky with the kind of cotton-ball clouds that add, rather than detract from the landscape. Jeff’s driving on the “right” side of the car and the left side of the road was (and continues to be) great, even when we got off the main roads and onto the notoriously narrow hedge-row and/or rock-wall lined roads.
We stopped off in Limerick to see if we could catch the Angela’s Ashes walking tour that was recommended Dan Flaxman (who we’re meeting up with in Florence on 10/2) a good friend of the McCourt brothers. Jeff worked at Perry’s with Michael McCourt, one of Frank’s younger brother’s, from the late ‘70s to the late ‘80s and got to know Michael, Frank, and Malachi McCourt quite well. Malachi is still alive and living in New York, but with both Michael and Frank now gone, our visit to Limerick was more about paying homage to a friend than being a tourist. We asked a woman at the tourist information office about the walking tour and she directed us to the Frank McCourt Museum, just a few blocks down the road (a common Irish phrase). Continue reading “Waterford to Doolin via Limerick”
Aug 29-31 Waterford, Ireland by Mick
Iconic for its beautiful crystal vases and wine glasses, Waterford, England was someplace that we had to see. We were already exited to come here, but when we found a place at Waterford Castle that had a pool and a golf course (and no you didn’t hear that wrong it really has a golf course), it made all the difference. Continue reading “Aug 29-31 Waterford, Ireland by Mick”
Aug 26-28: Dublin, by Cathy
Having enjoyed our brief flight from Newquay to Dublin, and then our bus ride from the airport to the city center, we were nonetheless happy to arrive at our bright, IKEA-decorated apartment right off O’Connell Street (reminded me of Market Street in San Francisco). Out our window we could see the General Post Office, which we later discovered was famous for its association with the 1916 Easter Rising. Continue reading “Aug 26-28: Dublin, by Cathy”
Aug 23-26: Newquay, Cornwall, by Jeff
On to Newquay, like England’s Santa Cruz, with lots of surfing (please see Mick’s boogie boarding post). Not the most southern southwestern tip, but close enough to say we were there. Overall, Cornwall is a beautiful and lush area with spectacular beaches that go for miles with tidal influences that we never witness in California. We stayed three days in Newquay with a day trip down to Perranporth to walk a beach recommended by our friend Susan (she and her husband, Ian, are handling our mail while we are away). Sue and Ian lived and owned a business there 30 years ago and Sue told us it was the most beautiful beach she’d ever seen. I’d have to agree that it’s pretty amazing.
Our last night, we stayed a night in the Hotel California. It’s kind of a funky hotel built from a large older grand home in the seventies with a bowling alley, an outdoor pool which needed some work and was not open, a beautiful indoor pool and sauna, a squash court, a table tennis room and a pool table. Cathy would go on about its funkiness and the work it needed, but I loved the place even though the double room I booked happened to be two twin beds. His majesty, King Mick, was not about to relinquish his bed so Cathy and I shared a twin. The hotel was located on the southern side of Newquay and overlooked the River Gannel, a river that forms an amazing tidal estuary before meeting the Celtic Sea. We walked the river-beach at low tide for a least a half mile towards the sea and later that evening observed high tide, where paddle boarders actually floated by us at the hotel with no river-beach to be seen. All so beautiful!
Now we head to the airport for a short ride on a small plane, much to Mick’s pleasure, up to Dublin where we start a twelve-day roundabout of Southern Ireland…
