In mid-November we welcomed our good pals Heidi and Lisa to England for what was sure to be a fun-filled visit. Since they were flying-in from Cincinnati and Chicago respectively, they arrived bright and early into separate airports, which made picking them up slightly challenging! It all got sorted, and the girls (Heidi, Lisa, Caroline, Sadie and I) headed for a day-trip to Bath, England. Bath is famous for its natural hot springs, which back when the Romans occupied the area were considered a luxurious getaway. Now, Bath is a lovely mid-size city which brings in tourists to see the hot springs, and then relinquishes them of their money at one of the many high-end retailers in town!
Heidi and Lisa explored London on their own one day while Caroline was at school. They came back to our place to eat the one English dish I can prepare - cottage pie - before Chris and I showed them Claygate's finest pub, The Hare and the Hounds. The night at the pub was actually very low-key, as we had a big day ahead of us. Once again it was nice to have extra hands as we boarded our flight to Ireland. Caroline insisted on sitting next to her old pal Heidi, and Sadie took an instant liking to Lisa, so Chris took a nap and I sat in idle amazement at all the items the RyanAir flight attendants were trying to peddle to the passengers.....2009 RyanAir calendar anyone??
I should probably take a moment to explain how we know Heidi and Lisa. Chris and I both worked with Heidi at P&G Pharmaceuticals in '00 and together formed the infamous PharmClub softball team. The decision was made after our first game to have a pint or two at O'Bryons Irish pub, which instantly became our weekly ritual...so how fitting that nearly 10-years later we trek to Ireland together! As for Lisa, we really got to know her when we moved back to Cincinnati in 2003. We will be forever grateful to her for introducing us to the beautiful Keeneland horsetrack in Lexington, KY, and the uber-fun semi-annual pilgrimages there to bet on the ponies!
So, we arrived into the Cork, Ireland airport in the late afternoon and after a rough start (i.e. long wait for the rental car, followed by a long/winding/motion-sick drive with cranky kids, etc...) we arrived into Killarney where we had rented an apartment for the weekend. Our friend Eric (i.e. our travel companion in both Norway and Paris; he also knew H & L back in the 'Nati) arrived later that night from Amsterdam, and the following day we drove the whole Ring of Kerry in Southwest Ireland. Ireland WAY exceeded my expectations. Of all the countries I've traveled in, it is probably the one with the most unspoiled beauty. We'd be driving along and all of a sudden you would see a partially delapidated castle in the middle of the most beautiful green, rolling pastures. As you will see from our pictures - the scenery is truly breathtaking.
And the hospitality, in my opinion was the best we've had in all of our European adventures. We hired a babysitter through the apartment/hotel where we were staying, and had a fun night out eating a great meal, listening to some traditional irish music, and "borrowing" a pint glass or maybe six?? (What are we 12?!?) And, all the locals seemed to get a kick out of our crew! (We were quite a charming group after each having a few glasses of Jameson's...)
On our final full day in Ireland, we drove back towards Cork and went to Blarney village and visited the famous Blarney Castle. Again - spectacular, probably the highlight of the trip for me. Unfortunately, we were forced to move pretty quickly up the narrow stairwells to the top because the weather was monsoon-like for a few minutes! So, I don't have as much history on the castle or the Blarney Stone as I would like to share....but, we did ALL kiss the Blarney Stone - which is on the Discovery Channel's list of "99 things to do before you die," and said to give whoever kisses it the gift of "eloquence." Cool.
As I mentioned and as you will see in the pictures, the weather in Ireland was unpredictable. It could go from brisk and sunny, to windy and raining, to cold and sleeting in a matter of seconds. We all agreed the weather made the trip perfect though...totally what you would imagine it to be in Ireland. And, without the rain, we never would have seen not one, but two huge, beautiful rainbows. So to my dear friends Heidi and Lisa (and yes, Eric too) this shout out is for you! Thank you for making the trip across the pond to visit us in the UK - we loved having you here. And, I am so thankful for, and will always remember the Rainbow Connection we had in Ireland.
As I mentioned and as you will see in the pictures, the weather in Ireland was unpredictable. It could go from brisk and sunny, to windy and raining, to cold and sleeting in a matter of seconds. We all agreed the weather made the trip perfect though...totally what you would imagine it to be in Ireland. And, without the rain, we never would have seen not one, but two huge, beautiful rainbows. So to my dear friends Heidi and Lisa (and yes, Eric too) this shout out is for you! Thank you for making the trip across the pond to visit us in the UK - we loved having you here. And, I am so thankful for, and will always remember the Rainbow Connection we had in Ireland.
In other news, I survived the Claygate Primary Christmas Bazaar...barely. We celebrated Thanksgiving on the Saturday after the holiday with some American friends, and are now full-steam ahead for CHRISTMAS!
