a chuisle mo chroí (pulse of my heart)

We spent a week split between France and England. Our second week was to be spent in Ireland. We spent the week driving clockwise around the island hitting a lot of the highlights of the beautiful country Ireland. This was my family's second time visiting Ireland and Alex's first. We enjoyed sharing our experiences and memories with him and making new ones together.

We travelled from England to Ireland via a ferry. We landed in Rosslare and stayed at a cute B&B along the coast. We walked along the property and visited with the farm animals.

The next day we began our tour of the island with a stop in Waterford to tour the Waterford Crystal Factory. 

It still amazes me how they make the glass. It is truly artwork. We enjoyed seeing and learning their process. As well as shopping.

 

Next stop, Blarney so that Alex could get the gift of gab by kissing the Blarney Stone.

Surprisingly we got up to the top of the castle quickly. Which was good because Alex is not big on heights. I got my gift of gab for the second time.

Alex went for it and did great!

We ended our day in Kenmare. It is a cute little town located on the Ring of Kerry.

We opted to take a bus tour of the Ring of Kerry this time around. Before the drivers weren't able to enjoy the majestic views of the peninsula. This time everybody was able to watch the scenery. We were able to stop and hop off the bus to take in the sights. 

We even got to meet a real sheepherder and and his sheepdogs. It was an amazing demonstration. The dogs were intent on the sheep. With a whistle hear and there, the sheepherder got the sheep where he wanted with the help of his dogs.

The next day we headed up the coast to the Cliffs of Moher. Just like the last visit, it was cold and rainy. We stuck it out and saw some amazing views.

We ended the day at Kylemore Abbey. It is a beautiful home that was built out of love by a husband for his wife. It has since been turned into an Abbey. The contrast of the white against its green backdrop was breathtaking.

The next morning we headed up to Belleek. We crossed over into Northern Ireland and visited the Belleek Factory. Just like Waterford, we did a tour of their workspaces. Again, these pieces are a work of art. It is amazing that all of it is done by hand. We ended our visit with a bit of shopping.

We started towards our last stop before Dublin to the northern tip of the island to view the Giant's Causeway. The rock formations were amazing. Never seen anything like it before. 

Our last leg of our trip began once we arrived at the Kilronan House in Dublin. The main reason why we saved our pennies and packed up for two weeks was to cheer on Notre Dame as they played the Naval Academy in Dublin. We enjoyed our sightseeing but it was down to business.

We got in some irish dancing and music.

Even got to pour our pints of beer. Dangerous!

I discovered Bulmer's Irish Cider. Yum! In America it is called Magner's Irish Cider. I have never been a beer person, but Irish Cider hits the spot.

The next day we set out to visit some of the sights and sounds of Dublin. We viewed the Book of Kells and headed over to the Guinness Storehouse. The city was crawling with Navy and Irish fans. It was a lot of fun.

The boys toasted the Irish to victory a top of the Guinness Factory. The stuff will put hair on your chest.

 

GAME DAY! Here come the Irish! We visited the Tailgate Party that was outside on Grafton Street. I even tried a bit of Irish dancing myself.

 

The game was played in Aviva Stadium. This is home to the Ireland's football (soccer) team.

What a great time!

Cheers to the Irish and their victory over Navy!

On our last day we travelled outside of Dublin and visited Powerscourt. This home is considered to be the Versailles of Ireland. The grounds and gardens were beautiful.

We bought a picnic lunch at Powerscourt from all of their goodies and ate our lunch by the tallest waterfall in Ireland.

Sadly, our trip ended. It was a great time. It is hard to believe we were there just a few short months ago. It still boggles my mind how much we did and saw. Even as I post these pictures.

Slán go fóill Ireland. Goodbye for now Ireland. We miss you the most of all.

London Bridge Falling Down

Our Europe Vacation continued in England. We were very excited to see all things royal and that is what we did. I absolutely enjoyed England. It was cute, quaint and clean. Of course, you can't beat the accent. Everyone was so proper.

We stayed in the cute Lime Tree Hotel in the Belgravia neighborhood. The staff and amenities were very nice. Each morning we had breakfast in the hotel before heading off to our destinations.

First on our list was to see the Crown Jewels at the London Tower. I liked how it was set up. We actually rode a conveyor belt by the Jewels. I enjoyed it because it forced people to keep moving. However, I hopped right back on to get a longer look. They were huge, sparkly and gorgeous.

Next up, Tower Bridge, which I always thought was the London Bridge. We arrived after the Olympics so they had taken down the rings and put back up the Queen's decor for her Jubilee.

We took a boat cruise along the River Thames and were able to get some great views of the city. We got off at Big Ben or Elizabeth Tower.

We were very excited to visit Westminster Abbey. The inside of the Abbey is an optical illusion. I have watched so many events on television and had a hard time figuring out how the large crowds fit into such a small area. The majority of the Abbey is filled with crypts of so many people. I could have stayed in there for hours.

The next day was our big day at Buckingham Palace. What a beautiful home full of so much history. Unfortunately, there were no sightings of the Royals.

We ventured across town to check out St. Paul's Cathedral. Our State Capitol was modeled after this beautiful church. I sat inside under the dome and tried to figure out how they built it.

The Underground became our new best friend as we trekked across London. Once we figured it out, it was so easy and a no brainer.

We spent the shortest time in London. We headed out of the city to the London countryside and visited Althorp. Princess Diana's childhood home. It was such a beautiful estate. Her brother Charles still lives in the home. We actually saw him crossing the courtyard to sign books in the bookstore.

We walked down the pathway towards Princess Diana's final resting place on an island in Round Oval lake. It was a beautiful and serene place. Perfect for the Princess.

After leaving Althorp, we headed over to Stonehenge. We all thought we would finally get the answer to our question, "What do these rocks mean?" As we walked up to the stones, listening to our guide machines, we were quickly told that no one knows what the rocks mean. We heard about all of the possibilities. What an impressive sight to see!

Cheerio London! We miss you too! Next up Ireland.

An American in Paris

I cannot believe that Alex and I were fortunate enough to have travelled to Europe this past summer with my family. I also cannot believe that it has taken me this long to scroll through my pictures and to finally post about our European vacation.

We started our adventure in Paris, France. We stayed at the Hotel du Champ de Mars. It was located in a quintessential neighborhood of the city. When we arrived at the Hotel we were "greeted" by the French owner. I use greeted loosely because she was very direct and straight to the point. She answered in threes; either "oui, oui, oui" or "no, no, no." She looked Alex straight in the eye and told him he would have to go up the elevator by himself no luggage. When we each took our turn going on the elevator with our luggage, I understood why because it was cramped.

We got the best rooms in the place on the top floor. Our view was spectacular with the Eiffel Tower in our sights. I quickly became fascinated with the Tower. I just couldn't believe I was in Paris . . . finally.

Although, we were lucky to be in Paris, we were there on one of the hottest days. It was well over 100 degrees. We were quickly reminded that they do not have air conditioning and it was miserable. We underestimated the distance between our hotel and our first stop in Paris, the Louvre. We walked what seemed for days with little to no shade. Once we got to the Louvre, we were quickly overwhelmed with the size and amount of artwork the place holds. We went directly for the Mona Lisa. I think Alex was the most disappointed with her, because she was so small. The Louvre was not necessarily a highlight for me. I am glad I went and saw the things I did, but it was too big and we actually got lost. I thought we would never get out.

Our next stop was Louis Vuitton. Oh man, I was in heaven. Alex got in trouble for trying to take pictures so no pictures from inside the store. However, it was absolutely beautiful. I wish I had a lot more money because there were some amazing pieces. I did in fact purchase a Louis and I absolutely love him.

The next day we travelled outside of Paris to Giverny to visit Claude Monet's home and gardens. I was originally the one out of the group that wanted to visit. The boys weren't in to visiting. After we left, everyone was thrilled and excited to have gone. The gardens were amazing. Everything was destroyed during and after WW2 but Monet's estate has worked very hard to restore the home and gardens to what they were like if Monet had planted them himself. It was absolutely beautiful and I recommend the visit to anyone. The town of Giverny was absolutely adorable and wish we could have stayed longer.

Our next stop that day was to pay our respects at the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach in Normandy. It was absolutely breathtaking to walk up over the crest to see the white crosses lined up as far as the eyes could see.

We actually walked down to the beach itself. I think we all took a moment to reflect on the events that happened on this beach on D-day. The events that led up to it and the events that resulted because of it. So many men lost their lives trying to preserve freedom. Many of them laid to rest in the cemetery we just visited. What was truly inspiring was to watch families and children playing on the beach. Perhaps it is morbid to some, but to me it is affirmation the darkest moments can bring the brightest days.

Our tour of the French countryside continued to Sainte-Mer-Eglise. This town saw heavy casualties of paratroopers on D-day because they drifted too close to the fires of the city. One paratrooper, John Steele, got his parachute caught on the church steeple and watched his friends die from enemy fire. The town commemorated the loss of American life by hanging a paratrooper from the same church steeple.

The next day we were back in Paris and checked out several museums and churches. Our first stop was Napoleon's tomb. For someone so small, he had such a big ego that even his tomb was larger than life.

We stopped by Rodin's museum and saw The Thinker.

We checked out Musee d'Orsay and saw many of the famous impressionist paintings that I grew up studying and loving, especially Degas' ballet works. My family especially enjoyed viewing some of Monet's work of his gardens, since we were there the day before.

We visited the Notre Dame Cathedral. That is one massive church.

We took a boat ride on the Seine river and were able to cool off and enjoy the sites of Paris. Again, we drifted by the Eiffel Tower. I couldn't stop thinking about how we would be at the top of it by sunset.

Perfect timing! We saw the sun set just as we reached the top. Breathtaking!

We toasted our day in Paris and everyone making it to the top with a little champagne.

I absolutely enjoyed the Eiffel Tower. This was a memorable moment of our time in Paris.

The next day was our last day and we headed out to Versailles. Again, it was overwhelming because it was so big. We just went through the palace and walked out the veranda to view the gardens. This would require a whole day. I was disappointed though because they installed modern art throughout the palace and in the gardens. I personally thought it took away from the experience.

We headed back to Paris and made one last stop to our bakery. We stopped there every morning to get our breakfast pastries. Oh how I miss those chocolate croissants.

The dessert pastries were the prettiest things I ever saw.

Au revoir Paris! We miss you!

Pool bums

This summer Alex and I spent A LOT of time at our local YMCA pool. It was a pretty hot summer, and I prefer to be able to get in the water to cool off. The lakes aren't always ideal for a dip in the water, unless you are on a boat. There are weird things that grow and can get people sick. So we opted to sit poolside this summer.

Double Birthday Rainbow . . . What does it mean?

On my birthday this year, I joined the rest of society and got my first iPhone. 

My first picture . . . a double rainbow as we walked out of the store. I have never seen a rainbow like this let alone a double rainbow. (You can faintly see the second rainbow to right of the photo.)

Swing Batter, Swing!

This past Spring and Summer Alex and I checked out a few of the other Minnesota Sports Teams. The first was attending the Minnesota Swarm Lacrosse game. We had the fortune of being able to sit in box seats at the Xcel Center with the Notre Dame Alumni Club. The owner of the Swarm is a Notre Dame graduate and arranged for the seats. The seats were great and the game was very exciting. It reminded me of cheering on my brother when he played Lacrosse.

We were also lucky to get tickets to the Cleveland Indians/Minnesota Twins game. They were great seats as well. I was decked out in my Indian gear and got quite a few glares. The Indians won the game which of course is always exciting.

We also went to a St. Paul Saints game. It is a great opportunity to people watch because everyone comes to these games. I mean everyone. There is also great entertainment at the change of innings. 

Dusting off the cobwebs

Wow! I can't believe that my last post was in April. It has been so long that I couldn't even remember what my login information was to even post this on my blog. Yikes!

Hopefully, over the next couple of weeks I can catch up on our summer. They may be abbreviated posts because there is just way too much to share.

Looking forward to sharing with everyone!