Ring of Kerry

We skipped school and left the house early. We went to the southwest coast of Ireland to drive around the Kerry Ring.

The views were amazing. As we turned each corner, we seemed to find yet another stunning view.

We were lucky with the weather. We had sunshine! Of course there were a few showers, but I guess it wouldn’t be Ireland if the weather was stable.

At one point we saw a bunch of islands and white sandy beaches. It looked like it could be tropical, but I’m sure the water wasn’t near what it was in India!

As we made our way away from the coast we crossed over the mountains and there were some really gorgeous mountain lakes and streams.

Along the way we stopped for a walk and found a waterfall. The trees and stones near the river were completely covered with moss. I told the girls not to sit still too long or they might turn into moss monsters!

We stopped at a riding stable to go horseback riding, but the timing wasn’t right. We didn’t go away too disappointed though. The owner of the farm took us to a nearby field to see a mare and her new foal, born just last night. As we watched the horses, we got talking about our trip, and about their farm. It turns out she and her husband came from Holland like my relatives. We talked some more and she said that they were looking for a name for the colt. She didn’t want an ordinary name like “Freddy” she said. She asked Nadim his name and I think she is going to suggest it to her family as a possible name for the foal. Funny!

We made it back just in time for supper and now the kids are off practicing for their next rock performance!

CM

Another Rainy Day

After our late night we didn't get up early as previously planned. We had decided late last night that we would be in no mood for getting up and going to Cork, so instead we had a day around home. The girls were happy to do their school work and then we all curled up on the couch and watched the movie "Bride and Prejudice". It made me think of my neighbour, Mylene, who was totally infatuated with "Pride ad Prejudice" and I wondered whether she had seen this adaptation. It was fun to see the scenes from India with new understanding.

The girls were glad to be home to play with Julia when she returned from school. They are really going to miss each other when it's time for us to leave. It's been really nice for our girls who have missed family and friends and haven't had a lot of opportunity to play with kids who are their age and who speak English fluently. For Julia it's been nice too, because many of her relatives are so far away in Canada and she doesn't see much of them.

We were invited out to a Baha'i gathering again this evening, but decided to spend our last few nights at home and enjoy Elizabeth and Luke's company. We've been commenting on how fast our time together has been passing. I thought descending on them for two weeks might be a bit much, but it's been so much fun that it seems like two weeks is hardly enough!

CM

The Cliffs of Moher

For a small island country, Ireland has such a variety of landscapes. We visited the cliffs of Moher on the west coast and the views were spectacular. There are tall cliffs jutting straight out of the Atlantic ocean and you can see the layers of rock that have been ravaged by the tide and the wind over centuries. On top of these very rough-looking cliffs are grassy meadows where cows graze! There was someone playing an Irish tune on his flute as we walked up to the cliffs, so that made it even more enjoyable.

The cliffs rise over 200 metres out of the water. We could see birds circling the waters below us, and at one point we even saw a small tourist plane flying at about the same height as us!

The Burren was only a short drive away, but the landscape looked more like something from the Moon.

Cracked limestone boulders stretched to the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. We walked around for a while and the rocks were jagged and sharp in some spots and smooth in others.

You could see how life has a way of forcing its way through the hardest rock. We saw clumps of wild flowers and grass growing in isolated spots all around. It deserves the nickname of “The world’s largest rock garden”.

Later in the evening we went out for a Baha’i meeting and had what seemed like straightforward directions to get to the person’s home. Well, after driving around for an hour, we found ourselves back to almost the same place where we had started! We had been going around in circles. I blame the Irish roundabouts! We also did not have a good map or a cell phone, which may have contributed to this. After stopping several times for directions and getting more disoriented, we finally found the address. By the time we arrived the meeting was pretty much over, but we had time to socialize with everyone and had a good laugh about it.

When we got back we saw that Elizabeth and Luke were still up. A call from one of the Baha’is, asking if we were on our way, had them wondering about us so they were relieved to see us back. We had a midnight snack together and had a good laugh before going to bed.

NM

Galway Area

We rented a car for a few days and this gave us the freedom to go a little farther as we wouldn’t be required to be back in time for school pickup schedules. So with our new vehicle we drove off to Galway which is a couple of hours away.

Driving on the left side of the road took some getting used to, but Nadim managed to get us there and back without incident! Nadim writes: It felt very strange to shift gears with the left hand and every once in a while I found myself grabbing the door arm rest with my right hand, trying to find the stick shift. I found myself over-compensating by getting closer to the left hand shoulder. Christina was the official “shoulder minder” and let me know every time I got too close to the edge of the road. The roads are also quite narrow and there is no hard shoulder to speak of, and in some spots there are stone walls right next to the edge of the road. So it was imperative that we stay inside the lane.

The city has a large pedestrian-only area at the centre of town and they’ve managed to keep much of the old style facades on the buildings. In fact, the bank is housed in what used to be a castle! We had our lunch of fish and chips, and browsed through some of the shops, but as we’re still shell shocked by European prices we didn’t buy anything except a few postcards. I was tempted by some hand loomed wool sweaters though!

After walking around Galway and enjoying the city a bit, we jumped back in our shiny little car and took a drive along the coast, eventually looping back around through the edge of the Connemara County.

It was amazing to see the changes in the scenery. It went from stone walled fields and ocean views to these open, rocky, and grassy expanses. It kind of reminded me of parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

Behind these rocky grasslands were rugged-looking mountains. All this in the space of a couple of hours!

We were home a bit late, but thankfully the girls still had time to play with Julia before bedtime. I don’t think they would have forgiven us if we were too late!

CM

Bunratty Castle & Park

Despite the continuing rain we had a great time at Bunratty. It is a historic park that has a restored castle and many old farm houses and thatched cottages that were relocated there from various locations in Ireland.

The castle was the most impressive with its many spiral staircases, great halls, and other rooms. A good friend told me that her father had grown up in a castle in Scotland. I can now well imagine the incredible games of hide’n’seek that would have been part of his childhood!

As we entered the various cottages we read some of the descriptions where “small farm house” or “simple farm house” or “poor farm house” seemed to feature prominently. So of course the running joke was about the poor, small, simple famers! Where were the rich, large, complex farm houses?

It was fun to step back into history and to tour other people’s homes! Actually I was struck by how similar some of the more prosperous homes were to the ones in Upper Canada Village. You can certainly see where many of our Canadian ancestors came from.

Although we felt rather cold and wet by the end of it, I think we all enjoyed our trip to Bunratty!

CM

Rainy Saturday

Last night the adults all received “Girls Rock” concert tickets and were treated to a performance by the three girls. Julia was the vocals (with some help from a Barbie microphone), and Yasmin and Roya were the backup dancers. For the show they had to be dressed up again, and this time Elizabeth got out her hair iron to straighten their hair! Such fun.

This morning we had planned to go out to a local attraction, but the weather wasn’t cooperating. We had lots of rain today and even some hail. So instead we stayed in our pyjamas and had a morning pyjama party while watching Julia and Luke and Elizabeth’s weekly show, “Dancing with the Stars”.

This afternoon, to ward off “ants in your pants” syndrome, we took the kids to “Tons of Fun”, an indoor play park.

The kids ran, climbed, bounced, and slid and were happy to come home to do some other indoor activities this afternoon (building forts, play dough, lego, etc.)

Nadim and I were stressing about a place to stay in London. We were surprised that so many places were all booked on the first night that we are in town – a Saturday. In fact, not one place that we called had space! Ahhh. We don’t have it totally resolved yet, but we’re getting there.

CM

Clare Glens

This morning we braved the rain and went off to Clare Glens where there is a river running through a small gorge. There is the official walk along the top edge of the gorge, but of course we were much more interested in the path along the edge of the river.

The river was quite full. Of course it’s spring and we’ve had rain for the past couple of days so the water was running fast. This didn’t deter us. It simply made the adventure a little more risky and all the more fun.

The rocks were a little slippery in places and there was a lot of mud. Surprisingly nobody fell, but we all came back with muddy shoes and pant legs – proof of the fun we’d had.

The rain added to the beauty of the river. There was so much moss on the rocks and trees and it all sparkled emerald in the rain. The leaves have really been popping the last few days with all the rain. I’m so glad that we didn’t miss spring this year.

CM

At Home in Ireland

Last night the girls went upstairs and just when we thought things were getting mysteriously quiet, they re-emerged in all their finery! They were so pleased with themselves. It reminded me of when I was a girl of about their age and Elizabeth would dress me, my sisters, and my cousins in all sorts of fun getups.

Today was a slow day. We did our home schooling on a somewhat stretched-out schedule. Elizabeth’s friend Lori came for a late morning tea. She is originally from the United States. It was a little strange for us to hear North American accents in the house.

When Julia came home from school the girls helped me make chocolate chip cookies. They mixed with their freshly washed hands and made a fine mess! Sweets are my weakness so I’m as happy to eat them as the kids are.

CM

PS. Happy Birthday Lisa!

Lough Gur

This morning we took a drive to Lough Gur. There we were able to see replicas of thatched houses of a style that would have been found over a thousand years ago.

The houses weren’t actually open for the tourist season yet, so we took a walk along the edge of the spring-fed lake to see the crannog, which was a man-made island that farmers used to build to defend their family, property and livestock.

There was a big hill that we climbed. We had to traipse through a cow field, around cow patties, over and under electric fences and even over a stone wall or two, but eventually we made it to the top. It was extremely windy and we almost got blown away!

What a spectacular view. You can see the little crannog in the lake below us in the picture above. You could see rolling hills all around us with a patchwork of green farm fields. The gorse bushes are in bloom at this time of year, so the yellow flowers were very pretty decorating the landscape.

We were glad we had our outing in the morning because by afternoon rain was added to the wind, making it miserable for an afternoon outing, but perfect for school work, which is of course what was in store for us.

CM

King John's Castle

We took the day off from school work in honour of the Baha’i holiday of Ridvan. So instead of school work we went into Limerick to see some of the sights. The first stop was Saint Mary’s Cathedral. It is a beautiful old church with quite a history. It started as a castle in the eleven hundreds and was turned into a church when its owner converted to Christianity.

It was interesting to see some of the carvings on the old pews. I’m not sure what some of the carvings were trying to illustrate. It was a bit strange to see a wild cat eating a deer of some sort on one of the seats.

The stained glass was beautiful and the tall stone arches were majestic. Elizabeth showed us the chandeliers that were lighted only with candles for the Christmas Eve services. The atmosphere must be amazing for that.

We then made our way to King John’s Castle. King John didn’t actually live there, but it was built on his behalf to stake his claim on Ireland. The castle has a violent history of many battles valiantly fought by the Irish.

The displays and information centre were well done, but of course the castle itself was the most fun. I particularly enjoyed the view from the top of one of the towers. Limerick is a really pretty town set along the wide river Shannon. You can see why it would be a good choice for a settlement.

The girls joined Julia in her speech and drama class. They had a great time with that and then we all went for tea at Sonja’s house. Sonja is a good friend of Elizabeth’s and she has a daughter, Molly who is good friends with Julia. The adults had a nice tea while the kids ripped and roared around the house. It felt a little like a playgroup Saturday at our house with all the kids bouncing off the walls with all the fun that they were having! There was even a trampoline which reminded us of our neighbours and Kendra who also has a trampoline. Once again we’re making ourselves at home.

CM

Castleconnell

It nearly killed Yasmin and Roya, but they were forced to part with Julia this morning as Julia had to go to school. To add to their misery, it was also time for us to get back to our school work. They managed it bravely and were pleased to have Nadim as their math teacher while I headed to the grocery store with Elizabeth.

It’s completely amazing to see the selection at the stores. We got a few things including some for me to make a few meals for us. It’s actually a treat to cook again and make some favourites from home. Nachos was the specialty tonight – not terribly difficult, but it was so nice to have one of our regular weekend meals from home.

We picked Julia up from school. You’d think the girls hadn’t seen her in ages. From there we went to feed the swans near a little town called Castleconnell. It was a beautiful country drive. Castleconnell is only five kilometres from Limerick, but it really is in the country. I particularly enjoyed the hedge rows where the road has hedges on either side that nearly meet in the middle forming a green, sunlight dappled tunnel.
We gave the swans some crackers, but the girls weren’t ready to go yet, so we took a walk along the riverside path.

Sophia has been a bit under the weather and wanted to be carried by her mom, but Elizabeth had a torn muscle in her side that was bothering her so it really wasn’t so good for her to do it. Nadim eventually won Sophia’s heart and they are fast friends now. She was asking Nadim to pick her up and run with her. I’m afraid we’ve created a monster!

The warm spring day is again taunting Elizabeth and Luke who had warned us that it rains nearly every day in Ireland. I’ve not started ribbing them about it yet as I’m afraid to jinx our fine weather.

CM

People's Park

We visited People’s Park in what was supposed to have been the middle of Limerick, but because they ran out of money during construction of the Georgian town, it is actually more on the edge of town! No matter its location, it was a beautiful park.

The girls ran from one thing to the next. They enjoyed the pedal merry-go-round, but Julia felt dizzy on it, so they ran to a climbing structure, then to a slide, then to the climbing structure, then to the piped phone system... and so it continued until they were happily tired.

Spring is really in the air here in Ireland. The cherry trees are in bloom and they are so gorgeous! The weather is cool, and a bit cloudy, but at least it remained dry.

After lunch Luke took the girls in the back of the complex to the green space where there were many dandelions and daisies growing. They picked all sorts of them and only came in once they had a huge bag full of flowers.

Once they finally made it back in they made several table decorations and they filled a bottle with the petals to make perfume! I’m sure it will smell just lovely in a few days (nudge, wink). They also made daisy chain necklaces, crowns, and rings.

Yasmin and Roya were quite pleased to be fairy princesses or woodland queens, but Julia would have none of it. She said she was the maid. Smart girl realizes that Cinderella and Snow White also had such humble beginnings I guess!

CM

Hello Ireland

We’ve made ourselves perfectly at home in Elizabeth and Luke’s large duplex. We’re constantly amazed at the luxuries or European life. It’s so nice to sleep on a proper mattress, rather than a mattress that is more like a thin futon.

The kids have become fast friends. Julia and Sophia are actually my cousins, but it is funny given that they are seven and two years old.

To celebrate the sunny weather we went off to take a walk on a path near the university. The kids became woodland princesses once they sat on a stump that was shaped like a throne. They began collecting dandelions and generally had a great time together.

It’s very green here. I’m so happy to be seeing spring again. The trees are budding and the leaves are just starting. It’s easy to see why green is the colour of Ireland.

After lunch the kids got into some water play. They had a great time making various flavoured smoothies and tea for Luke. Of course there were the regular flavours like chocolate, orange, or mixed fruit, but they also came up with some unique flavours like slug, ants, butterfly, and worm. I’m not sure that they would market so well, although Luke seemed to enjoy them!

Now it’s almost supper and we’re about to have potatoes, veggies and chicken. I’m so looking forward to a home-cooked meal that does not involve rice and curry. As much as I love Indian food, I’m ready for a change.

CM

Flights to Ireland

We were up way too early this morning. We were awake at just after 3:00 am. The airport is about 45 minutes from town so we needed to allow time to drive there and be there two hours before our flight. The flight was perfectly on time, and we even arrived early in Heathrow.
It was a long flight – about ten hours. We each watched two or three movies on our personal video screens. Funny to think back to times when they had one movie that was played for everyone and when we all clapped for landings.

Poor Roya had some hot curry spilled on her at lunch. Her hand is a bit red, but not blistered so I think she’ll be fine. The upside is that the stewardess was so sorry that she was willing to give us a little tour of the plane once we landed. We were in the last row so we had to wait for the other passengers to empty out anyway. We got to go upstairs and see the flight deck. The girls thought the business class seats that recline into beds were pretty cool too. We didn’t see first class, but it must be something else if business class was so swanky!

Heathrow airport is huge. We took a subway from the arrival gate to the customs and baggage claim area. Then we had to switch terminals by taking another subway line.

After a long wait for our connecting flight, we made it safely to Ireland where we met Elizabeth. I think we had her worried because we were the last off the plane and our bags were the last to come out. None the less we have arrived and are very happy to be in Ireland with family at last.

CM

Lunch with Mr. Afshin

We were invited to lunch at Mr. Afshin’s house today. It took a while to get there because the auto rickshaw driver didn’t know where it was and had to keep asking for directions. Eventually we got there and had a wonderful lunch with Persian food and black tea!

Their home was so nicely decorated and in such a peaceful neighbourhood. It felt so calm and serene in the middle of India’s chaos.

Mr. Afshin is a very good story teller. Over our lovely cup of black tea served in traditional small glass cups, I particularly enjoyed his story about how many years ago the mullas in Iran had decided to ban tea because, after all, it comes from China a land of “infidels”, and the samovar and sugar that they used to make the tea came from Russia another land of “infidels”! This is the reason why all tea shops in Iran are called coffee shops! To add to that we had a good laugh about one of the central figures in the Baha’i Faith serving tea in a silver cup (also forbidden in Muslim tradition) to a mulla. He encouraged the followers to push the envelope on these Mulla made rules.

Now it’s time to pack. We’ve sent some things home so we’re hoping the rest will fit in our suitcases now. Hopefully it’s not too tight a fit. We need to be at the airport by about 4:30 am. I'm not looking forward to getting up so early. Tough life, right?

CM

Commercial Street

The India leg of our trip is nearly over. Tomorrow is the last day here before we head off to Ireland. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been here for nearly three months! It’s been great to visit the Baha’is in the area, and we’ve really enjoyed the chaos, but at the same time I think we’re looking forward to quieter more orderly times in Europe. I’m really glad we experienced India for the length of time that we did. I don’t think we could have got an appreciation for the real India in a quick trip.

Our activities today were pretty mundane. School work as ever, and then a trip to Commercial Street. We didn’t buy anything, but we did experience India’s chaos at its finest. I think we’re tired of shopping and tired of fighting the crowds and picking our way through streets with no sidewalks. We ended the day empty handed for a change and were quite happy to return to the Baha’i Centre to start the near impossible task of sorting and packing. Krista, I think we’ll have another box or two to send home to you!

CM

A Day Off

The flight from Goa was delayed last night so we didn’t get in to Bangalore until almost midnight and it was the wee hours of the morning before we settled into the Baha’i Centre. There was no electricity, or “current” as the Indians say and it was hot, so without the fan it was difficult to sleep. Eventually the power came back and we got some rest.
In the morning the girls said that since it was April 14th and we thought that it was perhaps a holiday in Goa that they should have a day off from school work. Usually I’m not such a push over, but I really didn’t feel like it either. So no school today!

We had to return a movie that we had bought earlier because it was a DVD for this region and didn’t work properly on our computer. Surprisingly they exchanged it without a fuss so we were happy. While at the shopping centre Nadim went into a leather shop. He came away with a jacket and new briefcase! Leather is relatively cheap here in comparison to home.

I also didn’t come away empty handed. There was a really beautiful Punjabi that I bought. It’s not something that I would wear in Canada, but I think I can modify the shirt so that I can wear it when we return.
Now we’re back in our rooms and the girls are happy to simply play. They were pretending that they were shopping for gifts for their friends while we were out and now they seem to have escaped to a make believe world again. Their imaginations are always so entertaining for both them and us!

CM

Last Day in Goa

The Baha’i weekend activities were over and Monday had arrived so it was time for us to do school work again. Only about eight weeks or so left of school work before we break for summer.
We were invited to lunch at Seema’s house along with Mr. Afshin. Seema is a local Baha’i. She fed us an amazing lunch with crab, fish, rice, and Yasmin and Roya’s favourite, pouri.

Our flight was in the evening so we had all afternoon to spend before going to the airport. So Seema suggested we visit some Hindu temples nearby. The temples were typical of Indian temples, but it was fun to have a look at the different culture being practised.

After the temple visits we made a quick trip to the beach. It is only a few minutes’ drive from Seema’s house. Although there were signs saying “Danger No Swimming” there were lots of people in the water and we dipped our feet in. The water is so warm here that it isn’t even refreshing! That’s hard to imagine given the ocean temperatures in Canada!

CM