As Erica's wedding approaches, I am finding it harder to get to sleep at night. I think some of it is actually stress by proxy. I worry about everything she is dealing with at once: the last few weeks of her first year as a med student; she and Craig buying a house in Madison and all the details and expense involved with that; the wedding itself with the many last-minute preparations and glitches. I feel like I should be there helping, but I don't know exactly what form that help would take.
I helped her with the wedding invitations at the end of March and co-hosted a bridal shower for her a few days later. I dragged Fred to the menswear store in Madison to get his suit for the big day and assured her that he would have a fresh haircut and ear-hair-trim for the wedding. I listen to her vent on the phone when one thing or another goes wrong and offer advice that may or may not help. But hey--I also have my own problems.
Shopping for a mother-of-the-bride (MOB) dress has been a nightmare all its own. Designers apparently think that middle-aged mothers want to look like Queen Elizabeth or the mayor of Cougar Town. I looked in stores in which I normally have good luck, and was thoroughly disappointed with the selection--or moreso the lack thereof. Sure, if I'd made good on all the weight loss promises I made to myself and my readers over the past year, trying on dresses would be more fun and productive. But since I'm pretty much the "total me" I was a year ago, I have to look for both style and camouflage.
With only a little over 6 weeks to go, I did something I haven't done before: ordered dresses online. I'm very leery about sending for something that I can't try on first, but at least I found styles on websites that I'd actually want to wear. One dress is back-ordered until mid-May, but the other is on its way. I have my fingers crossed that I will both like and look decent in one of them so I don't have to keep searching.
Then there's the nagging worry that it will be unseasonably warm that day, and between the heat and my out-of-control hormones I will be a puddle of sweat just in time for the picture-taking. I am fervently hoping that the photograher is a master of the touch-up.
Ultimately, though, it is Craig and Erica's day, and as long as everything goes the way they hope it does, I am going to try to chill about everything else. If there is any freaking-out to be done, I won't be in the center of it. Looking forward to the 5:00 cocktail hour will definitely help.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Ireland--the Final Chapter
I have been lazy about writing an account of my last two days in Ireland, so I'd better do it before my sieve-like memory forgets all the details!
Saturday morning, March 20th: Bonnie, Katie, and I left the hotel and grabbed a cup of coffee before catching a bus to the University of Limerick. Katie wanted to show us the campus and where she is living for the semester. The River Shannon flows through the grounds of the university, just like the Chippewa River is a centerpiece of UW-Eau Claire. We walked across "The Living Bridge," which feels as if it's moving, and took pictures in the Stables--Katie's favorite hang-out when she's not diligently working in the library. Her house in Plassey Village, where she lives with 7 roommates, was obviously a college kids' abode--but nice. We met Val, one of her roomies, and I asked him to say something to me in Gaelic. I love the sound of the language, but couldn't understand a word of it.
After seeing campus, we hopped on a bus to go back downtown. There we had lunch at Chocolat, a restaurant Katie had been dying to try. We each had a delicious meal followed by a dessert of 3 different cheesecakes/cake. (Don't tell Richard Simmons on me.)
Another bus ride later, we were at Bunratty Castle just outside Limerick. Katie was a little disappointed that Bonnie and I didn't want to go inside; we were temporarily "castled out" and more interested in checking out the shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills there. We did do some walking down the road to the Bunratty Winery, but unfortunately it is closed on Saturdays. To soothe our disappointment over getting no free samples of mead or wine, we stopped in at Durty Nelly's, one of the oldest pubs in Ireland, for a drink. Sitting on the outdoor balcony, we enjoyed the sun and the breeze over glasses over Bulmers and Bailey's Irish Cream.
We returned to Limerick and had a late supper of pizza and garlic bread--that traditional Irish meal!--at Luigi Malone's. From there we walked to Dolan's Pub to hear some Irish music. It wasn't an actual band that played--just local people who come in and play their insturuments together for fun. I'm sure Katie was quite relieved that I didn't dance any jigs, though it really was toe-tapping music! We only listened for a short while since we had another early morning the next day.
Sunday we got up and walked down to the Travel Center to catch a tour bus for Blarney and Cork. We searched in vain for an open coffee shop or restaurant, discovering in a hurry that nothing is open on Sunday mornings when everyone is supposed to be in church! Fortunately our bus driver stopped partway to Blarney so we could grab something to eat at a gas station.
Blarney Castle was quite spectacular. The grounds are beautifully landscaped with flowers, trees, and a stream with waterfalls. We climbed the narrow, winding stone steps to the top of the castle in order to reach the infamous Blarney Stone. Many people were waiting in line to kiss it--including Katie and Bonnie--but I only observed. You have to lie down on your back and hang your head backwards while a man holds onto you in order to kiss the stone, which is the fourth one down from the top--and actually part of the wall. I don't like heights, especially being upside down while looking five stories below. Bonnie and Katie had their pictures taken by the on-site photographer and bought them, along with the certificate proclaiming that they had kissed the stone. After leaving the castle we walked through the Druid's Settlement and saw some interesting rock formations. The rest of our time in Blarney was spent shopping!
From Blarney we drove to the City of Cork, which has 250,000 people and is the second largest city in Ireland after Dublin. We spent our time there just exploring the city and having lunch. We ate at O'Brien's Sandwiches, where we had a shamrock-shaped chicken pesto sandwich. Excellent!
We got back to Limerick around 6, retrieved our luggage from the hotel, and said goodbye to Katie at the bus station. She had been a super tour guide, and the time with her in Limerick was by far the best part of the trip for me. Bonnie and I took a short bus ride to a hotel in Shannon which was just across the parking lot from the airport. We had to get up at 5 AM Monday to be at the airport by 6. Bonnie discovered the fickleness of Irish electrical current when her curling iron overheated and burned off a chunk of her hair!
The Shannon Airport has duty-free shopping, but by then our bags were already full of souvenirs and gifts. We had the amazing experience of seeing a whole waiting-room full or American soldiers returning to Iraq from R and R. I talked to a couple of them and thanked them for their service--wished afterwards that I had taken a picture.
Our flight back to the U.S. was uneventful, other than the fact that Continental served us a chicken dinner at 7 AM! When we got to Newark, we discovered that our flight to Minneapolis was delayed--what a surprise. We finally got back to the Cities at 6:30 PM, 2 and 1/2 hours late. Ironically, we deplaned at the same gate where we had spent so many hours waiting to fly out the week before--just in time to hear the announcement that the next flight to Newark was also delayed! I won't fly Continental again!
We caught a shuttle to the hotel where we'd left my car and took off on the 4-hour drive to Rhinelander. I came straggling into the house at 11:15 P.M., not knowing then that it would take me four days to stop feeling exhausted! But it was an incredible trip, and I would like to go back to Ireland again someday. If you get the chance, you should too!!
Saturday morning, March 20th: Bonnie, Katie, and I left the hotel and grabbed a cup of coffee before catching a bus to the University of Limerick. Katie wanted to show us the campus and where she is living for the semester. The River Shannon flows through the grounds of the university, just like the Chippewa River is a centerpiece of UW-Eau Claire. We walked across "The Living Bridge," which feels as if it's moving, and took pictures in the Stables--Katie's favorite hang-out when she's not diligently working in the library. Her house in Plassey Village, where she lives with 7 roommates, was obviously a college kids' abode--but nice. We met Val, one of her roomies, and I asked him to say something to me in Gaelic. I love the sound of the language, but couldn't understand a word of it.
After seeing campus, we hopped on a bus to go back downtown. There we had lunch at Chocolat, a restaurant Katie had been dying to try. We each had a delicious meal followed by a dessert of 3 different cheesecakes/cake. (Don't tell Richard Simmons on me.)
Another bus ride later, we were at Bunratty Castle just outside Limerick. Katie was a little disappointed that Bonnie and I didn't want to go inside; we were temporarily "castled out" and more interested in checking out the shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills there. We did do some walking down the road to the Bunratty Winery, but unfortunately it is closed on Saturdays. To soothe our disappointment over getting no free samples of mead or wine, we stopped in at Durty Nelly's, one of the oldest pubs in Ireland, for a drink. Sitting on the outdoor balcony, we enjoyed the sun and the breeze over glasses over Bulmers and Bailey's Irish Cream.
We returned to Limerick and had a late supper of pizza and garlic bread--that traditional Irish meal!--at Luigi Malone's. From there we walked to Dolan's Pub to hear some Irish music. It wasn't an actual band that played--just local people who come in and play their insturuments together for fun. I'm sure Katie was quite relieved that I didn't dance any jigs, though it really was toe-tapping music! We only listened for a short while since we had another early morning the next day.
Sunday we got up and walked down to the Travel Center to catch a tour bus for Blarney and Cork. We searched in vain for an open coffee shop or restaurant, discovering in a hurry that nothing is open on Sunday mornings when everyone is supposed to be in church! Fortunately our bus driver stopped partway to Blarney so we could grab something to eat at a gas station.
Blarney Castle was quite spectacular. The grounds are beautifully landscaped with flowers, trees, and a stream with waterfalls. We climbed the narrow, winding stone steps to the top of the castle in order to reach the infamous Blarney Stone. Many people were waiting in line to kiss it--including Katie and Bonnie--but I only observed. You have to lie down on your back and hang your head backwards while a man holds onto you in order to kiss the stone, which is the fourth one down from the top--and actually part of the wall. I don't like heights, especially being upside down while looking five stories below. Bonnie and Katie had their pictures taken by the on-site photographer and bought them, along with the certificate proclaiming that they had kissed the stone. After leaving the castle we walked through the Druid's Settlement and saw some interesting rock formations. The rest of our time in Blarney was spent shopping!
From Blarney we drove to the City of Cork, which has 250,000 people and is the second largest city in Ireland after Dublin. We spent our time there just exploring the city and having lunch. We ate at O'Brien's Sandwiches, where we had a shamrock-shaped chicken pesto sandwich. Excellent!
We got back to Limerick around 6, retrieved our luggage from the hotel, and said goodbye to Katie at the bus station. She had been a super tour guide, and the time with her in Limerick was by far the best part of the trip for me. Bonnie and I took a short bus ride to a hotel in Shannon which was just across the parking lot from the airport. We had to get up at 5 AM Monday to be at the airport by 6. Bonnie discovered the fickleness of Irish electrical current when her curling iron overheated and burned off a chunk of her hair!
The Shannon Airport has duty-free shopping, but by then our bags were already full of souvenirs and gifts. We had the amazing experience of seeing a whole waiting-room full or American soldiers returning to Iraq from R and R. I talked to a couple of them and thanked them for their service--wished afterwards that I had taken a picture.
Our flight back to the U.S. was uneventful, other than the fact that Continental served us a chicken dinner at 7 AM! When we got to Newark, we discovered that our flight to Minneapolis was delayed--what a surprise. We finally got back to the Cities at 6:30 PM, 2 and 1/2 hours late. Ironically, we deplaned at the same gate where we had spent so many hours waiting to fly out the week before--just in time to hear the announcement that the next flight to Newark was also delayed! I won't fly Continental again!
We caught a shuttle to the hotel where we'd left my car and took off on the 4-hour drive to Rhinelander. I came straggling into the house at 11:15 P.M., not knowing then that it would take me four days to stop feeling exhausted! But it was an incredible trip, and I would like to go back to Ireland again someday. If you get the chance, you should too!!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Wisconsin Cheryl and the Castles of Ireland
(March 18th, Limerick, Ireland. When we last left our heroine, she was suffering from insomnia due to a potent late-night Irish coffee...)
Bonnie and I got up fairly early in spite of not sleeping well because we didn't want to miss our last pre-paid meal with the tour group! We avoided talking to any of them and spent an hour yakking over breakfast. Katie came over mid-morning, and we took some time on the computer to make plans for the rest of our visit--booking a tour, a hotel, and seeing what the local bus schedule was for the next couple days. Then we set off to see some sites of Limerick. St. Mary's Cathedral was the first, and I was absolutely awestruck by this 800+-year-old church. As with some of the other buildings I had yet to see, it just amazed me that people were able to build such magnificent structures hundreds of years ago without modern equipment. After checking out the cemetery, we went inside and paid two Euro each to the church maintenance fund so we could look around. The huge stone arches, tall stained glass windows, and towering ceiling are just spectacular! I would love to have seen an actual church service taking place there.
From the church we walked to St. John's Castle. Poor Katie had already been there twice, but she persevered so Bonnie and I could enjoy the tour. The castle's history and the recreation of many of the features that existed when it was actually in use were really interesting, and we took lots of fun pictures. After we'd seen everything, we spent plenty of time in the gift shop! We had a late lunch at Arabica, the coffee shop across from the hotel, and spent a quiet evening resting up for the next day's adventure.
On Friday Katie came to the hotel right from her 9:00 class, and we went to the bus station to catch our ride to Cashel. The bus ride took us through some quaint towns, including Tipperary! The streets in these small towns are SO narrow that the bus could almost touch the cars and other vehicles it met. All of the storefronts are connected, and it seems to be the popular thing for merchants to make their buildings as colorful as possible! We stopped in the town of Cahir and had to wait an hour for the connecting bus to Cashel. We passed the time walking along the river, taking pictures of the outside of Cahir Castle, and also did more shopping!
Katie had been to Cashel before on an overnight trip, so she was again an experienced guide for us. We walked to the outside of town and first visited the Hore Abbey. It is abandoned and there is no official "tour", but we were there for more than an hour just taking in the essence of a place so old and mysterious. Again I was amazed by the enormity of the task undertaken by the builders of that period. How could they create such architecture from stone with their bare hands?? The other thing that struck me over and over during my trip was the history of the place. The U.S. is a mere infant historically when compared to the countries of Europe.
We investigated the graveyard at the Abbey and took more pictures, gazing up at the Rock of Cashel on the hill opposite. Then we made our way up the hill via the "Path of the Dead," stopping to take pictures of the amazing view below us. The "Rock" is actually a castle, and we explored both inside and out, also viewing a brief video about its history. There was another cemetery to check out, this one including a gravestone with my mom's name on it!
We were hungry by this time, so we made our way back to town and found Feehan's Pub. With a Bulmer's cider in hand and an excellent meal, we toasted our great fortune at being in this beautiful country!
We caught the bus back to Cahir, and it was raining as we waited around for our connection back to Limerick. Lucky for us, the bus we would have otherwise missed was running late, so we were able to catch that one and not have to wait long. I ran into a bakery next to the bus stop and bought us each a cupcake before it closed. We were back at the hotel by 8 PM after picking up a few groceries, and Katie spent the night so we could set out together the next morning. Tomorrow: the University of Limerick campus and Bunratty!
Bonnie and I got up fairly early in spite of not sleeping well because we didn't want to miss our last pre-paid meal with the tour group! We avoided talking to any of them and spent an hour yakking over breakfast. Katie came over mid-morning, and we took some time on the computer to make plans for the rest of our visit--booking a tour, a hotel, and seeing what the local bus schedule was for the next couple days. Then we set off to see some sites of Limerick. St. Mary's Cathedral was the first, and I was absolutely awestruck by this 800+-year-old church. As with some of the other buildings I had yet to see, it just amazed me that people were able to build such magnificent structures hundreds of years ago without modern equipment. After checking out the cemetery, we went inside and paid two Euro each to the church maintenance fund so we could look around. The huge stone arches, tall stained glass windows, and towering ceiling are just spectacular! I would love to have seen an actual church service taking place there.
From the church we walked to St. John's Castle. Poor Katie had already been there twice, but she persevered so Bonnie and I could enjoy the tour. The castle's history and the recreation of many of the features that existed when it was actually in use were really interesting, and we took lots of fun pictures. After we'd seen everything, we spent plenty of time in the gift shop! We had a late lunch at Arabica, the coffee shop across from the hotel, and spent a quiet evening resting up for the next day's adventure.
On Friday Katie came to the hotel right from her 9:00 class, and we went to the bus station to catch our ride to Cashel. The bus ride took us through some quaint towns, including Tipperary! The streets in these small towns are SO narrow that the bus could almost touch the cars and other vehicles it met. All of the storefronts are connected, and it seems to be the popular thing for merchants to make their buildings as colorful as possible! We stopped in the town of Cahir and had to wait an hour for the connecting bus to Cashel. We passed the time walking along the river, taking pictures of the outside of Cahir Castle, and also did more shopping!
Katie had been to Cashel before on an overnight trip, so she was again an experienced guide for us. We walked to the outside of town and first visited the Hore Abbey. It is abandoned and there is no official "tour", but we were there for more than an hour just taking in the essence of a place so old and mysterious. Again I was amazed by the enormity of the task undertaken by the builders of that period. How could they create such architecture from stone with their bare hands?? The other thing that struck me over and over during my trip was the history of the place. The U.S. is a mere infant historically when compared to the countries of Europe.
We investigated the graveyard at the Abbey and took more pictures, gazing up at the Rock of Cashel on the hill opposite. Then we made our way up the hill via the "Path of the Dead," stopping to take pictures of the amazing view below us. The "Rock" is actually a castle, and we explored both inside and out, also viewing a brief video about its history. There was another cemetery to check out, this one including a gravestone with my mom's name on it!
We were hungry by this time, so we made our way back to town and found Feehan's Pub. With a Bulmer's cider in hand and an excellent meal, we toasted our great fortune at being in this beautiful country!
We caught the bus back to Cahir, and it was raining as we waited around for our connection back to Limerick. Lucky for us, the bus we would have otherwise missed was running late, so we were able to catch that one and not have to wait long. I ran into a bakery next to the bus stop and bought us each a cupcake before it closed. We were back at the hotel by 8 PM after picking up a few groceries, and Katie spent the night so we could set out together the next morning. Tomorrow: the University of Limerick campus and Bunratty!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Obviously-A-Tourist
I wonder if the natives of Ireland--and other countries--look at people like me and Bonnie and see a large blazing "T" on our foreheads. I'm sure the bewildered facial expressions, neck-craning for the correct bus, and taking pictures of said bus are dead giveaways. (Ya think?!)
When we arrived in Dublin on the morning of March 16th, we bought tickets for the "Hop-on, Hop-off" Dublin bus tour. Since we only had about 5 hours, we wanted to see as much as we could of the city's famous landmarks and attractions. First we rode the bus for the entire tour, then did it again so we could get off and look at things we wanted to see more of--and shop! Our driver was very informative and funny, singing and reciting limericks for us. Among the stops on the tour are Trinity College, which houses the Book of Kells; Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Temple Bar, the Guinness Storehouse, the Old Jameson Distillery, Grafton Street, and the colorful Georgian Doors. We took several pictures, but missed getting one of Molly Malone--"the tart with the cart." The bus driver did sing her song for us though: "In Dublin's fair city where girls are so pretty, 'twas there I first met my sweet Molly Malone..."
Many young people in Dublin dress just like kids in the U.S. with neon hair colors, multiple facial piercings, and some of the shortest skirts I've seen since I wore them myself in high school! Occasionally I'd see an older white-haired man with ruddy cheeks chatting animatedly with a friend in that lyrical brogue and think, "Now he is Irish!" There were plenty of redheads, too!
We arrived in Killarney that evening, starving and relieved to be caught up to our tour group after all the delays. The Killarney Avenue Hotel was an old building with beautiful woodwork and decor. We had a delicious dinner and met our tour director, Martin Guilfoyle. More about him later...
Wednesday morning, St. Patrick's Day! In Ireland!! Bonnie and I went down for breakfast-wearing green, of course--and met a few people in the tour group. We got on the bus and headed to the ferry across the River Shannon, making our way to the Cliffs of Moher. We sat near the back of the bus with the people who had already been designated the "rowdies" by the rest of the group. Three of them were women in their 30s-40s who had red hair of questionable authenticity. They had each gotten tattoos in Killarney the day before! There was also a college kid from Wauwatosa, WI who was on the tour with his grandma!
The Cliffs of Moher were amazing. It was extremely windy, and the waves were crashing at the base of the rocks. We took a bunch of pictures, and Bonnie walked up the far side of the rocks to take some from the opposite view while I checked out the shops that are built right into the hillside. I got myself a Celtic knot brooch made of Connemara marble. It is a green stone mined in Ireland, estimated to be 500 million years old!
After a quick lunch, we piled back into the bus and took off for Rathbun Farm. It is a working sheep farm, and we were able to see several varieties of sheep and other farm critters. We were given a glass of hot whiskey with sugar upon arrival, and later had coffee and scones before departing for Limerick.
We arrived at the George Boutique Hotel in Limerick around 5:30. I had texted Katie on the way, and she showed up shortly after. Hooray! I was able to give her a hug for the first time in two months. She gave me a claddagh necklace as a belated Christmas present, and we talked about what we wanted to do during our visit. First on the agenda was dinner....but we had a problem to solve first. Bonnie's carry-on hadn't been with our other luggage when we got to our room. After phone calls to the front desk and then Martin, the tour director, we learned that he had her bag--and had basically held it "hostage". Unbeknownst to us, (since we missed the first 3 days of the tour) carry-ons were supposed to be kept with each passenger on the bus, NOT put with the luggage to be stowed beneath it. He basically blamed Bonnie for not following his protocol and seemed to think she deserved the several panicked moments when she thought the bag was gone! We no longer thought he was a charming Irishman.
After this upset, we went to Bailey's for dinner. Bonnie and I had fish and chips and some Bulmer's cider--on Katie's recommendation. The waiter/bartender was a cute redhaired Irish lad named Gary. I told him that name didn't sound very Irish, and he said his real name was Gearoid (pronounced Guh-ROAD) Now that sounds Irish! I told him that maybe he was my long-lost son, and I could kick myself for not getting my picture taken with him.
After dinner we went back to the hotel, dodging puddles of puke left over from that afternoon's parade! We were mad at Martin, the tour guide, but still attended his "Farewell Irish Coffee" just to get our free drink. The coffee was delicious, but not a good idea at 10 P.M. Katie went back to campus, and Bonnie and I went to our room. We really needed a good night's sleep, but the caffeine kept us up till after 1 AM. Another big day coming up! Thursday: sightseeing in Limerick.
P.S. We don't recommend taking a trip with Brendan Tours!
When we arrived in Dublin on the morning of March 16th, we bought tickets for the "Hop-on, Hop-off" Dublin bus tour. Since we only had about 5 hours, we wanted to see as much as we could of the city's famous landmarks and attractions. First we rode the bus for the entire tour, then did it again so we could get off and look at things we wanted to see more of--and shop! Our driver was very informative and funny, singing and reciting limericks for us. Among the stops on the tour are Trinity College, which houses the Book of Kells; Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Temple Bar, the Guinness Storehouse, the Old Jameson Distillery, Grafton Street, and the colorful Georgian Doors. We took several pictures, but missed getting one of Molly Malone--"the tart with the cart." The bus driver did sing her song for us though: "In Dublin's fair city where girls are so pretty, 'twas there I first met my sweet Molly Malone..."
Many young people in Dublin dress just like kids in the U.S. with neon hair colors, multiple facial piercings, and some of the shortest skirts I've seen since I wore them myself in high school! Occasionally I'd see an older white-haired man with ruddy cheeks chatting animatedly with a friend in that lyrical brogue and think, "Now he is Irish!" There were plenty of redheads, too!
We arrived in Killarney that evening, starving and relieved to be caught up to our tour group after all the delays. The Killarney Avenue Hotel was an old building with beautiful woodwork and decor. We had a delicious dinner and met our tour director, Martin Guilfoyle. More about him later...
Wednesday morning, St. Patrick's Day! In Ireland!! Bonnie and I went down for breakfast-wearing green, of course--and met a few people in the tour group. We got on the bus and headed to the ferry across the River Shannon, making our way to the Cliffs of Moher. We sat near the back of the bus with the people who had already been designated the "rowdies" by the rest of the group. Three of them were women in their 30s-40s who had red hair of questionable authenticity. They had each gotten tattoos in Killarney the day before! There was also a college kid from Wauwatosa, WI who was on the tour with his grandma!
The Cliffs of Moher were amazing. It was extremely windy, and the waves were crashing at the base of the rocks. We took a bunch of pictures, and Bonnie walked up the far side of the rocks to take some from the opposite view while I checked out the shops that are built right into the hillside. I got myself a Celtic knot brooch made of Connemara marble. It is a green stone mined in Ireland, estimated to be 500 million years old!
After a quick lunch, we piled back into the bus and took off for Rathbun Farm. It is a working sheep farm, and we were able to see several varieties of sheep and other farm critters. We were given a glass of hot whiskey with sugar upon arrival, and later had coffee and scones before departing for Limerick.
We arrived at the George Boutique Hotel in Limerick around 5:30. I had texted Katie on the way, and she showed up shortly after. Hooray! I was able to give her a hug for the first time in two months. She gave me a claddagh necklace as a belated Christmas present, and we talked about what we wanted to do during our visit. First on the agenda was dinner....but we had a problem to solve first. Bonnie's carry-on hadn't been with our other luggage when we got to our room. After phone calls to the front desk and then Martin, the tour director, we learned that he had her bag--and had basically held it "hostage". Unbeknownst to us, (since we missed the first 3 days of the tour) carry-ons were supposed to be kept with each passenger on the bus, NOT put with the luggage to be stowed beneath it. He basically blamed Bonnie for not following his protocol and seemed to think she deserved the several panicked moments when she thought the bag was gone! We no longer thought he was a charming Irishman.
After this upset, we went to Bailey's for dinner. Bonnie and I had fish and chips and some Bulmer's cider--on Katie's recommendation. The waiter/bartender was a cute redhaired Irish lad named Gary. I told him that name didn't sound very Irish, and he said his real name was Gearoid (pronounced Guh-ROAD) Now that sounds Irish! I told him that maybe he was my long-lost son, and I could kick myself for not getting my picture taken with him.
After dinner we went back to the hotel, dodging puddles of puke left over from that afternoon's parade! We were mad at Martin, the tour guide, but still attended his "Farewell Irish Coffee" just to get our free drink. The coffee was delicious, but not a good idea at 10 P.M. Katie went back to campus, and Bonnie and I went to our room. We really needed a good night's sleep, but the caffeine kept us up till after 1 AM. Another big day coming up! Thursday: sightseeing in Limerick.
P.S. We don't recommend taking a trip with Brendan Tours!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Planes, Trains, Automobiles...Trams, Shuttles, Buses, and Cabs
It took all of the above modes of transportation to get me where I was supposed to be in Ireland after 3 days of unexpected delays and traveling...but I am getting ahead of myself. First let me apologize for taking so long to update here. I got home from the trip at 11:15 Monday night after being up for 24 hours. Tuesday and Wednesday I caught up around here with the dogs, laundry, housework, etc. Then yesterday I basically crashed from the jet lag. I slept 11+ hours for the past two nights, and finally feel normal--or what passes for that with me, anyway.
On Saturday the 13th, (I now see why my dad feared that number) my friends Judy, Lauri, Bonnie, and I boarded the Chippewa Valley Airport Service shuttle at 9:15 AM and headed to the airport in Minneapolis. (I coincidentally was sitting in front of a guy who heard me mention that my daughter was a social work major--it turns out that he was one of her professors and advisor in the SW department at UW-Eau Claire!)
After a smooth check-in at the airport and getting through security, we checked the flight board and saw that our 2:30 plane to Newark was not on schedule. To make a long, all-day story short: due to storms and high winds--up to 75 mph--out east, planes were delayed, stacked up, and unable to take off or land. By 5:30 PM, ours had been delayed and then cancelled. So what do we do now?? As an infrequent flyer, I was blown away by the fact that best-laid plans can be destroyed by the whims of Mother Nature and the airlines. I have seen on TV the mobs of travelers stranded at airports during the holidays, dealing with blizzards and over-booked flights. "Poor saps," I'd think. Now I was one of them.
We worked with a determined young man from Continental named Said, and he found two seats on a flight to Newark on Monday the 15th. TWO DAYS away!! The four of us looked at each other; at that point Lauri and Judy decided to cancel their trip. We would be missing much of the tour we had booked, and two of us would still have to find a different flight to get there. Bonnie and I took the seats on Monday's flight and added two days to our stay in Limerick with Katie. With long faces, we got on the 6:00 shuttle that we had boarded with such excitement that morning, back to Eau Claire to figure out what to do next.
After pizza and 2 pitchers of beer at Sammy's with Lauri and her husband Paul, Bonnie and I went back to their house for the night. Between e-mails and phone calls to our travel agent and the tour company, we learned several things: neither business would do anything for us as far as reimbursement or travel vouchers regarding the days we would be missing with the tour. When we arrived in Dublin, the tour would do nothing to help us catch up with the group, who by then would be all the way across Ireland in Killarney. They had their money, so why help, right?
Continental had given us a voucher for a cheap rate at a hotel near the airport, so Sunday afternoon Bonnie and I drove to the Cities again in my car and spent the night there. We headed to the airport early Monday, just in case we could catch an earlier flight. No--instead, our 2:30 plane was delayed another two hours--causing us to miss our connection from Newark to Dublin. :( This is crazy!! The gate agent managed to get us seats on the 9:50 flight to Dublin, and we took off for Newark around 5 or so. It had taken us 2 1/2 days from first setting foot in the airport to actually get on a plane!!
It was raining when we arrived in Newark, and we hustled to get on an airport shuttle that would take us to the terminal we were flying from. We soon discovered that the flight to Dublin was also delayed--we were waiting for 69 kids from the North Carolina State marching band to arrive on another flight; they were going to be marching in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin. At 11:50 PM we finally took off for Ireland!!!
I dozed off and on during the night, but was pretty groggy when we landed a little after 10 AM, Emerald Isle time. Bonnie and I got our luggage and headed to the information desk. We bought a bus ticket that would take us into the city, about 20 minutes away. After getting off that bus, we went to the tourist center and a nice girl named Sinead told us about an internet cafe that stores luggage. We bought tickets for a sightseeing bus that goes around the city and lets you get on/off at various places. (More on that later) We also had to plan how to get to Killarney by that night. Katie had offered to come to Dublin to get us, but I assured her that we were big girls and would figure it out. Through various conversations, we learned we'd have to take the tram--like an above-ground subway--to the train station, and we could take a train to Killarney.
We spent about 5 hours touring Dublin, then located the tram pick-up spot. We stood there not knowing what to do! Where do you get a ticket? A girl in her early 20s heard us wondering aloud, and she told us how much it cost, then took our Euro coins and led us to the ticketing machine. She got the tickets for us--a sweet and helpful girl, contradicting the signs all around us that said "Beware of Pickpockets." We jumped on the tram, and no one even asked us for our tickets; we stood up all the way to the train station. By this time we were running late, and we ran in to get our tickets. We raced to the turnstile and didn't know what to do there either; a man took our tickets and put them in the slot for us. We hurried to get seats and flopped tiredly into them, just minutes before the train departed. Whew!!!
The trip to Killarney was 3 1/2 hours long, and until it got dark we were able to see some of the countryside. This was the Ireland I had come to see! Most of the houses in the country seemed to be painted a yellow/gold color. The hills and pastures were green, but not the deep color that later spring will surely bring. At each small town that the train stopped in, a voice announced the name of the place in both Gaelic and English, then said "Thank you for traveling Neither Here Nor There." After a few of these announcements, we decided that "Neither Here Nor There" was either the name of the train or the route. How quaint!!
At 8:30 we finally arrived in Killarney! It was raining, and we quickly grabbed a cab. It drove about a block and a half to get us to our hotel, 5 Euros worth!! The driver was very nice, and I tipped him a handful of change--not knowing yet that tipping isn't customary there.
The Killarney Avenue Hotel, where our tour group waited. We had missed 3 days with them--but we made it!! To be continued...
On Saturday the 13th, (I now see why my dad feared that number) my friends Judy, Lauri, Bonnie, and I boarded the Chippewa Valley Airport Service shuttle at 9:15 AM and headed to the airport in Minneapolis. (I coincidentally was sitting in front of a guy who heard me mention that my daughter was a social work major--it turns out that he was one of her professors and advisor in the SW department at UW-Eau Claire!)
After a smooth check-in at the airport and getting through security, we checked the flight board and saw that our 2:30 plane to Newark was not on schedule. To make a long, all-day story short: due to storms and high winds--up to 75 mph--out east, planes were delayed, stacked up, and unable to take off or land. By 5:30 PM, ours had been delayed and then cancelled. So what do we do now?? As an infrequent flyer, I was blown away by the fact that best-laid plans can be destroyed by the whims of Mother Nature and the airlines. I have seen on TV the mobs of travelers stranded at airports during the holidays, dealing with blizzards and over-booked flights. "Poor saps," I'd think. Now I was one of them.
We worked with a determined young man from Continental named Said, and he found two seats on a flight to Newark on Monday the 15th. TWO DAYS away!! The four of us looked at each other; at that point Lauri and Judy decided to cancel their trip. We would be missing much of the tour we had booked, and two of us would still have to find a different flight to get there. Bonnie and I took the seats on Monday's flight and added two days to our stay in Limerick with Katie. With long faces, we got on the 6:00 shuttle that we had boarded with such excitement that morning, back to Eau Claire to figure out what to do next.
After pizza and 2 pitchers of beer at Sammy's with Lauri and her husband Paul, Bonnie and I went back to their house for the night. Between e-mails and phone calls to our travel agent and the tour company, we learned several things: neither business would do anything for us as far as reimbursement or travel vouchers regarding the days we would be missing with the tour. When we arrived in Dublin, the tour would do nothing to help us catch up with the group, who by then would be all the way across Ireland in Killarney. They had their money, so why help, right?
Continental had given us a voucher for a cheap rate at a hotel near the airport, so Sunday afternoon Bonnie and I drove to the Cities again in my car and spent the night there. We headed to the airport early Monday, just in case we could catch an earlier flight. No--instead, our 2:30 plane was delayed another two hours--causing us to miss our connection from Newark to Dublin. :( This is crazy!! The gate agent managed to get us seats on the 9:50 flight to Dublin, and we took off for Newark around 5 or so. It had taken us 2 1/2 days from first setting foot in the airport to actually get on a plane!!
It was raining when we arrived in Newark, and we hustled to get on an airport shuttle that would take us to the terminal we were flying from. We soon discovered that the flight to Dublin was also delayed--we were waiting for 69 kids from the North Carolina State marching band to arrive on another flight; they were going to be marching in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin. At 11:50 PM we finally took off for Ireland!!!
I dozed off and on during the night, but was pretty groggy when we landed a little after 10 AM, Emerald Isle time. Bonnie and I got our luggage and headed to the information desk. We bought a bus ticket that would take us into the city, about 20 minutes away. After getting off that bus, we went to the tourist center and a nice girl named Sinead told us about an internet cafe that stores luggage. We bought tickets for a sightseeing bus that goes around the city and lets you get on/off at various places. (More on that later) We also had to plan how to get to Killarney by that night. Katie had offered to come to Dublin to get us, but I assured her that we were big girls and would figure it out. Through various conversations, we learned we'd have to take the tram--like an above-ground subway--to the train station, and we could take a train to Killarney.
We spent about 5 hours touring Dublin, then located the tram pick-up spot. We stood there not knowing what to do! Where do you get a ticket? A girl in her early 20s heard us wondering aloud, and she told us how much it cost, then took our Euro coins and led us to the ticketing machine. She got the tickets for us--a sweet and helpful girl, contradicting the signs all around us that said "Beware of Pickpockets." We jumped on the tram, and no one even asked us for our tickets; we stood up all the way to the train station. By this time we were running late, and we ran in to get our tickets. We raced to the turnstile and didn't know what to do there either; a man took our tickets and put them in the slot for us. We hurried to get seats and flopped tiredly into them, just minutes before the train departed. Whew!!!
The trip to Killarney was 3 1/2 hours long, and until it got dark we were able to see some of the countryside. This was the Ireland I had come to see! Most of the houses in the country seemed to be painted a yellow/gold color. The hills and pastures were green, but not the deep color that later spring will surely bring. At each small town that the train stopped in, a voice announced the name of the place in both Gaelic and English, then said "Thank you for traveling Neither Here Nor There." After a few of these announcements, we decided that "Neither Here Nor There" was either the name of the train or the route. How quaint!!
At 8:30 we finally arrived in Killarney! It was raining, and we quickly grabbed a cab. It drove about a block and a half to get us to our hotel, 5 Euros worth!! The driver was very nice, and I tipped him a handful of change--not knowing yet that tipping isn't customary there.
The Killarney Avenue Hotel, where our tour group waited. We had missed 3 days with them--but we made it!! To be continued...
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Two Exciting Things
Usually I lead a typical average life like everyone else, but the next couple days will be exciting for me. Tomorrow I will go over to Menomonie to sign the closing papers for our house in Elk Mound. Yes! Someone finally came along who apparently sees in it what we did. After almost 3 years on the market, dozens of showings, several offers, one other near-sale, and numerous trips back and forth, we will be down to owning three properties instead of four! I have been nervous for the past few weeks since accepting the offer, afraid that something would happen to mess up the deal. We were there last month to pick up the rest of Katie's stuff that was still there, and I knew when I left that it would probably be for the last time. This time there were no tears, no sentimental dwelling on the good memories of the twelve years we spent there. It is time, and it's a relief. I will sign at 3 PM tomorrow, and Fred will go over for the official closing on the 16th. Which brings me to my other cause for excitement: I have to sign early because on Saturday I leave for Ireland!!! My friends Judy, Lauri, and Bonnie will head to the Emerald Isle with me for a week of sightseeing, shopping, and carousing! We leave Eau Claire at 9:15 Saturday morning for the Cities; fly to Newark that afternoon, and on to Dublin that evening, arriving at 7 AM Sunday, Ireland time. After reading Katie's blogs and seeing the pictures she has taken, I can't wait to experience all of it myself. I'm eager to see if the redheads outnumber the blondes and brunettes, and after a few ciders, maybe I'll be possessed by the brogue of my ancestors! I could cross "Cheryl" off my tour name tag and change it to "Fiona." It will be a blast to participate in an actual Irish St. Patrick's Day, and I have three different green shirts packed for the week!
I already gave Fred his present from Ireland. I wanted to get him a Harley shirt from the Dublin Harley-Davidson, but they aren't open on Sundays, and our tour leaves there Monday morning. So after exchanging several e-mails with a nice lady named Louise McMahon at the Dublin H-D, I had a shirt shipped here. It arrived last week, as you can see in the pictures. Now I'll have even more room in my suitcase for the stuff I buy myself!
Well, I still have to make a list of instructions for Fred and take care of other last-minute details. I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about when I return, so I'll leave you with this:
A trans-ocean ticket she bought her
To the country of green hills and water.
Of Irish descent,
To Limerick she went
To visit her lovely wee daughter!
The trip will be worth all the hassle,
To see Burren, the Cliffs, and a castle;
After Guinness so big
She might dance a jig
And maybe a leprechaun rassle.
She'll take in the scenes of Killarney
And the infamous Stone of Blarney--
But a kiss there won't be
For on it guys pee;
('Twas nice of someone to warn me!)
A lifetime adventure for sure,
With friends on a fabulous tour.
Two days with Katie,
That little Patatie,
Can't wait to spend time with her!!
I already gave Fred his present from Ireland. I wanted to get him a Harley shirt from the Dublin Harley-Davidson, but they aren't open on Sundays, and our tour leaves there Monday morning. So after exchanging several e-mails with a nice lady named Louise McMahon at the Dublin H-D, I had a shirt shipped here. It arrived last week, as you can see in the pictures. Now I'll have even more room in my suitcase for the stuff I buy myself!
Well, I still have to make a list of instructions for Fred and take care of other last-minute details. I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about when I return, so I'll leave you with this:
A trans-ocean ticket she bought her
To the country of green hills and water.
Of Irish descent,
To Limerick she went
To visit her lovely wee daughter!
The trip will be worth all the hassle,
To see Burren, the Cliffs, and a castle;
After Guinness so big
She might dance a jig
And maybe a leprechaun rassle.
She'll take in the scenes of Killarney
And the infamous Stone of Blarney--
But a kiss there won't be
For on it guys pee;
('Twas nice of someone to warn me!)
A lifetime adventure for sure,
With friends on a fabulous tour.
Two days with Katie,
That little Patatie,
Can't wait to spend time with her!!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Taxes Shmaxes
They say that only two things in life are inevitable: death and taxes. After my experience this morning, I believe that death must be the much simpler of the two.
Fred does our taxes using Turbotax, so I really have very little to do with the complicated issues involved with deductions, owning three houses, etc. All I have to do is the girls' taxes, using the 1040EZ. Yes, they could do their own, but since their W2s have always come to our address and I need their taxes done before filling out financial aid forms online, it's just simpler (ha!) for me to do them. Sometimes I wish the EZ form was EZ-er for government-document-challenged people like me, but generally I have managed without getting a visit from an auditor.
Last year Erica's W2 went to her address in Madison, so I told her she should do her own taxes. She grumbled and procrastinated, but did get them done online by the April 15th deadline, happily receiving a $162 refund for her trouble.
Then in November, Fred and I received a letter from the IRS stating: "We received a tax return from a taxpayer using the same Social Security number as a dependent you listed." Uh-oh. Erica had mistakenly claimed herself as an exemption, and obviously this error would cost us a lot more if we didn't claim her (which we rightfully can) than it would cost her to amend her return. So, I called the IRS and after gritting my teeth through numerous menu selections, actually got connected to a real guy named Bartholomew. Bart told me that Erica needed to file an amended 1040X to correct the situation. Ok, no problem--except she hadn't made a copy of her taxes when she filed online. Another uh-oh. She requested a tax return transcript, because an actual copy of the return costs $57!!! Amazing how her putting down a "1" instead of a "0" was becoming increasingly more complicated and expensive.
This morning I sat down with all the forms, worksheets, and instructions to straighten things out myself, just to make sure we didn't end up getting audited or something. Maybe it's just me (probably), but what would have likely taken most educated adults five minutes to correct left me, after 45 minutes, in a lather of frustration and profanity. The form referred to instructions I couldn't find, line numbers that didn't match, and this doozy: "enter method used to figure tax." Huh?! Is that like showing your work with a story problem?
After going as far as I could without smashing the calculator, I deduced that instead of a $162 refund, Erica owes $122 plus interest. Fred is going to have to look at the whole thing and may come up with something completely different. All I know is that next year when tax time rolls around, she will be married and her tax status won't be my problem. Then I can just go back to messing up our checkbook.
Fred does our taxes using Turbotax, so I really have very little to do with the complicated issues involved with deductions, owning three houses, etc. All I have to do is the girls' taxes, using the 1040EZ. Yes, they could do their own, but since their W2s have always come to our address and I need their taxes done before filling out financial aid forms online, it's just simpler (ha!) for me to do them. Sometimes I wish the EZ form was EZ-er for government-document-challenged people like me, but generally I have managed without getting a visit from an auditor.
Last year Erica's W2 went to her address in Madison, so I told her she should do her own taxes. She grumbled and procrastinated, but did get them done online by the April 15th deadline, happily receiving a $162 refund for her trouble.
Then in November, Fred and I received a letter from the IRS stating: "We received a tax return from a taxpayer using the same Social Security number as a dependent you listed." Uh-oh. Erica had mistakenly claimed herself as an exemption, and obviously this error would cost us a lot more if we didn't claim her (which we rightfully can) than it would cost her to amend her return. So, I called the IRS and after gritting my teeth through numerous menu selections, actually got connected to a real guy named Bartholomew. Bart told me that Erica needed to file an amended 1040X to correct the situation. Ok, no problem--except she hadn't made a copy of her taxes when she filed online. Another uh-oh. She requested a tax return transcript, because an actual copy of the return costs $57!!! Amazing how her putting down a "1" instead of a "0" was becoming increasingly more complicated and expensive.
This morning I sat down with all the forms, worksheets, and instructions to straighten things out myself, just to make sure we didn't end up getting audited or something. Maybe it's just me (probably), but what would have likely taken most educated adults five minutes to correct left me, after 45 minutes, in a lather of frustration and profanity. The form referred to instructions I couldn't find, line numbers that didn't match, and this doozy: "enter method used to figure tax." Huh?! Is that like showing your work with a story problem?
After going as far as I could without smashing the calculator, I deduced that instead of a $162 refund, Erica owes $122 plus interest. Fred is going to have to look at the whole thing and may come up with something completely different. All I know is that next year when tax time rolls around, she will be married and her tax status won't be my problem. Then I can just go back to messing up our checkbook.
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