Italy

I know, I know... I haven't posted anything in a while, but I just don't have the time. My days are as follows:


Wake
Capuccino
Eat
Dance
Gelato
Shower
Limoncello
Dance
Gelato 
Sleep (sort of)


Repeat for 5 days.


There are lots of photos, stories, and good times to report. I sure am glad I am experiencing this with 4 fantastically fun beauties!!


More later...

Bye Bye Dublin

St. Stevens Green

My last days in Dublin were spent hanging out on in the Dublin city center, Grafton Street, and saying good bye to St. Stevens Green.

swans on Stevens Green pond

my favorite place to sit next to the pond

I would try to plan my days so that I would have time to spend in the park. The weather was great, so there were always lots of folks hanging out, laying around in the grass, sitting on park benches, lunching, reading, and just playing around. It's a great place for people watching, bird watching, and just staring up into the tree tops. I will miss it.

June 16th is the annual celebration of Bloomsday.  Folks were dressed up as characters from James Joyce books and plays, quoting lines, and acting out parts. The event happens in front of Davy Burns pub, just off of Grafton Street. 

folks gathered as others quoted lines

bystander dressed up as Mr. Joyce.

acting out a James Joyce play. super cute bystander in the white hat, enjoying the sight.

even young hipsters enjoy the scene.

I would start most of my days in Dublin at Bewleys, sitting on the second floor, next to the window watching the happenings of Grafton Street. I would order a latte, a croissant, look out the window, and write in my journal. Most days, just downloading my thoughts, or write about what I saw from my viewing point overlooking the street. 

prime seating at Bewleys, looking out over Grafton Street.

Celtic Crosses and Stone Towers

I've wandered through a couple of Monasteries pondering life and death and such. (yeah, I know - good times!)
In a nut shell, this is what I've come up with: The cycle of life and death is constant, and inevitable. 

Glendalough Monastery - 6th century

stone tower at Glendalough

super tall celtic cross at Monasterboice - 5th century Monastary

It's not a bad thing, or a good thing, it just IS. Not to say that there aren't bad and good things associated with the process, by the way. I'm not just talking about the physical, but the metaphysical, as well. It also makes me think about the related processes of change and renewal. Again, both constant, inevitable, but something even more important - necessary. 

stone tower at Monasterboice

amen!

New Grange, Ireland

There was a break in the rain here in Dublin - so I booked my self on a tour of New Grange. It was something I had wanted to do on the first go around here, but never had the time. You may remember from an earlier post, that I visited Avebury, England. The Avebury stone circles date back to 4000 BC, or so. New Grange pre dates that site by about 1000 years, making it the oldest site of it's kind in Europe - so the guide says. Only the Mayan pyramids predate New Grange. I sat next to a guy from, believe it or not, Portland Oregon. He and his cousin were here researching their family tree. He was a former priest (I was afraid to ask why he was former, so I didn't), so it was pretty interesting to hear his take on the Pagan lore, and how it was changed or adapted into Christianity, back in the day. Unfortunately my camera download didn't quite work, so I have limited pictures of the site. It was a very interesting tour - and an amazing feeling walking into the mound.

the entrance

The outside structure was rebuilt in the 70's (if I remember correctly) using the original stones. The most amazing dry stacking I've seen, so far. The pattern of the rocks is an interpretation, of course, because no one knows what it looked like that long ago. I wish I had a better picture. It was really cool.

dry stacked

There were lots of swallows playing in the field around New Grange. I just love watching them. They look like they are having so much fun! I have noticed them everywhere I've been, and had not been able to capture the moments on my camera until now. Lucky shot!

i'll fly away, oh lordy, i'll fly away..

Anticipation

This is where I will be in a couple of weeks! I'm starting to get very excited!
Swing Crash - Como, Italy

Beauty and the Beach

I went to an event in Dublin called Bloom. A bunch of foodies, and gardeners take over a corner of Phoenix Park, for a food and flower fest. I went on Friday and sat in on a couple of talks by the local know-it-alls in the area. It was very informative. The focus was on organic, non-toxic, ways to garden. Good information, for sure! There are also garden installations by local landscapers, and such. I got some really great ideas for my future gardens. 

 lovely wall, and mono-scape 

i really liked this veggie garden design. 

There were tons of vendors hocking their wares, and of course loads of plants for sale. There wasn't anything that I haven't seen in Portland before, but it was a really great day of looking at wonderful displays of plants and vegetables. 

yum! all organic!

It really made me miss the little plot of land I had on 63rd and Fremont. I will have another garden someday, though, and I hope to incorporate some of the stuff I learned at Bloom.

Katrina has played volleyball since I've known her. She is my super sporty friend, and I got a chance to tag along with her to a beach just outside of Dublin to watch her do what she does in the sand with a volleyball. It was a really hot day, so the beach was the perfect place to be. 

kat serving it up on a beautiful sunny day in ireland

Todays tournament included coed teams of two on two. The team members switched with each game. For every game you won, you received points. The best woman, and best man would be crowned King and Queen of the beach by the end of the day. One of the coolest things about the day was all the folks that turned up to play. The world was well represented by men and women from Poland, Italy, India, America, Ireland, and Sweden. All of these folks live in the Dublin area, now, and share a love of volleyball. Some had played together before in different leagues, but it was clear that others had not met before todays games. 

"you got that one, right!?!"

who do you think hit the sand first? the ball or the player?

kat and peter were the best pairing of the day. 

nice jump, kat!

Fun times were had by all. Ok, there was this one guy that argued with the refs about every call. He was a bit of a downer. But, otherwise, there were lots of laughs and some great playing out there. By the end of the day Katrina and Peter were the winners. 

king and queen of the beach!

Kat came home with a new volleyball as a prize, I came home with a sun burn. It was really nice to be able to wade in the ocean, and hang out in the sand and sun for a day, plenty of vitamin D to go around. Thank you sun!

Back to Dublin

On this much welcomed grey, and rainy day, I find myself sitting in "my room" at the house on St. Kevins Park in Dublin, Ireland where Katrina, He who must not be named, and their family, had graciously hosted me earlier in my journey.  It's a great day to sleep in, read, and catch up on this blogging thing. As I listen to the rain, feeling the wind blow through the open window,  it feels good to be back here. I have had great adventures, and am grateful to all that have hosted me during my travels, but Dublin is the place I feel most comfortable. The city is easy to get around in, and I am happy to say, I no longer require a map to accompany me. I don't know if I have just finally started trusting my own inner compass, or I simply don't care if I get lost anymore. Dublin is just small (or big) enough, so that you get a lot done in a day without spending half of it traveling on bus or rail. Way to go Urban Planners! 

I have kept myself pretty busy touring around the UK, Ireland, and Scotland. While I have had some time to walk and ponder, I haven't really tackled the heavy stuff yet. I do believe the universe has started to catch onto my scheduled diversions, and has decided to step in and force the process. While staying in Edinburgh, Scotland, I took a day trip to Glasgow. (Enter the Universe). This was a day of dead ends. I had planned a couple of museum visits, to have dinner at a restaurant I had read about, and to go see Quasi (as mentioned in earlier blogs). After the longest 3 mile taxi ride ever, and feeling ripped off by the taxi driver, I arrived at the first museum - closed for lobby renovations. Thinking that Glasgow seemed small enough to walk, and wanting to avoid getting "taken" again by a taxi driver, I decided to walk to museum number two. Keep in mind, it's about 4ish in the afternoon, but it's Summer, and things stay open until dark right?! Wrong! Museum number 2 closes at 5. By the time I had walked there, I only had about half an hour to look around. Heavy sigh. Quasi didn't go on until 9ish, I didn't feel like having a 4 hour dinner, so I just walked. Walked all round the shops, stopped into a bar, had a pint, read the local rag, then walked over to where Quasi was playing to pick up a ticket before getting a bit to eat. Guess what?! The show was sold out! No tickets left, no tickets being released at show time. FRIG! What a frustrating day. Who knew they were so popular in Glasgow? Good for them! Bad for me. So, I started walking to the restaurant I had read about. Not all would be lost today, I will at least get a good meal, then take the train back to Edinburgh. Ready for this? Wait for it... wait for it.. The restaurant - not even there! Gone! Replaced by a cheesy sports bar full of what had to be high schoolers with fake ID's. I headed out to the street, looking up overhead every now and again in fear of falling pianos or anvils. Seriously, what next! ya know? My cell phone rings. It's Katrina. I start relaying my day, tears start to fall from my eyes, "I don't know why I'm crying, everything is wrong, I can't book a room in Paris, I'm tired of being my own travel agent, I miss Portland, I don't know what I'm going to do with my life, I'm running out of money, I'm lonely, I think I made a mistake by booking this three month long indulgence.."  Kat says, "Come back to Dublin, stay with us - you are meant to be dealing with other things right now.." The voice of reason. Sniff, sniff, my tears start to dry. She was right, it's time to start thinking about the tough stuff. It's time to stop spinning my wheels, trying to see everything I can in Europe before July 2nd. It's time to let all that I have already seen and experienced over the past couple of months sink in. Thanking the universe for stepping in, and thankful to Kat for rescuing me from my day of dead ends, I go back to Edinburgh and book my flight to Dublin.

On my previous visit, I got most of the tourist-y stuff out of the way. This visit is mostly about hangin' out. Hangin' out with the Corcorans, hangin' out in Dublin coffee shops and parks, just simply hangin' out talking about stuff, and thinking about stuff. As I near the end of my travels, I am starting to think seriously about what's next for me when I return to Portland. That is what sparked this whole three month adventure. I knew I needed some space to figure stuff out. Coming off of the past few years, and the changes that occurred in my life, it's just simply time to reassess my future for happiness. Not that I am unhappy in my life, now, or anything. I have great friends and family, and I live in one of the best cities in the world (ok.. I haven't seen all of the world yet, but at this point, I feel pretty certain about saying that), but I want to be able to look back, at some point, and feel good about what I have contributed in this life. I am starting to understand this whole mid-life, what does it all mean, time in my life as a blessing, not a burden. That's a good start, right!? 

To a Friend

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;


How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;


And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.


                                                  -WB Yeats

chachi loves WB