A Great Deal

Our third day in Ireland was our first day of adventure in exploring the country by car. We checked out of our hotel, and walked to the bus stop to catch the AirCoach, a bus that runs from Dublin city center to the Airport and many other destinations as well. About 45 minutes later we were at the airport in search of the Enterprise car rental counter. After a couple wrong turns, we finally found it and stood in line for about 30 minutes (why car rental lines always take forever, beats me). Eventually getting to the counter, we told the woman our name and as she looked up our reservation, she exclaimed "wow, you certainly got a great deal!". We had in fact gotten an amazing deal on our car rental at $3/day!  Apparently, according to the woman's colleague, someone made an error when inputting the costs on the website and forgot to add a 1 to the price. It was supposed to be $13/day and instead ended up being $3/day. This deal lasted apparently for about 30 minutes on the web, and my amazing husband just happened to be searching for our car rental at that precise moment! Yay for us!

Once on the road in our $3/day car, we headed southwest towards a town called Kilkenny, where our friends Shelley and Mike had gotten married a couple years earlier. I have to give Travers a lot of credit here, as in Ireland, they drive on the left side of the road and the driver sits on the right side of the car. Plus we had rented a stick shift car, so he was shifting with his left hand. To me, that is an incredibly difficult thing to do as I can't drive stick shift cars at all, let alone with the opposite hand on the opposite side of the road.   We were constantly having to make sure when we turned that we ended up on the correct side of the road, while keeping up with the 100km speed limits on the extremely narrow roads. Travers did amazingly though and drove us during our entire trip all throughout the country.

The trip to Kilkenny took about an hour and a half. Most of the road was on a larger highway, but we eventually got to these narrow two lane roads, narrowly avoiding the tall bushes and trees on our left and the cars speeding past us on the right.  We arrived into the town of Kilkenny and immediately loved it. It was your quintessential Irish town, with lots of small shops, restaurants, cobblestones, and a large castle. We crossed a river, parked the car, and found a pub that we had read about before our trip, called Louie's Backyard. We had lucked out with a rare sunny day, so we sat in the back patio and enjoyed a beer, taking part in the typical Irish culture.

Leaving Louie's Backyard, we headed to the Kilkenny castle. The castle was made of grey stones, had large towers on one end, a huge gate for the entry, and, once inside, a seemingly endless green lawn that had several people lounging in the grass, playing games, and relaxing in the sun.









We walked the grounds around the castle, then crossed the street to what used to be the royal stables, but was now turned into shops and offices, but still had lovely grounds matching the castle.  After touring more of the grounds, we realized we were hungry, so we set off on finding a good-looking restaurant for lunch. We strolled through more streets, down some car-less streets, and through a walking tunnel that led us to a restaurant with a huge back patio, all made of stones, with several tvs for entertainment, called Kyteler's Inn. We sat in the patio, and I had a tasty tomato soup with a tuna sandwich and Travers had a traditional Irish stew.

After a few hours in Kilkenny, a delicious meal, and beers, we headed to our final destination, Cork. Two hours on the road, driving past many other quaint towns, and finally ending in Cork. We arrived just as the weather was turning, the sun was setting, and the town was getting dark. We checked into the River Lee Hotel, a part of the Doyle Collection, and studied the city map to gain our bearings. An hour later we were walking through the dark streets, in search of a restaurant for dinner. We walked down some cobblestone alleys and without finding a restaurant, and getting cold, we stopped into a cozy pub where we ended up being the youngest people in the bar by about 20-30 years. But we enjoyed our beers, watched the sports on the tv and took in the older Irish culture at the pub.

Leaving the pub, we wandered some more and realized quickly that a lot of the restaurants were closing their kitchens. We tried this one place that we had read was good, but as we got there, we were told they had stopped serving food an hour earlier! It was only 9pm! So we wandered some more, and getting a bit desperate, finally settled on a random Indian restaurant that as we arrived, their only other table got up and left, so we ended up being the only two in the restaurant. It was a little awkward and a sour end to our day, but the food was good and we were tired from our day of driving and exploring anyway. We ate and then walked back to the hotel, exploring some more of the city on our way. It had begun raining so we decided to call it a night and start fresh the next morning, hoping for some more of the rare Irish sun that we had experienced earlier that day.

Walking Dublin

Our second day in Dublin was spent wandering through the city, seeing a few touristy sights.  After getting up late, we had delicious burritos for lunch, then walked down the main shopping street, Grafton Street, stopping occasionally to listen to street musicians play some irish music, and dodged shoppers shopping in all the stores lining the street.  At the end, we headed to Trinity College, which has a beautiful campus and houses the famous Book of Kells. We walked around the campus, and were going to see the Book of Kells, but the line was really long around rounding around the building, so we decided to keep going on our walk and headed out to see more of Dublin.

We stopped by the Dublin Castle, walked through a medieval part of town, and saw some really interesting architecture. After walking a bit more than we expected, we were thrilled when we reached the Guinness Factory. The factory is huge, and we finally made our way to the entrance to the touristy section, called the storehouse. We bought our tickets and headed into our self-guided tour to learn about how Guinness is made! We learned about the grains and the water that goes into making it. And we saw all the advertising and marketing that made Guinness as popular as it is today. During the tour, we received a tasting sample, then had another sample paired with some delicious chocolate truffles, and learned about how Guinness can be used for cooking. Then we headed up to the top floor to the Gravity Bar which gave panoramic views of Dublin, while we enjoyed two pints of Guinness!





















After resting our legs and drinking our beers, we decided to continue our walk to the Kilmainham Gaol, a former prison in Dublin.  So we walked and walked and walked and walked some more. And almost turned around before we finally found it. Apparently the map I had was not drawn to scale. We were thrilled when we saw it though as it looked really interesting inside, and as we approached the ticket office, we saw a sign that said the next tour would leave in one hour! UGH! After such a long walk, the last thing we wanted to do was wait another hour before taking a tour. So we unfortunately were not able to see the inside of the prison as we decided to head back to the hotel to rest for a bit before going out again that night.

Once our feet and bodies had rested, we made some reservations at a well-reviewed restaurant called Rustic Stone for dinner, and headed out for the night. Walking to the restaurant, we randomly ran into this woman, Shannon, that Travers and I had known from San Francisco! She was there with her friend, touring around Ireland, and it was their last night before flying back home.  We exchanged numbers and promised to meet them after we had dinner. What a small world!

Dinner was delicious. Travers ordered a steak, and I ordered pasta (we shared of course), and we were seated at a nice corner table right by the window so we could watch as people passed by.  Once dinner was over, we headed to a bar called The Stag's Head, that we had read was one of the more popular ones to go to. It was packed when we arrived, and the only place we could stand was outside in the street, leaning up against a wall.  It was fun to see the Irish culture, all the people having a pint and enjoying good conversation. We met up with our friend afterwards at the famous Kehoe's for a drink or two before heading back to the hotel to sleep after a long day of walking throughout Dublin. The rest of our trip would thankfully be less walking and more driving as we were going to drive from one coast to the other, stopping in several places along the way.

An Irish Jig

A week and a half after Italy, we were at the airport again, on our way to Ireland! We planned a week long trip throughout the country, staying in 4 different cities, Dublin, Cork, Killarney and Galway, and driving through many others along the way. Our friends Mike and Shelley joined us for the first night in Dublin, then they went on to do some golf and spa in Doonbeg, a town on the west coast of Ireland. We were happy to have them with us though for at least one night so we took advantage and celebrated Travers' birthday a few days early.

Our flight landed in Dublin by mid-day. Mike was with us on the same flight and Shelley would join us later in the evening.  We cabbed it into the city, checked into the Westbury Hotel, and immediately headed out to explore the city, drink some beer, and grab some lunch.  We started across the street at a bar called McDaid's, a very sterotypical Irish pub, with lots of dark wood, an old weathered looking Irishman sitting by himself at the bar, and a friendly bartender serving drinks.  We grabbed two Guinness for the boys and a Bulmers cider for me while we reviewed a map of the city and decided what to do.  After soaking in the authentic environment, we left the bar and found a restaurant around the corner, called The Duke Pub, where we had some roastbeef sandwiches, tasty fries, and more beers.

After filling up on our late lunch, we grabbed Mike's luggage from the Westbury and walked with him to his hotel passing by some quaint cobblestone streets, lots of pubs and restaurants, and crossing over a river.  Once he was checked in, we headed to the famous Temple Bar Pub. The bright red paint on the outside was welcoming, and the ivy hanging down in the open roof courtyard decorated the pub nicely. Of course, there was live music being played, so we sat in the open courtyard, enjoying the ambiance and people, and enjoyed another two beers and cider. We didn't stay long though, deciding we would come back here later in the night once Shelley got into town to see more of what made this place so famous; the crowds, the music, and the beer.

Leaving the city center, we walked out to the famous Jameson Distillery.  It was in a large stone building, with a huge courtyard in the front and a lot of old wooden beams in the ceiling.  In lieu of a tour, and because Jameson is one of Mike's favorite liquors so he knows a lot about it, the boys each had a flight, tasting the difference between the brands. I tried a small sip of a few and decided I only liked the most expensive one, but not even enough to get my own glass ever. After the flights, we walked around the souvenir shop, stopping to try on some stylish golf hats (see pic on the right below). Apparently we were all feeling a little funny at this point.









In the end, we didn't buy the golf hats, or anything else at the store, so we decided to head back to the city center. Stopping into another well-known bar called Porterhouse, we tried some of the beers they brew themselves and chatted with several of the bartenders working that night about the best places to go see in the rest of Ireland.  So far, Dublin was living up to the stereotypes of good beer, good food, and the friendliest bartenders around, and it was only our first day!

We had a few hours before Shelley arrived, so we decided to get some dinner and then meet her at the Temple Bar. We walked through town, stopping by several delicious looking restaurants, finally settling on an asian noodle place called Yamamori that served yummy noodle bowls and sushi.  Filling ourselves up, we headed back to the Temple Bar. The streets were filling up with people, and even though we had just been to Temple Bar earlier in the day, we could tell the second we walked in that the entire environment had changed from a cozy laid back bar, to a lively crowded fun-filled place.

There was a duo banjo/guitar band playing music, and almost every stool and table was filled with locals and tourists alike.  Shelley arrived and we grabbed a few empty stools at the bar, ordered some beers, and listened to the music.  Travers eventually found us a table that was right at the front of where the band was playing, so we piled in and got a front-row seat of the show. Soon after, Tavers, lover of dance, felt the music coursing through his body, and couldn't help but get up and dance along with it. Click here for a taste of his Irish Jig that Mike secretly videotaped that night. We finished the night out there, grabbing some late night burger king before saying goodbye to Shelley and Mike and heading back to our hotel.  Needless to say, it was a wonderful birthday celebration for Travers, and a fun first day to our week long trip in Ireland.

An Italian Serenade

Waking up on my birthday to a beautiful Italian morning, we packed our bags, dropped them at reception, and headed down to the marina to catch a boat to the Blue Grotto!  We had scoped out ahead of time which boat company we were going to take, so we walked right up, bought our tickets and waited for the next boat departure.  This is me waiting to get on the boat behind us.

Once on the boat, Travers and I got seats on the top deck behind the captain and enjoyed the views as we rode around the island. On our way out of the harbor, we saw a HUGE yacht parked there. In fact, we had been eyeing it all morning wondering who's it was. Well, the captain of our boat was giving us information about the island and told us that it belonged to Roman Abramovich, a russian business tycoon, who also owns the Chelsea Football Club, one of our favorite teams.

Finally approaching the Blue Grotto, we weren't quite sure what to expect, but were both amazed at just how tiny the hole was that we were to go through to get into the grotto.   Our boat docked on a buoy and prepared us for our trip into the grotto. In groups of 3 or 4 we climbed off our boat into tiny ones. I was sitting on the boat floor and Travers was seated directly behind me, but this didn't last long.  After waiting our turn, our driver told Travers to squeeze in behind me on the boat floor, and get as low down as possible or else we wouldn't clear the opening.  We ducked as best we could, wedging ourselves as far down as possible until we cleared the opening. Once inside, it was well worth it. The blue reflection in the grotto is from the sun passing through an underwater cavity and makes the entire cave glow. It was extremely romantic and to top if all off, we had mentioned to our boat driver that it was my birthday, so once inside he proceeded to serenade me singing Happy Birthday and another Italian ballad, utilizing the wonderful acoustics in the cave. An amazing start to a very happy birthday for me.

Once back on our big boat, we rode back to the marina grande in Capri, retrieved our bags from our hotel reception, and boarded an even larger boat for the ride to Positano where we would spend the next two days and nights.  The ride to Positano was beautiful and as we approached the city, I saw what everyone that has ever been to Positano has said. That it is a extremely beautiful city, extremely steep, embedded into a crevice in the side of the hill.  The boat docked and we found ourselves in a tiny paradise and starving. Before we took the hill in search of our hotel, we went to a nearby pizzeria that had a balcony and views of the ocean and shared a delicious pizza and beers.  Feeling rejuvenated, we asked for some quick directions then proceeded to take one of the only paths that led up the hill to our hotel, The Poseidon.

Drenched in sweat as we arrived at the hotel, we quickly checked in, and then checked out the pool deck and the views below. Breathtaking! So we pulled up some chairs, got into our swimsuits and soaked in the sun for the next several hours. That night, we asked the hotel concierge for a restaurant recommendation and he chose one just up the street from the hotel, which saved us from walking all the way back down to the city center and back up again later that night. So before dinner, we got dressed up, grabbed a bottle of champagne and two plastic cups, and walked out to the street, finding a seat on a wall that overlooked the city and water below. Then walked a few more steps to the fabulous Restaurant Mediterraneo, getting a table outside, where we enjoyed another delicious Italian dinner!









The next day, our final full day in Italy, we decided to head down the 300 plus steps to the beach and get some sun. We strolled the boardwalk and finally settled on part of the rock covered beach. It was almost 100 degrees outside so we didn't last long, but we took turns dipping into the water and watching all the people sunbathing and swimming in the water.









Getting too hot, we decided to grab a late lunch, at the same pizzeria we went to the day before (it was that good). Then strolled through the city, going into some shops, buying some ice cream and taking in as much of the views as possible. Then once back at our hotel, we put in some more pool time for the rest of the afternoon.









That night we decided to walk down the hill again for dinner at a restaurant called Le Terrazze, which is on one end of the beach that gives views of the city behind as well as the ocean. We walked down with the sun still up and shared a bottle of champagne the hotel had given us for my birthday. Getting to the restaurant just in time to see the sun set, we were one of the only couples there, which made it very romantic.  We got to see the sun's glow fade on the hillside and see the twinkling of lights come on from the boats parked in the harbor. What a magical night!









The next morning we left early for our trip back to Geneva. We caught a bus to Sorrento, getting to experience part of the famous Amalfi Coast drive, then caught a train from Sorrento to Naples to catch our flight back to Geneva. It was one of the most memorable birthdays I think I'll ever have. I am truly blessed to be able to experience such wonderful things.

La Bellissima Isola di Capri

After two weeks of getting back into our routine in Geneva, we got ready for a trip to Italy to celebrate my birthday!  As I've said before, Italy is one of my favorite countries, and I was so excited to be going there for my birthday as Travers and I had yet to go together since we moved to Geneva. So we woke up at 4am (yikes) on Saturday morning and got on a 6:30am flight to Naples (unfortunately, the only time EasyJet flies to Naples from Geneva). We arrived in Naples by 8:30am and immediately hopped on a bus to take us to the harbor so we could board a ferry to take us to the Island of Capri (pronounced Cah-pree, not Ca-pree). 

When we arrived at the harbor, we had just missed a boat, so we had a little bit of time to wait for the next one. We walked to a nearby cafe and had some coffee and pastries. When it was time to get on the boat, we discovered that we needed to buy tickets before getting on board. So we rounded the corner to the ticket shop and were stunned by the crowds of people pushing their way up to the two ticket windows that were open. We looked at each other, swore under our breaths, and headed into the masses of people.  I managed to work my way up to the window and asked the woman for two tickets to Capri. She responded in Italian that I needed to go to the other window at the other end of the building!! I swore again, and pushed my way out of the people, walked to the other end, and then proceeded to push my way again into the line of people. (By the way, Europeans do not know how to form a line. Lines to them are just groups of people huddled together, pushing and maneuvering their way to beat out the people behind them. Over the year and a half I have been here, I have finally started to do this as well and not care about who I push out of the way or else I'd be waiting in 'line' forever!) Anyway, I finally made it to the front of the second window and got two tickets to Capri. We had missed the 2nd boat, but the next one was not far behind. When we finally made it to Capri it was only 11am, and we still had the entire day ahead of us. Thankfully that 6:30am flight allowed for this ticket line madness. 

Once on Capri, we started to relax. We headed to our hotel, a five minute walk up a slight hill to the Hotel Bristol. We dropped our bags and immediately headed back out to take the funicular up the mountain to the city center of Capri. These are pics of Marina Grande on our way to the hotel.









Once at the top of Capri, we took in the breathtaking views of the ocean and island beneath us. Then we wandered the narrow streets for a bit, single file at times, in search of a casual place for lunch. We quickly realized that being such a tourist hot spot, there were really only the super touristy, high-priced, restaurants that didn't look like they had great food.  And being we only really had a day here, we opted for a quick panini with mouth-watering mozzarella cheese and prosciutto to take with us on the go. And feeling like we had seen most of Capri city center, we hopped on a bus to go up to Anacapri, another part of the island further up the mountain.










The bus was extremely crowded and only had 5 single seats. I luckily got one towards the back, and Travers got one sitting backwards next to the driver. And as the bus slowly filled, I didn't see him again until we got off at Anacapri!  So we both sat, eating our paninis, taking in the views below as we climbed the island on a tiny narrow road.  I'm not sure how those bus drivers do it and not hit anyone as there were tons of people on mo-peds and motorcycles whizzing by, going down the hill, and some even passing us going up the hill! 


Walking around Anacapri didn't take long, but it was even more beautiful than Capri. Travers had a yummy slice of pizza that he ordered out of a window, and we did a big loop around the area until we found the base of the chair lift that takes you up to Mount Solaro. The chair lifts are just like at a ski resort but they are single seats and you don't have your skis or board to glide on when you first sit or get off, so it was a little awkward for me to just stand there and sit as this chair comes flying at you and then quickly pick your feet up until you're away from the ground. And even more awkward when you arrive and you have to practically jump out of the chair and jog quickly out of the way before it hits you on its way  back down the mountain. But the views along the way and once we were up Mount Solaro were worth it. It was just breathtaking.

We walked around the top of Mount Solaro, taking in the views, and grabbed a seat in two lounge chairs while sipping a much needed cold beer. It was amazing to see all the boats below us, looking like tiny white specs on the water, and we could just make out the mainland of Italy through the haze.

 

We headed back down the mountain and decided to hop on another bus to take us to a secluded beach area on one side of the island. This was recommended to us by the front desk agent at our hotel. When we got there, it was nothing like we had imagined. We walked down several flights of stairs then found the 'beach' area. It was all stone and concrete, maybe 30 feet wide and a steep descent into the water. And, it was packed with people!  We searched for a place to put our things, and ended up in a tiny crevice between two old boats that were parked on one of the landings. We took turns, precariously walking down the steep slope, trying not to step on other people and things. At the end of the slope, tons of people stood, gazing out at the water, talking with friends, and debating on whether to jump in or not.I watched Travers go first to test it out and see the best way to get into the water. He squeezed through a few people standing around and just dove head first into the ocean. He popped up moments later, looked up at me and waved.  Floating in the crowd of people, he watched as some kids were high jumping off a nearby rock into the water. 

Then it was my turn. Travers came out to watch our stuff, and I gingerly made my way down the slope past all the people. Then without much time for hesitation, I jumped in feet first (I'm a bit of a chicken) and tried not to get too much of my hair wet (yes, i know, i'm a chicken). The water was much saltier than I had anticipated and I felt more buoyant than normal. I swam around a bit, trying not to run into other swimmers. But getting bored all by myself, I came back out to dry off in the sun next to Travers and the boats. What a strange experience to swim in the ocean and sunbathe, but we felt like we were hanging out with the locals, which is something we really try to do on all our travels.

After we were mostly dry, we decided to head back to the hotel to use the pool, rest up and get ready for the night. The pool at our hotel was nice and quiet with comfortable lounge chairs. We bought a delicious mojito for me, and a yummy gin lemony drink for Travers. I snacked on green olives and we warmed ourselves in the sun. Afterwards we sat on the terrace outside our room, researching restaurants to go to for dinner that night, one of our necessary but not so favorite, pastimes.  The research paid off and we enjoyed a delicious italian feast at (appropriately named) Michael'angelo Restaurant, which consisted of a whole local fish that was de-boned and served table side, followed by a yummy local dessert called Torta Caprese, a flourless chocolate cake. A perfectly delicious ending to a wonderful first day in Italy! 

Olympic Fever

After going to Spain, Florence, and Budapest all within a month, I was wanting a weekend in Geneva to relax, but Travers and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to fly to London for the weekend and get our fill of Olympic Fever!  The final weekend of the Olympic games had London packed with people and we were two of them. We flew in on a Friday evening and were really excited to be able to take part in all the festivities that the city had going on for the games. The first night we met our friends Jasmine and Chris Hodges, who had just moved to London from Geneva (they are originally from the Seattle area) in Hyde Park, where the city had set up several large screens, and food and drink vendors lining the park. We caught up with the Hodges, watched some Olympic games on the big screen and enjoyed some tasty food and beer.

In the Hodges yard!

The next morning, we were blessed with a sunny beautiful day. We met Chris and Jasmine near their house and went grocery shopping to make some tasty mexican carne asada tacos. They live in a cute part of town where you can walk down one street going from the butcher shop to the veggie market, to a normal grocery store, picking up everything you need on the way and we did just that. We saw their new apartment, and sat outside, enjoying the sun, eating tasty mexican food and drinking bloody marys.

Jasmine in lavender

After lunch we began our wander through the city. With Chris and Jasmine as our guides, we went from one place to the next, catching glimpses of the Olympic games on every tv in every bar and in every restaurant. On our way from one place to the next we saw a beautiful field of lavender. We were all feeling very happy, with the sun and the nice fragrance filling the air, so while Travers and I took some self-portraits next to the field, Jasmine was so enticed by the field that she decided to dive into the lavender and really take it all in!  To her dismay, she couldn't easily get out and Chris proceeded to tickle her feet as she was completely helpless laying face first in the flowers!

London Bridge behind us

As the day went on, we stopped by a birthday party for a colleague of Chris'. Then in the evening, we walked towards London Bridge and Potters Field, where the city had set up another large screen where they were showing the games.  When we got to Potters Field though, they weren't letting anyone else in as it was too full! We stood around wondering what to do, when we decided to just walk to the nearest pub and see if we could watch some of the games as it was one of the last days and a lot of the final rounds of the games were on.  When we got to the nearest pub, The Bridge Lounge, it was quite empty, but Travers noticed an upstairs area. He ran up there and waved for us to join him as there were nice big couches, a huge tv and several people up there.  We got some beers, sat down and were able to watch some of the final track and field games.

Holding the Gold Medal!

A little time passed and Travers slowly started to notice that the others in the room with us were Americans because they were cheering for the American track team. As he looked around a little more closely, he thought he recognized one of the girls. He leans over to us and says "Guys, I think we are in the presence of greatness. Some of these women might play on the US Women's Olympic Soccer Team!" Jasmine and Chris are huge soccer fans, and Jasmine turns around and sees Megan Rapinoe, one of the more recognizable soccer players. Then she sees Heather Mitts, and Christie Rampone, the captain!  She walks up to Megan Rapinoe and says "Are you who I think you are?" And Megan replies, "yep". They start talking and Megan introduces her to Heather and Christie. Heather then shares her Gold Medal (that they had just won the night before) with Jasmine who immediately puts it around her neck! Next thing you know, Travers gets up and introduces himself and is able to hold the gold medal too!  We couldn't believe we were hanging out with these amazing women and their friends at this random bar that we almost didn't go into! After we went our separate ways, the four of us celebrated the rest of the night dancing at nearby club, still in shock and awe that we had just partied for a few hours with Olympians.

With Olympian Christie Rampone

With more Olympians!

The next day, Travers and I went to the Borough Market, one of our favorite places to eat, as they have tons of unique food vendors, and got a tasty duck sandwich for lunch. Then we finally made it to Potters Field where we sat on the grass, watching the final games on the big screen and enjoying the sunny day. Our flight back to Geneva was that afternoon and we were still on our high from meeting the soccer team. We were both so happy we decided not to rest in Geneva and got our fix of Olympic Fever plus a great story we never would have imagined possible.