Observations and musings

Well I think this will be my last post and am hopeful Guy will get some more pictures inserted in short order.

Big Cities: Dublin, London and Amsterdam
All big cities have things in common. The energy, the diversity and the awareness of how really alike people are. We as tourists are merely observers as the rest of the population go about their lives. I find this strangely consoling as I know I will soon be back in the routine of my own life.

Dublin: No place for the timid, this city is in a constant state of motion and if don't keep up you may well get trampled, yikes...music in every pub and on every corner no matter the time of day. The river Liffey is your guide post, easily navigated once you get your bearings. So much to see and do and I know we only hit the surface. There are things I do want to experience if I ever get a change to visit again.

London: HUGE! Reminiscent of NYC in area and population and it's distinct districts. The gardens are everywhere and are impressive. Really beautiful and really formal. The river Thames is a great way of getting your navigational bearings but I know I would be hard pressed to find my way around without a guide.



Amsterdam: The amount of bike traffic hits you immediately and the canals each have their own personality. This is a really clean city, the people are happy and you notice the high quality of life they have achieved. The red light district is actually quite a small area, a couple of blocks. The coffee shops are prevalent but seem to be mainly used by tourists. Community is key to their reality and in the city if you want outside space you go to a square to relax with ice cream, tea, coffee and possibly a cocktail. LOVED IT!



Large Cities: Liverpool and Galway
Liverpool is reminiscent of two of my favorite cities, Milwaukee and Baltimore. The Mersey river is your navigational tool here. Big enough for cruise ships and alot of barge/commerce traffic. Four colleges throughout the city and a real working class mentality. The riverfront like Baltimore's harbor is a magnet, how I wish Milwaukee would take a page from their book. I know why Sean loves it, this is a city I could have definitely spent more time exploring.

Galway: I don't have another city to compare it to. The Atlantic Ocean is the meter and it is spectacular. The city flows right to the shore and the people are friendly and have a real love of their city. If you travel to Ireland you won't be in a hurry to leave.



Musings on travel.
The cardinal rule, pack half of what you think you need. Someday I will remember this.
Definitely get a different sim card for your phone. This would have saved us some time and I could have been in better contact with the people I was traveling with and the people I was missing, specifically Taylor and Sam.

Rent a car and don't be afraid. This was a really good decision, we went where we wanted when we wanted and didn't waste precious time waiting for public transportation.
Public transportation, will someone in Milwaukee do something about light rail, enough said!

Guy shot at least 900 pictures, so if you want a detailed tour please come and see us, we will be glad to relive this trip.

Gloomy the weather and my mood

First day of our entire vacation that we face rain and I don't mind. I am starting to steel myself for another separation from Sean, this is our last whole day together. We have had a great time and I know I will miss him. I "shake off" the mood and we trudge across Dublin to the Guiness Tour. I truly don't care for brewery tours but I know that I will not be able to face some significant people in my reality if I pass.

It is actually an interesting couple of hours and the view from the sky bar at the top is spectacular,floor to ceiling windows and a 360 degree view of the city. We do a little shopping and head to our next must see.


The Brazenhead is the oldest pub in Ireland, 1198, and has been visited by everyone from James Joyce and Oscar Wilde to Bono and Van Morrison. It's early afternoon and the locals are more than happy to share their observations about what we "yanks" need to do before we leave. We enjoy the banter, soak up the history and I hope I have a chance to stop here again when I can come for the nightly jam sessions.



Off to Trinity College to do some shopping and hit Grafton Street. We take the Temple Bar route and see a group of gentlemen, I use that term loosely, in the midst of their stag party. The groom is in neon pink tights, leopard panties, black wig, and makeup that could only be done by a really frustrated clown wanna be! Every few minutes they blow a whistle, this triggers a moment of theater, either standing on one leg(not easily done in their inebriated condition) and singing a song, or becoming prostrate(in the road) and reciting poetry (I think). Each revelers shirt has their name and what role they play in the wedding party embossed on the back. THE BAR HAS BEEN SET...this is an entirely new degree of pre-wedding humiliation.


Although both men have said they are up for some shopping it soon becomes evident I need to park them at a pub and get serious. Generally there are at the very least 1 - 3 pubs on every block, not today. We finally find Dukes, and I leave them to their musings.

I head back to the shops, find a few things but not what I am looking for and resign myself to the realization I should have been more diligent in this regard earlier in our trip.

Back to Dukes and we decide we should head to the hotel, do some on-line checking in for flights and find a place for our last dinner together. The meloncholy is palpable and I fight the emotion, I want to enjoy these last few hours.

I go up to our room to freshen up and come back to the news that our flight is no longer at 3:30 p.m. but 12:50...I am not amused. This changes our next day to nothing more than getting to the airport, dropping the car, and catching our flights. Sean's flight has not been changed which means he has about 5 hours in the airport, oh joy!

Waltzing down narrow alley ways we walk in to two restaurants and leave before we finally find a little Italian place. Doesn't look promising but the menu they have posted looks good and we decide this is it. Okay, this is authentic Italian, I dare say we are the only English speaking people in the place and we are lucky to get a table. The meal is one of the best we've had and leave happy. We stop at the bar hotel and have an after dinner drink and I head up to our room to pack and prepare for the morning malay.

Where are we ? Or a change in the itinerary...

We wake to another beautiful day but no time for relaxing. The men have persuaded me that we need to skip Cork and head back to Dublin. I hit the netbook searching for internet and trying to change/cancel reservations. Disappointed, yes a little, but after Sean excused himself from breakfast it was a no brainer.

Guy and I take a short stroll around Clonmel to say good-by and wearily we climb back into our suitcase size car and hit the road. To say Sean was a little under the weather is putting it mildly and my mother instinct tells me that a down day in Dublin for him is the best medicine.

I am cruising at 140kph when we encounter signs that tell us the highway is closed. Now I am meandering yet again on roads with "acute bends" and experiencing small village life in Ireland. Beautiful yes, but added significant time to our drive.

We find our hotel in Dublin (couldn't face the place we stayed on our first night) with little trouble. We are directly across from Christ Church,(see the link) http://cccdub.ie/, they ask if we would like a room with a view of the church, enthusiastically I say "yes"! I have forgotten that Churches have bells! Sean and I decide to take a nap and Guy goes to explore a new area of Dublin. I wake with an itch for a walk and meet Guy, by chance, about a block from the hotel.

The church starts it's afternoon concert, about 3 hours, sounds like the same song over and over again, and I look at Sean's face...he has a church behind his dorm, clearly this is not an experience he will want to repeat any time soon.

After dinner, Mexican this time, I have some amazing Mayan pork, we head back to our room for an all, "CLINT EASTWOOD" night of movies.

A good nights sleep to prepare for another big day in Dublin.

Grandpa Durand and the Races

Hey, Hey, its my birthday! We wake to cloudy weather, no complaints after sun for 11 days, I can only remember a handful that were without precipitation. We walk, we eat and we get back on the road, oh joy! No interstate and we are heading west to Clonmel.

In and out of small towns, speed limit 120 kph, we are cruising and it's two lanes, one in each direction, Guy and Sean are reading maps and I am staying on the path. Through Limerick and soon we are in Clonmel. Larger city than I expected, they have a Wickes. We target the City Center and park, feed the meter and look up to spot a sign with directions to our hotel, Guy wants his Euro back, alas it is now in the hands of the taxman. Annie is at the desk. Sean made this reservation with Annie and if course she remembers the conversation... we are at Hearns!

We have not one but 3 bars a hotel and a disco...Annie winks at Sean and assures him there will be action there tonight.

We ask about parking, Annie sends Patsy to check, she comes back and reports, "Jamie needs to move over and then we'll be okay", service with a smile...could this get better? Yes, it could! I navigate down an alley while Jamie, who is smiling and waving, jumps in his car and gives me some space.

Our rooms are beautiful. Sean's single is big enough for a slumber party..more on that later. Guy and I have a delightfully big space that faces the street. This hotel must have been built in the mid 1800's and is just charming. They have updated the decor and we have a real 2010 amenities.

Sean, Guy and I regroup at the bar, the one on the left, and get directions for our next wander. Jamie is charming and Annie comes by to give me a ticket for the horse races later in the evening. "Happy birthday" she says, "let the boys take care of themselves." As she leaves, Jamie gives us the scoop, she comes from a family of trainers, her roots are in Kildare and her niece is a jockey.

We wander awhile and then back to the hotel to clean up. Sean has a birthday bar set up in his room, cocktails anyone? We hit the Cuervo and then we off to the races!

I think of Mom and Grandpa Durand and his love for the sport, I tell Guy and Sean the stories I remember and think how odd in my 50's and finally seeing a horserace in the flesh.

The track and surrounding backdrop are glorious, we get familiar and the festivities begin. The noise is gleeful, people are watching the horses as they come out to warm up, the bookies are yelling the "line", we scurry to place our bets. Guy wins the first race. My horse comes in second and Sean's ticket is reading backwards, otherwise he would have had one and two...he won't make that mistake again. We repeat this scenario a total of 7 times and in the end Guy wins 3, Sean wins 3, I win 1, and Sean has the biggest monetary gain of the evening.


We see Annie who offers to share her cab back to the city.....let me just say she made our night, back to her "races bar", out to her favorite chinese restaurant and finally back to the hotel sometime after 1:00 a.m.

Total tally of the evening, one of my best birthdays ever and Sean may have a hook-up with Annie's niece Katie...go figure!

Ennis... a bust?

I am finally off the road and we are in Ennis, the next of our highlights! We are here for the Fleadh Nua, (a week long Irish Fest), we pull into town and see a sign that says "walking only to Temple Gate", our hotel. We are excited, this must be a festival of some size! The men look at the river, (this of course will give us the direction to our hotel), I interrupt a few young lasses and after some pointing and waving we are off to our hotel.

Around every corner we look for signs of the festival, our anticipation grows. We see our hotel, a beautiful building, a former nunnery... no jokes please.

The girl at the desk is delightful, we inquire about the festival. "yes", she says, "isn't it wonderful we have something everyday, there's music tonight outside of town". We do not comment but later agree that whomever did the marketing is a wizard and someone we know should hire her!

We are undaunted and find a little Italian place for dinner, followed by music at a local pub, Brogans, followed by music at our hotel pub, preachers. The bartender, Filmelda, is a hoot and Guy and Sean start celebrating my birthday, time for bed.

Tomorrow Clonmel and the races!

Whitenuckle Driving, a lesson in courage!

We leave Galway behind and start down the coast road to the Cliffs of Moher! We have time before heading to Ennis and the Fleadh Nua. All goes well until we start down the coast road (remember I am driving on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road). The driving lane is two bicycles wide or one and 1/2 the size of a normal lane of traffic. On the right (Guy's side of the car) is a fairly continuous brick wall, my side is in the middle and we have a steady stream of tour buses, aaaah! I'm not sure if I was cursing or praying, The view of the sea is spectacular, castles and cottages dot the landscape we are really in Ireland, we try to not get hysterical and enjoy the ride.


Soon we are parking our car and walking to the cliffs, I am awestruck! The mountain meets the sea, the waves are rolling in and boats, appear from seemingly nowhere. There is quite a crowd, as we walk an older gent is playing his squeeze box (accordion) I see a harp a little further up the path, is this real? The terrain is rugged and unforgiving ,but the moment is ethereal.


I want to tarry a while, but the men are thirsty and we still have miles to Ennis and of course the same fabulous highway system.

Paula G... 53 Woo Woo!!!

It is Paula Gallitz's bday in Ennis, Ireland!!!!!!!

More tomorrow after the races etc. Start celebrating now!!

Love,

Sean and Guy


P.S. If anyone wants to put a few bets in with Sean "the horse-whisperer" Gallitz or Guy "the horse's-ass" Gallitz either comment below or send an email... (and you better Western Union the cold cash)

http://www.irishracing.com/cards/v5card083201005271740.htm

Check It check it...

Anyone who has been following to this point... scroll back through and check out the pictures we've added. For anyone who hasn't... start at the beginning and catch up : )

Gallivanting Gallitz's in Galway

Knock, knock… is how we began our day, Sean at the door, it is 5:00 a.m.. HOLY Sh*t, we were planning on a wakeup call at 4:30! Cab should be outside, not there! We scramble, get a cab and get to John Lennon Airport at 5:45 for a 6:30 flight to Dublin, our heart rates were still over the top when we boarded…correction Guy and my heart rates were up, Sean was low on sleep and was snoozing before take-off.
Only 30 minute flight and we are back in Ireland at 7:00 a.m... Next hurdle, the rental car. We wait in line and my stomach is full of butterflies, I will be doing the driving. I love to drive, but this is the first time I will be on the wrong side of the road and the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car! What have I committed to? Too late to change my mind, I am signing paperwork and we are looking at a KIA Picanto.

Small, yes, but somehow we manage to load luggage and hit the road. Sean is asleep in the back while Guy co-pilots and I get my groove on with a new way of driving… Fairly quickly I am passing slow traffic and feel confident.

It’s 10:00 a.m. and we are in Galway. Too early to check in? Sabrina at the front desk of Jury’s in Galway is a treasure and says no happy to oblige us, love Irish hospitality! Here's a picture of the hotel:

Sean to the shower and Guy and I go outside to wander. The Bay of Galway is across the street, it is beautiful. We are in a part of town called the Spanish Arches, the old stone turret and arches of days long past lead us into the City Centre. We round a corner and almost knock down a pretty young girl with a Marquette T-shirt on! Jenny Mays, business student, studying abroad. It is her last day in Galway, we visit and laugh, soon we are saying goodbye, will have to send her an email.

Sean joins us and we are again walking and exploring. The main square is Eyre, the locals and tourists lie on the grass and soak up the sun…what a way to spend a day. I adore Galway, God willing I will find my way back here someday.

Monday Mayhem ir... Humped Zebras

Monday morning back in Liverpool, the flight from Amsterdam roughly 1 hour 45 minutes. Directly to Sean’s to do LAUNDRY, sexy I know. Threw in loads, did some checking into flights (over the internet) and off to lunch. Finished laundry, checked into hotel and walked to “Albert Dock” to see the International Slavery Museum, (a must) and the Picasso Show at the Tate.

Stopped again for tea and a cocktail then to the hotel for free Happy 2 hours. The boys imbibed while I answered email and rebooked hotels for Ireland, tomorrow we land in Dublin and I drive to Galway.

Sean met some friends while Guy watched football, (soccer) and I reorganized suitcases showered and went to bed. We have a 6:30 a.m. flight in the morn.
Speed bumps are striped here, the signs say Humped Zebra, made me giggle.

Sunday Lazy Sunday

Well you might guess from title that we finally let ourselves sleep in and had no formal plan for the day.We finally left the boat around noon and strolled over to an Italian restaurant with outside seating, heavenly pizza and great people watching. We hadn’t been to the Anne Frank house yet so decided to go to Dam Square which is fairly close.

Dam Square is huge, with the Queens Palace, and the National Gallery flanking two sides, the others hold Madame Touassants Wax Museum and multiple restaurants that all have outdoor seating facing the square.In the center if a beautiful and controversial statue (http://goamsterdam.about.com/od/amsterdamphotos/ig/Photos--WWII-Monuments/Photo--Dutch-National-Monument.htm) and people sit on the stairs watching the world go by. I know there is a spot in Paris or Rome and the saying is something like, “if you sit here long enough the whole world will pass bye”, the same could be said of Dam Square.

We had a tea for me and a jar for the men and continued our trek through the city. Canals with boats, people on bikes, shoppers, children, families, communicating in every verbal and non verbal interpersonal way humans do. So beautiful!

Close to our boat we hit a grocer, Albert Hein again, (love him), and picked up the fixings for spaghetti and meat sauce. I know some of you are aghast with surprise…made dinner, watched TV and chilled. Tomorrow, (6:00 a.m.) flight to LIVERPOOL!

Episodic Notes (or why we laugh)

A few adventures have as yet been unreported, time to correct this grievous injustice.

Liverpool and the Beatles

Reverently we left the millenium behind and searched for our "Beatles Experience" Found it...off a main artery into an alley we were confronted by a wall of brick with every ROCK 'N ROLL/Blues performer or band that you want to remember. Cavern Club on the right, Cavern Pub on the left. Pictures with our favorites who are hanging on the walls, using the loo, getting a pint. Worth the time (high praise from one who has none to waste)

Guy with John Lennon

This one is for you Peg and Amy

Lovely Loos/Bizarre Bathrooms

I've traveled, camped, visited gas stations, but it did not prepare me for the wide range of ways to relieve ones'self! Years of working and riding Harleys didn't prepare me for the ingenuity of waste management. First Day Dublin: I visit the ladies loo and tell Guy how absolutely beautiful it is, filled with old tiles, hand cut...older than the U.S....Guy decides to visit the Men's, momentary confusion turns to realization that the "entire wall" is the urinal. WOW! Next day, Liverpool, the Men's Loo at the Philharmonic", looks like a gentleman's club, now open to the public, has a loo on the UK National Registry! The barkeep will clear the bathroom for women patrons to view...it is very nice, great tile work, my favorite colors....
Compared too Sean in Amsterdam... outside our houseboat
Jump to Friday in Amsterdam. I walk into the Ladies loo and it is quite sparse, containing only a sink, paper towels, hand dryer and HUGE drain in the middle of the floor. NO WAY, I say to myself, rejoin the boys,,,"there must be another door" I am laughing my self silly, but "women up" and re-enter. There is another door, so awkwardly placed that the next gal in and I had a "personal moment"...finally washing my hands I reach for the hand dryer..doesn't work, hit the button on the wall, turn off the lights, my new friend screams in alarm", I walk slowly from the bathroom, afraid too look back..

Paula as Guide

Walking back from leaving the boys to Heineken..3 women 2 teenagers speaking English, I query "can I help you finds something?", One responds, "Your English is great, where are you from?" I start laughing.. "The States, WI" I reply, 'girl we're from Arkansas, Michigan and Berlin","Neighbors", we jinx each other and share the laugh, we all need, they are looking for the old Jewish neighborhood., per capita,Holland lost more than any other country. Gave them directions to a few places and had a blast! Told Sean and Guy, they may stop by for more
directions...invite them in.

Coffee anyone?

Houseboat Living = HEAVEN

This houseboat, rocks you to sleep at night, entertains you all evening and you awake to an exquisite morning. Woke to see Sean off for a run, so jealous! He is in such great shape. He returned hungry and we decided to find a grocer. Albert Hein (whoever he is) has a wonderful market, just 2 canals from us, reminiscent of a small Sendiks. Making chili on the boat…seems unreal! We just want a real meal, eating out has been great, but it gets to be a bit much 3 times a day.
There is a nice flea market, (Shawano on Sundays plus) just across the canal behind the opera house (our view from the porch and the berths), did I say heavenly? Shopped a little while and then walked the men part way to the HEINEKEN EXPERIENCE (I know they wish Gavin and Samson were with them0, I’m going to get a pedicure and shop. (more later…
Purple toenails to match the Birkenstocks I found at the flea market, way fun! My aching feet, feel rejuved…thank goodness, we have only taken a cab once since leaving Dublin, I think we’ve walked “ten thousand miles.”
Boys should be back soon so I am just watching the boats pass by and catching up with the blog. The boats on the canal are in a constant state of enjoyment, people wave, hold up their cocktail of choice and generally “yell” something happy in too many different languages to count. Every boat has its own personality, different motifs, colors, ages, material…



Guy called home at 6:00 this morning, to wake Jill up…he didn’t wasn't really aware of the day it was or what time…have to watch him like a hawk! Sorry to Jill. Appears Jill and Sam are great roommates, way to go Sam.
Congratulations to Kieran Maltz and Joe Pintozzi on their graduation from MU tomorrow, really happy and proud for you and of you!
Time to open a bottle of wine..

Vrijdag (Friday in Dutch) and Amsterdam

Awoke to another beautiful day, I think the notion that England and London is cloudy and cold is propaganda. It has been sunny and warm every day since we landed in Dublin.

Caught a bus to Luton airport and then on to Amsterdam! The airport was very user friendly and it wasn’t long before we were on a train to Central Station. Bikes, bikes and more bikes, they are everywhere, quite an efficient means of transportation given that petrol (gasoline here is) about $7.00 per gallon. You just have to be careful where and how you walk, single file and a straight line is best.

Navigator Sean quickly planned our walk to the houseboat. Meandering through the heart of the red light district and coffee shops where we were met with some amazing sights and smells.

The houseboat is perfect one large room for living and kitchen, bathroom and 2 bedrooms, although total you could easily sleep 8. We have big windows that look over the canal where there is always something to see.

After getting ourselves situated we opted for the nearest pub, Mulligans Irish Music Pub, directly across from our boat. It becomes our quest to find as many Irish Pubs as we can in Amsterdam. Next is Trinity then Temple bar and then we saw but didn’t stop at Tara, we needed nourishment and found a little Mexican place thanks to a great bartender named Julie at Temple bar. Food was fresh and delicious.

Amsterdam is amazing!

London and Phantom

Wednesday we overslept, but made our train, thank goodness. Nice ride to London about 2 hours. Arrived in London, tired and hungry and without too much ado found our hotel, interesting place. Check in is in the basement where you stand in a small room with an elderly gentleman with German accent who seemed only to have rudimentary skills with both the computer and the credit card machine. Room is small but clean and will do, we only change clothes and sleep when we are there. Found a restaurant called Pizza Express in our neighborhood so lunch was Caesar salad, pizza and pasta, does it get any better? Changed clothes and went to tour all of London from our hotel to the theater district. We walked and walked! Trafalgar Square was quite the experience, awe inspiring probably covers it! Here is a video:


The river Thames is the Milwaukee river on steroids, boats, barges, bridges, ferries and more! Then the Adelphi Theater and "Love Never Dies", the new Andrew Lloyd Weber play and follow up to Phantom of the Opera! I don't know when we will be able to see it in the states, but will definitely see it again. The effects were wonderful and the music is still in my head! On to China Town for a late dinner. Ordered everything we wanted and were properly sated. Walked it off on our way to the hotel. I think Guy and Sean were asleep before I even turned off the lights! BIG DAY!

Liverpool, the Grand Tour

Tuesday the festivities began, now Sean was our official tour guide, we saw every inch of Liverpool we could in a day. First the campus, really pretty and met the people he works with, nice group. On to the Catholic Cathedral, architecturally awesome, the Anglican Cathedral, climbed to the top, the views were fantastic,(330 meters) on a clear day you can see Wales! Short visit to Chinatown and then to Albert Dock! Boats, shops, pubs, restaurants, definitely my cup tea. The Tate museum and Slave museum are also there. The Tate is hosting a Picasso exhibition next week so we will do both then. Caught up with a few of Sean's cohorts and bent our elbows to finish the day, perfect!

Ferry, Wales and the Kid!

Monday morning found us in a cab with Des Rooney on our way to Dublin Docks and the ferry. The Dublin airport had closed Sunday night. We boarded around 8:00 and started our crossing. Our ferry, the Jonathan Swift is called the fast ferry, only 1hour and 45 minutes to Holyhead, Wales. The ferry itself was a revelation, restaurants, bar, duty free shop, casino (slot machines), television, reclining chairs and windows all around! Beautiful and relaxing..we really enjoyed the experience. Next, the train station at Holyhead, something akin to a mass exodus of refugees, everyone needing to get to work and running 1/2 a day late. Missed the first train by 23 passengers, caught the next. Wales was beautiful, mountains, sea, boats, and lots of sheep. Finally arrived in Liverpool at 3:30 and of course I immediately embarass Sean by trying to get through the train gate without inserting my ticket!!! Smiling and shaking with laughter he watched as an attendant helped me navigate the turnstyle. Hugs all around, and we were on to our hotel. Free cocktails at the hotel was not only wonderful but necessary after the day we had! Next dinner, Italian Villa Romana and we had dessert at SAVA, tequila bar with 30 selections. Nice finish! Walked off dinner with a tour of the area and to bed for me. Guy and Sean went clubbing and caught some great jazz!

Drama & Natural Disasters

Like oreo cookies and milk, natural disasters and dramas are a given! In a semi-frenzy we ran around the "Temple Bar" area of Dublin, trying to either email, skype or call Sean. No WiFi at the hotel and only one computer in the lobby that was for obvious reasons being used. We finally found an internet cafe adjacent the river Liffey. The attendant barely spoke english and after multiple options were exhausted he proved to be the hero and helped us get Sean on the phone. Needless to say we were all disappointed but small potatoes in the grand scheme. He was still in Liverpool and we in Dublin, tomorrow was another day. We needed to make plans to get to England. Exhausted and deflated we headed back to our hotel for either a cry or a nap..opted for the nap. To say our accomodations in Ireland were humble would be kind, (more later). We caught a couple hours of sleep and awoke to the realization we had some serious action to attend to!

First to "McDonalds", only free WiFi in our vicinity...reserved spots on the Ferry to Holyhead, Wales. Just in case the airport didn't reopen. Good call, they cancelled our flight just an hour later. Then on to exploring the "Temple Bar" neighborhood..

Music on the street, music in the pubs, music in Meeting Square, fabulous. Visited a few spots, just wonderful and then popped into Fitzgerald's on the river and had seafood chowder, brown bread and chips! Perfect!

Time for some serious sleep, we only had a few hours before we had to head to the dock. We awoke to the hotel clerk pounding on our door, "your son is on the telly" (no phone or alarm clock in our room). Guy stumbled down to the lobby to update Sean on our plan, he hadn't received our last message. Back to sleep for me, sadly Guy had a hard time settling back in.

More later...

Volcano Volatility

Guy and I have arrived safely in Dublin. Sean however is still in Liverpool. His flight was cancelled when he was literally on the tarmac. So, checked into out hotel and will find a phone and figure out our next move. There is a good possibility we won't be able to fly tomorrow, so may be taking the ferry. We are going to check it out! More later!

Countdown to Adventure!

Welcome to the Gallivanting Gallitz's Blog!

Forty-eight hours and counting to catch our bus to O'Hare airport and the adventure begins! Anxiety is building, Guy and I still aren't packed, need to find some of Sean's undergrad research he needs and about a dozen loose ends that need to be tied up.

Nevertheless we are excited! We are heading to Europe to spend some time with Sean and have as much fun as we can without getting arrested!

Our plan (barring any natural disasters, volcanoes, etc.) We fly into Dublin and meet Sean at the airport at 7:30 in the morning on Sunday, what a great way to start the day. We will spend the day there and do some exploring. Then to Liverpool, London, Amsterdam, back to Liverpool and then a week touring every inch of Ireland.

We will try to keep all of you updated as often as possible!