Breathe through it

I went to prenatal yoga today. No crying this time--not from me, anyway. The classroom is on the deliveries floor, and there was this weird, high pitched moaning noise throughout the class today--it was hardly noticeable. The midwife who runs the class spent a lot of time today telling us about natural birth (yeah, right) and how yoga will help us learn to breathe through the discomfort--not pain, mind you, discomfort. The entire class became skeptical because by the end of class--you know, the part with the relaxation, feel your body filling up with warming light, blah blah blah--the high pitched moaning next door had become full on screaming. Pain-filled screaming. Was she breathing through the discomfort? It was pretty comical though, like something out of Will and Grace or Seinfeld. Who knew yoga needed a laugh track?

The Varro's visit to Ireland has been immortalized by the Lomo, which happily decided to function last week. Pics are on Picasa Web. No embedded slideshow, I decided I didn't like that feature all that much. Here's a good one though:



I will miss our little Irish roadtrips. Ireland is a lot like the Sea Ranch, though, so there's a number of Irish-ish road trips coming up soon. But with dogs!

The Varros Come to Ireland

They came. They saw. They drank Guinness. We had a wonderful week with our New York friends, the Varros. The weather didn't really cooperate, but that didn't stop us from doing all of the fun Dublin stuff. We also took a 3 day road trip to Galway and Bunratty Castle and to County Kerry--Sarah's ancestral home (she was a Sullivan until last October). We saw sheep and cows and goats (oh my!) and enjoyed our fair share of Irish goodies and full-car sing-a-longs. Pictures!



That, my friends, is Picasa's fancy new slideshow embedding feature. Pretty cool! I like to embed things within other things. Like embedding pigs into blankets, or jalepenos into poppers. Mmmm, snacks filled with other snacks.

Baby update: we have have movement! Unless it's some kind of weird prolonged bout of gas, I've been feeling Max Jr. squirm around for 2 weeks now. It feels a lot like riding a roller coaster, specifically the part where you go down a big drop and your stomach follows you down a little bit slower than the rest of your insides. But just slightly and only for a second. It's really quite amazing. Nothing like the hiccups and acrobatics that I'm sure will start in the months to come, but enough to bring a smile to my face when I'm just sitting there minding my own business and he reminds me that I'm not alone.

Other than that, it's time to pack it all in here in Dublin. Moving (part one) is less than 2 weeks away, and there's much to do. So I'd better get doing.

Countdown to Home

I bought my plane ticket home yesterday which is, at the same time, wonderful and sad. Mostly wonderful, because it means that in 10 short weeks I get to be reunited with all things furry and slobbery. It means I get to go back to San Francisco, I get to back to the office, I get to drive and go to Target and see people that I like more often and make more wedding plans and shop for tiny baby-sized goodies. But it also means that I only have 10 weeks left to go and do and see, not only in Ireland but in the rest of Europe as well. I've had such a terrific time traveling around and seeing so many amazing places, and I know that baby on the way means putting that sort of thing on hold for a while, so I want to cram as much of it in as possible.

Let's recap the extra super fantasticness of it all, shall we?

Portugal, September 2006



Italy, October 2006



London, October 2006,



Central Ireland, November 2006



Israel, December 2006



Western Ireland, January 2007



Northern Ireland, February 2007



Euro Disney, February 2007



Paris, February 2007



London, March 2007



Southern Ireland, March 2007



Scheduled upcoming trips:

Turkey in June 2007

Upcoming trips that are still in the works:

Scotland

Barcelona

Southwestern Ireland

Six Days and Counting

The cab driver the other day told me not to be fooled. Don't pack away your coat just yet, love, he said to me. But SIX STRAIGHT DAYS of sunshine and blue skies has me at this point where I'm half thrilled, half delirious, and 100% waiting for the other shoe to drop. April in Ireland is rainy. Everyone knows that. It will remain dreary and at least mostly wet until June. Everyone keeps telling me, don't get used to it. Enjoy the longer days that will just keep getting longer. Enjoy the temperatures that have gone from the low to mid 40's to the high 50's. But don't think that winter is over yet. Winter here is also known as Spring. And Fall. Ah, but the Irish summer. I caught the tail end last year, and boy was it something. It almost makes the weather during the rest of the year worth it. Almost.

Where, oh where has my extra super fantastic blogger gone?

I've gone to wonderful and amazing places! Like Giant's Causeway:



And Glenveagh Castle and Gardens:



And the Waterford Crystal Factory Tour:



And the Old Midleton Whiskey Distillery:



And the Blarney Stone!



Did you know that in order to kiss the Blarney Stone you have to hang backwards over the edge of a very tall castle while an old, whistling Irish man grasps your midsection? Because you do.

My mom has been visiting from California this week, and she brought the sunny skies with her. We've been touring Ireland in our trusty rental car and having a brilliant time (as they say here). The days have simply flown by, and, sadly, Mom goes home tomorrow. But she definitely got her fill of sheep, scones and thick Irish brogues. Come back any time, Mom!

Back to County Clare

Max and I went to County Clare over the weekend with our buddy Patrick. We stayed overnight in the adorable town of Ennis where we found a great local pub to sit in and watch the Ireland vs. England rugby match. As Ireland thrashed England, it was great fun to be surrounded by dozens of loud and excited fans--and it made me miss hockey even more! After the game, we listened to some traditional Irish music at a great pub with a roaring fire and plenty of Guinness. A prefect way to spend the evening.



The next day we drove up to the Cliffs of Moher where the shiny new interpretive center had just opened. We all had to battle the wind and I was really glad they had decided to build that wall at the edge of the cliffs. After the cliffs, we took a tour of the Aillwee Caves in the Burren. We saw lots of stalactites and stalagmites and underground waterfalls.

We had a terrific time and it was Max's first trip out West. Plus, it's always great to get out of Dublin for a couple of days. Of course, pictures are up on Picasa Web. Enjoy!

Bananiculous

I was going to blog about this commercial that I see, oh, about 500 times a day on Irish TV. It's a commercial for a ring tone called "Banana Phone" and it's just plain weird. But as soon as I typed "bananaphone" into my trusty Google deskbar, I learned that I am, sadly, waaaaaay out of the loop.

The best part is the title of this link at the bottom of the article:

"Animation in which a man is driven insane by the song Bananaphone."

Yeah, not hard to believe. Just for the sake of hearing the song (I'm sure the Irish ring tone ad is in no way related to the badgers or robot-banana-thing), here's a link to video using the (weird, weird) song.

A grand weekend up North

Max and I had a terrific time in Northern Ireland. The highlights:

1. The Old Bushmill's Distillery

2. Giant's Causeway

3. Dunluce Castle

4. Our terrific B&B in Portrush

Of course, a picture's worth a thousand words, so check out Picasa Web. But let me just say that yes, it's just a bunch of rocks, but Giant's Causeway was awesome. First of all, it's the legendary home of a giant named Finn McCool. How great is that name? Plus, it's another place with hexagonal rocks. Ancient volcanic activity kicks ass!

Back on the (wrong side of the) road

Max and I are off to Northern Ireland this weekend. On the agenda: Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle, and the Bushmill's Distillery. Old stuff, natural stuff, and whiskey stuff! Then it's only a matter of days before we hit Euro Disney and Paris... I guess that forces that be are doing their very best to remind me today how lucky I am to be living in Europe, just a stone's throw from so much awesomeness.

Which in turn reminds me to acknowledge and take advantage of all of the awesomeness back in San Francisco that I tend to take for granted. Alcatraz. Angel Island. Ocean Beach. Muir Woods. Santa Cruz. Countless clubs, theaters, museums...

DK Goes to County Clare

I had such a great time in the West yesterday! Megan and I took the train to Galway on Friday evening, which took about 2 1/2 hours. We had dinner in Galway and stayed at a little bed & breakfast near the town center. The next morning, Megan went to spend the day in Galway city, shopping and what not, while I took a bus tour that went through the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher, both of which are in County Clare. The Burren is a big, rocky area that is made mostly of limestone, and the Cliffs of Moher are very tall, dramatic cliffs on the Atlantic. Pictures are up on Picasa Web--mainly a bunch of pictures of rocks and cliffs, but there are some real winners in there.

The bus dropped us off at a farm house in the Burren where we went on a 1 1/2 hour guided hike through the rocks. John, our guide, had recently earned a degree in history and geology, and told us all sorts of interesting things about the Burren and how it has figured into Irish history, as well as how it factors into the lives of Irish farmers today. There are lots of fairy and pixie related stories pertaining to the Burren and the vegetation that grows there. Supposedly, the wildflowers there in spring are amazing--I'll definitely be heading back there in a few months for that.

Next we stopped off for a quick photo op at the Poulnabrone Dolmen, an ancient Stonehenge-ish tomb from 2500 BC. Very cool.



The Cliffs of Moher were amazing. They were a lot like the dramatic cliffs of Northern California and Oregon, but much much bigger--700 feet high! I couldn't get too close to the edge because they've built a wall that keeps visitors about 30 feet back. It gets really windy there, and a number of people have been blown off the edge over the years--for reals! During the spring, puffins roost on the cliffs--another reason to come back in a few months!

On the way back to Galway, we stopped for another photo op at Dunguaire Castle--one of the dozens of castles we saw. OK, not dozens, but enough castles that I lost count at some point. In the summer, this castle hosts medieval banquets. I'm definitely coming back for that.

This trip has opened up a whole new side of Ireland to me. Dublin is great, but it was so nice to get out and see what else Ireland has to offer. It was super easy to take the train, and I was able to get clear across the country in no time at all. I'll be taking the train to various points of Irish interest a lot more often from now on.

Go West

I'm off to Galway this evening with a super awesome lady I met through the AWCD. It will be my first overnight-within-Ireland trip, and I'm pretty excited. The West of Ireland is what many Irish people refer to as the "real" Ireland, where lots of folks steal speak Gaelic and everything is a little bit country (as opposed to Dublin, which is a little bit rock and roll. Ha.).

And my travelling buddy is yet another cool person from St. Louis, which is a list that is getting disproportionately long.

But perhaps most importantly, a thousand heart-felt thank you's to my Minneapolis posse, who Fed Exed me a box of birthday taffy. I'm speechless with gratitude. Plus, my mouth is full of taffy.