Windows, Money, and Traveling in Ireland

A few thoughts: 
1.  My "10 minute" walk to the hospital is actually 30 minutes.  I finally timed it today door to door.  The Irish walk fast, but not THAT fast!

2.  Why in heaven's name do people here want the window open when it's freezing outside?  Irish people say to get "fresh air".  They said the same thing in New Zealand and I say let them go outside for fresh air and keep the heat on inside with the window closed!  I finally told the B&B lady that I have allergies and I'm allergic to nature - which is true, but very handy to use this time!

3.  Spencer is doing much better!  I took him out for an hour or two today to tour a little of Galway, with the doctor's okay.  He must be feeling much better because my pocketbook is feeling it!  He wanted to tip everyone he bought something from - he tried to tip the grocer, the shop clerk, the vendor, and everyone else!  He did it all with my money!  Finally I started paying for things myself instead of just giving him the money!  I think he knows how hard people work and wanted to show them how much he appreciated their work.

4.  Note to self:  Always assume you will be somewhere for longer than you think you will be there.  I assumed I would be in Ireland 2 days and I've been here a week and 2 days.  ALWAYS bring a blow dryer.  ALWAYS bring fingernail clippers.  ALWAYS bring laundry detergent and a clothes line. I don't care if it's an overnight trip, I'm bringing them!  Lesson learned (twice).  This summer I was in Utah and got an e-mail from Pueblo Ingles and they invited me to do a last minute program in Spain.  So I went from hot hot Utah to cold North West Galicia, Spain.  I also stayed for 3 weeks.  No blow dryer, not enough laundry detergent, no clothes line, and no fingernail clippers.  Now I have fingernail clippers that say "Porto, Portugal" and "I love Ireland".  

Miracles Do Come True, Either That or I Found a Pot of Gold at the End of the Irish Rainbow

Miracle # 1 - Rainbows

When I walked out of my B&B, I was excited because I had booked a tour to see the Cliffs of Moher - A wonder of the world. I was waiting in the rain and suddenly I saw the beginning of a rainbow and it grew and grew until it was a full rainbow.  I saw 6 rainbows today.  The last one was with Spencer at the hospital and it was the biggest, brightest and if you look closely, you can see it was a double rainbow.

The last rainbow of the day at the hospital.

An earlier rainbow.

Miracle #2 - Rain and No Rain

We started off going to a family farm and the rain had not come to the farm, so we climbed the mountain, had great views, and dry ground.  It was pretty steep, so thank goodness it was dry!

Farm Stop - Sunny and Bright

The farm was on the side of a mountain so we went on a hike and saw some of the beautiful sights - that is the Atlantic Ocean in the far background of the first picture.

A typical stone wall.

A literal grass roof.

At this family farm they offered
cakes, pies, tea, and coffee.  Read the sign carefully!

Notice Rain while we are the bus. :) 

The Cliffs of Moher

The observation deck to see
the Cliffs of Moher

Please notice that it is
bright and sunny after
raining hard while we
were on the bus.

 

 

So sunny I need shades!

This is a shop built into the mountainside.

Another Sunny Stop

Miracle # 3 - Friends

I am a person who needs people around me.  On the first tour - to Kylemore Abby, I found 2 single girls around my age who I got to know pretty well.  On this tour, on the first bus, I met a Mom and daughter from England and they were so nice!  At the farm I found a Brazilian girl who was also traveling alone, so we became immediate friends.  Then, when we stopped for lunch we found a guy from Poland who was also on his own and we included him.  (3 friends from 3 different continents.)  Although this was nice to have friends, it was not a miracle.  The miracle came after the tour was done and I was finished visiting Spencer in the hospital.  I was tired and it was dark, so I decided to take a cab home.  The cab stopped in front of my B&B and literally when I got out I saw the Mom and daughter walking on the sidewalk.  They invited me to dinner, but I had already eaten, so they told me that they were going on a walking tour of Galway at 12:30 tomorrow and invited me to go with them!  They said that they had decided to take a shortcut and their shortcut took them in front of my B&B at the exact moment my cab pulled up.  The daughter, Charlotte, had just said, "I wonder if we'll see Tiffany in town."  And there I was in front of them!  It was surreal!

Thank you Heavenly Father for looking after me and loving me so much!!!!

Following the Doctor's Orders - On a Tour in Ireland

First of all, I have to say that Spencer is recovering nicely and I have a meeting with the doctors tomorrow morning.  Hopefully, I will going home soon.

Spencer's doctor said that I needed to take care of myself so I could keep taking care of Spencer.  She said that I needed to go out and enjoy Ireland.  She said that I MUST go to Connemara.  It is one of the most beautiful places on earth!  So, I asked my B&B people - Nora and Joe, to book a tour for me and the tour bus picked me up in front of my B&B house!!!  Lally Tours  www.lallytours.com  for those wondering.  It was only 20 Euro and if you buy 2 tours it's another discount.  This is my first trip to Connemara and my second trip will be on Friday to the Cliffs of Moher.  (You pay in cash, so be prepared!)  Our Tour Guide was AMAZING!  He knew a lot of history, was subtly funny, and also had the traditional Irish kindness!

This is Kylemore Castle in the distance. I don't think you can see it, but there is a Statue of Christ on the mountain.  This used to be a private residence, then it was a school, now it is an Abbey.

Angelina Jolie went to school here. The school closed down in 2010.  Nuns used to be the teachers.

Check out the Apple symbol
in this cloud!

This is the small church on the
 grounds of Kylemore Abby.  

Is it weird that I loved

the doors and the window?

Inside the church at Kylemore Abby.

This is the anti-climatic mausoleum.  We were told that Mitchell Henry created this mausoleum for his beloved wife and it was as small as a tool shed and not very pretty - just sayin'.  

This is one of the many fun benches they had on the grounds. I had to take this picture because it has a butterfly and my friend Suzanne Tilton is the butterfly lady!  (She raises butterflies.)

This picture was taken on the way from
Kylemore Castle to the grounds.

Here is the beautiful, but somewhat anti-climatic gardens.
The really cool thing about them is that there were
cool shapes around where the plants were.

Another part of the garden at Kylemore. I wonder if I were here in spring instead of fall what it would look like.

Here is my new friend Korena I met on the tour reaching for the grapes. She's on a year-long trek around the world.
I would LOVE to do that!

I love the natural beauty that
was all around us!

This is my tour friend Kris
playing music for us!

This is a sign and a map of
Kylemore Abby and Gardens.

There are bogs all over Connemara. Our driver said that if you fall in, it's like a sponge and won't let you go, so your mates have to dig you out.  He said that he has been stuck in them 4 times.  They take your shoes and pants, so it's embarrassing  but at least you didn't die of hypothermia! 

There are people who speak Irish in these small towns. During the summer, some of these people house teens from 12 - 16 for a few weeks during the summer for an Irish immersion program.  In order for the locals to make their houses bigger they made the attic into a room and add skylights.

 

There is marble rock everywhere.
They can't move it because it's too heavy and too hard to move.
They try to build their roads so they can avoid this granite.
They also build their roads with the granite that is here.

Sheep are everywhere. They roam freely with everyone else's sheep and they are marked with colored paint to show who they belong to.  The land is all government land and sheep are welcome to roam where they please.  When the Shepard needs the sheep, they send the sheep dogs to go round them up. 

This is a beautiful country with water everywhere.

What should I do next?
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g186609-Activities-Galway_County_Galway.html

Ode to Google, Malls, and Galway's 10-minute walks

A 10-Minute Walk

The following is what I did on my way to go see Spencer in the hospital.  I call it my 10-minute walk although it lasted for several hours, because I took my time going and coming.

I went back to McDonagh's and had chicken and chips.  I was so tempted to try their mushy peas, but I was too full.  I will have mushy peas before I leave!  I love eating here because they have stools on the outside of the room, so even if you are sitting by yourself, you aren't really because you are so close to other people eating.  It's a nice way to meet people.

There is a very nice walkway right next to the river on the way to the hospital.  It is beautiful and green and surrounded by people and nature.  It was by far my favorite path.  I tried to use the panorama feature on my camera, but it made the pictures really small.  See what you think.  The first on is on the walkway and the second is next to the cathedral. 

I had a very nice visit with Spencer at the hospital and he started to cry and told me how grateful he was that I was here with him in Ireland. I was so happy to hear him say that, but when I was on my way home I wished that someone was here with me.  So, I went in a nice restaurant and had hot chocolate and shepherd's pie - Comfort Food.

I believe that God really watches out for us and he's always there when we need Him.  I walked out of the restaurant when I was done and heard the most beautiful Irish music!  I kept walking and there were street performers after street performers.  I heard guitars, harps, and even a Didgeridoo!  My favorite was this guy.  I'm not sure what Marilyn Monroe and Pres. Obama have to do with Irish music, but here it is:

I Have Clothes Now - Sort Of

The original plan was to come to Ireland on Friday and leave the next morning with Spencer and go to the doctor here.  By the time I was in Chicago, he was in the hospital.  So, I literally had 2 shirts, 2 pants, 2 pairs of socks (one was what I got from the airplane ride), and luckily 3 pairs of underwear.  So I have been washing in the sink and hanging out to dry things I wasn't wearing.  Today I found the mall.  It's so strange, you would never know there was a mall unless you were looking for it.  It looks like a tiny alleyway and then BOOM!  It's a mall.  It's just like an American mall.  It was huge!  I was very surprised that such a big mall can start off as a little alleyway.  I found 2 shirts, socks, gloves, and a suitcase.    I tried to find pants, but that was asking the impossible since even when I'm in America I can't find pants that don't need alterations.  I was thinking of buying shoes, but this is what I found:

These shoes are a little too cool for me.
I'm a comfortable shoes kind of girl.

Sorry, I don't want to have to balance
when I'm wearing shoes.

These look semi-comfortable, but they had
absolutely no padding on the
inside of the shoe.

Ode To Google

I have had to make several calls since I've been here, both to the U.S. and inside of Ireland.  Gmail has a chat feature.  Next to the chat feature is a picture of a little phone.  I get to talk to America for FREE and I get to talk to Ireland at 17 cents a minute.  THANK YOU GOOGLE!!!!!

Google is the best.

They put my mind to rest.

I can call my Mom.

I can also call my friend Tom. 

(It rhymes, I don't have a friend named Tom.)

Thanks Google for making calling cheap.

So I can hear the sheep in Ireland bleat.

(Use your imagination and pretend it rhymes!)