Faith and Begora -- 'twas Ireland! . . . Holland Happiness!

Travel Bingo  -- Travels to other places while living in London



Faith and Begora -- 'twas Ireland!

A long weekend field trip meant beautiful, green countryside views, waterfalls, golden flowers, ocean views, ewes and wonderful company as Ashley, Chris, Jackson, Mike and I had fun exploring the Ring of Kerry in Ireland.  We didn't find any leprechauns (although now we're craving Lucky Charms cereal!), but the views were golden!  

We Paddywagon bus-toured it through Dingle Peninsula and the scenic capital of Ireland -- Killarney.  After a short hike to the waterfall, we traveled on to Muckross House in County Kerry where we strolled the extensive grounds (Jackson ran) down to the lake.  It is a 65-room mansion with extensive grounds built in 1843 that, after being lived in by various people through the years, was given to the Irish nation and became the first National Park in Ireland.

Lamb stew lunch at the pub was scrumptious, and later we shuffled through the soft sand at Inch Beach and toured the Wild Atlantic Way.  So pretty.  So many sheep (often painted with red and blue patterns ensuring farmers can differentiate which ones are theirs) -- made me want to buy a new wool sweater!

As luck would have it, we did run across a "Digger" movie for Jackson complete with animation and footage of actual backhoes that dance, spin and shoot firework sprays at shows in Las Vegas.  He was thrilled and glued to it!  Better than a 4-leaf clover!

Spent a day in bustling Dublin doing the Hop-On-Hop-Off city overview tour and later enjoying it's pretty parks, colorful doors, soft-sweeping bridges and churches. Meandering through the streets we took in sights such as Ha'penny Bridge, missionaries doing street contacts (gave 'em a "Go, fight, win!" encouraging pep talk), and Grafton Street shoppes.  We also went past the famous 1840's Temple Bar Pub.  

With its medieval remains, Viking heritage and Georgian architecture, Dublin was charming!

Holland Happiness!

Hooray for bank holidays and great touring buddies!  Justin, Elise, Mike and I ventured by train to the Netherlands for a long weekend.  

Amsterdam's canals by boat and stroll were picturesque and it became quite clear why this city is known as the "Venice of the north."  Lit up at night, their bridge reflections on the water were beautiful shimmers of light.

Holland's famous tulips were bursting out in all their splendor as row after row of multi-colored flowers blanketed the ground.  It was absolutely breathtaking!!  Experiencing it via bikes was the only way to go as we rode 12 miles through and to field after field and we were positively smitten with the scenery. Pictures can't really even do it justice, but it's a start. . . 

Keukenhof Gardens has a staggering 8 million flower bulbs, and it seemed most of them were in bloom during our visit, too.  The gardens were spectacular and interspersed among them were grasses, benches, fountains, a windmill, and goodie carts such as a new favorite:  stroopwaffles (caramel-like syrup sandwiched between 2 smallish, flat waffle-type cookies) and then there were those with herring (we gladly left our portions of this local treat for others to enjoy.  Too kind, right?!?).

After enjoying nature's artwork, we took in the Rijksmuseum to see Rembrandt's artwork -- specifically "The Night Watch" and then the Van Gogh museum which was full of fabulous works from his entire career, including "Sunflowers."

Our two+ hour wait in line for the Anne Frank house was definitely worth it as we toured this time capsule of a young Jewish girl and her family and their story of hiding from the Nazis during WWII.  It was a sobering reminder of a tragic time and the courage of those who carried on in the face of an unimaginable lack of humanity by others.  Anne said she always wanted to be an author.  Her diary meant we can learn about and from her -- and always remember.  

Other highlights:  Attending church in Amsterdam was great!  We donned headphones for service translation, sang the hymns in English alongside their Dutch and felt right at home! . . . The Pancake Bakery featured dinner plate sized pancakes -- sweet and savory -- that were fantastic!  We shared and scarfed the Dutch (with pieces of stroopwaffle, cinnamon ice cream and whipped cream) and the English (with pear, chocolate spread and whipped cream) and the bacon, cheese and apple.  Now we know what we're gonna crave! Good thing we were walking and biking SO much!  ;)