We traveled to Galilee to stay at Adnan’s home in the north. He and Khawla have amazing gardens. Everything seems to grow here. We were encouraged to help with the olive harvest from their two olive trees. It was a bit early for the harvest, but they are leaving to travel to Vancouver to see […]
A city of contrasts
After a very long day of travel, we arrived in Israel. Our flight left London at 7:15am so we were at the airport before 5am. After arriving in Tel Aviv we took a bus to Jerusalem. Our amazing friends Khawla and Adnan were already waiting at the bus stop even before we let them know […]
Rocket Car for Rod
I have mentioned a few times our “Rocket Car” from Renault. It is a brand new Scenic, and it has many upgrades that we did not request, but we have enjoyed them. It has a sunroof that runs nearly the length of the car. Collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control, automatic speed limit sign sensing. The […]
County Cork Country Bliss
On Saturday morning, after scant sleep for Briana, we headed off to Barry Fletcher and his delightful wife Jo’s country estate in County Cork. We had the coordinates set in the GPS, but Barry’s mom Eileen had made it sound impossible to get there without a guide car, so Barry met up with us just […]
Fantastic Friends and Family
One of the things Kathi and I both said after we docked in Ireland is “we’re home”. Ireland is a second home to us, and the Conroys are our Irish family. Now that Briana is with us we have been catching up with loads of the Conroys and Fletchers. Jackie and Eileen Fletcher welcomed us […]
The Minaun, a Magical Place
Many years (decades) ago, Eugene Conroy took us to a place nearly impossible to find unless you have a clue where it is. It is called the Minaun, and it is a magical forest and fern covered walk that softly takes you to a much quieter place and time. If you listen carefully, you can […]
A Day at the Beaches
One of the great joys of the Sunny Southeast Coast of Ireland is the variety of beaches in the area. When we lived here on our first sabbatical the kiddos loved to go to Tramore. It wasn’t just about the sweet shops, or the fish and chips, or the amusement rides. It was about the […]
Wonderful Waterford Weather
We had a “dramatic” crossing from Cherbourg, France to Rosslare, Ireland. Gale force winds and high seas kept us rocking and rolling for about 18 hours of travel. Luckily we had a nice cabin aboard the Irish Ferries Oscar Wilde ferry. Also, we both wore seasickness patches and pills and we made it through relatively […]
Fast and furious France
After a comfortable overnight flight into Paris (thank you Main Cabin Extra) we picked up our jet fighter. Oops, I mean our brand spanking new Renault Scenic. We ended up getting a much higher level than David expected. This meant we received one with heads up display, targeting radar (no, actually only adaptive cruise control), […]
Now boarding …
After a wonderful weekend with the Libertyville class of ’73 we are at O’hare ready to take this show on the road! We even have color coordinated outfits for our arrival in Paris. Bon voyage. Today we had Malnati’s pizza as a fitting send off from Chi town. Tomorrow, crepes?