leaving

I have never been good at goodbyes but sometimes I do much better than others... This was not one of those times.

As I sit here on the plane I am filled with a mix of emotions. I am excited to share stories and photos with those back home, but am already missing those people with whom those stories and photos happened. I cannot begin to wrap my mind around going back to reality after falling in love with the most perfect place on the face of the planet... Driven mad with the intensity of being wanderlust. I'm not sure if I used that word right, but someone explained it to me as being compelled by an inner desire to travel the world.

My great uncle Jackie told me yesterday that I would be in love with Ireland and that I need to be home for at least a week before deciding I can move here. I replied asking him how he knew I wanted to move here and he said (with a few additional expletives) that everybody wants to move here... But they only know the truly magical, holiday, summer of Ireland and not the grueling monotony of being there for four seasons, year after year with the same people who you either talk to everyday or are in such a roué with that you don't talk to them at all anymore. I'll have to see where life takes me, but I don't think Jackie would be too harsh a critic if I ever did make the move back to this lovely place.

Between sobbing to myself and being completely indecisive about what I want to drink or eat when the cart rolls by, I am finding it to be the longest flight I've ever been on and cannot imagine the end of this journey. Appropriate I think that today is the longest day of the year.

To those I've left behind: I miss you already. I wish I had got to spend more time with some of you. I wish that I was going to be there for peter's first day of big school and grace's dance competition and the building of stephs house and the birth of Jackie's baby... And so many other things but I am confident that I will be in touch with all of you frequently and that we have the rest of our lives to get to know each other better.

To those I'm coming home to: I have missed you! I promise!! And talk of moving to Ireland is in no way a reflection on how I feel about living in the USA. I cannot wait to sit around and tell stories of my adventures and shenanigans and show you pictures of the beautiful people and places! And I earnestly hope that all of you someday get to experience this. This completely insane love for a place and its people that I am experiencing.

I have about a small eternity left on this plane flight.

Also, while I've been writing I chose a ginger ale and the salad... I need to become a better decision maker when it comes to eating and drinking. Maybe not better... But quicker!!

the farrier

Brian took me and Steph around with him for a days worth of farriering. We watched him put shoes on horses and I got to see loads more places in one day than I would have!!

3 days left. That doesn't seem possible, but it's true!

Xoxo

dublin

dublin. mary was so excited to go back to the place where she spent so many years... and she was so terribly disappointed. dublin in the 2000's is not the same as dublin in the 1950's. nonetheless we did some fun stuff. 

we got to dublin via the bus. we took the bus from letterfrack to galway city and then caught a bus to dublin. once we arrived in dublin we got some food and started walking! we walked all around near trinity college, temple bar, the river and the cathedrals. our walk was partnered with off and on rains but i enjoyed every bit of it! 

after about 2 hours of walking we checked in to a hotel in the temple bar area, put our feet up for a little and got some dinner. the area was full of people and music and dancing and there isn't a place in dublin that you can't hear it from! :) 

the night in the hotel was eventful. the fire alarm went off twice because someone who had enjoyed dublin a bit too much had smashed the fire alarm in order to get someone to help him get into his room. mary was convinced we were going to die after it happened the first time and then when it went off the second time she was apologizing to me that i was too young to die. it was just a crazy bit of an evening. 

in the morning we decided that we were going to go to the guinness factory and then catch the bus back to galway city. from the hotel the lady told us it would take us 10 minutes to walk to the factory... a good 45 minutes later we arrived there, went on our self-guided tour of the building and made it to the gravity bar at the top of the building. it's an amazing view of all of dublin and you can see out of the building in all directions. it was really something. mary and i got our complimentary guinness and mary had to go to the bathroom. i made quick friends with 2 scottish ladies who were standing at a table and mary went to the bathroom. and here's the bit that i'm not really sure about.... mary must have just been coming out of the bathroom when my cousin scott (from ny) and his wife serena spotted her. scott said he thought that it was my grandma and followed her up to the top level where we all found each other. it was the perfect way to spend the afternoon in dublin catching up with scott and serena. 

we took the busses back to letterfrack and i think it's safe to say we were both glad to have made it home in one piece. 

in the guinness factory 

the view from the gravity bar 

watching the euro 2012 matches at a pub

a beautiful church we walked into during the ecumenical council

dublin 

the gravity bar 

scotty!! 

mooneys and judges

euro 2012! 

churches 

mary outside the factory

the last week in renvyle

in the last week here i've been in clifden, renvyle, letterfrack, galway city and west port. connemara is just the most beautiful place in the whole world. i've been to music shops, seen horse shoes being made, sea kyacking and golfing! my great uncle thady took me golfing for the first time and i couldn't imagine a more picturesque place to golf. the tpc scottdale has nothing on the renvyle house's course! (on a side note- the owner of the hotel says he has been to the tpc in scottsdale and does not agree with my thought on the courses!) we've had 3 consecutive days of sunshine here this past weekend and so i've been outside on the beach at the house and on walks enjoying the rare, sunny irish weather. we have been swimming in the sea off the white strand... it's a bit cooler than the pools in scottsdale but i'd say i prefer it here!

saturday evening i went out to the disco and sunday morning i went to mass at the church in honor of the anniverary of the death of stephen salmon, my great grandfather. it is a beautiful church and everyone seems to know that i'm a salmon. and they keep saying that they are so glad i've come home!

last night was the first game of the euro 2012 and ireland played so we were all decked out in green and orange and watched a disappointing first game for ireland. hopefully there are better games to come for the irish! peter was chanting "let's go ireland... go st. patrick!" and after much confusion steph had to explain to him that st. patrick didn't play for ireland and so his cheer didn't make any sense. he didn't care and continued to paint his face with streaks of green and white and orange. we had ordered food from about the only fast food-esque place in renvyle and got "thady burgers" which are named after my dad's uncle thady. it was delicious.

there are loads of things to catch up on, but, as i said, the sunshine is calling me to be outside and i will write again later.

xoxo

the view from the house

sean keane in concert 

on the drive around letter, derryinver

the swans at the golf course

renvyle castle 

farriers

golf with thady at the renvyle house