How did we get to Ireland?

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I'm not sure how we chose to go to Ireland- we thought about Kenya, we thought about the rockies in Canada and then i was sure that we had to go to the Antarctica! Yes! I needed to be between floating in subzero water between huge mountains of Ice. We had enough frequent flyer miles ( thanks to Jeff) for all of those places but we kept going around in circles if we should leave the country especially with all that is happening in the last few weeks? Two days before our flight and before we went to work- we sat in our bomb shelter, with the sirens blaring and just looked at each other - and pondered! As the plane taxied and quietly took off - I looked out of the small oval window and felt an overwhelming sadness come over me to the point where i just cried and cried - the tears must have been flowing down my face at a pretty good rate because a stewardess asked me in a very thick swiss accent if I was ok? All i could do was sign language her that it's all good-( really? ) and then as if a whole year of work caught up with me passed into a very deep sleep .

So the answer is yes we are on our yearly vacation and the answer is no - I don't know how we decided Ireland !

As you can understand -because of the situation at home- I was concerned that writing a blog would be insensitive to everyone else but with encouragement of my dear friend Paula I am writing my yearly blog as if everything is normal! even though we know it isn't.

They don't talk here in Ireland they SING. The words flow together like a pop song with an amazing tune. I am trying desperately to separate the words in my head but as they talk to me all i keep thinking is how after 30 years I still don't know the words to Elton Johns " Benny and the jets" and how am I going to answer the receptionist when I don't know how many words were in the question? Is Elton from Ireland? I look at Jeff - sometimes he understands and sometimes he just says to me in hebrew-" I have no idea what she just asked".. We smile and the receptionist understands and repeats herself till we give some answer that makes sense.

With on foot in the lobby and the other on the pavement we realize that we need an umbrella. Now when we flew to Vietnam we were told not to go in the summer because of the wet weather - WE HAD ONE DAY OF RAIN, We were told to beware of Norway- that we wouldn't be able to travel because of the rain- WE HAD A DAY AND A HALF OF RAIN.

We were told NOT to bike or camp in Ireland because of the rain - AND GUESS WHAT ? they were right.! !!! It's raining and I am freezing because I packed as if I was going to the Bahamas and not to a country that is at latitude 52- ( for your info- new york is at 40 latitude) !

Well, i DONT care - we had booked a spot at a camping ground for two nights but at the last minute Jeff reminded himself that he is so passed that (WHOO - i was totally in a panic about camping) !!! thank G-d for middle age...so we are thrilled that we canceled.

Dublin was very relaxed and wet.. we walked around getting soaked and hearing music blaring from dark and musty pubs. We have decided that there is a pub for every citizen in this country. The amount of pubs here is mind bongling and in fact, one of the headlines from a local paper -" WE have three pubs and not one GP." In the article they wrote how upset they are about the situation but maybe everyone is so relaxed they actually dont need one.

Dublin- started with a coffee from Starbucks then had a walking tour of Trinity college - for those of you who have never heard It is the largest library in Ireland and, as a legal deposit or "copyright library",The Library is the permanent home to the famous Book of Kells. From there we had more coffee at another starbucks and i went looking to shop and pretty found nothing but i had a great time enjoying the relaxed atmosphere - low iphone use and just hanging with jeff drinking more coffee.

For shabbat we were off to a country style resort - which was just wonderful feeling winter in summer.. on our way down south

bottoms up! (To drink the contents of one's beverage. Used especially when alcohol is concerned. Literally to tilt the bottom of one's glass upward until it is empty.)

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Comments

[Drorit]

תהנו....
איזה כייף לכם. מזכיר לי נשכחות. זוכרים את המלצתי להיכנס לפאבים המקומיים שהשכנים מביאים את כלי הנגינה, שותים בירה ומנגנים לכו על גינס שחור, אפשר להזמין גם חצי כוס

[Rebecca Goldsmith]

Ireland- we were there a few weeks ago!
Hi Shame we didn;t speak before you left- we would have given you lots of tips etc. What is your route? we were there for 12 days- June 22-July3rd. Stayed in a beautiful place in Salthill ( near Galway), and also in Killarney. The SupaValu in Dublin has a great kosher food section. If you want more ideas what to se and do- let us know. have a great time!

[edna]

have a great time no guilt!