Where Did the Summer Go?

Oh boy! I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. This summer flew by. Glenn and I were busier than ever and had a wonderful Irish summer of friends, family, traveling, festivals and general shenanigans. Here is the quick and dirty version...

End of June:

I had lovely birthday here which included a picnic in the park with some of the Pocket King wives and my friend Diane's Mother-in-Law. The weather cooperated and we had a whole array of goodies. I just used the spa gift certificate that these amazing ladies gave me and treated myself to a facial. Ahhhh! On the night of my birthday Glenn organized a get together at the pub with the rugby girls. Lots of peeps came out for pints and laughs. What a great birthday! I am one lucky girl.

July - Part I

I just looked back at the July page of our calendar and it looks like several different color pens exploded in all of the boxes. Even the abbreviated version of this month is going to be long. Get a cup of coffee and make yourself comfortable.

The day after my birthday we hopped on a trans-Atlantic flight to Boston. For a weekend. In the 32 years he's lived in Manomet, Glenn has not missed a July 3rd celebration at the beach and he was not going to start this year! We were planning a longer visit and were very disappointed when we heard from Glenn's office that he wasn't going to get the time off, but we made the best of it and had a fantastic weekend. We got to meet Baby Oliver (Mr. O) for the first time and he is pure perfection in a tiny body. I could have spent hours ogling and holding him. Another bonus was seeing Bri. Kristi surprised him with a ticket for his birthday and we had three days with all four sibs in Manomet. Yay! Everywhere I turned there were nephews, Eva, Moms, Dads, aunts, uncles, friends....so many of our favorite people in one place at the same time. I felt so blessed.

The day after we returned from Manomet I unpacked, shook the sand out of our bags, did the laundry and repacked for a 5 day trip to the Italian Riviera. For my birthday, Glenn gave me a trip to Italy to see my friend Diane, who was on tour with an Italian blues band for two weeks. It wasn't until after I landed in Nice and jumped on a train to San Remo, Italy that I realized I hadn't traveled alone before. It was a great adventure. I had no hotel reservations except for one in the town I was going to catch Diane's gig so I just went as far as I felt like going on the first day. I got a room in a small seaside village and spent the afternoon on the beach. I made my way back to the train the next morning and went as far as Rapallo. What a gorgeous town! I recommend it to anyone traveling to this area. I wandered a bit in Rapallo and then met up with Diane and the band. I went to their sound check and they graciously invited to join them for dinner. This was one of the highlights of the trip. There were about ten people at the table and the meal was what I picture a typical Italian meal to be. The owner basically picked out a menu for us and the courses arrived at a nice leisurely pace. There was a lot of yummy food, great house wine, funny jokes, and cheerful banter. Heaven!

Other highlights from my Italian adventure? Diane's show, in a word, phenomenal; eating lobster and reading Pride and Prejudice next to the sea; the view during a morning run to Santa Margarita; a side trip to Sestri Levante; a conversation with the hilarious vice-mayor of Rapallo; prosecco and chocolate gelato at midnight. Oh Italy, I will be back!

A few days after my return from sunny Italy, we were visited by cousins Charlie, Fitzie, Paul, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jimmy. I love having stateside visitors in Dublin (hint, hint) and these guys hadn't been to Dublin for years. Our time with them was short (two nights with Charlie and only one with the rest of the gang) but special. We got to introduce them to some of our favorite places and people. They also brokered an introduction to my Grandfather's Irish relatives who live just north of Dublin. Glenn and I went to lunch in Drogheda and met 23 relatives for the first time. What a great bunch. I look forward to getting back up there soon and getting to know them better (and eating more of Margaret's amazing cooking). Now if I can just get my father over here to meet them, too!

July Part II

In the middle of the month, Glenn's office had their annual family day. Turns out, Glenn's office doesn't fool around when it comes to a party. They rented out the grounds and first floor of the Ritz in the Wicklow mountains, just outside of Dublin. For the kids they had every type of bouncy castle ever invented, as well as 'extreme trampoline', and ice cream truck, an entire tent full of paints and canvases, a climbing wall, face painters, and all sorts of snacks. For the grown-ups there were open bars everywhere you looked, a yummy BBQ buffet, a well-known (though I hadn't heard of them so how well know could they be, really ;-) Irish rock band called Republic of Loose, a tent of Tarot card readers, a massage tent, a hair and make-up tent, larger harnesses for the kids games, belly-dancing lessons, a belly-dancing show, a chocolate fountain, late-night snacks, two rooms full of Wii and other video games, and probably some other stuff that I'm forgetting. The best part? The bed at the Ritz! Or maybe the breakfast at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant the next morning. Or maybe the fact that we could watch the British Open in the bathroom in the TV in the mirror if we wanted to. I want to go back now! Apparently, we forgot to take any photos of the day.

The end of July was also VERY special. Mikey came to visit!!!!!!!!!!!! Glenn loved having his bud here and we all had a blast checking out Dublin and spending time with our Ireland pals. Pub crawl to Glenn's top ten spots? Check. Trip to the seaside? Check. Oysters and Sauuvingnon Blanc inside a fish market? Check. Guinness brewery tour complete with fainting lady? Check. Two AM drunken antics at McDonalds? Check. U2 at Croke Park with 105,000 of our neighbors? Check. All in all, a typical weekend with Mikey. So much fun.

I spent the last day of July with my very good friend Claire hiking at Glendalough, a lovely area south of Dublin. It was pouring down rain and I discovered the hard way what nettles are, but it was one of the best days I've had in Ireland. Claire kept me giggling the whole time, even through the pain of the nettle sting and we saw some breathtaking Irish scenery. Glenn and I will have to get back there some day soon for a nice Autumn hike. Thanks for taking me there, Claire! Claire promptly moved to England and I miss my hiking buddy very much.

Well, I think I've gone on long enough for now. Our August adventures - which include crazy hats, Gaudi and chicken parm - will have to wait until the next post. Stay tuned!