Don't Worry Be Happy

I’ve always imagined that the islands in the South Pacific were so exotic - beautiful beaches, clear blue water, fruits in abundance, gentle breezes. Well I wasn’t wrong. We came here to celebrate our 50th anniversary with our family. Although we did celebrate in August, farming got in the way of doing anything too adventurous. So with 6 adults and a 2 and 4 year old we set off for Fiji for 6 days.  The house we’ve rented is beyond my expectations. Four bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, large well equipped kitchen, pool, spacious decks etc etc. and the view is incredible.  Our weather mostly has been a mix of sun and cloud, some occasional rain, and humid but with the breezes, tolerable.  We did watch a big storm roll by one afternoon.   Umbrellas for shade.  The staff that work here are so friendly (like we’ve found all Fijians to be) and George, who looks after the grounds and the pool, took the time to get down some coconuts and cut them open for Hartley.  Fiji is ...

Our last night in Ireland was spent in a pub (are you surprised?). The Cobblestone pub in Dublin is THE place for musicians. The session was led by renowned uilleann piper Neillidh (Neely) Mulligan with his brother Tom (owner of the pub) on flute. When we got there at 5:30 there were about 5 musicians including a harpist; by the time we left a few hours later, most of those had gone and had been replaced by many others who came, played for an hour or so, then left. There were flutes, pipes, fiddles, harp, concertina, mandolin, guitar. Apparently that would continue until the pub shut down at midnight.  I enjoyed watching the harp player - she is a real pro. Many of the musicians who came are well known in the area. This is kind of the definition of a traditional Irish music session. People just started in on tunes and everyone joined in. The occasional song (unaccompanied) was thrown in and the whole pub packed with people came to a hush to listen. I had my tin whistle and was able...

I’m not sure but it may be the wide sweeping, green hills lined with tidy rock walls, or the grand vistas from the edge of tall cliffs by the sea or the rich music tradition or … all of the above and more. It also may be a tie for first place with Donegal (and Connemara).  The view from our wee cottage in Miltown Malbay. The photos below are from our 2 days in Clare, one night in Lahinch and one in Milltown Malbay. That’s only because I screwed up the reservation and booked 2 places for one night and none for another!  Luckily it all worked out.  From Lahinch we drove north to the Cliffs of Moher, bypassing the regular visitor parking lot (full of buses) in favour of Guerin's Path - a farmer has opened his field for access to the trail and it’s cheaper, less crowded and you can actually drive up to the trail. Only one other car was parked at the top. Some views of the trail and cliffs. Then on to the super cute little village of Doolin. Lots of parking when we arrived, st...

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade -W.B. Yeats We arrived in Sligo, on the west coast of Ireland with nothing on our agenda. The trip took us past this lovely waterfall (Glencar) that could be in some tropical oasis. Thanks for the photo Marj - because of my foot I didn’t climb all the way up.   Sligo is famous for being the home of the great Irish poet W.B. Yeats. It’s a beautiful little town, with a river down the middle so some cute bridges.   Looking online for 'what to do in Sligo' we noticed the "Rose of Innisfree" which is a boat trip on Lough Gill, where Yeats was inspired to write many of his poems. The meeting point was at Parke's Castle which, because it was the first Wednesday of the month, was free admission (yay!).   The castle was originally built by the Irish Chieftain Brian O'Rourk...