Charming Ireland

 "The thing about love is that we come alive in bodies not our own."

–Colum McCann

We returned to the emerald isle for the wedding of Kelly McBride  and Michael Calvey at Loch Rynn Castle. Kelly is Gerry’s niece.  The couple both come from Irish roots, and wanted to pay homage to their  Irish heritage through the wedding.  
In the Irish tradition, it was a three-day joyous event.  
Over a hundred friends and relatives attended, many from the states, a testament to the love they shared with the bride and groom. Kelly had six bridesmaids and Michael was flanked with six groomsmen.
The ceremony was surrealistic. Gerry’s brother, Jim, gave a warm and riveting speech, that flowed with Irish wit and humor. It was perfect! He crushed it!!
The Guinness was pure and plentiful, gallons consumed during the pre and post ceremonies as well as the reception lasting until 4 in the wee morning.  
Their matrimony was a wonderful gathering of family for Gerry and I.  Kelly looked extraordinarily beautiful.  This was a once in a lifetime blessing for us all.

We were picked up in Dublin by Fiona Davis and spent two fabulous days with Fiona and Perry in their beautiful home in the Mourne Mountains. I had taken the couple on a trip in the Grand Canyon thirteen years previous and our reunion was special and remarkable. Their kindness and hospitality were so very much appreciated. They are the salt of the earth and what makes the people of Ireland so special.

On the opposite side of the road again……..

The Causeway Road was ocean scenic, and the “Giant Causeway” rock formation was impressive. Donegal was a quaint village. Gerry’s ancestors came from somewhere in Donegal county and she wanted to have a feel for her “roots.”

The rest of the trip was spent with 2 days in Belfast and 2 in Dublin as well as touring the Irish beautiful countryside.

In Belfast we toured the Titanic Museum and trekked the Van Morrison neighborhood, seeing many of the locations he wrote about in his songs and the house he grew up in. 
Finishing in Dublin we stayed at a hotel that is the first carbon free hotel built. It was centrally located, and we had fun at the Temple Bar pubs.

Along the way, I drove over 300 narrow road miles and all went well until we tried to drop off the car in Belfast. The main road was closed, and the GPS was of no use. There was a horrible traffic jam. Gerry came a bit undone, it was inhumanly stressful, but we finally got there and caught our train to Dublin. 

Heathrow airport was a S**T show!

Thats ALL!!

Beach to Bush

 Catch a wave and you’re sitting on top of the world.” – The Beach Boys

GDAY….. just a short trip report…..13 days in sub tropical temperatures 60-75

Brisbane

Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise Australia

Fiji

We have traveled extensively in Australia, exploring Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Adelaide,  Hobart, Perth, Broome and surrounding outbacks/bush, but had bypassed Brisbane. We were quite surprised at how beautiful and cosmopolitan the city is. 

We started out with a four hour walking tour that gave us a genuine appreciation for the old and the new of the city and its history. 

The city has fantastic culinary offerings.

Our hotel was exquisite and centrally located.

We enjoyed an adventure on the Brisbane River via a “River Cat”  and strolled the fabulous botanical gardens.

The message here is do NOT bypass Brisbane. 

Next…The Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise

The Gold Coast's star attraction is its beaches, including the world-renowned stretch of sand at Surfers Paradise. We stayed one block from the golden sand beaches. The Gold Coast also has a booming culinary scene and we enjoyed a fun fun fun dinner at Koi's with our good friend Sheila Murphey. Sheila is originally from Oakland California and I first met her in San Carlos Mexico about 15 years ago. We have remained in contact thru FB and Gerry and I just happened to be in Saigon while she was there 2.5 years ago and we hooked up for dinner…... . and amazingly we all were on the Gold Coast at the same time!! Talk about synchronicity!

We took 3 trips into the subtropical hinterland for rainforest walks, waterfalls, birding, as well as spider and glow worm sightings. We really enjoyed Lamington National Park and the Canugra Valley Vineyard. The trip to the Gondwana rain forests of Springbrook and Natural Bridge gave us our fix for unique flora and fauna. "Best of All" lookout gave us an incredible view of northern New South Wales and Mount Warning.

We had several sightings of pretty faced wallabies.

Next…….FIJI

To enter Fiji one must schedule and have a Covid Test within 72 hours of being there?……a  government rule and money maker?  Cost was $100 for both of us. 

Our hotel room gave us a terrific view of the Viti Levu’s coral coast on one side and beach on the other. 

We took a local bus into the nearby village and explored their market.

We spent most of our time relaxing but did suffer a lengthy bus ride for canoeing and rafting the Navua River. It was a very nice little adventure, floating past villages, farm lands, tropical rainforests, canyons and a bit of adrenaline on a couple of rapids.

We had a Fijian traditional  lunch at a village, a sacred ceremony and enjoyed a war dance performance by the young men of the village.

Back at the hotel after another long bus ride, we had dinner with new friends from Australia. 

The next day the Lobo went with three of the Aussies to a town rugby match. Their opponent took 24 hours to get there from another island.

The match was exciting and the locals were as passionate as any sports fans that I have witnessed. 

Gerry elected to stay back at the hotel and chill. 

MEN BEHAVING BADLY

-Lobo and the three Aussie blokes drank way too many Fijian bitter beers and became loud, yelling, maniacs for the local team.

Israel, historic, jewish culture, footsteps of Jesus

 Trip report by Gerry (spoiler alert; there is NO men behaving badly reporting, except for one bad behaving  monk.)

“There can be Jerusalem without Israel, but there cannot be Israel without Jerusalem”

(David Ben-Gurion)

Last week, we got back from a whirlwind trip to Israel.  It's a place of limited square mileage, but it is jam packed with things to see and history to explore.  In fact, it was really too much, too fast.  We have spent the last few days trying to mentally unpack the experience.  As we sort out, we'll get a fuller appreciation.

We arrived in Tel Aviv, a day ahead of the tour, because it's a really, really, really long trek, and we needed a little time.  Our hotel was near the beach, which provided a great relaxing start.  Evening breezes, volleyball in the sand, and hordes of residents on scooters and bikes flying down the path.  The second evening, we met the other six people in our group and got to know one another while waiting for the guide, who never showed.  So, she did come the next morning and off we went in our mimi van with the low roof (on which I hit my head three times).

We visited Roman/Crusader/Ottoman sites, one often built atop the prior.  We saw beautiful tiled mosques and stunningly ornate orthodox churches.  The Bahai Gardens in Haifa were a visual meditation.   We took a boat ride on the Sea (it's actually a lake) of Galilee.   Not a soul was walking on water.  We visited a lovely winery and got to taste just how far they've come from the Manischewitz (sp?) of my youth.  We visited a couple of kibbutzim, where the original farming has been augmented by a variety of industries.  They are very successful.  They were communists at the beginning--from each according to his ability, to each according to his need--but they eventually abandoned communal rules and incorporated using stock shares.

Jaffa, Jericho, Haifa, Akko, Caesaria, Golan Heights, Masada, the Dead Sea.  It seems we touched down almost everywhere.

Jerusalem and Bethlehem were overwhelming.  It was the tail end of the season, I can only imagine what they're like during holy seasons.  There was a touch of unchristian shoving by a couple of women and a monk, wanting to see the site of the creche of the baby Jesus, and not wanting to stand in line.  I was reminded, "And, the last shall be first."  I had always pictured that saying a bit differently. 

The Old City.  One passed sections sitting cheek by jowl, from Jewish, to Christian, to Muslim.  All of the Sons Of Abraham, each laying claim to a piece of the city.  The Wailing Wall, the Holy Church of the Sepulcher, the beautiful mosque.

The last night we were treated to a light show at the Tower of David.  They do this most evenings.  It's a visual history of Jerusalem, projected on the ancient stone walls.  It was really quite breathtaking.  Google it if you're interested.

Coming home, we had a 24 hour day.  We left our hotel in Jerusalem at 8 in the morning and cowered in the back seat as our NASCAR driver raced to the airport in Tel Aviv.  Arriving nice and early as we did, there was plenty of time for me to try to figure out the McDonald's kiosks in the waiting area.  We finally got an order of fries to share.  Oh, the flight home....12 hours from Tel Aviv to Newark.  I don't know where to lay the blame, but there weren't enough kosher meals on board for everyone who needed one.  This created a fair amount of stress among both passengers and crew.  Layered on top of that, we had stereo, high pitched, baby screaming.  One in front and another behind.  When one got tired and stopped, the other one picked up and got going again.   Once we got to Newark we had several more hours to "relax" before our flight to Phoenix.  That one was uneventful.  We walked in the door at just about midnight, it was 10 a.m. in Tel Aviv.

August 1, we leave for two weeks in Australia…….  "Take it to the limit one more time"