14 Jul 2017

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE - FIVE ON FRIDAY

I returned from my trip around Ireland on Sunday evening and then I started the week with :

1. Trying to think about all I had seen and in which order because in my head it was a big mess. As there was nothing to do in the household, besides baking a bread which the machine did, and I only had to push on the button, I tried to sort out my photos and gave some phone calls to tell that I am back. 

After lunch I had enough and went to Nicole to tell her about my trip and to get updated of the happenings during my absence.



Of course I told her about my international group which was so nice and the fun we had. We were coming from all corners of the world, Australia, USA, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand and even 6 Europeans including me. Below left in the striped T-Shirt is my room mate from New Zealand.

2. The weather had been quiet nice in Ireland, but back home it rained. I wasn't disorientated at all ! Apparently Ireland is worse than Belgium because at least here it can get into the 30° while there a heat wave starts at 25° !  I worked on my photos and created folders. In the afternoon I went to Ilona and we could sit outside the sun had come out.

3.



When I saw my photos of Belfast I thought how sad it is that even more than 40 years after the "war" between Catholics and Protestants you can still feel the tension. There was a wall full of graffiti which separated the Catholic part from the Protestants. We had gotten a pen to write something on the wall. I thought the Muslim extremist could join them, maybe that would give a balance !

4. Physically I was home and did what I had to do, but mentally I was always busy with my tour !
Ilona was occupied with paperwork, notaries and all what comes up when somebody passed away. In her case her mother and as it often happens when there are more than one heir, disagreements come up although everybody had thought that would never happen. To cheer her up we went for lunch together and had mussels with "French" fries, the Belgian National plate. It was very good.



I told her that on my to do list is written that I want to ride on a horse. I was always afraid of horses and now I am not anymore !

5. Since the 1st of July Belgian started its summer sleep. School holidays for 2 months. And so is the government and most of the companies and it's better not to be ill in this period. Lots of shops are closed and of course I have no aqua gym and no painting course neither !

The only thing which remains is our scrabble ! We put it on Thursdays instead of Mondays during the holiday period.



The sun was shining and we scrabbled our heads were smoking ! We had a coffee break with delicious cakes and then continued ! We had a real nice afternoon. Next week it will be my turn to receive the girls.









more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.





12 Jul 2017

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE



Nice place to eat


more participants here


********


1. When was the last time you chatted with a neighbor? About what? (sharing that last bit is optional)

Yesterday, of course they asked me to chat about my tour around Ireland

2. River, lake, ocean, or waterfall...which one are you most like and why?

That's a difficult question I love them all equally, a river because I love to watch the running water, a lake because it's so peaceful, an ocean because you look over it and there is no limit. 

3. July 13 is National Delaware Day. Ever been to Delaware? Delaware is called 'the first state' because it was the first to declare independence from the British. What's your state's nickname and does that moniker make sense to you? If you were in charge, what nickname would you give your home state?

Yes I know where Delaware is, I am not like a certain Mr. Trump whose knowledge in geography is rather limited. Ever since I was in Ireland I would call my city "Bottlefield", as the Irish guide pronounced "Battlefield". And I live on Waterloo's battlefield.

4. What dish did you contribute to the last pot luck meal you attended? Do you have a go-to recipe for pot luck suppers?

Usually I make a pasta salad, everybody likes it and I have different recepe

5. What is your number one tip for a brand new parent?

None, they won't listen anyway

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I have the impression that in my head there is a big mess. 7 days travelling around Ireland and then sort out your pictures, is quite a challenge. Fortunately I had named them, otherwise I would never find out which rock belongs to which place as it was mostly the beautiful landscapes we saw.









11 Jul 2017

MY IRLAND TOUR IMPRESSIONS



My 7 day tour is over and I am back home now. It had been a wonderful trip, also thanks to all people in our group. We didn't know each other before, came from different continents and became almost a family !



Here we are all together. I think the picture was taken in Londonderry but I am not so sure.

We have seen such a lot that it will me take a moment to sort out all the pictures and get my memories together and in order !




Here we are visiting everything to be seen from Derry to Galway and  Killarney, were we stayed over night. The hotels were all very pretty and comfortable and I tried to eat Irish food, which in my opinion is very similar to a southern area of Germany.

I also had to get used to the Irish accent and to the different English accents in my group, the American accent I knew, the Australian I found very similar to English, but the New Zealand accent was a bit different, because instead of bread I heard breed.

We also had a lot of fun  in the bus playing quiz and sometimes the answers were hilarious ! 



The last evening we spent in Killarney were we stayed for two nights. In the evening we went out all together for a dinner with an Irish step dancing show. (I had already seen Michael Flatley in Riverdance  in Brussels). It had been great fun, except my meal, I had ordered a bacon steak, which should be the Gammon, and yes it looked like but it must have been a grandma pig, because it was so hard ! That was the only time I wasn't happy with my meal.

Ireland is a very beautiful country, the only bad point is the climate ! That's because the grass is so green !



The first time in my life I saw trees with crocheted stockings !!



more participants here



9 Jul 2017

IRELAND HOLIDAYS THE END



The last evening we had a supper with an Irish show all together ! What fun !



And now it's over and with a heavy heart but the promise to meet on our especially created Facebook page !

We all live so far from each other except the once from the UK