Family Trip to Ireland Part Two

The Hilton Garden Hotel right on the River Liffey
with the Jeannie Johnson tall ship right in front.

Looking down the river we had a great view of the
Harp Bridge with a light show every night!

Our hotel was a friendly place and people seemed charmed by Rowan when we hung out in the lobby downstairs after his nap. First we'd play in the room (jumping on the bed was a huge hit) and then adjourn to the lobby where Rowan was endlessly fascinated by the elevators. Happily the lobby bar was near by so Scott and I could enjoy coffees or a drink while keeping an eye on him.

The CHQ building with it's food court.

The Epic Museum is very multi media and 
glitzy - fun for all ages.

I found the story about the recruitment of women
to travel to Australia from Ireland fascinating.
Between 1848 to 1850 over 4,000 women 
emigrated.

We started our morning adventures at the Epic Museum right next door. This history of the Irish diaspora was high tech and glitzy. That kept Rowan interested while we learned a lot about Irish history and the waves of emigration all over the world. It is located in the vault of the CHQ Building, originally built in 1820's as a customs warehouse.  The ground floor is now a food mall where we had lunch. We had dinner twice at the huge restaurant there on several floors, Urban Brewing. Fantastic atmosphere, good beer and food. 

Rowan takes his shoes and socks off as soon as
he can! We took a lot of public buses as well as
the Hop On Hop Off

Donnybrook Fair - charming seaside town but
cold and windy.

We did the Hop On Hop Off bus on the second day - mostly staying on it as it was a damp occasionally showery day. We walked around Dublin Castle where they had a Christmas Market, unfortunately not open yet. Then over to Christ Church Cathedral - we all had fun there exploring everything, especially the crypt (the largest in England or Ireland). The cathedral has been through many "renovations" with the earliest being 11th century under the Vikings. Dublin was a Viking city from 853 AD to 1014!

We were sorry that the Christmas Market at Dublin
Castle didn't open until later!

Rowan loved exploring the Cathedral.

Sean and Rowan had to hang out outside
Malahide Castle as we 
couldn't use his stroller and he wasn't 
allowed to walk around - too bad.

Rowan at Malahide Castle.

After a beautiful sunrise our third morning, we took the train down to Donnybrook Fair - a quaint town on the water with an enclosed harbor. It was cold and windy so we found refuge in a Avoca Market (Ireland's answer to Whole Foods) for coffee and pastries. Then a tour of Malahide Castle and Gardens - unfortunately the tour wasn't toddler friendly! Rowan and Sean had to make do with the gardens.

The Custom House at night. A lot of the buildings in Dublin
were lit up at night

On day four we toured the Custom House. This handsome 18th C building was completely restored after it was burned down in 1921 by the IRA during the Revolution. There is a small museum which gives the history. Afterwards, we had lunch at Hubspot. Will got to introduce everyone at his work to his family - especially, the star, Rowan. They have a full restaurant at their elegant modern building with lots of food stations and even beer & wine. That night Sean joined Will's friends for a night out and we ate at the hotel with Rowan.  Although we had separate rooms, their monitor allowed us to keep an eye on Rowan in his crib and we could hear him. So we could be in our room while he slept. 

Hubspot's European Headquarters. What a fantastic
place to work!

Hubspot had lots of fun art around the
building.

Rowan and Heather in front of the 
Sunshade by Leech.

Day five we walked down to the National Gallery. Rowan loves art museums as he can run all over the rooms and the guards love him. A highlight for us was seeing the original "The Sunshade" by William John Leech which I copied and hangs up on the "third" floor. Then we walked over to the historic Kennedy Pub for lunch with it's sculpture of Oscar Wilde on the bench outside.

Scott and Oscar Wilde

The next day was Saturday and Will was back with us. We booked a half day bus trip up to the Wicklow Mountains. It was an early start at 8 AM. and the weather was really bad - gale warnings with pouring rain and wind.  But we took off on time. An hour later a car stopped the bus to warn of fallen trees and we returned back to Doblin. So we all went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art instead. There were several big installations that were enormously fun for Rowan - and the rest of us. 

Scott and Rowan get a little nap after our
very early start in the bad weather for our
planned "tour"

The Irish Museum of Modern Art is in the
17th C Royal Hospital building

But the next day was our last. We lucked out with an easy flight home on a half empty plane!

The stewardesses gave Sean & Will the whole
row of seats 

And it made for a happy return flight!

Family Trip to Ireland!

Morgen, Kolya, Will, Scott, Heather, James, Sean and Rowan at the Newcastle Burial Mound

Rowan loved my gloves. We ate out every meal but
breakfast and the last week, even that! Rowan eats
anything - and I am not kidding.

Kolya is quite a artist and drawing is one of his
favorite pastimes. 

 

Scott and I joined our two younger sons and their families for a trip to Ireland this fall. The impetus was a business trip for our son-in-law Will. Our son Sean and their son Rowan hadn't been able to join him before. His company Hubspot has it's European Headquarters there and he travels there a number of times during the year. As he had a week conference starting 12/2, we decided to go a week early and spend Thanksgiving there. Our son James, wife Morgen, and son Kolya (6) joined us for that earlier week. 

Kolya, Morgen, James, Scott, Rowan, Sean & Will at Peploe's
Stephens Green.

Not your usual pub fare - but in a pub!

The first week we stayed in an Airbnb in Phibsborough, a northern suburb of Dublin. It was a comfortable 4 bedroom house built in the 1890's. There were lots of things to do close by. We walked along the canal, fed ducks at the reservoir, played in a playground, visited the Botanical Gardens and ate at many great restaurants nearby. Unlike many people's memories of poor food in the past, now Dublin and Ireland as well, is a terrific food destination with cuisines represented from all over the world. Unlike Britain, it's part of the European Union. 

The Trinity Library was amazing and part of 
Book of Kells tour. We've all seen the 
reproductions of the book but the real thing
is so unbelievably vivid and made a big 
impression on us all. 

The tour of the Gaol was very interesting, not 
only for the history but for the two disparate buildings
This newer section was inspired by the belief that
prisoners could be rehabilitated with a healthier
environment. 

That first week with James and his family we toured the Kilmainham Gaol, the Keeling Irish Whiskey Distillery, the Guinness Experience, and the Book of Kells and Trinity Library, and drove north to Newgrange and south to Laoghaire. Newcastle is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built around 3200 BC, before Stonehenge and the Pyramids. It's one of a series of mounds gathered around the River Boyne. The museum was very modern and informative with a gift shop (naturally) and cafe. Laoghaire is a bustling Port Town with charming shops and restaurants. Our main destination was to the "beach", a much requested experience by Kolya. He and Rowan loved it, although it was mainly rocky and a rather cold damp afternoon. Scott and I retreated to a lovely cafe for tea!

Walking around the Newgrange Burial Mound

Kolya loved the seagulls.

Although we adults loved the tour of the Teeling Irish Whiskey Brewery and the tastings, it was less interesting to the kids. But the Guiness Experience was a real hit with everyone. This is a multi media high tech museum with seven floors surrounding a glass atrium shaped like a Guinness glass. Besides the roof top restaurant bar there are other places to sip your Guinness throughout the building. On Thanksgiving Day after the Guinness tour, we had a fantastic dinner at the Winding Stair Restaurant - no turkey but great food and atmosphere!

Rowan's nap at the Guinness experience 
left him a little tired that afternoon for dinner.
I love the pulled up pants. 

But our first week came to a close all too soon and James, Morgen and Kolya flew home to Washington, DC. And we five moved to the Hilton Garden Inn on the River Liffey in downtown Dublin for the next 8 days. We had two rooms across from each other, one a larger "family room".  Will worked Monday thru Friday and was gone all day and most evenings. We settled into a daily rhythm. In the morning we went sight seeing, had lunch and then came back for Rowan's nap at 2 PM. Sean left then to work for about 4 hours (all he could do given the time difference). Scott and I watched Rowan until he was finished. Then we went out to dinner. Photos and details in my next blog entry!

Kolyla at the Newcastle Museum
entrance

Rowan and I catching some sleep
on the flight to Ireland. Sean and
I shared 2 seats with Rowan 

Morgen and Rowan examining the
rocks and shells 

Scott and I enjoy a Guinness at the roof top bar.

Will, Rowan and Kolya in awe of the wall of water at the Guinness Storehouse that danced with designs, words, pictures - all done by water cascading down and controlled by computer. 

Rowan loved playing Peek-a-boo. Here's the
big "reveal".

The Third Annual Tortugeezers Reunion

 

Front row: Dave (Odyssey), Rosie, Debby, Dale, Judy, Kathleen, Ellen, Pat, Sally, Heather, Uli & Thomas. Back row: Imke, & Uli, Jeff, Scott, Roy, Jens, Dani, Kevin, Dave (Cordelia), Dave (Ten Years After), Renate, Breck, Don (Woody took the photo and I don't know where Jim is) Scott and Tamara arrived later that day. 

This panorama shows The Hundred Acre Wood ready for guests. 

And here's one showing some of the group out on the deck for drinks: from left, Kathleen, Kevin, Renate, Pat, Thomas, Judy, Uli, Imke, Woody, Scott, Uli (Eiland), Jens, Dani, Heather, Dave (Ten Year's After), Dave (Odyssey). 

Twenty nine of us gathered in Vermont for our Third Annual Tortugeezer Reunion. The first was in New Orleans (Roy & Dale hosted) and the second in Montana (Rosie & Don hosted). The official schedule ran from Thursday October 7th to Monday the 10th. But the three couples from Germany that flew over and graced us with some days before and after. They were a huge help in the preparations and the clean-up. But everyone pitched in during the entire 5 days! We had 4 couples in bedrooms upstairs, one in our RV out front, 2 couples brought their RVs and parked them on the lawn. Two more couples and one single hander (Dave from Odyssey) stayed at Smith Maple Crest Farm B&B and one couple stayed at a hotel in town. 

Dani and Imke came a few days early with their 
husbands from Germany and really helped out
with preparations.

Our first night's dinner - as usual everyone tries to
gather in the kitchen. 

But as everyone remarked, it took a lot of advance planning and cooking. Breakfast was served every morning with fruit, a variety of breads (Rosie & Don brought up tons of bagels and cream cheese from Boston), bacon or sausage and sometimes, eggs. We borrowed a big coffee urn and made endless pots.  We had dinner 3 nights at the house - all sit down with nicely set tables! Twelve folks in the dining room, 9 at the kitchen table and 2 smaller tables with 4 or 5 in the living room. Luckily we have a lot of plates and silverware! 

The kitchen table held 8 or 9

Sally, Breck, Dave and Rosie in the living room
corner table

Twelve in the dining room and voila! All seated.

At the second table in the living room
4 o 5 sat, here Dave, Pat, Kevin and
Kathleen

The first night was steaks on the grill, baked salmon, potato salad, coleslaw, and tossed salad with 3 pies for dessert - apple, blueberry and pecan. I made all the food for the week from scratch. The second night was 3 lasagnas, 2 meat and 1 veggie and a Macaroni & Cheese with a big Asian salad. The dessert was Butter Tarts that Kathleen & Kevin brought. Our third night was the banquet at Cafe Provence in Brandon and it was excellent. The evening started out beautifully out in their covered patio, but after a big 3 course meal, it did get a little chilly. Our last dinner was hamburgers and sausages with another Asian salad, corn on the cob and a tossed green salad. Lots of people brought different appetizers which we served before dinners, sometimes even out on the deck. 

Our second night dinner - meat
and veggie lasagna, mac & cheese and
an Asian salad.

Three pies: apple, blueberry & pecan for 
dessert our first evening. Jeff and Debbie
serve them up.

In the afternoons people filtered in from their day excursions, we lit the fireplace and poured some wine.  Here from left: Don, Scott, Scott (Kookie Dance), Jim and Debbie.

The dining room table (one end) our second night - Thomas, Uli, Imke, Heather, Jim and Renate.

Dave entertained us on our second night. He's 
an amazing singer songwriter and his music 
is a soundtrack to our cruising life. 

Folks did some hiking/walking along the back
roads and on the AT/LT.

The view from the top of Killington. Everyone made the trip up the Gondola and most did the short
hike up to the summit. 

Heather ready to ride up the mountain
on The Beast

Jens, Roy, Heather, Jim, Imke and 
Thomas (some of the daring ones
that chose the Adventure Center)

The weather was amazing, often up to 70+ during the day. And the sun was out almost all the time. Friday I had prepared different itinerates and groups of folks explored our area for the day. They either went south towards Manchester, west to the precision Instrument Museum & the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Park or to Woodstock.  But on Saturday we all went to Killington. I had a arranged group rates ahead of time and people had a choice of the Gondola and Adventure Park, or just the Gondola.  

Uli & Dani ready to zip line 

The zipline went across the lake..

Jim, Heather and Roy prepped for our zipline
experience. Walking up the mountain to the start
with all the equipment was the hardest part!

Here are four tables at our Banquet Night at
Cafe Provence in Brandon, VT
From left: Pat & Dave, Scott, Tamara, 
Kathleen & Kevin

Breck & Sally, Dave, Scott & Heather

Jeff, Debbie, Jim, Renate, Dale & Roy

Uli, Uli, Thomas, Jens, Dani & Imke

Sunday was another free day with many exploring the nearby Appalachian/Long Trail or hiking up to our lake or on the property. Mid day was the Farm to Table Festival right here in Shrewsbury. It was only a mile away from our house and quite a few walked down and back. This is a once a year event and at least 60 vendors sold crafts, food and drinks. There was live music and lots of sunshine. But by 4 PM everyone was out on the deck or inside with drinks and snacks socializing. 

Heather ready to serve Sunday's Dinner

Dave & Pat, Kathleen, Jens and Jim

Matching colors at the Farm to Table - sorry it's
not St. Patrick's Day

Sunday night we enjoyed our last meal of hamburgers (with all the trimmings), sausages, corn on the cob, rolls, and two salads. Lots of cookies for dessert. Ad usual everyone pitched in both in manning the grill or cleaning up afterwards. 

Monday morning everyone enjoyed the breakfast and most said good-byes and headed either home or on further travels. One couple stayed the night, Thomas and Uli, and they worked hard cleaning up everything with us. By the time they left on Tuesday, the place looked like no one had been there!

What a wonderful time with some fabulous friends and everything worked out so well. So well that Dave and Ellen volunteered to host next year's Reunion - up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan next August. We'll be there for sure

Uli and myself 

Breck & Sally

Ellen, Kathleen and Judy

Uli (the male Uli) and Roy on the grill 
Sunday night!

Dave and Scott enjoying the nice weather - 
T-shirts in October!