Springtime Makes Me Smile.....

I feel very blessed to live in Florida.   I love that our warm weather begins earlier than the rest of the country and that everything begins blooming in early spring.    The warmth of the sun on my shoulders when I'm outside energizes me!

Every sense comes alive during this season.   The smell of freshly mowed grass....flowers blooming....someone starting a grill... Confederate jasmine...sunscreen.    The sounds of children playing outside or splashing in the pool, birds singing sweetly.  The sight of early morning sunshine coming in the window and the herbs and flowers thriving in the perfect weather.    The taste of fresh corn and tomatoes and strawberries from the farmers market.  

I know there are hot and humid days around the corner and there will be pollen on the cars and we will have summer thunderstorms....but I still can't imagine living anyplace better.

Final Day in Dublin

Arriving back in Dublin reminded us that we would soon be on our way home.    We made a visit to Trinity College to see "The Book of Kells" and to the National Museum.   Our afternoon was free, so we went to Christ Church and later met Terry and Kaye at a Pub/Restaurant called "The Bank" for drinks and snacks before dinner.

 

 

Here are some random observations I made while visiting Ireland:

 

This is a thorny plant called "Gorse".  It only flowers once a year, and only for two or three weeks.   It was in full bloom during our visit and there were fields of it everywhere!

 

 

 

There could be another potato famine in Ireland.   Seriously.   When they serve dinner, it comes with two kinds of potatoes (usually mashed potatoes and steak fries).    I guess technically that is two vegetables....

 

I wish I had taken photos of all of the hair dryers at the different places we stayed.   The bathrooms there only have one outlet, and it is designed to plug in electric razors.   The hair dryers were either built-in units that looked like the old ones that used to have a bonnet attached (minus the bonnet) - or they were fastened into one of the drawers in the bedroom so you had to stand right there and dry your hair.  

 

 

The Irish have a different sense of humor....

 

 

 



This is a group of friends that I will never forget!

 

 

Marcus is so knowledgeable about St. Patrick, Celtic spirituality, Ireland.... my husband said that trying to absorb all he shared with us is like trying to drink from a fire hose!   Thank you Marcus for making this an amazing journey.    We're ready for Sicily in 2015....

 

 



Glendalough

We have three days in Glendalough.   This place is magical.   It's a small town nestled in the mountains with rich history and charm.   Our first day begins at the Visitor's Center, followed by a guided walk to St. Kevin's Monastic City with  St. Kevin's Church, Kevin's Well, the Round Tower and St. Mary's Church (The Women's Church).  On Thursday, the women pilgrims hosted a Eucharist at St. Mary's Church for the entire group - such a special, touching service.

 

Our journey on Wednesday took us on a Pilgrimage walk to St. Kevin's Desert.  We visited St. Kevin's Cell (the place where St. Kevin lived as a hermit) and Poulanass Waterfall.  The Upper Lake was breathtaking.

  

 

We had a lot of free time to explore.   We walked to Laragh via the Green Road to have lunch and stopped at some shops there.    We made three wishes at the cross in the Monastic City.    As we prepare to leave Glendalough, we realize that our time in Ireland is coming to an end.

 

Following dinner on Thursday, we were treated to a private concert of traditional Irish music with Claire Roche who is one of Ireland's premier harpists and singer/songwriters.  And she used to live in Mandarin!

 

 



St. Brigid and Kildare

Kildare is the site of St. Brigid's Cathedral, which was our first stop for the morning.   This was the site of St. Brigid's fifth century early Irish monastery and remains of the Druid Fire Temple).

Our next stop at St Brigid's Holy Well was beautiful and very moving.   We spent time at the well, and shared intentional prayers at the stones on this ancient site.

 

  

Before our journey through the Wicklow Mountains, we stopped to see the Celtic High Crosses at Candledermot and Moone.



Tara and the Hill of Slane

 Before leaving our hotel today, I walked down the driveway and took pictures of the beautiful cherry trees that lined either side.    They are in full bloom and beautiful!

Today's journey takes us to the Hill of Tara, the seat of the ancient Irish High Kings.   It was a cool and windy day, so the walk to the hill was a bit challenging.     After lunch we continued to the Hill of Slane, the site where St. Patrick is said to have kindled the Paschal Fire.   We celebrated the Eucharist at the Hill of Slane.

 

 

We also celebrated Fr. John's birthday while we were there.   And another celebration at dinner....

 

 

  

On the way to the Hill of Slane, we passed Slane Castle where a huge rock concert is held every summer.   It has an amphitheater with seating for 100,000 people!

Heading back to the hotel in Drogheda, we passed fields of canola in full bloom....

 

Armagh

Saturday's journey took us to Armagh, the ancient ecclesiastical site and residences for the Archbishops (Anglican/Episcopalian/Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic).  We visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh which is located on the site where St Patrick is said to have founded the Monastery of Armagh.

Our next stop was to Navan Fort, where we met with the Rev'd Canon Grace Clunie, Director of the Centre of Celtic Spirituality.   While we were there Emile and I had a visit from Una, sister of one of our friends from Orange Park.   Una lives in Armagh and came by to meet us.   What a treat to have lunch with her and get to know her a bit.  

Saul and Downpatrick

Started our journey today with a visit to Saul Church, the ancient ecclesiastical site where St. Patrick founded his first church in Ireland in 432.   Marcus offered prayers and reflections while we were there.     On to St. Patrick's visitors center for lunch followed by a visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral.

 

 

This was our last evening in Bangor so we walked to the waterfront and snapped a few photos.

Belfast, Northern Ireland

Each morning before breakfast we began with Morning Prayer, and each evening we spent time together sharing reflections of the day and for Evening Prayer.   This time together in our sacred circle really bonded the group together.  

The fighting in Belfast ended about 7 years ago and there are no longer marked borders along the highway.    There were subtle ways to tell we had crossed into Northern Ireland; such as differences in the road signs since it is ruled by the British.    They also use the British Pound instead of the Euro.   


We began our day at the Titanic Exhibition Centre.   The Titanic was built in Belfast at the shipyard there.   The exhibition is unbelievable in it's detail - giving information on how it was built, the people who worked on it, scaled models of the rooms aboard the ship, the maiden voyage, and the tremendous loss of life when it sank.  

 

 

After lunch, we split into smaller groups and had a Black Taxi Tour, driving on both sides of the Peace Wall, dividing east and west Belfast.     Even though the bombing has stopped, it is a very divided community.   Our driver lived through all the violence and is hopeful that in the next generation, the bitterness will fade away and there will truly be peace.   Murals line both sides of the peace wall.