Hospitality, Chocolate and the Alps

Neftenbach, Switzerland

The train ride through southern France up into Switzerland took us through some breathtaking countryside. Sweeping green meadows dotted with cattle, sheep and charming little villages. Then there were lakes set in a backdrop of rugged mountain ranges. Always changing and ever more beautiful. I was loving Switzerland before I even got off the train!

We were blessed to get to stay with this wonderful couple. Johannes & Ruth let us take over a room in their small flat and made us feel right at home. In fact in the four days we were there they spoiled us completely! We laughed a lot and made many wonderful memories. All three of us hope this wasn’t our last visit there.

After a welcome with coffee and cake Ruth took us on a little walk around the town of Nefenbach. The chalets were just as I’d imagined they might be and the countryside is quite beautiful, green and flourishing.

The vineyards here were even more beautiful and lush than the ones we saw in France. I was amazed at how they plant their crops right up the side of steep hills rather than just in the valleys. One reason may be that each plant receives more sunshine if they are on an angle along the hillside rather than on level surfaces in the valley.

On Friday morning we drove through some authentic Swiss countryside to visit Ruth at work. These are definite un-touristy places we would never have found or visited if it hadn’t been for friends like them! Some of the rolling hills and fields of corn reminded me of the scenery around home. I guess there’s a reason Sugarcreek is “The Little Switzerland of Ohio.”

Next we headed to Winterthur and found some fun little shops before catching a train to have lunch with Johannes and a few coworkers and to see where he spends his days. The many purchases of the day included this game which became quite a thing of competition over the few days. No evening was complete without a good round of Qwirkle!

We had planned to do a several mile walk around a nearby lake that afternoon but first we were distracted by some wonderful stores with wonderful products and yes, I admit, we spent an hour or two shopping. Even though we were in Switzerland and there was beautiful scenery to see we had an absolutely delicious time wandering around and ended up with some great finds! And then we did go on the walk and it was so pretty but somewhere along the way we missed a trail marker and got all confused and lost(ish) and after walking an extra mile in town instead of around the lake we gave up and took the bus back to where we needed to go.

Ruth had a delicious Swiss dinner waiting for us when we arrived at their home again. And then, sometime in the course of the evening they told us an amusing story in relation to these sunglasses so we all had to model a pair, just for memories sake!

And then the next morning we were off to the Alps! We even got to ride First Class coaches and decided it made us feel quite royal. But alas, in my haste to leave this morning, my camera battery ended up staying in the charger at home instead of in my camera! So, many of the remaining photos are either iPhone quality or compliments of the wonderful cousin and her Rebel T2i.

The first glimpse that one gets of these perfectly, picturesque mountains is enough to make you catch your breath and stand still in awe of our Maker. Although the last week here had been rainy and overcast (there were even snow flurries at one point!), our Saturday excursion dawned with blue skies and bright sunshine. It couldn’t have been more perfect!

There were woods and meadows, uphill and down.

Mooing cows with tinkling bells and wet, snuffling noses.

Beautiful friends to share the adventure with.

Perfectly clear, sparkling mountain streams that came singing and dancing down, down, down.

And the knowledge that you were surrounded by dear people who love you and delight in the adventure along with you! Hats off to Johannes for all the trouble (and thickets) he went through to take this photo!

The cutest villages sprinkled along the way or perhaps just a lone house with a herd of cattle and a field of hay.

And there must always be food! Ah, how good it tastes when one has gained an appetite in the crisp, mountain air!

And somewhere we met Mr. Shagg. There were several opinions passed about whether he was “so cute” or whether he was just “rather ugly.”

And yes, I did drink water straight from a mountain stream. Hey, I had to do it just to say that I had! Really, when will I ever get the chance to do that again?

After a long uphill hike we arrived at this gorgeous lake. The view was stunning behind and before, but we weren’t at our destination yet!

And this is probably an hour later, can you still see the lake below? Its the same one as in the previous photo. It was a long, steep way folks!

And then we arrived! All the way to Göscheneralp! Warm, sweaty and with legs of jelly but triumphant in our accomplishment! After a bus ride down, several hours on the train and a 15 minute drive, we arrived in Neftenbach, exhausted and ready for a good night’s rest.

We were blessed to worship with their congregation on Sunday morning. The message was preached in High German so we were able to understand a good bit of what was being shared. And then Ruth prepared another wonderful meal for us. I was quite certain I’d be gaining weight if we stayed and enjoyed her cooking for too much longer!

And after aforesaid dinner we enjoyed a coffee, served by Johannes, along with some perfectly creamy, dreamy Swiss chocolate on the sunshiny back porch.

And then we headed for the train again and went searching for Tschoppenhof! Its a tiny village, snuggled into the hills of northwestern Switzerland and apparently it was named after an ancestor of the Chupps of today. We were all quite delighted to be able to discover it with Mary, eat ice cream in its café and walk around its hills.

And as you know, one cannot visit Switzerland without buying Swiss chocolate. Imagine how foolish that would be! So we wanted to make the best of things and not squander the opportunity when we had it. Let me just clarify, this chocolate is not all mine. Only a third of it is safely packaged in my bag but I won’t promise how much will actually make it home to Ohio. 🙂

And as a perfect serenade to the end of this day and this delightful visit, Ruth played several songs on her flute just because we begged her to. It was amazing and so beautiful!

And then we had to leave. There was still much that could have been seen and done but our days had been well filled and well used. Thank you so much Johannes & Ruth for making Switzerland one of the favorite parts of our trip!

The Vineyards of France

Beaune, France

Goodbye large city, we are ready to fill our lungs with some fresh country air! We had to take a train in to Paris to catch our longer connection out to Beaune. As fate would have it we didn’t plan our connections quite right and we missed the train by about 20 minutes. Sigh. Well, since we couldn’t change what happened we attempted to enjoy the three hours we had to spend on the train station floor. Yes, the floor. The few benches around were all filled so we used our bags as seats and tried to look for all things positive.

Starbucks Chai! This was one thing to be very thankful for. We decided something hot would be a comforting after sitting and reading/writing for an hour or two in the less-than-homey atmosphere.

We did finally arrive in Beaune and found our adorable B&B. The elderly Madame Rousseau speaks very limited English but her hospitality is so sweet and our room was the cutest thing ever!

And then we did laundry. Yes, lots and lots of laundry! Long backpacking trips aren’t all fun and games folks! 🙂

The next morning we headed out and rented bikes to do a little exploring around the countryside. This was the beginning of the bike trail we took between three or four little towns. The countryside is absolutely breathtaking, especially after fighting crowds and big city for a few days.

Acres and acres of beautiful, perfectly trimmed grapevines abound. The weather was dreary and a bit chilly but still the ride was worth it. This place definitely became another of our favorites!

Oh, the grapes! Such huge, juicy looking clusters and they were everywhere! It was hard to make myself stop taking photos of every angle possible.

This little archway was so cute we decided to take a photo just because we felt like it. It was so low that my head just brushed the stone top.

Ah, yes. This is the way we roll! Rain jacket, camera, water and backpack. We’ve learned to be very conservative in our packing.

This little biker guy directed our way through small towns and across hills. And then we even found some delicious food!

Seriously, those French bakeries! Fresh baguettes for lunch or one of the amazing display of sweets for dessert? It was hard to walk past one when we saw the mouthwatering things inside.

Eclairs. Fresh, soft, delectable eclairs. Until you’ve tasted one of these you are truly missing out on some of the finer things in life.

And always my favorite, buttery, chocolate filled croissants. Oh, so unhealthy but oh, so good!

After finding a nice spot for our picnic lunch we wandered around town a bit and found some of the delicious, aforementioned sweets. And then we headed back the way we came, stopping for even more photos along the way.

After returning our bikes we had to take a trip to the train station for tickets to Lyon. And then on our way back we passed an adorable chocolatier/bakery and of course I had to stop in an look around. But as always, one can’t walk out without at least a few of the glorious sweets!

We wandered the streets of Old Beaune then. Its such a dreamy, cute little town but super confusing as well! Beaune is a sort of circular walled town and while I thought I had a fairly good sense of direction it was all lost in this place! After a while everything began looking the same and I think we walked an extra mile or two just trying to find our way home.

We extended our stay at the Hotel Rousseau for an extra night since we’d fallen in love with the area and didn’t really feel like spending time in a big city right away. Our breakfast area was so cute and terribly outdated but we didn’t really mind. Also, these mugs just cracked me up. I wanted to bring one along home!

And then to town we went to see what we could find. We discovered a fun little market with lots of stalls set up to sell produce and spices, meats and cheeses and of course sweet things as well.

These homemade lollipops were so yummy and sweet and it made me feel like a kid again to walk around licking it. 🙂

There were rolls and rolls of cheese which you could smell pretty well from quite a distance.

And produce! Such colors and such a beautiful variety!

And of course, since this is wine country there were wineries around every corner you turned.

And then we had to grab our bags and head to the station for a short hop to Lyon. This has become a pretty normal part of life the last five weeks. Its going to be quite relaxing not to hear the screeching of trains and blaring of announcements once again.

We arrived in Lyon without any mishaps and after climbing the 78 stairs to our room (no, that’s not a typo), we went out to find some of the highlights in the old part of town. After winding our way through a number of pretty old streets, a few traboules and a myriad of shops and restaurants we experienced our first Italian gelato. Let me tell you, it was absolutely grand! We haven’t even gotten to Italy yet and we’re already loving it!

On our way back we crossed one bridge and saw many more since the city straddles both the Rhone and the Saône rivers. They were beautiful in the dark.

If you look closely you’ll see a message on my hand. (Special artwork, compliments of Mary)

And so ends another few days and another country. This felt like a perfect way to cap off France and we were all looking forward to spending time in Switzerland. Dear friends, Swiss Chocolate and the Alps. I can’t wait to tell you about it!

The Grandeur of Versailles

Versailles Palace, France

Since the weather was looking quite dreary on the Saturday we planned to to visit the palace and gardens at Versailles we decided to sleep in and enjoy our lovely little apartment as much as we could. We had a leisurely breakfast and then packed up and headed for the train station.

Our plan was to drop our heavy bags at the hotel and then catch a different train to the palace. Well, fate would not have it so and we ended up at the palace stop instead. We voted to try the palace and hope they would have bag storage while we toured inside. By the time we arrived it had begun to drizzle and to top it off there was a massive line of people waiting to enter. And by massive I mean enough to populate a small country. Well, we didn’t want to stand in that line in the now steady rain, with our backpacks that felt as if they were getting heavier by the moment. But after hee-hawing for 15 minutes about what to do we discovered that the line was much shorter and the rain had stopped! So to the palace we went!

Here’s the palace from behind on the following day. You can’t even see the whole thing but its absolutely immense!

There were many beautiful hallways and scores of chandeliers. This was originally a palace built for Louis XIV. It was built around a chateau belonging to Louis XIII, which was transformed by additions in the grand French classical style.

And grand it is! I think this was in the queens quarters. Every space was filled with ornate furnishings and beautiful paintings. Honestly though, all the patterns, swirls and frills were enough to suffocate a person. I have no idea how people actually lived here! It was beautiful to visit once but I don’t think I’d go back.

Also the crowds were seriously overwhelming (as you can see by Mary’s expression of near despair). At one point we all sat on the floor in a corner just to get a bit of breathing room. And no, we didn’t get any weird looks for that at all!

Once in a while we got a glimpse of the beautiful, artistic gardens outside but it was still rainy and miserable looking. We had planned to come spend Sunday here and were praying for a nice sunny day!

We had a very event filled evening that included: a walk in the dark and rain to our hotel. Discovering that our room had (almost) enough floor space for our bags. And an authentic French dinner in which we’re quite sure the elderly proprietor, who couldn’t understand a speck of English, really overcharged us for our food. But really, isn’t that how memories are made? Well, its a night we won’t forget, that’s for sure!

After those events we also discovered Hit Minis in the hotel vending machine. They are seriously the yummiest comfort food ever! 🙂

And the next day dawned beautifully sunny and clear! We got there fairly early but there was already a huge crowd waiting in line. Thankfully we could head directly out to the gardens and didn’t have to wait in line at all. Everything is so precise and every piece so perfectly laid out that it almost feels fake. I’m not sure of the exact size but believe the whole gardens cover several hundred acres.

There were beautiful fountains around every bend. This one danced in time to music and some only ran at certain appointed times.

The King’s Garden was one of our favorites. It was a little more comfortable with plants growing as they were meant to be instead of in straight, perfectly trimmed lines.

Amidst our wanderings we found this perfectly green, picturesque cathedral. The best part was that it wasn’t packed with other tourists. which is one thing that we’ve come to hold quite important these days. 🙂

This area was called the Ballroom and the fountain was dazzling! Its incredible to think of how amazing it would have looked back in its finest and also quite impressive to think of how brilliant the masterminds of this place must have been.  

So we ended our day with a last glimpse of lovely flowers and the castle grand.

And then headed back to our ‘cozy’ little room for one more night before traveling south to Beanue, a beautiful little town in the heart France. Nestled amidst acres of vineyards and glorious countryside this place quickly stole our hearts!

Just a bit of Paris

Wexford, Ireland to Paris, France

We said a wistful farewell to the beautiful Emerald Isle and were off across St. George’s Channel to Fishguard in southern Wales.

On the open deck with the wind in our faces. The sun was shining but the biting wind drove us inside after a while.

We took the train to Cardiff from Fishguard then and spent the night. Our only adventures there were venturing out to find a grocery store for some fresh food of supper. I attempted to post a blog but the internet was of utmost slowness and highly exasperating.

On Wednesday morning we headed out bright and early to catch our train to London Paddington station and then on to Paris! We were quite delighted to be able to rent a tiny apartment for our three nights stay in the city. Yes, it was up three long flights of stairs but t’was the cutest little place we just wanted to take it with us where ever we went! After bouncing around from tiny hotel rooms and less than wonderful hostels it was so much fun to have our own little place to come back to for several days in a row.

Our darling kitchen at 49 Rue des Dames in Paris. Notice that the shower is tucked right in the corner of the kitchen. It felt like one could almost reach everything in the apartment from the kitchen table. 🙂

We bought fresh foods for delicious breakfasts and Mary served it up in style. After a sufficient amount of protein intake and at least three cups of tea we were ready to hit the city!

Ben & Jerry’s somewhere along the way. 🙂

And because it was early and we felt like getting some exercise we walked along the Seine for a few miles.

There were myriads of photo opportunities and the walk was so nice and quiet and void of most tourists. Only a few runners and native bikers who, like us, were avoiding the masses.

And then, over the buildings and bridges, there it appeared! Just a glimpse of the Eiffel’s spire.

We crossed one bridge then and I couldn’t help but take a photo of these locks. From below, the chain link looked almost like a solid wall it was so covered with locks. I guess some years ago a fad started when lovers began locking a padlock on the bridge and then throwing the key into the river as a gesture of their ‘never-ending’ love for each other.

And then many steps and photos later we arrived! I have wanted to see the Eiffel Tower in person for years but never quite expected to have that dream come to pass. It was pretty grand to actually stand there and see it with my own eyes!

And because its almost a necessity we bought fresh, hot, overpriced crépes and enjoyed them in front of the tower.

We decided we should probably tackle the line for the tower then. And a line it was! Over an hour of standing and waiting and then waiting some more just to get to the elevator that would take us to the second floor of the tower.

Mary bought some frites to pass the time.

We checked out Sir Eiffel the engineer himself. According to Wikipedia the tower was built in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World’s Fair and I believe at one point Gustave Eiffel & his daughter lived near the top in a small apartment.

The view from above is pretty breathtaking. Sadly, the day was overcast and almost misty but we decided to make the most of the money paid and the time waited and spent a bit of time on the second story before then going all the way to the top. The elevator to the top just kept going and going and I looked down and wondered if it was never going to stop. Whew. Its a long way up there!

And the beautiful Greene stretching off to the southwest of the tower.

Then we were back with our feet securely on the ground once more. There are lovely gardens full of flowers scattered along the Greene.

We visited the Orsay Museum that evening and discovered some really lovely French art. I didn’t think I was much of an art-loving person but many of these were really lovely!

After finding some supper and resting our weary feet, we ended our day at the Eiffel, watching it sparkle for five minutes at the top of the hour and making sure to take lots of photos from every angle desired.

Friday morning we were at the Louvre bright and early to beat (at least some) of the crowds. This place is absolutely immense! It would take several days to see everything inside. We weren’t sure what exactly we wanted to see but couldn’t possibly skip visiting it since we were here.

But we did see the Mona Lisa! In a special room, roped off to keep people from coming too close, there she hung. I don’t profess to understand art and I’m not sure why this painting came to be so especially famous but hey, it was cool that we got to see the real thing!

Our next stop was the Notre Dame. Another place that we weren’t especially partial to but if in Paris there are some things you just must see. Let me just clarify that this is only one of the two sets of doors to the huge cathedral. It was difficult to get a photo of the whole thing with all the people milling around.

It truly is quite grand inside with high arches and stained glass. Huge chandeliers hang along the bottom rows of arches and everything has a very reverent aura to it. You are hardly supposed to speak or make any noise inside.

And when in a city anywhere, its good to just notice the small things like raindrops on greenery and the beauty of growth.

We took the metro line to see the Pantheon yet after this but by the time we got there we were all kind of sick of people and seeing more old buildings. We did go down to the crypt though and discovered some names of famous people that were buried there such as Victor Hugo and Louis Braille. After that we decided to go enjoy our cozy little home and spend some time relaxing.

And after aforementioned relaxation we had a sumptuous supper prepared by my lovely travel companions. Its such fun to be able to create our own meals a lot of the time and to realize how many euro we can save by doing it. Plus, it was so much more relaxing to have dinner in the privacy of our own place than tramping around town to find a place to eat at.

Along with our food, there was tea of course. If we don’t have our daily portion of at least three cups we do feel at a loss!

We bought honey here especially for our tea and toast and were aghast at the level left in the jar after only two days!

The crowning delight of dinner was a collection of fresh macaroons. Ah, what bits of joy and yumminess!

We went out later to bid our last farewell to Paris and especially the Eiffel Tower. I had to make sure and get that cliché touristy shot in front of the tower or my trip would have been incomplete.

And so, now that we’ve seen the famous La Ville De L’amour [City of Love], all three of us concluded that it is far overrated and though we’re glad to have seen it we were more glad to leave. I suppose being raised in the country keeps us all longing for wide open spaces. 🙂

On the morning of September 14 we headed out for the Palace of Versailles. But that is a story I will leave for another day and another post.

To Dingle and Beyond

Dingle, Ireland

We arrived in the little town of Dingle after nearly four hours of driving. We were quite tired of sitting and I might say, growing rather silly as well. The narrow, winding road into town was so incredibly picturesque though that it help make the ride pass more quickly. We stayed at a little B&B outside of town. It wasn’t fancy but we had a private room, free wifi and a full Irish breakfast in the morning. Those are three things we’ve become quite thankful for in the last weeks of travel!

After our delicious breakfast we headed off to town to find some bikes and hit the road! Our plans were to bike the one road around the peninsula, a distance of approximately 26 miles. There was a marathon going the same day so we would pass runners along the way. It was a huge blessing because most motor traffic was blocked off, plus we had their mile markers to help us gauge our distance.

One of the many, many perfect rainbows we saw. This of course meant that we had to endure some rain as well but we had raincoats and a little later the sun came out again and our clothes dried nicely once more.

The first ten miles of our trip probably went the slowest because we had to stop and take photos like every half mile. Honestly, this scenery just took your breath away. I only wanted to stand and stare in awe.

Yes, I admit, we did climb a fence into some farmers’ field for this shot but it was totally worth it!

Quaint cottages dotted the hills to our right along with overgrown stone walls between the fields of sheep, cattle or horses.

We came around one bend and this popped into view. This coastline possesses such a wild, perfect beauty that I almost hate showing you photos. They just don’t do justice.

And then many long, hard, sweaty miles later we arrived! Mile twenty-two was definitely the most difficult, but as reward for that most of the rest of the trip was downhill.

We wandered around town a while until we found Murphy’s. We decided we deserved a little treat. Also, that’s my cone Mary is holding, she didn’t get to have two. 🙂

And then we hit the road again, heading east this time. We drove on the famous Ring of Kerry for just a tiny bit on our way through here. Navigation was pretty easy as long as we had these trusty signs to confirm that we were on the right track.

We drove through a bunch of these damp little towns on our way to Midleton for the night. They are so cute and the building colors in such sharp contrast to the dreary sky.

Dunmore East, Ireland

We drove to Dunmore East on Sunday morning to worship with the congregation at Dunmore East Christian Fellowship. It was such a good Sunday and felt good to worship with them. After fellowship lunch, a hymn sing and more chatting we were off for a little cliff walk.

We were shown where to catch the trail going along the cliff. As we rounded a corner near the beginning there was the most adorable little cove! Of course many photographs were necessary here.

There were lovely rocks, the dashing sea and even some hairy looking seaweed if you cared for it.

These flowers are blooming everywhere yet but I can’t imagine what the fields would look like in full bloom.

Wexford, Ireland

After some yummy Sunday afternoon popcorn, brownies & tea with a few of the single staff girls from there we headed out again. We had reserved a room in Wexford to be close to the ferry port where we had to drop our car on Monday morning. Our room ended up being a cozy little B&B. Nothing fancy and it was in a rather noisy part of town but we had our own room!

The way they grown hydrangeas in Ireland is just phenomenal! These were growing like a hedge around someone’s little front lawn. So pretty and so perfect looking!

After dropping off the car we walked around the Rosslare area then until we found this beautiful beach and decided to chill there for a few hours until our bus left for Wexford.

Along the way though we found some DEElicious blackberries growing wild along the path.

Teneika & I picked and ate to our heart’s content. They were so juicy and good!

And when we did arrived at the beach I promptly kicked off my shoes and socks and buried my toes in the sand. It was nice and warm and wonderful. There was still a good breeze blowing but the sun kept us warm. The ocean is so beautiful and ever-changing, I think I could have taken photos for hours.

After many photos I found a nice quiet spot to read and be refreshed. And then of course, I remembered the nibbles I had bought. Oh so good. 🙂

Fish ‘n Chips: as fresh as they get! We spent several hours exploring Wexford on Monday afternoon, rather unsuccessfully I might add.

We thought we should really have some authentic Fish ‘n Chips along the coast so decided its now or never! They were “Oh-so-greasy but still rather good!”

And after more walking (to get rid of all that grease) we decided to do a quick photo shoot at the bay. So many memories and I want to hang on to every one as tightly as I can!

And then we said good night to Wexford and headed to our B&B to pack up for departure the next morning. Ireland was wonderful and I think it will remain a favorite point for all of us!

Our First Taste of the Emerald Isle

Galway, Ireland

After welcoming Teneika to a genuine backpacker’s life we arrived in Galway safe and sound. And by backpacker’s life I mean we got on a bus from the airport that took us to the train station where we sat around like hobos with a hodgepodge of bags piled around us until our train was scheduled to leave. But hey, life is an adventure why not embrace it? 🙂

After spending some time walking here and there we found a nice hostel with open rooms for the night. We settled our bags and headed out to explore town! Galway is a charming little town, complete with bustling walking streets and many musicians playing the night away.

We happened upon this restaurant and thought it would be wonderful to have something hot in our stomachs. It might not be authentically Irish but the food sure was yummy!

Here’s Mary being all pensive as we wait for our dinner. Our table was right inside a window that overlooked the street two stories below.

Super delicious spring rolls for starters.

The others got steamed rice but I decided to go with chow mien. It was so good and hot and steamy! We were the only people in the restaurant at first so everything was hot and fresh.

And tea. Always tea. And such wisdom as their sugar packages had for us. Thankfully, we are all tea drinkers and actually ended up purchasing a package of 50 bags just so we always have some on hand!

We roamed the streets then and found such charming little places to visit. Their sweet shops are just the most darling places!

Such cute nostalgic rows of every sweet imaginable.

And then the next morning we were off! Teneika was our designated driver and I took the co-pilot/chief navigator position. We worked together pretty well and had great fun figuring out the roads!

We got out of the city without too much trouble and were off to the Cliffs of Moher! The scenery just kept getting more and more beautiful and when we saw this tower we just had to pull off the road and go exploring!

It was a perfectly sunshiny day. The weather much more beautiful than I expected Ireland to be.

We kept climbing higher and higher and then pulled off for a look at the beauty of the countryside. Its just hard to communicate the beauty of this place with these few weak photos. There’s something about the wild glory of it all that captures one’s heart.

And then we arrived at the mighty Cliffs of Moher! Oh they were glorious! Just as wild and amazing as I expected but it was truly incredible to get to see them with my own eyes. The sun was shining for a little while after we got there but then a mist moved in from over the sea and everything looked quite grey and chilly.

We were quite hungry so we quickly found a little spot in the sunshine to spread out our simple little picnic.

Baguettes, Cheese and Fruit. We all love simple foods and its so much fun to take your own instead of buying every meal.

The view across the way at the other cliffs was just as wild and breathtaking.

Of course it was quite necessary to walk above the fenced path on the old trail without boundaries. Because who likes to feel hampered and closed in when one can walk along the edge, wild and free? Don’t worry, we were quite safe!

And besides, its more fun out here! 🙂

We were accompanied by some beautiful bovine along the way as well. These are some authentic Irish cattle I can assure you.

The wind was biting and the misty rain chilled our bones but what delights to experience these places with this lovely girl. So very thankful for her!

And then we headed south once more. Our destination was the little town of Dingle situated on a little peninsula along the western shore of Ireland. It was much farther than we had thought it to be but the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Mountains and valleys. So many fields sprinkled with sheep or cattle and separated by lovely stone walls all overgrown with greenery. The sun played games with the clouds and it could be shining brightly when suddenly the sky grew grey and it began to rain. There may be patches of perfectly blue sky while at the same time its raining hard. But as a result we saw lots of pretty rainbows! This country just seems to contain a surreal sort of wild beauty. We definitely enjoyed our day but the best was yet to come…

Wrapping up a Beautiful Country

Today I decided that some of the happy moments of my life happen when there is sunshine and sea wind in my face, sand between my toes and a book in my hand. Ireland has been phenomenal and today was a wonderful wrapping up to this beautiful place.

Goodbye England. Hello Ireland.

Yes, we had to leave the beautiful England behind. But even though our time there was wonderful and all, we were definitively looking forward to Ireland!

We left Stratford on the morning of September fourth. Our taxi was scheduled to take us from our hostel to the train station in plenty of time for our 7:22 train. Alas, our ride did not show up at the appointed time and after some rather anxious waiting and phone calls another taxi showed up to drop someone else off and ‘bing!’ we had a ride to the station. We arrived five minutes before our train was to leave and had we missed it, well, it could have caused some other anxious moments, that’s for sure. God has been so very good in directing our steps and taking care of all those minute details along the way! No, its not all fun and games but there is so much more that could have gone wrong and hasn’t! He is faithful!

We had two train switches from Stratford to Holyhead where we needed to catch the ferry to cross to Dublin. Shrewsbury was a cute little place and it wasn’t hard to pass an hour waiting here.

Random beauty abounds if you open your eyes to see it.

We traveled up through Wales and officially decided that Welsh is the strangest language we’ve ever seen. Yes, this is the name of a town that we stopped at. Anyone want to attempt a pronunciation? Also, the countryside up here was very pretty. It actually reminded us a lot of Holmes County. 🙂

We arrived in Holyhead in perfect time to check in for our ferry and then go aboard. It was just a tad windy on the upper deck but we just had to get some sea wind in our lungs. 🙂

The three hour ride went by quite quickly. There were nice couches to lounge on, a café if you fancied some food and plenty of entertainment if you needed something to do. I had my nose deep in “To Kill a Mockingbird” and couldn’t look about much until I’d finished it up.

And then we arrived in Dublin! After some asking around and exchanging enough British Pounds to Euro for a bus fare we arrived in City Center. Our hostel was just around the corner from the bus drop off which was quite a lovely treat after having to walk many miles to our rooms the last few nights.

We checked in and then headed out to explore a bit before dark. We found the River Liffey and ate our authentic Subway food along the promenade and had some fun with photography before heading back in to attempt some communication with folks back home and get packed up to head out in the morning.

The River Liffey is beautiful at night with the city lights reflecting off it. And to top it off, we were blessed with some amazing Ireland clouds.

Really, if you have the chance sometime, do stay in a hostel. It is quite interesting what a different atmosphere is there. Like a small world of its own. And most of the people that stay there are of a type of their own too. 🙂 Its been a good experience for the most part, one just needs to be prepared to get kicked out of their comfort zone at times. 🙂

We headed to the airpot on Thursday morning to meet the dear and wonderful third part of our party. Teneika arrived safe and sound. T’was so very good to see her and its been grand to have her with us! We headed straight from the airport to the train station. None of us were very anxious to spend extra time in Dublin. The small towns are so much more genial and to our liking.

And thus began a wonderful adventure in Ireland! I’ll tell you about it soon. 🙂

A Castle, A Birthday and a bit of Shakespeare

Newbury, England

Destination: Highclere Castle

We took the early train from Bath and arrived at the castle over an hour before it opened. We discovered later that this was the best decision ever because there were no people in our photos and the morning light was just delightful!

We’re at Downton Abbey! Both of us love Downton and being able to visit this spot was amazing! It felt strangely familiar and yet was of course quite different in real life.

Every possible angle had to be captured several times over. But honestly, isn’t it just lovely? And the weather, we can’t get over the weather! It was sunny and warm every single day in England. More than I even dreamt could be possible!

What could be better after a castle tour than a morning cup of tea and a scone? Ah, sheer delights.

Raspberry Jam and real English clotted cream

I think that even I, who do not greatly love the kitchen, will need to attempt to make scones after I’m home. So delicious with a cup of tea!

Now lest I make that tea time sound absolutely flawless, let me clarify that we were also traumatized by a wrathful family of wasps that desperately wanted to steal our food (or just annoy us, it was hard to tell). Nevertheless, by the end of tea time each jam jar was prison to one or two family members and Mary’s napkin death to another. We’re making a difference, one wasp at a time.

And then the gardens. Oh the gardens! We spent several hours wandering along the perfect little paths and taking endless amounts of photographs.

Lavender. Rows and rows of purple glory!

And the roses were just exquisite and pink and so very beautiful.

Perfectly shaped white Hydrangeas. Bushes and bushes of them!

And when you looked up and happened to see this lovely little sign it immediately made you peek through the gate to see what mysteries awaited on the other side.

There were perfectly mown paths and more flowers. Benches to rest on and a delightful path through the woods. Won’t you come along and I’ll show you around?

After a jaunt through wildflower meadow (that was full of dead flowers) we spent the last few hours picnicing, reading and I even caught a little nap. Of all the days up to here, this was my very favorite I think.

Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

We took the train to Stratford Upon Avon that afternoon then. Everything went smoothly and we decided we could walk to our hostel since we didn’t understand the bus route and weren’t sure whether there was a stop close by. The Tourist Information office had closed 30 minutes before we got to it. Okay, so surely its not too far, we can walk again right? Um, right we could (and did!) but it was two miles and two small towns away we discovered after an very long, very heavy walk. But we’ve decided that since we did it once we could do it again! 🙂

This was another YHA hostel. We had a private room which was completely wonderful but we had to pay for wifi and breakfast which wasn’t so grand.

Stratford is Shakespeare’s hometown which intrigued both of us enough to want to go there but sadly we don’t know much about him. Add that to the fact that were were really sick of paying for tickets and entrance fees, plus we didn’t have very much time in town so, horror of horrors, we didn’t even visit his home and all the famous places connected to his life. Instead we did this…

Rented bikes and drove all over town feeling like fine young ladies on our classic rides.

Walked through the touristy shopping area and saw Shakespeares birthplace.

And since it just happened to be my 23rd birthday I treated myself to some chocolate and fudge I found in a delightful little sweet shop.

Paid a visit to Marks & Spencer for some picnic food. This place has fast become our favorite store. Such yummy fresh food!

And then we rented a rowboat and spent an hour on the Avon, floating, eating and trying to keep from getting run over by canal boats giving tourist rides. It wasn’t as funny as it may seem here. For full details please contact Mary herself.

It was quiet, calm and so very picturesque.

Just the perfect, sleepy little English town

And then to wrap up a the day, Mary took me out to dinner and a Shakespeare play of my choice as my birthday gift. Isn’t she just the most wonderful person? T’was a wonderful way to spend my 23rd and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for my year. May I grow deeper with Him and be willing to follow wherever He takes me! Its been a good journey with Him as my guide.

A Town Called Bath

Bath, England

This is a truly lovely town. So much old architecture and class. We arrived by rail and decided 1.8 miles to our hostel wasn’t so bad, we would just walk. Well, after a brief jaunt in the direction that was opposite of correct we found a street map and located the tourist information office (these have become our favorite places in every city). At the TI we got loaded with city maps and info about all sorts of things that looked quite interesting plus many that we didn’t care about in the least. Then we took off for the hostel again, armed with a good map this time.

After walking (and resting) walking (and resting) and walking some more we began wondering if we were actually going in the proper direction. I’ll spare you the details but I can assure you of one thing, walking nearly two miles, most of it up a near-vertical hill, with a heavy pack on your back is not for the faint of heart!

I’m warning you, it was more vicious than it looks.

Yes my friends, this is Bathwick Hill. BUT it is only a small portion of the hill, we’ve already walked back down over halfway!

The reward of our labors? A pretty nice hostel way up on a hill but you couldn’t see anything because of all the trees. We had a ten bed dorm which didn’t turn out too badly. We had to pay for breakfast and internet which was not cool. But we totally did laundry (and hung it all around our bunk beds to dry). Yup, cool hostel, bad location.

After a bit of rest and unpacking we headed back into town to see what we could find. I’m completely in love with these canals and their adorable boats!

We walked across the Pulteney Bridge, so named after some famous guy back in the day…

It was sunset time and the river captivated my attention for quite some time.

There were more delightful boats. Lots of ducks bobbing around and an occasional swan drifted by.

I wanted a ride! Isn’t it just the cutest thing?!

And of course, the wonderful Mary.

We ended our evening with a sightseeing ride around the city on the top of this super tacky bus. Aren’t you jealous? 😉

And then, since there was a bus stop RIGHT OUTSIDE our hostel lane, we rode the bus up for only a few British Pounds. That hill was so much less work!

We headed back down to town in the morning and joined a tour to Stonehenge. It was cool and I’m really glad we got to see it but I’m not convinced that its worth all the hype it gets. Still, we saw it and we have photos to document!

Yes, this is proper proof that we WERE there!

Just a little break and a healthy snack at Stonehenge.

We toured the Roman baths then. It was cool but packed with people and I got a little tired of all the ‘Roman-ness’ of it. Still, I didn’t think it possible to be in Bath and not visit the most famous baths. The water in this one is really tepid and disgusting looking but I would have loved to visit the actual working (and clean) baths.

We found some lunch at M&S (Marks & Spencer), our new favorite store over here, and brought it to the courtyard of the Bath Abbey where we were serenaded with gorgeous accordion music.

And then we went to the Abbey for the 3:30 Evensong service. It was lovely and quite worshipful. This building is so beautiful! We couldn’t take photos inside but t’was quite exquisite.

We’re enjoying real British crisps. These might not look special to you but if you look closely at the white square in the bottom corner…

Are you serious? Potatoes that bear my name?! We didn’t even notice when we bought them but how cool is that? We’ll have to start planting these I’m thinking. 🙂

And so ends another few days and another town. We were off from here to Stratford Upon Avon where Shakespeare was born and lived. Its a lovely little town and I can’t wait to tell you about it!