The last month...

This is my last post, until my next visit...

Since the last post, on November 3, Thanksgiving has come and gone; Alan and friends from our town here completed our great 11 day stint in Smithfield, Dublin;  I went to Donegal on my own; my class at Ivy Tech has concluded; and -- most momentously -- Alan and I are united again in in the USA.

The last month was both stressful and fun. The stress was mainly from moving from the small bedroom I had in far South County Dublin to the great two-bedroom apartment is Smithfield D7, right in the heart of things in the 'Centre City'. The fun was having such a great place to be during the visits from Alan and our friends that I'd been anticipating since arriving in Dublin back in August. All the revelry with company meant I didn't go to the last two weeks of set dance, but I'd resigned myself to that earlier so it wasn't too much of an issue for me.

I learned so much about set dance during the time I was in Ireland and I had the chance to go to three celli dances held at the local GAA clubs.  The latter is where you really learn, you go every weekend and hundreds of others form and reform sets for an evening of dance from 9 p.m. to after 1 a.m.  I also made a new friend as a result.

I also learned so much more about the conditions under which my next visit should occur. As long as I'm healthy, I expect to do long stints in Dublin when I can.  I laid the groundwork for that this time and hope there's some way of making it happen.  Cracking the accommodation nut, that's the key.  Dublin, especially with Brexit, is preparing for a pretty critical housing shortage in the short term. They have really just come out of  'austerity' required by the EU to pay back what it borrowed during the 2008 downtown, but they've come out in a very good position.  It was a pleasure to see, even if it means it's harder for me to find a place to stay.

I also learned some new, interesting things about my 'Dignam' side, including the dates and exact places of birth for both my grandmother and grandfather. A chance meeting at a convention for seniors where there was a booth for genealogy. Who would have thought that a woman with the original derivation of my last name Duignan should be at the booth doing research on 'this small family' of the midlands.  She's been amazingly detailed. It's interesting.

On my mother's side, the Gallaghers of Inver, Donegal are more familiar, despite the fact that the phenomenon of so many people with the same last name in once place was found Donegal in the Guinness Book of World Records one year. Still, our family friend -- and distant cousin, brought me to someone she thought would know something about the many sons of James and Rose (Sweeney) Gallagher.  He didn't, but it was a pleasant evening with Eamonn Monaghan, during which he told stories about Patrick Pierce, Seumas MacMannus and other republicans of the turn of the century.  Both Pierce, the Irish leader critically important in the fight for freedom fighter for Ireland and MacMannus, the renowned Donegal poet, spoke in Donegal during the early 1900's, That was a surprise to our local relations. His house was the Donegal cottage of old that will likely be listed an historic place very soon. The floor was made of granite from the quarry next door, including an old headstone.

It was good to end my trip on such a nice visit to Donegal. Although I was alone again after such fun at the end in Dublin, I enjoyed seeing my family and visiting my mother's grave before I left Ireland. I spent the last night in the airport hotel, which wouldn't have been worth a mention, except that the electricity went out at midnight and didn't return till the morning. I thought it was a sign. Homecoming was nice though, as seen in the picture with Lola. It was good Alan and I had the hour from the airport in the car, because Lola definitely remembered me.

Two Dances from County Clare

This week and last we devoted our time to dances from County Clare, in the west of Ireland, highlighted on the top map.

To give you a little orientation, I've added the second map that shows the counties by province. On it you can see Dublin is the smaller county all the way to the east in the province of Leinster.  My father's family came from Westmeath, also in Leinster west of Dublin. Donegal is the big county with the long border with Northern Ireland (in pink) to its east, in the province of Ulster. My mother's family is found near the apex of the triangular bay in south Donegal.

Clare is in Munster, a province that I haven't traveled in too much, although I've been to the both of the larger cities there, Cork and Limerick.  It's ironic because most people that visit Ireland go to Munster, visiting the Ring of Kerry an area that I did only once on a too long bus trip that I wouldn't recommend.

But, back to Clare for the sets we covered this and last week.  First was the Caledonian, a pretty fancy (but clear) rendition of the fifth and final figure in that set is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl0EP4kYdXA .

The second set was The Clare Lancers.  This was a fun one that wasn't too hard to learn and dance.  Here's the 4th figure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ih5M-ge60c

I searched and searched for some history about both dances and couldn't find a thing about how they evolved or why they were named.  The 'Lancers' makes some sense because you can see some military-like formations, but association of The Caledonian is not clear. "Caledonia" is the traditional name for Scotland as "Hibernia" is Ireland.  It seems to have something to do with the high kings in Celtic mythology.

I'm in my last month here.  Alan will come for Thanksgiving and his birthday on November 23 (Thanksgiving day) to November 30.  I've booked a nice two-bedroom apartment for us and friends from Bloomington who will also be here for the week.  We were planning a large Thanksgiving dinner, but that plan has fallen through because ill health of friends and family members of several of the families invited. Such is life.  I will be sad to leave, but happy to see my friends (especially in Atlanta),  the dog and our house.  Why can't I transport all of that here?

Maggie in the Wood

This week we covered the Connemara Set.  It's a set with four figures the last of which is danced to the tune "Maggie in the Wood."  See the videos of the four figures at this link: https://danceminder.com/dance/show/connre

The dance is a fun and easy one, but it's the tune that is played in the fourth Figure that was really resonant to me. As I danced, I was brought back to the times my father played the tune, and many others, on his melodeon in our living room on Long Island. Those times are among my happiest childhood memories. Here's a link to a man (much like my father) playing that tune on the instrument:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k2ffeSGiGY

My parents met at an Irish dance held in Long Island City, in Queens New York in the mid 1930's.  Queens continues to be a vibrant area for Irish newcomers, although Woodside as overtaken the now gentrified, Long Island City as the Irish immigrant beacon.  Many of the houses look and feel like terraced houses, so ubiquitous throughout the bigger cities and towns in Ireland.

My father played the melodeon in an Irish band in pubs and house parties throughout Queens. My mother was a dancer and knew all the good dance bands in the area.  They had a lot in common then. My mother told me that they were the 'hottest' couple in Queens at the time. I believe it. She was a good dancer and, even years later when I came on the scene, and their passion for one another was long gone, he could still entertain on the melodeon.

While here in Ireland, I've often been struck with what seems like deja vu, a strong feeling that I've experienced some turn of phrase, food, accommodation, scent or entertainment before. It's because my parents, and their families, particularly the paternal matriarch, Aunt Lilly, kept to their Irish ways throughout our assimilation as Americans. It is in my DNA to be comfortable here as nowhere else I've lived.

I try hard not to be 'more Irish than the Irish' here, a condition that many Americans project when they visit Ireland. It's so embarrassing when I see it, and it's encountered often. My dance teacher told me that he was told by an American at a dance that he was 'doing it wrong,' he wasn't amused.  This is an evolving, modern country that is long passed the stereotyped brogue and leprechaun but the culture of dance and music endures and I will be sorry to leave it when I return to the USA in December. 

Barrow Walk

No post about set dance this week because both session were a recap of the three dances that we've already covered: the Ballyvourney, Slieve Luchra and Merchant. I expect we will have a new dance to learn in the upcoming week.


This is the midpoint of my visit to Ireland and I just can't believe how the time has flown by.  Last weekend I arranged a walk on the River Barrow with a group of friends that I've walked with many times during my stays here, although my dearest friend, Mary, was unable to make it. 

We set up base at The Clink Hotel in Carlow, https://www.theclinkboutiquehotel.com/ which couldn't have been better.  If you are ever anywhere near County Carlow in Carlowtown, this is the place to stay. The sleeping rooms and the meals were all perfect for the two long walks we did.  The Barrow Way is just a stone's throw from the hotel.  We arrived on Saturday morning and started our walk to Milford, where we were treated to a catered lunch provided by The Clink.  White table cloth, napkins, upholstered chairs and two staff served an amazing lunch for our group of 10.  We returned on the same path in reverse, for a total of 12 miles.

On Sunday we were provided a bag lunch and walked 19 kilometers to Athy, where the drivers in our group dropped their cars earlier that morning.  The whole thing was amazing, fun and very taxing.  I was so happy to have done the arranging and to have everything come off so well.

Merchant Set

This week we learned the Merchant Set a relatively new dance developed in Dublin, a city not otherwise known for sets.  It's a modern set, created in 2011, a testament to the resurgence of set dance in Ireland.  It was named for a pub in the City Center by Pádraig & Róisín McEneany (Patrick and Roseann) who taught at that pub for many years.  Ironically, as my set dance teacher informed us this week, shortly after it was completed, the pub discontinued set dance as a regular feature on Mondays. Here is a link to the written instructions for the dance: https://danceminder.com/dance/show/mercha  .  If you look at the instructions you can see some of the commonalities in all set dance:  'advance/retire' 'house' and 'swing' are found in almost every set.  This is what makes set dance fairly easy to learn.  While it's always fast, the steps endure.

Since this is a Dublin set, I've been musing on why this city so appeals to me. My first trip to Dublin was in 1967 and still remember the feeling of romance and history I felt then. Walking across the Liffey River over the O'Connell bridge when I was 19 is so vivid to me even 50 years later. To top it off, I met an Irish boy who was attracted to my youth and American accent and we spent the day walking around Dublin with him showing me the sights.  It turned out he was a train conductor and was able to tell me how to get to my father's home town (Moate, Co. Westmeath) on the train and the hotel to stay in while I was there. Years later, I'm sorry I didn't note his name, he's probably still living in Dublin and we could have kept in touch.

As I said in my first post of this visit, one of the great things about Ireland is the friendliness and curiosity of the people and, even with the smallest effort, one can make fast friends as I have.  Upcoming tomorrow is a little trip south to Carlow with a group of 10 of them.  We will stay overnight in a hotel and walk in two directions on the River Barrow. http://riverbarrow.net/barrow-way.html

We will walk south to Milford on Saturday and north to Athy on Sunday.  I've arranged the hotel and the meals and I'm hoping all goes OK with it.  My friends are all very excited to do the trip, we hope there will be no rain.  The hotel actually is arranging the lunch and they will bring a table, linens, real silverware and chairs to the mill at the halfway point on both days. If you have seen the movie just out now, Victoria and Abdul, I'm thinking it will be akin to the scene in which Victoria decided to have lunch on the top of a mountain in Scotland, maybe a little less grand, but certainly more than I've ever experienced on any other walk here or elsewhere.  This is the kind of treatment we needed on the halfway point on the Bright Angel trail in The Grand Canyon!

Slive Luchra Set

Last week we learned the Slive Luchra Set which starts about 1:40 in on the video at this link:
https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-mozilla-002&hsimp=yhs-002&hspart=mozilla&p=sLIVE+LUCHRA+set+dance#id=5&vid=2fdeb025ee8293cf6cdf0f3d7f8fe9dd&action=view

It looks complicated, but my friend Dorothy did this whole dance when she visited in 2013, and with the right music, anyone who gives it a try can do it.  As a reminder, sets are made up of 'figures' and there are usually 4-5 figures inn each set with a little break between each figure.  Once you get the basic steps, all the figures use pretty much the same ones. This dance lasts a while because you see the people forming, the break between each figure and, for the most part, the four couples in the group dance either in pairs or alone. 

Slive Luchra is a region in the provence of Munster spanning the Blackwater River flowing through Counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick.  It's an inhospitable area of upland bogs but, during the height of the English repression in Ireland became a refuge for native Irish and a place where their culture of dance and music flourished.  In reading the history of the area, I was struck with the similarities between this area and Accompong in Jamaica, an area that the British were unable to control that became home to the Maroons, the only free people in Jamaica during British rule and now a separate state within the country.  If you go there, the headman is proud to stamp your passport because you are no longer in the jurisdiction of the Jamaican government in Kingston. 

I am not a lawless person, but the idea of people being able the throw off the yoke of an unfair government is resonant to me.  I'm particularly inspired by people's efforts to ensure that their freedom and cultural heritage in the face of systematic oppression.

Ballyvourney Jig

All set dances are named for the region or town in Ireland where they developed.  The Ballyvourney Jig set is one of the most beloved dances and is the one that ends the evening in the classes taught by Pat O'Reilly, my teacher in Dublin. This is the set that Pat teaches at the beginning of each season and during our first class last Tuesday (September 12) he covered all five figures of the set. If you want to see the dance in its entirety, go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fa0h_ieKeU

Ballyvourney is a small town in County Cork. In Irish, the name means "Town of the Beloved" and it is the home of the medieval monastic site dedicated to St. Gobnait, the patron saint of bee keepers.

You can see the bees in the stained glass image surrounding St. Gobnait's head and neck. 

One of the things that first attracted me to take up set dance is the sense of place that each dance represents and the layers of engagement it provides. The physical challenge of the dance is apparent and needs no explanation but that just scratches the surface of its allure for me.  I, like most people that explore their ethnic dances, get great spiritual and emotional satisfaction in coming closer to my own history. This is something we all share, no matter what the dance heritage. People worldwide can identify with it.

When I first started dancing, early in 2012, I was embarrassed about my lack of cultural awareness. And I was intimidated by the speed and seeming complexity of the patterns and footwork involved in successfully performing the dance. I persevered because, even early on, there were moments when I knew I had it and was able to internalize the rhythm and form.  This kept me going. 

At my first class last week I had the added delight of seeing old friends.  Many of the dancers were people I knew when I was here earlier and it was a pleasure to see them again.  Although Pat doesn't like picture taking in his class, I was able to snap the photo below at the end of the evening. From left, Una and Noel started in our class in 2013 in preparation for the dance they would do at their wedding.  He is from Kerry and wanted to help Una learn their regional dance as a surprise for his friends and family. Now they are regulars and both dance beautifully. Geraldine was my partner that first night and also a member of our walking group.  It was a pleasant surprise for both of us to meet up there.  I can't wait for tomorrow night!

Set dance is not River Dance!

When most Americans hear about my plan to come to Ireland to take Set Dance instruction, they think either of "River Dance" or their childhood experience taking "Irish dance" instruction. That is "Step Dance," characterized by young girls and, less frequently, boys dancing alone on a stage in elaborate costume, hair and, in the soft shoe, high on the toe or in hard shoe tap.  My father called this "jumpin and leapin." Set dance is much more informal.

Set dance is likely a precursor of square dance, although there is no caller and the footwork is more complex. It, like square dance, is influenced by French quadrilles arriving in Ireland in the 17th century.  Like most cultural evolution, the Irish added their own flourishes and regional influences. Early on, dances were taught by an itinerant "dance master" who usually stayed in a town for several weeks, teaching new dances and learning the local steps.  Dances are usually named for a particular town or region, but all involve a combination of swings, advance/retire and dance around movements.  This short video (2 min) shows a "figure" of a dance from the Connemara region.  Dances are made up of 4-7 figures and this is the first one of the Connemara dance, it will give you an idea of how much more informal set is as compared to step:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmkaWZ9ieGU

During the late 19th and early 20th century, this type of dance fell out of favor with the Catholic church in Ireland, which called it "lewd, licentious, immoral and unbecoming to it's flock." Dance was condemned. This attitude contributed to the decline of dancing at crossroads or in country homes throughout Ireland. This gradually changed, along with the Church's decline in influence and set dance has experienced a real resurgence since the 1980's.

My set dance classes start next week.  I am taking from the great teacher, Pat O'Reilly who teaches at The Glenside Pub in Dublin (picture).  I am so looking forward to beginning. See Pat's website at: www.ceili.ie.  

 

Meeting Mary

One of the best things about Ireland for me was my great luck in meeting good people who have become fast friends, in addition to the family friends already made.  I met Mary during my first week in Dublin in 2012 and it seems I've known her all my life.  We have a lot in common: married the same Summer, fathers born and raised in Westmeath, a midlands county, mothers died in 2007, and a love for walking, We met on the walking tour that is offered weekly by the Dublin City Council starting in Sandymount and ending in Black Rock, all along the sea. Here's a picture of Mary taken just Thursday when we met for the first time since returning here last Wednesday. It's taken in Marlay Park, a beautiful park that was originally the home of the Taylor family of French Huguenots built in 1764.  See the link here:  http://curiousireland.ie/marlay-house-marlay-park-co-dublin-1764/

We've had lots of experiences together, in addition to walking sections of the Camino de Santiago ending in Compostela, Spain twice, we've done many Dublin-based walks along the sea to both Bray and Howth, along the Dodder River and, further out, on the River Barrow to the southwest.  The first time walking the Barrow was in 2015 when we did Sections 5 and 6.  We're planning another walk on October 7 and 8 on Sections 3 and 4: http://riverbarrow.net/barrow-way.html.  This adventure, like the one in 2015 will include a dozen other old and new friends and an overnight stay in Carlow.  Mary and I will take a road trip next Friday, Sept 8, to scope out accommodation for the group.  I have aspirations of organizing walking trips and this is a good exercise in how to do it.

It hasn't been a week yet, but I'm all settled in and eagerly awaiting the start of the set dance season next Tuesday (Sept 12). 

I'll be leaving for Dublin in less than a week!

I will return to blogging weekly from Dublin. My plan now is to organize my posts on set dance as that's the reason I'm going to be in Ireland for three whole months. I'll take a class twice a week Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings with the great set dance teacher Pat O'Reilly

www.ceili.ie. 

Since I don't have a Facebook account of my own, I will be posting to Alan's account. However you read this I hope you enjoy. If you'd like to follow my blog outside Facebook, just click 'Follow' in the panel to the right.

This is my last post from Ireland. We have just 18 days to go. It's all very sad. We went to a play on Saturday (Brendan Behan's Borstal Boy) and they had a sing song (what Americans call a sing-along) at the end that left me in tears. Who knew that a song about being in prison would move me to tears. I think it was just the sing song, a very common occurrence in Ireland and another of the things I'll miss a lot.

I had a very nice break in County Wexford at Rosslare and Mt. Usher with my friends Mary and Dierdre on Thursday and Friday. Dierdre and I took the train there on Thursday morning and met Mary, who was visiting friends there earlier in the week. We had rooms booked in Kelly's Hotel in Rosslare, a really nice old spa on the sea. In addition to two lovely walks on the sea, we had Irish Peat treatments in the spa and a really great dinner. I would definitely recommend a stay at Kelly's to anyone visiting Ireland.

Next week Alan and I are going to Powerscourt, another place I've wanted to visit before leaving. This is another spa in the Wicklow Mountains. Alan's booked a massage and I'm going to have a facial.We are looking forward to another bus adventure, similar to one we took when we first got to Dublin. Some of the bus routes are very long, and this one goes from Dublin City Center and ends at Powerscourt. Assuming it doesn't make every stop, we can expect a ride of over an hour. If it's busy it will be longer than that. Since April, I've had a free ride card for all busses and trains in Ireland, so this will be another benefit of that card. Another thing to be missed when we leave.

We've had several farewell meals and have several more planned, including one at The Rustic Stone with friends Sarah and David tomorrow night. They are friends we made during our trip to Majorca where we met Sarah on that walking vacation. We've had several very nice outings with them both. Last night, Mary and Leo, friends from my book club, came for dinner, and next Sunday we will see John and Mary, our old family friends and the only people we knew in Dublin before we arrived. (There are a lot of Marys in Ireland.)

We took a quick trip to Donegal earlier this month where we paid our last visit to my mother's grave in Frosses and saw our family, the Flynns for dinner. Again, there were tears on departing. I think that was the hardest because I will so miss visiting my Mom regularly.

We are pretty much packed with 3 of our 4 50-pound case allotment already full. Each one is so close to the maximum weight that I hope we leave on a dry day because if anything takes on any additional moisture we will be pulling things out at the airport. I know that moisture can add weight from my days doing mail surveys. If the mail piece was right on the edge of a second stamp I prayed for a dry day because a wet one would mean double the mailing cost! One of the bags weighs in at 49 pounds on our bathroom scale, so that's cutting it close. They really are sticklers for that maximum weight, and we have to do it twice since we have a connection in Chicago for our final destination of Indianapolis.

There is one big plus, returning to friends in America. It will be so nice to be closer to people with whom we have a long history. I don't want to minimize that great benefit of coming back. It's the one thing that has sustained me and kept me from utter despair. That's the silver lining.

We are just back from our final trip to Donegal. We left on Saturday the 4th and returned on Monday (yesterday), so it was a quick trip. We did see most of the people we wanted to see, visited my mother's grave every day and had two very nice side trips. I was sorry to miss my cousin Mary Boyle but we saw the extended Flynn (Burke) family during a lovely dinner at Teresa and Seamus Flynn's house. They are such a delight, I'm so happy to have gotten to know them better.

Our two side trips included one to Lissadel in Sligo, a grand house that I'd wanted to visit during our trip to County Clare last month but proved too far a drive then. The second was to the Glenveigh National Park, and castle in Donegal. The former was the home of the Gore-Booth family, a large ruling class family before independence. The most famous member of the family was Constance, the Countess Markevitz, a commander in the Irish Republican Army during the Easter Rebellion of 1916. She was quite an interesting person, uncommon for her class in sympathy with the aims of the Irish struggle for independence. She was also great friends with both Yeats brothers, the poet William and the painter Jack B. and the exhibition at the house covered all those connections, as well as the eccentric Gore-Booth family in detail. The house is just ugly, although situated in a beautiful setting on the Atlantic with a great view of Ben Bulben, a noted tabletop mountain in Sligo. Glenveigh on the other hand, was amazingly beautiful. Situated in the northern part of Donegal, it's the last inhabited place in Ireland. It was purchased after the famine by a rich man from County Laios (pronounced Leash) who apparently evicted everyone and build a castle for himself for the summer. He seemed like a real rat, but after several owners in the early part of the century, the land and castle were given to the Irish government and they made it a national park. Except for the castle, it's just miles and miles of beautiful mountains with not a structure of any sort in sight. Just fabulous.

Our trip to Ballyvaughn and subsequent sightseeing around Dublin with friends Linda and Bob was all we expected. We did several good walking tours in Dublin with them before we left for our weeklong stay in County Clare. I learned some new things about the wonderful city we've adopted during our time here. I really tried hard not to feel sad and note "this is the last time..."at every turn.

Ballyvaughn is just outside the Burren, an area of stone mountains in the west. We toured every day and saw quite a number of ring forts and other antiquities. We also visited the Father Ted house for tea. Father Ted is a television series that was filmed in Ireland from 1997-1999 but still plays regularly in reruns. Alan and I really enjoy it and we showed Linda and Bob several youtube episodes before we went to the tea. It was fun. We had some great meals, including a nice lunch in yet another great house (now hotel) Gregans Castle Hotel. We all enjoyed the meal but were shocked to learn that a glass of wine was 14 euro. Good thing we didn't have two! Still, it was a very nice place to spend a few hours. We had two more days in Dublin before our guests left and I was happy to introduce my good friends here (Mary and Deirdre) to Linda on a very nice walk from Greystones to Bray on a warm Sunday afternoon. On the last evening I took Linda to set dancing (the men didn't go). She dispatched herself really well, I was impressed and hope she's caught the bug and will find a set dance group in Virginia.

The next few weeks will be devoted to tying up loose ends here and saying our goodbyes. I will take an overnight trip with Mary and Deirdre to Rosslare and Mt. Usher next week and will have lunch with another friend Mary this week. We are hoping to see our other friends Sarah and David for dinner sometime next week and have someting in the works planned with John and Mary, friends we've known for many years predating our sojourn here in Ireland. I'm still working on not being depressed about our departure. Although there's not much to do in preparation for the move, since the shipment is gone, we have our return flights booked and a place to stay in Bloomington, I continue to keep busy with dance, bridge and walking.

I'm going to start really thinking about that book now...

Returned from the Camino trip last Tuesday. While my walking was very strong, I was disappointed with the trip overall. The first two days of walking were through an industrial area so there was a lot of walking very near busy highways. The first day included 3 KM through an industrial park, with warehouses on either side as far as the eye could see. The second day was not as dreary but much the same. The following three days were just beautiful and I enjoyed the terrain very much. I was generally tired at the end of the day, but found the walking very satisfying.

Unfortunately, the first day I got a taste of the issue that would make the trip much less enjoyable than the one we did last year.One big factor was the addition of three more people, last year we were 11 and this year 14. But more to my dismay was the change in the group dynamic.

The woman who organized the trip this year and last traveled both times with her husband, the only man last year and just one of two this year. This year he didn't have a cell phone and he tends always to walk far out in front. I guess I didn't notice it last year because she would call him periodically and they made their plans as they walked along. Since he was without a phone, he just kept walking. The man doesn't "like" to eat and seems to want to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible and definitely first. She wouldn't stop if he was ahead without letting him know, impossible under the circumstances. So on day one, despite passing several nice places for lunch once we got into the town, we persevered until one of our group caught up with him and forced a stop. We all descended on a too small cafe, pulled many tables together, made a lot of noise and fuss and asked for a menu. It was siesta in a small town in Spain, so while there was one staff member working, there was no English and not much food. It was insane. One of our group fancied herself a Spanish speaker and so while there were three others, including me, who could get along in Spanish, she insisted that all orders go through her. This made some sense because the server was completely overwhelmed, but her Spanish was not that great and there was much toing and froing while all of us put in our orders. I was embarrassed to be with such a loud group. We really made a spectacle. This was my first inkling that this trip was going to be very different from the last.

Last year, we walked in fluid dyads and tryads and stopped along the way as we wanted. This year, there was much herding up after the first day. Apparently there'd been words between the couple causing him to stop quite a lot and pressure everyone to assemble periodically, so it was very hard to keep going along once he'd decided that an assembly was in order. I didn't want to stop that much, so after day two I just ignored that, but getting out in front caused him to break his neck to catch up and pass. There was never time to just walk along at my own pace. I really began to resent it. My friend Dierdre began to walk with me and we walked ahead and mostly alone for days 3-5. It wasn't until the end of day 5 that I discovered that she really didn't want to do that. She didn't want me to walk alone. Despite my many protests to her over the three days that I didn't mind being alone and that I'd stop along the way when I was tired and surely connect with one or more of the group that way. This really disappointed me, and made me feel that I was keeping her from fully enjoying her trip, so I decided to pass on walking the last day. I just couldn't in good conscience cause her to go against her more social nature by continuing my quest for some solitude and quiet and I knew that I also couldn't supress my frustration with the continual herding up. So, while my walking was very strong; much stronger than last year, I opted to take the train to our final destination on the last day. I didn't care so much about not "finishing," that seldom bothers me, but the knowledge that I would not be happy doing another Camino with this group was a sore realization. The others really enjoyed walking as a big group. Several have said how that aspect of this trip was better for them, so I know that I'm the odd woman on that score. The story of my life!

I'm glad that I stopped though, it made the last day much more fun and, although I felt a little alienated from the group, we had a good final reunion in Santiago, a nice dinner and good return trip home. Had I walked that last day, I'm sure my frustration would have shown and that would have caused tension during our farewells. This way, I had a chance to relax and calm myself and explore the great city of Santiago at leisure. It's a really beautiful place. I would highly recommend a trip there even without the walking.

So, back to Dublin. Our shipment has gone, our return arrangements are made and we have just 8 more weeks to go. Our friends, Linda and Bob, will come on Wednesday, and we are looking forward to showing them the best of Dublin during the week they are here bracketing a week we will spend together in a house in Ballyvaughn, County Clare in the West of Ireland. We've also planned our last trip to Donegal for October 6-8 when I will say farewell to my family there. We are already planning our return for another extended stay in the coming years. As long as I can travel, I'm hoping to have a month or so a year here.

It's been a long haitus, but I'm back to the blog. I left off midsummer just after the Willie Clancy Festival of set dancing and our 37th anniversary on July 2. As I expected we have stayed pretty close to home in Dublin most of the time since then, although we took a quick trip to Wales this week from Tuesday to Thursday.

I've spent a lot of time in preparation for walking The Camino, with two long walks of about 16 km each with the group of people that will make the trip this year. Both were in the area north of Dublin called Howth. Dublin is situated in about the center of Dublin Bay sheltered on both sides by two headlands, Bray to the sourth and Howth to the north. There are good, scenic walks on both heads, although the Howth head is higher and the walking route is longer. I've done both walks and while I like the Bray walk, it's mostly coastline, just 8 km and fairly flat so there's not a lot of challenge. Howth is quite different, with a lot of climbing, higher elevation and twice the distance to get around the promontory. I organized the first walk there on July 27th and the group was so pleased with it that we decided to do the same walk in the other direction on August 17th. The second was equally successful, although we did have a little rain and the summit was quite blustery. The group is a very nice one and we've gotten to know one another better during these delightful rambles. I'm looking forward to the trip, which starts in two weeks, on September 2. Seven days of walking and 125 km on the Portuguese Way, which approaches Santiago de Compostella from the south.  Last year we did the same distance approaching from the west. I'm still a little concerned about the two days we have to walk over 25 km, particularly the first day, which also looks like there's a pretty significant elevation from the start to the finish. At least this year I'm sure of my shoes and don't expect a repeat of blistering under my toenails (which I didn't even know could happen) and ultimately losing one of the nails months later in while Aruba in February.

Alan won't make that trip. Aside from his lack of interest in walking for days on end, he's had an MRI on his knee and there's a complex tear of the medial meniscus. That's doc talk for you need knee surgery. He's going to wait on that until we get back to the USA and our health insurance.

We've also made quite a lot of arrangements for our move. The moving company will come next Monday or Tuesday to take 150 kilos of our stuff. Except for what we take on the plane that is all we will take from Ireland. It was hard deciding what to take and what to leave behind and these last two months are a little sparse. I save odd shaped jars and bottles but Alan has been vigilant and none of them made the cut. I have been able to take a few of the great bowls I bought in charity shops here. The shipment will go by boat and they tell us it will be 60-90 days in getting there. I hope it's the shorter, but it all depends on how long it takes to fill the container in which our small shipment will be included. I've also bought a few things that have been shipped direct from the stores. We know, for example, that our new everyday silverware from Newbridge has already arrived and a set of porcelain dishware is also on the way. I want to be ready to set up housekeeping -- and welcome guests -- as quickly as possible once we arrive in Bloomington. I suspect we won't have as many out-of-town guests in Bloomington as we've had in Dublin, but hope springs eternal. That sure has been one of the many highlights of our stay here.

We've already found a place to live temporarily while we look for a house to buy. It's good to have friends! Once I put the word out that we had a return date, a friend at Indiana University sent an email to her colleagues and we found a small house within hours. There is even some basic furniture so we won't have to sit on hastily bought lawn furniture and a matress on the floor while we await the rest of our stuff from storage in Virginia. The best thing about this place is that the owner is very flexible about timing and we don't have to sign a lease, so we have some time to find the right place. Another friend in Bloomington has put us in touch with a great realtor who has already sent us several listings in the neighborhood in which we are hoping to buy. I have to say, we are both looking forward to reuniting with our stuff, I'm particularly anxious to get my piano back. Still, I'd rather we stayed in Dublin and would happily sacrifice the piano if that were a possibility. It's not and I've adjusted to it.

We had a nice trip to Wales earlier this week after a harrowing first few hours. We took the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead with our bikes in tow. It never ceases to amaze me how optimistic I am about biking. We initially decided that we could get off in Holyhead and bike the 55 km to Caernarfon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caernarfon] where Alan booked a hotel. Ha, ha. We got about 5 miles on a "dual carriageway," which means highway where you can (legally) ride your bike if you are completely crazy. Unfortunately, one aspect of these roads is that there aren't many exits. We got off at the first opportunity and took the train to Bangor, just 9 km away from our destination. When we got off the train in Bangor we missed the tiny, tiny sign for the bikeway and wound up on another dual carriageway. We didn't realize it until it was too late and we couldn't get off, so when the 18 inch paved siding ended abruptly walking on the grass was the only option for me. Alan continued riding and would wait ahead periodically. He is able to ride on a white line, a talent I don't have at all. It was quite terrifying seeing him up ahead with no margin for error. But, we made it safely, although completly drained and exhausted. The following day was a beautiful, sunny one and we had a lot of fun seeing the sights of Caenarfon, including one of the oldest castles in Europe. It was quite interesting learing a little about the history of Wales and the fierce independence of the people. Fortunately our return ride to Bangor was on the bikeway, a beautiful coastline ride, I was so sorry to have missed it coming out.

Today we are going to see a play by Enda Walsh, one of Ireland's leading contemporary playwrites. It's been characterized is "Waiting for Godot" where Godot arrives. We've seen that play, penned by another of Ireland's great playwrites, Samuel Beckett. I'm hoping this one is better because I just couldn't get it. I was convinced to buy the tickets because it has Stephen Rea and Cilian Murphy [http://ballyturk.com/gallery/] two actors I like very much. (I've provided the link because most of you will know them once you see a picture.) The third guy, who I'm guessing is the arriving Godot is unknown to me yet. I'm hoping I've either matured or the play is more accessible than "Godot," otherwise an afternoon snooze in in my future.

Finally, we are eagerly awaiting our final visitors. Linda and Bob, longtime friends from Washington are coming on September 17. After a few days in Dublin, we have taken a house is Ballyvaughn, County Clare for a week. This is an area in the west of Ireland near The Burren. We spent a nice week with them last year in Clifden in Galway and are looking forward to seeing them again.

I'll likely post more regularly now, until the end of our stay.

The day after we returned from Holland was our 37th wedding anniversary. Like the 36th, we didn't remember it till mid-afternoon. I called Alan from the bus on my way to dance class and he bought a cake and champagne to toast it when I returned. Hopefully we will remember next year in time to plan something.

On Monday, the 7th, I left with my friend Mary for Willie Clancy Week in Miltown Malbay, County Clare, for a week of set dance workshops. I did that festival alone last year so it was good to have the company. We also stayed in the workshop hotel so it was much easier in that way as well. Last year I had a room in a house 4 miles away, so it was impossible to do anything after dark, when all the fun starts! Over the 5 days we were there, we danced 6 hours a day and walked at least 6K each day to the little town where there were lectures and other activities after the morning workshop. Amazingly, I gained 2 kilos.  There's no justice.  I'm going to try and come back next July for the festival again.

I've completely accepted that we have to leave here in November. We've booked our return voyage for November 7 and we are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving in Atlanta with my much missed friend Dorothy and her great family.

The next adventure is another walk on the Camino de Santiago in early September. This time we will start in Portugal and walk a week on the northern coast and into Spain. All of the Camino walks end in Santiago de Compostela in Spain. This year there will be 14 of us going, Alan will stay behind again. His knee is still not good, I'm worried that he will need surgery as soon as we return to the USA. He's determined to tough it out till then, hopefully there won't be big consequences for waiting.

Following the Camino week we have friends coming from the States for another week in the West of Ireland. They will stay a total of two weeks with a stay with us in Dublin bracketing the week in the West.

I'm happy to spend the remaining days of July and all of August here in Dublin, although there's no dance as both the contemporary dance class and the set dance classes are on summer haitus, so there likely won't be much by way of posting for the next 6 weeks.

Well, we didn't get to Alan's home place of Kloosterburen in North Holland after all. We got to the archives in Groningen (like the county seat of North Holland) by train on Tuesday morning from Amsterdam. It took about two hours. We got info from the very well organized archive, housed in a great library and facility. Then we walked around the small City of Groningen. Going further to Kloosterburen (KB) would have required an hour or so bus ride and we had GPS pictures to suggest that KB is really just a wide spot in the road. I've done that in villages in Ireland and it's not good, sometimes it's 4-5 houses and a pub that's generally closed.

I would have gone on and maybe if I pressed it, we could have taken a taxi there and back, but I figured it was Alan's history. Also, if truth be known, I was pretty annoyed that he was able to just scratch the surface and get a lineage to the 1600's. I've always thought of myself as the only one in this relationship who had a long knowledge of family history. Ah, it's always this way. When we went on our honeymoon bike trip so long ago, he lost 11 pounds and I gained 5! It's so annoying.
He's not really that charmed though, because his knee continues to bother him. I feel bad about that, he's really laid up.

We are really tying up our Amsterdam experience. The landlord will come on Sunday to 'check us out.' By this time I realize that there is no way on earth that the landlord could have been 'surprised' by the impending renovation, even if the government dictated the timing. They knew it would be 'June,' just not what date in June, but they weren't really surprised at all. Still, she did offer to let us go, it is an amazing location and place, it was not too expensive and we continued to have fun, so...

We got another visit to the Rijks Museum in today. I was able to see Vermeer's letter and milkmaid up close with the hoards. Of course we got there and Alan didn't hazard the crowds around the two paintings hung together in a great juxtaposition. People really hogged close up, so I can't say any more then I got really, really close to them. It was fun though. We now finished 1600 to 1650, the height of the Dutch period. We might get to that museum one more time. If so, I think I'll skip far ahead, so that my coverage of the museum in the four visits will be more balanced. I only have two days to meet that goal.

This might be my final post from Amsterdam. Right now, the month here has felt like a week, at most. I just can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I'm dreading my return to Dublin where I feel our last three months, we fly by as quickly. Oh, I am sad...

A minor disaster struck when we returned from The Hague and our so, so successful ancestor search last Tuesday! When we arrived, the building was being covered in scaffolding. It seemed like a surprise to everyone, including the retail businesses on the ground floor. Scaffolding is bad enough but they also cover it in mesh, so you are in a cocoon when you pass the threshold. Oh, it was an alarming development.

In the end there's nothing to be done. We can rail at the stars, threaten to sue, leave in a huff (to nowhere) or accept our fate. We chose the last. We had two glorious weeks of unfettered view that is not to be had elsewhere in Holland. The silver lining is that we are on the top floor (4th//5th floor) and the mesh only comes to the middle of the beautiful windows looking out over the Western Market and church. The workmen are very polite, the apartment lends itself to being partitioned off, as do so many apartments we've encountered in Europe. Also they are working on the lower floors just now. They will be painting. The apartment owner seems as genuinely surprised as everyone else that the job started this week. She offered to refund the unused portion, we didn't accept because we only have a week to go and so far it hasn't been too bad.  Of course, after the workers put up the scaffolding, "at the weekend" kicked in. So it's been quiet. We'll see how it goes this week. To our great sorrow, the Amsterdam is coming to an end in ONE WEEK.

It's been fun being in yet another culture. For example, both Alan and I have remarked on the difference in the walking style of the Dutch compared to the Irish. The Dutch don't stop in the middle of the sidewalk to chat or adjust the pram or light up. The middle of the sidewalk (path) is for keeping moving, preferably fast. This we like. But for another, unlike the Irish, they fill up any available space, so if you hesitate for one second in claiming your little spot on the corner or in the square, too bad for you! And they don't smile or say: "Ah, go on love." This we don't like.

We've had to use all our reasoning power when we first got to Ireland to convince ourselves that the locals weren't intentionally trying to annoy us when they would stop, for no apparent reason, right in front of us, usually at a pinch point. There are so many of these small cultural nuances that seem to make the difference between day to day living and observing a culture as a visitor from elsewhere. These things are so small they don't glare out at you. But, if you spend even the smallest amount of time, you discover on your own. Some you like, some you get used to and some you tolerate. Seeing these things is what I like most about this adventure.

The first few days in Amsterdam we were pretty terrified of getting run down by any type of conveyance. Trollies, trucks, cars, tightly clustered pedestrians on tours, horses and bikes, bikes, bikes seem to come at you from every angle. It's all amazingly orderly once you get the hang of it, but you must conform. This is so against my nature that I've taken to acting quite passive in the streets and letting Alan lead me around. I find if I can relax as much as possible, he can pull me along quite easily. I'm like his zombie. Problems arise when he lets go, or a shiny thing catches my eye.

We haven't gotten back to the Rijks Museum. On our way there last Wednesday, we were distracted by the Amsterdam City Museum on the way and went there instead. We've been to that museum several times in past visits, and they have a new interactive Amsterdam City history exhibition that was quite good. We both enjoyed it.

On Friday, we rented bikes and rode to Haarlem. It was a nice ride, the bikes you can rent are good, but it wasn't very picturesque, kinda boring really. The real disappointment was that Haarlem isn't that nice a place either. Not bad but like biking from The Mall in DC to Hyattsville. Once you get there you wonder why you came.

On Saturday we took the ferry across The Eye to Norrd. This is a newer neighborhood of Amsterdam across the bay. The more I'm here, the more I'm impressed with the first bike guide's reminder that the 'forrest' we were riding through was, like everything in Amsterdam, "built environment". Nothing naturally occured where you are standing that wasn't first built by the Dutch. It's really astounding.

On Sunday we went to Delft. The train ride was fun as was walking around the old city early Sunday morning (before 11 a.m., things start late, much later than I thought). Otherwise I thought the city was pretty touristy, like Williamsburg, only the set is real too. Bruges in Belgium was a much, much better example of the period. Still, it was nice. I was disappointed that the Delft Factory, and many of the antique shops, were closed on Sunday.

Today we caught up on housekeeping, both corporeal and organizational. I see I have a preference for Mondays for that...Hmmmm.

During the time it has taken me to write this, I've advanced from acceptance to grim acceptance of the building maintenance. When I began to write this post, the workers had been on site for at least two hours. Alan, ever the early riser, was up at 7, so we can count on the punctual 8 a.m. start time as he's seen it twice now. It was quiet and except if I passed the room where I could see the scaffold veil, I didn't care. Alan spent the morning preparing for our trip to his home place tomorrow. When we broke for lunch, I got my first whiff of paint, and it reminded me of what's to come. Now they are using a grinder on the facade, not the trim. This causes the entire building to vibrate. But, they WILL stop at 4.

I'm now motivated to ensure that we use our last week here to good use. Tomorrow we go to Groningen and Kloosterburen, Alan's ancestor's last home in Holland. We are about to go to the town that nurtured the guy that brought the Balkema name to America. This is akin to my going to Moate, the town in Ireland from which my father emigrated to bring our branch of the Dignam family to America. What a moment! Hopefully it will be fun and we don't find it's Holland's Amityville.  

We went to a concert on Saturday evening in the Concertgebouw: Hayden's Symphony #98, two Strauss songs and Mahler's 4th Symphony. The concert hall is just beautiful. Very similar to others we've seen in Europe. Really ornate and fitting for such a wealthy city. The music was good, I much prefer Hayden to Mahler and was sorry the bill wasn't reversed, with the Mahler the shorter selection. Still, it was good to get out to hear music. Earlier in the day we did another part of the Rijks Museum, I'm up to 1800. I was resolved to remember one thing well and I focused on the Roentgen Writing Desk. This is a truly amazing piece of furniture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC5Hqk7wl7U


On Sunday, we went on a bike tour to "the countryside". It was a very well led group. The young man leading the group, Stuart, reminded me of the leader of a Bikecentennial adventure way back in the olden days of 1976. It was fun to follow someone so fit, who really knew how to keep the group engaged, interested, and moving! On a bike, that's pretty critical. It was a fun adventure. We were exhausted when we got back in the evening.

We took it easy on Monday, catching up with laundry and the like. And today we took our first trip outside Amsterdam. We went to The Hague to start Alan's ancestor search.

The trip to The Hague was quite successful in finding information about Alan's family. In fact, finding all he needed to really get into the community we will visit where the Balkema name and Alan's ancestor, Jakub, originate has been made available. It was quick and easy. He was able to get in a half hour, what would have taken months otherwise. His brother had earlier done some digging, but Alan's research was the first among official documents. He started with Jakub's self report to the marriage license place in Lafayette, Indiana (home of Purdue), that he arrived in New York from Amsterdam in 1851. Turns out it was 1850, but one could see how he would get that wrong since he didn't have any paperwork. From that, Alan got the town and a list of the parents and siblings of his ancestor. It's a wealth of information. He's pretty engaged in it I think.

We are planning to do another area of the Rijks Museum tomorrow. Alan will plan the next trip to his ancestral region. We also made a commitment to return to The Hague because a museum that's been highly recommended, the Mauritzhuis is closed for the next 11 days. There's a countdown flag in front of the museum and it looks like it's been closed for a long time. Still, it also looks like the perfect museum, small, interesting rooms and an amazing collection. We will likely combine that with a trip to Delft.The time is going so quickly, I'm starting to wonder if we will even fit all this in.