Buddies in Ireland: Brogues and Barrets

My euro-savvy sister, Kim, recently came to Galway for a short but sweet visit. It was her first time to the Green Isle, so savvy as she may be we still got to show her around. The jet lag didn’t seem to faze Kim as it had all of our previous visitors. She was a little sleepy but more in the got-up-a-little-early kind of way, not the I-just traveled-5-hours-in-a-cramped-plane-and-didn’t-get-a-full-nights-sleep-and-now-it-feels-like-1am kind of way. What was also noteworthy was that once she made it to Galway she navigated the notoriously unpredictable city bus and arrived at our door without getting lost! The fact that she chose the bus over a taxi and managed to arrive in a timely fashion is extremely impressive.

When Kim arrived on Friday she was looking to stay awake and get familiar with her surroundings, so the two of us ventured into town by the for mentioned bus. We then proceeded to walk around town for a few hours only to run into my friend Dara from one of the agencies I volunteer with. The conversation was comical at first because Dara had met Christina and now wondered who this new woman was that I was walking around with. After I assured him it was my sister (he didn’t argue) it was all good.

We awoke Saturday to clear skies and sun, and as we have taught you all, this is incredibly rare to Ireland. We were lucky as it was the day that we had scheduled to go to the Aran Islands. If you remember last time I ventured to this same place, I was drenched by the rain all day. So the prospect of sun and clear skies was a vast improvement even if we all forgot to bring our sunglasses.

We had a great day biking all over the Island. Kim rode a bike for the first time in years, we saw seals, which find the shores of Inis Mor a grand place for sunning themselves, and got as close as we could bear to the cliffs at the Dun Angus fort.

Another highlight of Kim’s visit was our journey to County Mayo to once again visit the Gronell-Burke homestead. It was another beautiful day and our time at the cottage was calm yet enjoyable. We took lots of pictures, walked all around the property and generally tried to absorb the fact that our great grandmother used to live in the very spot we were standing on.

Tuesday night we headed to Shannon Airport for the second leg of our visit with Kim. This time we would be headed to Paris, France where Kim lived for a year as an exchange student. Kim was thrilled with the prospect of returning to the culturally rich Mecca that is Paris.

We arrived late in the evening and were greet by a glowing Eiffel Tower as we entered the City. Luckily we didn’t have any delays with our flight and the hostel was still open. We were a bit nervous since we had to check in by 1 and arrived by bus to the opposite side of the city at 12:15. We decided against the Metro and were blessed by the most efficient, if not rather erratic, taxi driver we’ve ever experienced and made it to the hostel just in time… although Christina was noted to have white knuckles by the end of the ride. It was an unassuming place but we had our own bathroom and two nice beds so we were plenty happy.

I awoke early Wednesday with a bold ambition: Run 5 miles in a city I didn’t know and a language I didn’t speak. I managed to complete the run but it was a bit monotonous as I was forced to run up and down the same street as to avoid getting lost. During my run I soon realized that Paris had welcomed us with a beautiful day, the let’s-go-see-Paris-from-the-Eiffel-Tower kind of beautiful. So that was first on the agenda. Well, finding a bakery for breakfast was first, but our Eiffel tower plans were a close second.

The Tower itself is massive and awe inspiring. You can take the lift (elevator) for 8 Euro or take the steps for 4. We chose the latter. It was a bit unnerving climbing the steps hundreds of feet off the ground, but also surreal. We had to keep reminding ourselves that we were really in Paris, on the Eiffel Tower for goodness sake! At the observation deck we got a full panorama of the Paris skyline and Kim was great about pointing out places of interest.

Once we ambled down we had a picnic lunch in a nearby park and decided to see the Louvre next. We went straight for the main attraction, Mona Lisa, and she did not disappoint. Her eyes followed us around the room and her smile was conversation inspiring to say the least. We also managed to see Venus De Milo, Winged Victory, and of course the glass pyramid that greets you to the museum, all awesome in their own right.

The Louvre was great and we were glad to have gone but it is extremely large and a tad overwhelming. So we left satisfied with what we had seen. We took a short rest while on the Metro and then ventured to the Sacre Coeur a.k.a. the Sacred Heart Basilica. We even got to rest our tired feet a little more during the evening vespers service where about fifteen nuns sang and prayed all in French of course. It was very peaceful. Later we found a café for dinner and ventured to Notre Dame for a crepe and some mango gelato. It was a long day but very memorable.

Thursday we went

to the Pompidou, a museum for modern art. The sculptures in the water fountain were colorful, silly and one of our favorite sites. The museum was great too with lots of unique pieces. After a quick Panini we walked around the city to a few of Kim’s favorite shops and neighborhoods. It was a nice change of pace and a chance to see a different side of the city. I think we were exhausted from the day before so we headed back to the hostel for a nap. A few hours later we woke in time to head to a vegetarian restaurant Kim suggested. The food was excellent and our cheery waiter made the evening simply delightful as he humored us when we tried desperately to speak French, pretty terribly I might say, but we certainly tried.

Friday was another running day for me. This time I was a little bit more prepared. I had studied the map with Kim, planned out the Metro I could take if I got lost and even stuck 20 Euro in my shoe just in case I needed to hire a taxi. It was the run of a lifetime. I ran past the Louvre, Notre Dame, River Seine, and lastly through the legs of the Eiffel tower!! I didn’t get lost once and made it safely back to the hostel with the 20 Euro still tucked in my sneaker, what an incredible life experience.

After another delicious pastry breakfast in a cozy park we headed off to the Musee D’Orsay, a museum that once functioned as a train station. The high ceilings and ornate metalwork made for a quite a backdrop for all the art we saw.

That night we finally got a chance to gorge ourselves on baguette and cheese. Wine would have been nice but alas we didn’t remember to bring an opener, Orangina was the next best substitute. We met up with Kim’s friend and a few of his own friends for a wonderful dinner and evening out complete with mojitos and a walk along the city streets. It was so fun for us to hang out with such friendly and fun people and to hear the beautiful language being spoke all around us.

Sadly, we had leave on Saturday. We did some last minute touring of the city which included a

visit to another bakery and the Impressionist Museum. The most colorful pastry shop caught our eyes just as we were headed to the Metro station and so we had to stop in for a one last sweet. We then rushed to get our bus. We got there with not minute to spare, a quick hug to Kim and we were off.