A Webby Riney Good Timey

Our most recent visitors, Melanie and Eric Webb just left on Saturday. Melanie, my childhood best bud, and sidekick of serious silliness came with her fun-loving husband to Galway to visit for the last week. Despite their major jet lag, they were fun from the start. I made some WAY too strong java (note to self, never let the tea drinker mix the instant coffee) to keep them from falling asleep standing up. They were even up for exploring on that first evening. So of course we introduced them to Galway properly with McDonagh's fish and chips and a trip to the Front Door for some pints, Baileys and Irish Coffee (that's all together, not for each of us). Unfortunately I had to work the next day, but i left early after meeting them for lunch. We walked along shop street, the pedestrian only street, which is filled with funky shops, restaurants and talented street performers during the summer. That evening Eric played a spot of footie with Mike in his weekly soccer game. Melanie and i cheered them on and were ready with our CPR skills at any moment- the sides were playing fiercely.

The next day at work i was pretty miserable/ thankful to be there... why such a contrast you ask? Well Mike took Mel and Eric to the Aran Islands for some biking fun. I hated being away from my friends and the exploration they were experiencing while i was stuck in an old hospital with an old smell, wearing bottle green trousers; hence miserable. However, there was not one moment of the day that i looked out the window and didn't see lashing rain and gray skies. I often thought about how i lent my rain pants to Melanie, how Eric declined borrowing Mike's, and Mike fully clothed in his rain gear.... if there was one more on the trip, Eric wouldn't be the only one with a pruney, dish-pan-hands-like body; hence thankful. However, I have never met 3 people who are better sports about being fully soaked and clammy for 5 straight hours while touring a small island by bike. The 3 of them stepped off the ferry into 50 degree lashing rain weather and took a minute to decide between taking a bus tour around the island, a horse and buggy or bikes. After a minute they all said "what the hey, let's get wet and go biking!" They were trekking along the narrow roads trying to see through splashes and drops, attempting to climb hills through the insane weather, and what was that noise? The melodious sound Melanie was hearing was Eric (A.K.A. champ of the day) singing silly songs and keeping everyone laughing. At one point, just as Melanie was getting the hang of riding a bike without really being able to see or being able to remember what dryness felt like, two tour busses, were about to pass right next to little Melanie as she was cut off the road and was forced to hop off the bike to avoid being smushed into the stone wall. As if she wasn't wet enough, she hopped off directly into a puddle ankle deep and for the rest of the day her socks were sloshing with each step. Although it was a "crappy/ fun" day i am told it was the true bonding time for Melanie, Eric and Mike.

Wednesday i woke up with a bit of a cough, a headache, and i just couldn't make myself go to work. Especially not after Tuesday when every time i coughed a little the entire department tried to throw me out on the streets. A cultural lesson for me: Back in the states staying home sick from work meant you actively were experiencing both diarreah and vomitting, had a severely contagious disease which caused death, or had a limb actually hanging off of your being, otherwise you're considered fit to treat patients. This is in comparison to Ireland where if you cough more than 4 times, or complain of a headache or god-forbid, menstrual cramps, or say that your belly doesn't quite feel right after eating mashed potatoes, chips and crisps for lunch you can't be at work, someone must give you a lift home immediately and don't even think about coming in tomorrow if you don't feel better. But i digress. So Wednesday i went with my buddies on a bus trip to the Burren and Cliffs of Moher. We had a surprisingly beautiful, mostly dry day. The Burren was again phenomenal, the Cliffs were extremely windy (see picture on the far right of the page) and the coast line, my favorite, was breathtaking.

Thursday we head off to Dubs, Dublin that is. The train was SO worth it! 2 1/2 hours v. 5, toilets, food, a table to play cards, take 2 or to sleep on! I don't know that we'll EVER take the bus cross country again. We got to our B & B and were on the move again. We checked out Temple Bar, where all the pubs and restaraunts are and found the Bad Ass cafe where Sinead O'Conner used to waitress. We saw Christ Church, an impressive Cathedral with history dating back to the 1100's. Click on the picture and note the sign: We also got to St. Patrick's Catherdral too late to go in but the park was beautiful. And we saw the place where St. Patrick is to have baptized the Irish in the 5th century.

Our dinner was as Irish as it gets, some form of meat, some form of potatoes and Guinness.
Friday we got to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College after an amusement park-like wait in line. It was worth it- the history of the 8th century text of the 4 gospels was fastinating. It is an illumiated manuscript made with colors from ALL over the world from things like chalk from northern Ireland, to blue from a certain plant in China, to purple from a pregant insect of the Mediterraean (i'm serious). Then the ancient library of 2 open arched stories was beautiful! The old books from centuries ago were arranged on enormous bookcases about 30 deep! We finally got to see St. Patricks Cathedral on the inside, we checked out St. Stephen's Green and Marrion Square. After walking for hours 2 days straight we needed some rest so we found ourselves a cozy pub. We taught our buds how to play King, an easy to learn game our Brazilin friends taught us. Melanie and I didn't do so well, but we played for hours while sipping some warming drinks. We followed that up with a fantastic Italian dinner with Limoncello for dessert, which is a Webb family favorite. Our evening couldn't have been sillier or more memorable.

Parting was painful but we have some Riney-Webb future trips already planned that we're definitely looking forward to, Montana anyone?

Don't take my word for it

I always thought I was really good with directions. After all, I navigated Michael and I halfway around Ireland and we only got lost once, but signage in this country is in a poor state so i'm forgiven for that one. Well when our cousins Billy and Bill came to visit i resigned my self from map reading! We took them to the Aran Islands for Michael's birthday, the 28th, for the day that was meant to be the nicer of the 2 weekend days. They suggested that we go a different way from how we went the first time Mike and I went so we could see a new part of the island as well. Checking the map i noted a clearly marked yellow oval appearing to go past major sites of the island and then an equally clear white mark connecting to the outter skirts of the island. We never checked out that white line last time, i thought to myself. Confident as i was following the map we started off in the opposite direction than we did last time. The map showed the white road following the coast and jutting inwards up over a hill and eventually connecting with our destined yellow brick road. We biked about 10 minutes until we saw what looked a small road headed over a hill. This MUST be it. We started out ascent until the road got rockier and grass was growing beneath our tire wheels, narrower and narrower it became until it stopped at a gated path leading to a field of cows, the chickens were keeping watch over the gate and there was no where else to go. I looked back and noticed that Bill clearly was skeptical and never even bothered making the trek, but waiting about 1/2 way up for us to figure out for ourselves that this definitely wasn't our little white road. Thankfully there were workers i could ask to point us in the right directions. They said "Go right, and after the steepest downhill, make your second right." No street signs, no landmarks, just a quick look to his friend to make sure those were good enough directions. Off we were... "does this seem like a steeper hill than the last one"... "no that one ahead looks worse"... "its gotta be this one we just took, but where's the road". We found the "right" road somehow and up we went... and up, and higher, and steeper and did i mention up? it was ALL loose rock, ALL up, and this was considered a road. There weren't even COWS around here!! We went about 20 minutes when Bill asked, are you sure this is the right way... i didn't know what to say but "no". So on we went since going down this on our bikes would surely cause some major injury. Just when we thought we were going level, around the corner it went up again, i hated that direction after about 30 minutes! At last from the top we could see that somewhere off in the distance that little speck could be another person- hope at last. We hopped on the bikes and were never so glad to see a paved road as we were that day, ah, the yellow path... and that is why it is so clearly marked and encouraged to take. We again took them to ancient fort of Dun Aengus in the rain, and road back in the rain for some sweater buying and fresh fish and chips eatting, trying to dry off as the wet seemed to penetrate through our rain gear! I think they had a nice time dispite it all...

We came back for some key lime birthday cheesecake for Michael and then Mike's birthday dinner was the highlight of the day i'd say. Delicious Thai food (i think Bill and Billy's only meal without 3 huge mounds of potatos) finished off by a chorus of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" by the whole restaraunt, he was thorougly embarassed, excellent.

Sunday, supposedly the ugly weather day was blue and bright and actually WARM. We drove all through Connemara and i mean ALL through it. We intended to just go to Killery Harbor (irelands only fjord) but again... with the map in my hand we saw WAY more of the coast line than we were hoping too. After about 2 hours in the car and passing only 1 town and perhaps 3 signs i couldn't even find our whereabouts on our map! Oh NO! So we pulled over so mike and i could study the next huge collaboration of signs posted and figure out which way to go, we must have looked just as we were.... completely lost, because the next car stopped, rolled down the window and offered his help immediately. He was our hero, he lead us to the next town that we could actually buy lunch in! We finally made it to the Connemara National Park and walked around on a path that started off much like our Aran Islands uphill path did- not funny. But the view from the top was of course gorgeous and worth it. We finished the drive home with the most phenomenal views of the green of Co. Mayo. Field upon field, steep hills with tiny streams of fresh water rolling down, determined stone walls reaching the tops of each tall hill. The area is amazing. Anyway, after all that driving Billy actually finished the 7th Harry Potter book! Well you know, not EVERYONE can be engrossed by the unbelievable natural beauty surrounding us each moment.

However, dispite all that, i'd have to say the most fun was the darts we played the first night we were there. Billy and I play against each other in a game that truly could have lasted weeks by the rate we were going... we were terrible (sorry Billy). Neither of us could get our last bulls eye and it must have been an hour at that point. So we moved on to Rinehimer's v Sickles in a game of 300- after 4 games the tournament was tied 2-2, but we decided that billy really won our first game since he was the first to get a bulls eye in our 300 games. So the Sickles happily left the champions. We had a great visit with them... who's next? Just don't let me get near the map!