What's the forecast? (bog brain morning)

The morning of Day 3. It's a peaceful and rainy morning. I've managed to get some coffee in and ... not much else. It's 10am. My mind is a bit foggy, so I'll just jot down a few notes on topics that deserve more research.

Cliffs of Moher
If Andrew gets out of bed today, we might go to the Cliffs of Moher. Here's a youtube video of Ben Howard's 'Old Pine,' which shows the landscape.

Geography and Archeology

Galway is bordered by bogs to the east, burren to the southwest, and sea to the south. Development necessarily goes to the northwest. I'd like to make a point of seeing what this means when we get out in the car. I came across this note by asking Par where the larger business reside. Since our accommodations are at the "heart" of Galway, one would be inclined to look no further than the map of restaurants and pubs, the shops, and the River Corrib which flows from Lough Corrib through Galway to Galway Bay.

River Corrib & the Canals & White Swans
The canals aren't just a beatiful accessory to the landscape here. The River Corrib is a fast flowing river that empties into what I've heard called the basin. By day, people gather along the river bank and it is beautiful and peaceful especially with the great white swans-- Pam says there are three young swans which we should be able to find if we take the river walk up a ways... but I'm also finding that the Corrib can be quite dangerous and that people have gone missing in it, Par says maybe even as much as one per month. He says that you can here the helicopters going out sometimes to search for a body. If they can find it in the canal at the weekend, then it will turn up later in the week at one or two known inlets at the Bay.

http://www.photos.galwaynews.ie/5118-man039s-body-found-after-search-corrib

Between our visit to the museum yesterday and dinner, I really began to wonder if one aspect of Galway is that it's a place where things and people go missing and if the River Corrib isn't somehow magically connected to that. There's so much history and lore that leads me to this idea.

And the swans are part of it, too.

"Where are your husband's children?"
"They are in the lake... I changed them into white swans... because my husband loved them more than they loved me."

Natterjack Toad
This is the only toad/frog species native to Ireland. It's found in County Kerry, but maybe if I just mention it in this blog, one will find its way to me. :-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natterjack_Toad

Bog
It's not just in my imagination. Bogs are important. Pam built a wonderful fire this morning with dried peat from the bog. The house is wonderfully warm, and the Par gave me a heads up that the peat delivery would be coming in just a few minutes. Par says that the process is simple enough-- cut out the peat, dry it and bring it down the road to the people that need it. I know it sounds quite ordinary, but I think that it's such a blessing of a resource to have, especially since it rains here so much. I think most everyone knows that bogs are also renowned for preserving whatever falls into it.
http://blog.goireland.com/2010/01/19/bogs-in-ireland/#axzz1wR9fo99f

Art
This is a topic that's come up for us, as there is so much creative talent here. What do aspiring creative artists do to bring their work out into the marketplace? Really, there's some interesting graffiti here, and I think there's more than a fair amount of meaningful doodling happening here.

One of the places we must check out is the Black Cat Gallery.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Cat-Gallery/178266702229569

Also need to check out Cathy Davey's 'Bag of Bones Collection' at http://www.myspace.com/cathydavey.

Theatre
This is simply a must-do.

The Irish Times – 25 Things to Look forward to in 2012 – 31.12.11

“It begins with a faith so rigid that it cannot be eaten away by the Great Hunger. It continues in 1960s Coventry, where an uprooted Irish family is tearing itself apart. And it concludes in a Galway pub where reunited friends seek new beliefs in a disenchanted Ireland. The tragedy of famine, as Tom Murphy saw it, was that “a hungry and demoralised people become silent”. Starting in May, the restorative journey of DruidMurphy, a staging of Tom Murphy’s Famine, A Whistle in the Dark and Conversations on a Homecoming, which will tour Ireland, London and the US, is the story of a nation. Essential.”

Writer Retreats
Chris de Lorenzo, I am thinking of you because I know you love to plan retreats. Noleen says she'll help put together a list and she has wonderful stories of doing retreats here... Will update. And of course, I think Par & Pam's place would make a wonderful retreat for a writer or other creative spitit.



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Kai Breakfast, Galway City Museum, Walk to Eyre Square

In a rush. Pictures now. Text later.

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Time to Pamper

I've just woken from a jet lag nap. Pam's convinced me that a glass of red chilean wine and a hot bath in the six foot tub with Chanel No. 5 bubbles is a must do for the day. I'm not putting up a fight on that one. Thanks, Pam! Andrew doesn't know what he's missing.

The Amazing Par & Pam, Martine's, Tigh Neachtain's

It's a beautiful morning in Galway! It's overcast, yes, but it's "shorts weather" and I'm sitting at the back patio at Par & Pam's BNB on Henry Street. (Visit their profile on airbnb.com -- tons of pics of their wonderful BNB and all great reviews. Of course, I doubt any review can really capture what wonderful hosts these two are. They are so down to earth, caring, and positive. I truly feel lucky that we were able to find them.

My comment this morning is that it's terribly difficult to really have a 'live' blog because you don't want to miss the moment, so I'm afraid that my photos are sort of in-between moments and the reader will have to rely heavily on his or her imagination and a few scant descriptions on my part to verify the joy of being here.

Here's a little snapshot of where I'm writing from. There are pigeons in the eclectic garden area to the left. I don't know what the pigeons are up to, but they seem to have made a happy home here. They are pretty much the bustle of the morning shuffling around in the bushes. I ask Pam if these are just ordinary pigeons. "There's no such thing as an ordinary pigeon," she replies. I think I've met my match. :-)

Our host's cousin also popped in to say hello this morning. He dropped off some scene mags yesterday and I've just now 'volunteered' him to take us out to Wilde's one night, which is the gay bar around the corner.

Last night we went out to dinner at Martine's. After the "stick to your ribs" lunch we had yesterday, we kept it simple with a nice bottle of Sauvignon and I had a' tart' topped off blue cheese and caramelized onions and a rousing twinge of balsamic. I also ordered a side of mushrooms that went well with the tart and A's lemon zesty risotto. The food was delightful and the ambience of Quay Street was cozy and cheerful.

Here's a snapshot of the entrance to Quay Street. It's an area with loads of restaurants and pubs-- it's not at all pretentious and even though it's on the touristy side of things, the locals have some favorite pubs here as well.

The good conversation goes without saying, but I'll just briefly recap with topics that were covered in a short span last night: family histories, the Irish and American sense of sarcasm and satire, non governmental agencies (NGOs), Burning Man, David Sedaris, the abundance of alternative medicine in this area, and the future of diversity in self-identity and lifestyle. Whoa, right?! And that was just the conversation we had, fortunate as we were to have someone that lives here to converse with us and flag down friends to join in the conversation.

We wound up at Tigh Neachtain (pronounced tee nocktan). I was curious about local brews and Andrew wanted a taste of the favored whiskeys. I saw a beer on tap called "Galway Hooker" which was all tapped out, but I went for the next favorite which was a described to me as wheaty. Andrew went for the Connemara single malt whiskey forty percent.

Tigh Neachtain

Mind you, the libations were just an added bonus, a taste of the local, but I consider it a 'bucket list' item to have a Guinness in Ireland. I wasn't disappointed here either. The Guinness was so good that I had another. I was amazed by the smoothness of it and the peakiness of the head. I couldn't resist dipping my pinky in it to test the peak. Magic!






When I say 'magic,' I mean it in the way that a NZ flat white is magic, or a Bloody Mary in San Francisco's Zeitgeist is magic. The immediate experience is such an epiphany, so right, that the realness of legend that brought me to it is suddenly revealed and at once defies explanation.

But this kind of magic is good stuff for blogging. In the short time that we've been here, I can sense that other 'stuff of legend' adventures are right around the corner.

Can't wait to share it with you!

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Our First Meal in Galway, The Kitchen Cafe

Make your way to the Galway Museum and the Spanish Arches and you're sure to come across the Kitchen Cafe. We'd heard that the head chef was amazing with flavors and adding new items to the menu, so we just had to taste something from the daily specials. The obvious first choice was the Cucumber and Almond Gazpacho which was perfectly chilled and incredibly tasty.

The brown bread that was served with the gazpacho also came with the open-faced ham and cheddar sandwich. Consisting of four solid ingredients, pick this sandwich if you want distinctive flavors and have some room in your belly for a good feed. The cheddar cheese is sharp and aged. The ham is fresh and generously cut. We've seen the brown bread before and it has a delicious sweetness to it without tasting too much like cake. There's a bit of chutney between the ham and the bread that brings it all together quite
nicely.

We also went for egg noodles and marinated and fried tofu. Even if you've given up on tofu, this dish will make you a believer again. The chef brilliantly brings simple ingredients together in this dish. You'll wonder what you've been doing wrong in the kitchen, really. This dish has leaves, peppers, egg noodles, green onions, some soy and maybe some sesame oil.

We hobbled out after our meal and watched the swans at the docks on the River Corrib. What a wonderful introduction to Galway this was! I'm trying to finagle a trip to the Museum proper tomorrow just so I can continue sampling the menu.

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Location:The Kitchen, Galway, Ireland

In Flight Film, 'The Secret of Roan Inish'

This must be the second or third time that I've seen The Secret of Roan Inish and I still haven't got any idea what it's about. The obvious synopsis is that a little island girl loses her little brother in a freak cradle-drifting-in-the-water-accident. She has visions/sightings of him "without a stitch", but everyone thinks she's crazy. Turns out, she's not crazy but comes from a family of mermaids (seal-maids?) and that the remaining family must return to the island in order to have this feral little boy returned to them.



I have some possible ideas about what makes this an interesting film, particularly since I have strong personal feelings about island fever. However, I think the real story is about living close to the land and the sea. In order to reclaim their lost family member, the small family must work together to rebuild their abandoned cottage Roan Inish. Who knew that you could make a roof out of hay and string up large rocks to hold it down? Or my favorite one, that you can just walk out to the sea, grab some seaweed and make the most nourishing soup known to man? Although he disappeared as an infant, the dark haired feral boy has a bit of the family seaweed soup when he returns and can suddenly speak English. It's only one word and I won't tell you what it is.

However, if I come across any recipes for seaweed soup in Ireland, I'll put it in the comments section below.

This has been the in flight entertainment. Next stop is Newark where I shall wash my face and continue avoiding screaming children by having a beer.

Are we blogging yet?

So I think this is called pre-blogging because I'm not actually on this relaxing vacation just yet. I'm at SFO watching other people be much more stressed out about problems much larger than mine. I'm considering this to be a kind of gross reality check. I've been stressing out about the ten-day weather forecast in Ireland, whether I've absorbed enough history about the Tribes of Galway and the significance of certain forts, castles, and churches, whether it's stupid to bring a spare canvas bag, etc.

But at the airport it's a whole different story. These 'people' are in the moment. I'm torn between plugging in my earphones to listen to the Big Lebowski soundtrack or to otherwise pay close attention to why a mother of three doesn't know why she has to pay for bags 4-6 as well as the weight over 50 pounds. The mother of three has wrapped her head in some sort of crumpled gray scarf and she occasionally puts hand to forehead as if she might burst into tears, but she never does. Don't get sucked in. She's making a scene. She wants things because she's a single mom, which I get, but no one is going to rush to her defense-- this is an airport and nobody gives a flying f###.

There are other stories bigger than mine, apparently toddlers love the rolling pedestrian floors. The only downside is that they hate getting off of them. Be warned single moms with a large haul: baby doesn't want to come to mommy.

Speaking of toddlers, thank the flying spaghetti monster for noise canceling earphones. It turns out that the screams of little children are alarmingly similar. It doesn't matter if they're happy or sad. After twenty minutes of this cacophony, your ears will bleed, especially if you are accustomed as I am to children in the company of nannies. Mom's bring nannies on your holidays. Travelers, don't skimp on the good earphones.

That's all for now. Time to board. See you in Newark!


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Location:SFO, CA