Mind the Gap

Ending Where we Began

2011-08-14T23:19:00.004+01:00

Plan B: Instead of ending where we started this trip, we ended where we started our relationship! Things have a way of working out...

But we better catch you up on where we've been! So here are some photos from our gathering in Spirit Lake, Iowa!

We were greeted by CJ and her sisters, her niece and grand-nieces and nephews!

In this pic, from left to right: Derek, Laura, Beckett, Ryer, Stella, Jake, and Cail

Then, it was nap time!

The next morning, Grandma Ellen and Martha Dakota hosted a lovely breakfast for us!

Laura, Kelty, and Jenny enjoying some food together at the Lakeside reception!

CJ, Deb, Cory, and Martha sing

Hanging out at the lake!

A beautiful tower of cupcakes...

...which we devoured with glee!

...and sometimes with a little disappointment...

The women of the family honoured Laura with another shower!

The sun sets over Spirit Lake...and another grand celebration!

Leg II: Fort Collins to Spirit Lake

2011-07-31T20:28:00.021+01:00

Well, we're currently in Spirit Lake, IA recovering a bit from last nights celebration before heading to Tracy, MN tomorrow. We'll write more in our next post about the festivities, but first we should say something about the ride to get here and post some photos of the journey.

So, the route we had planned ran like this:

View Wedding Ride II in a larger map

And this is still essentially the route we stuck to, except that we changed a few of the places that we stayed at. A few by choice and a few due to necessity (e.g. we couldn't cross the Missouri near Niobrara because the road was flooded, so we crossed at Yankton instead). Some of the most notable things that happened on this part of the journey were that we road our first century (107 miles from Fort Collins to Sterling, CO), we had our first good dousing in a thunderstorm between Burwell and O'neill, NE, we broke 1,000 miles on our trip so far as we were riding between Freeman, SD and Rock Rapids, IA and we also crossed into our fifth state (Iowa). Finally, because of our route change due to the flooded Missouri, we got to stop in Rock Rapids and see my cousin Desiree and her one year old daughter Annen. It was a really hot ride, but we made pretty good time and had lots of fun. Anywho, here are some of the pictures from the trek:

Laura took this crazy photo of me leaping amongst the fireflies at our campsite in Broken Bow. Unfortunately the fireflies don't show up very well in the photo. Also unfortunate, our campsite was really close to some train tracks that kept us up during the night, but we got a few hours of sleep and our next location was much better.

From Broken Bow, we biked up to Burwell where we camped right next to the north fork of the Loup River in the city park. It was an excellent spot. This doe and two fawns came down for a drink towards sunset.

Laura poses by an old sod house at the park in Burwell.

Laura takes a break in the shade on this beautiful tree lined gravel road just south of O'neill, NE.

Coming into O'neill there was this great mural on the side of one of the buildings. With all the action taking place in this mural, it's hard to disagree with all the fun the Nebraskans must be having. The giant shamrock is because O'neill is the Irish capital of Nebraska, apparently. We did stay in a really great hotel here and had breakfast at a nice restaurant that both had an Irish influence.

This was taken at the top of one of the biggest hills we've climbed yet. And strangely it was in Nebraska, between Creighton and Bloomfield.

In Bloomfield after having some really good rolls at this local bakery, we biked east into this beautiful sunrise that took on different forms as we continued across Nebraska's rolling hills.

Here it is again.

That same day we crossed the Missouri at Yankton. Typically there wouldn't be any water around these trees.

Back into SD.

We had just a little bit of rain as we headed into Iowa. Here I am taking a break before heading down into the Big Sioux River Valley and crossing into Iowa.

DONUTS!

2011-07-26T23:58:00.002+01:00

We've been making a habit of getting breakfast items (juice, muffins, donuts, rolls to go with our yummy jar of almond butter) the night before, because this allows us to munch whilst we're packing up and getting ready to hit the road. The earlier we can leave, the better. We'd prefer to be on the road in the dark than in this crummy heat!! Anyway, last night, upon arriving in Bloomfield, NE, we found a delightful bakery and picked out some rolls for ourselves...but as we were talking the owner said, "Now, wait, these are for tomorrow? Well what time are you leaving? Early? You better trade those in and get fresh ones in the morning. We open at 5!" So that's just what we did. And let me tell you, fresh rolls at 5:30 am are the best thing since...well, you know.

So, those powered us through long enough to get us back into South Dakota. We're in Freeman, just north of Yankton, and we've got two more days planned to get us to Iowa. But thinking about the next party has also got us thinking about the last one...so we'd better share with you!

Party Prep: Theresa helped us out by making a vat of potato salad!! (And T and her honey, Chris, put us up in their abode for three days, too!! Which was wonderful, as always! Thank You!)

Derek's Aunt Nancie and Uncle Paul join us in the Awesome Matching T-Shirts Club!

Greg and Jamie--pals from Derek's Masters program at CSU...and fellow world travelers! How's China?

The Table Decor was styled with help by Nancie, Theresa, and Chris...we sent a box of our original decorations down from Spearfish that will continue to attend more of the events! Get excited!!!

The fine work of an artist, the Upright Tower of Wedding Favors

One of the tires went flat at the party! Uh oh...WHO was the Captain on the way there, Kevin???

Speaking of being the Captain, Kevin also graced the party with this awesome stunt...(many of you had left already, I'm sorry you didn't see it live because it really was quite something!!!)

Leg I: Spearfish, SD to Fort Collins, CO

2011-07-26T03:17:00.000+01:00

Nebraska is STEEP! Who woulda thunk? Well, anyway, we are sitting here in our motel room in Bloomfield after a small hitch in our plans...the highway we were planning to take beyond Niobrara (after camping at the pleasant Niobrara State Park) is flooded! So we changed our route and ended up on an extremely hilly road through Creighton that led us, eventually, here...some of the biggest hills we've seen since leaving SD. Anyway, we had a fun day though it was steep and HOT, and we thought we'd look back on the earlier part of our trip and share it with you!!

Here was our intended route:

View Wedding Ride I in a larger map

Starting off in front of the Meyers house in Spearfish. Derek's dad, Kent, his brother Jordan, his Aunt Nancie, and our friend John rode with us up the canyon to Cheyenne Crossing...

...where we met a big group of friends and family to have a bon voyage breakfast!

Outside Cheyenne Crossing after some delectable sourdough pancakes!

The Hills are so incredibly green after so much rainfall!

In Hill City, we stayed at an adorable B&B called Mountains and Plains--it is also the Smiling Bear Gift Shop. The owners, Sam and Linda, were incredibly sweet and wonderful, and made us omelettes in the morning to send us off!!

Here are some more pics of the B&B on their website.

Geology Rocks!

From Hill City, we had beautiful weather heading south on the Michelson Trail , until we were nearing Edgemont. The skies started threatening rain, and we ditched the gravel trail for the shorter, faster road...as we came within a mile or two of Edgemont, the skies opened up. Our original plan was to camp on the southwest side of Edgemont in the Buffalo Gap Grasslands, but instead we opted for a motel (The Rainbow) . What would we expect to see over the hotel office on our way back from a big steak and potato dinner...?

After Edgemont, we had three hot and hilly days through eastern Wyoming, staying one night in Lusk, and then two nights in Torrington (one night camping, and the second, after Laura woke up with a nasty cold, in the Days Inn, our second decision to stray from our plan!)

Finally, we reached Cheyenne, again just before an enormous storm began brewing over the top of us. By that time, though, we were having AMAZING Italian food at a little place called L'Osteria Mondello! It really was spectacularly good. The front of the place was a little pizzeria, but then in the back they had a full menu with wait service. And not only was the food spectacular, but they also gave us free cannolis! So, if you're ever in Cheyenne, we highly recommend it.

The next morning, bright and early, we had breakfast in this old fashioned diner, which was also our hotel's front office. Here's Derek looking a bit groggy, probably waiting on his coffee.

After about 10 miles of riding, we caught our first glimpse of the Rockies. Little did we know, that the service road we thought would take us nicely alongside the interstate would soon turn to gravel. This meant that we had to spend about 10 miles slowly riding or walking the bike along county roads until we were able to pick up Terry Lake Road into Fort Collins (the third change in our route). The riding after that, though, was simply grand. We cruised into town again just before the rain hit. So, all in all it was a rather smooth trip. We made some adjustments and got to our destination right on time!

Spearfish Wedding and Reception

2011-07-23T22:04:00.009+01:00

Just to give you some background, Laura and I planned our wedding around a bike trip; the idea being that instead of people driving to come to our wedding, we would bike to some central locations where we had lots of family and friends. This first post covers the events in Spearfish where we had a proper and very beautiful ceremony in Spearfish, SD followed by a reception for friends and family there. Posts to come will cover our journey and further celebrations in Fort Collins, CO; Spirit Lake, IA; and Redwood Falls, MN.

Adam Ziegler comes down the aisle with his daughter, the flower girl, Taycee.

Laura's brothers, Paul (Left) and Kevin (right) walked her down the aisle.

Derek's Mom, Zindie, reads:

A Map of the World
by Ted Kooser

One of the ancient maps of the world

is heart-shaped, carefully drawn

and once washed with bright colors,

though the colors have faded

as you might expect feelings to fade

from a fragile old heart, the brown map

of a life. But feeling is indelible,

and longing infinite, a starburst compass

pointing in all the directions
two lovers might go, a fresh breeze

swelling their sails, the future uncharted,

still far from the edge
where the sea pours into the stars.

The second reading we chose was recorded by our dear friend Jessie Akos, who couldn't be with us in person that day, as she had just given birth to a beautiful baby boy!

Bicycles

by Nikki Giovanni

Midnight poems are bicycles

taking us on safer journeys

than jets

quicker journeys

than walking

but never as beautiful

a journey

as my back

touching you under the quilt.

Midnight poems

sing a sweet song

saying everything

is all right

Everything

here for us

I reach out

to catch the laughter

The dog thinks

I need a kiss

Bicycles move

with the flow

of the earth

like a cloud

so quiet in the October sky

like licking ice cream

from a cone

like knowing you

will always

be there

All day long I wait

for the sunset

The first star

the moon rise

I move

to a midnight

poem

called

You

Propping

Against

the Dangers

Derek's Dad, Kent, shares some words of his own:

The summer Derek was nine he developed an interest in grasshoppers. There were a lot of them around, and he thought he should have a few, so we found him a glass jar, and we cut holes in the lid, and Derek prepared an expedition to the meadow between our house and the creek. Before long he came running back. We anticipated a grasshopper bonanza, but discovered instead, when he got in the door, that his right hand was bleeding—profusely.

He hadn’t discovered some kung-fu grasshopper that considered living in a jar an insult. Rather, the grasshoppers were quicker than he’d anticipated, and after several failures at catching them, he had a good idea. If the grasshoppers wouldn’t go inside the jar, the jar would go outside the grasshoppers. Derek crept up to the next grasshopper he saw, lifted his jar like a net and swung it down, capturing the grasshopper inside.

For a split second.

In the next split second, the jar didn’t exist, since the grasshopper happened to be sitting on a rock.

You can fill out the rest of the story.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be speaking of blood and gore at a wedding. I hope no one’s feeling faint. I should be speaking of love and togetherness, not the groom’s former wounds and failures, and if I have to talk about insects, tradition probably demands butterflies. But there are things that stick in a parent’s mind, and they stick for reasons, and a wedding is a time to wonder about how the past, even in its small ways, is held to the future.

There’s this, for instance: Our lives are fragile: breakable and crystalline, and we—you might say—hold them in our hands, and we move through a pretty wondrous world and collect things—experiences, memories, relationships: grasshoppers. And there are times when, come hell or high water or rocks, you just have to go after a grasshopper. The fullest kind of living may be when you’re sensing the wonderful fragility of what you hold and yet you’re going headlong after your passion.

One of the beauties of a wedding is its sense of fragility. This ceremonial moment right now is fragile—in its particularity, its light, its gathering of these people, all of us here. In another few minutes or hours, it’s going to break, and time will resume, and then there’ll be memories of a wholeness, a thing made and framed and created. And inside that thing, a relationship captured and held, a living relationship that Derek and Laura will carry, together, through the rest of their lives. Time shatters everything. Memory and relationship hold things together. A wedding pulses between these two truths.

This—this moment right now—is your grasshopper, Derek and Laura, inside this fragile jar of a day. Carry it carefully. Find other such moments. Go after them. Point out for each other the rocks.

Derek and Laura make their vows to each other:

To join with you and share all that is to come,
in joy and in sorrow, in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live.

PARTY TIME!!!

After some pictures we (around 30 riders) headed out for a cruise around Spearfish. We had a nice ride and got some great looks!

And since we were already on the bicycle, we decided to just ride right in to our reception in the Spearfish City Park Pavilion.

Kevin strangling his (and our) nephew Noah. Because what would a reception be without some good old fashioned horsing around.

And of course there was cake. We had four different flavors (flavours if you're British). Here I (Derek) am insisting Laura try the lemon cake with raspberry filling while she becomes very assertive with some cake of her own.

And finally, there was dancing. Oakhurst played at our wedding (visit www.porchmusic.com for a taste of their music) which was a real treat and Taycee loved them!

In fact, we all loved them. Everyone got out on the dance floor. It was a great time.

So, now Laura and I have been sitting at a place called the Pizza Palace in Burwell, NE for about 2 hours and our computer is running out of juice. We are too and we need to head to our campground and get some Z's before our ride to O'Neill, NE tomorrow. But we'll try to post again tomorrow on the first leg of our journey to Fort Collins, CO. Ciao!

Starting Off...Sort of!

2011-07-23T02:24:00.001+01:00

We're beginning from the middle. Of the Cycling Honeymoon/Celebration Series, that is...we've been so exhausted at the end of the day and so busy with planning our route, grabbing extra gear, and doing laundry...not to mention sleeping and eating A LOT...we've sort of put the blog on hold. Until now!! You lucky ducks.

So today we write to you from Broken Bow, Nebraska. It is in fact our twelfth night on the road, and our plan is to, after today, do some retroactive blogging to catch you up. AND not to worry, someday we'll even get back to finishing our last few blogs from our time in London and Europe.

We started our day in North Platte with some amazing hills, which brought us down into a little town called Arnold, where we had fruit smoothies and homemade donuts at an adorable antiques shop/coffee house/farmers market called the Farmhouse. They warned us to have the camera ready on our next leg for the "canyons" we'd encounter:

This was the best view taken from the stoker's seat!

After a while things flattened out a little bit...but the whole day was really, pretty nice. We started early to try and beat the heat, which we've been doing regularly, but it still gets darn hot. These were the only clouds we saw, and they didn't do much to give us some shelter from the sun but they did make for a nice photo, matching up nicely with the tire tracks through this field:

Tonight we're camping at a city campground..which means our tent is in a small grassy area behind the Ellen B. Marchek Memorial Tennis Center. It's nice and private, but next to the train tracks...we'll hope it's not too busy!! Tomorrow we head for Burwell, and we'll try to write more from there! Ta-ta!

Bath

2011-04-15T21:37:00.000+01:00

Well, here we are again after several months of neglect. We return to you with a fun story of my trip with my dear gal-pal Christy to Bath, England. (which took place last August)...

Well, when Christy first arrived in London, we did some of the "usual" sight-seeing:

A visit to our favourite downtown pub called Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese for a pint and a snack.

A splash in Trafalgar Square's fountain.

A jaunt past the guards museum...

Then we packed up our kit and headed to the Paddington station.

After a train, an extremely bumpy bus ride, and a brief walk, we found ourselves at our pretty little hotel, which lay in a pretty little green yard next to a pretty little stream.

Later we took a walk down the canal towpath.

...and enjoyed some local bicycle art...

And then we had a spot of tea at an adorable tearoom...

...before popping by the abbey for a quick visit!

We found ourselves in awe of magnificent ceiling of Bath Abbey...

and the incredible view from the abbey's roof! We were led on an incredible tour of the abbey towers. We were even allowed to ring the bells in the bell tower...

...and sit in the clock tower, too!

Later on, after dark had fallen on the town, we walked past the abbey again on our way to the preserved ruins of the Roman baths.

Just us gals (and a bunch of statues) at the Roman Baths!

I just couldn't help myself, those statues were irresistible!

We said goodbye to Bath with a nice walk around town and enjoyed the River Avon, the lovely shops, and some rather nice weather...

Scotland

2011-01-23T17:14:00.022Z

Well, everyone, it has sure been a while. Last time we left you (here on the blog, that is), we were also leaving our good “mate,” Matt, in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. From there, we caught a train to Edinburgh, Scotland, where we had a little trouble finding a hotel because it was “Festival Time.” That is, the International Fringe Festival, which brings all sorts of film and theatre and music and drumming and crowds of people to Edinburgh. We hadn’t known this was going on, and were only able to find a room for one night. Thankfully, we were ready to see some countryside anyway, though the time we spent in Edinburgh was lovely.

The first evening, we took a nice walk up Calton Hill, which offers a fantastic view:

From there, we continued our nice walk down the hillside and into town, passing the modern architectural wonder that is Scottish Parliament. Apparently, amazing as it was, we did not deem it picture-worthy as we were saving our camera battery (SOMEone forgot to pack the charger again).

We did deem this photo “worthy.” It’s the lovely cemetery where Adam Smith, known as the Father of Economics, is buried:

That night we enjoyed a lovely cross-culture supper of Scottish/Indian cuisine (Derek was particularly fond of Haggis samosas) and also learnt that Scottish people of Indian descent DO, indeed, speak with a Scottish accent. Which is not, necessarily, contrary to what someone might think. It’s just not what one's ears expect when being offered a curry.

The next day, we enjoyed the perks of the festival: lots of fun street vendors and food and performers.

Here are the street crowds, just outside St. Mary’s cathedral.

The masses of Festival-goers only increased throughout the day, especially as we roamed nearer to Edinburgh’s famous castle. We didn’t actually go inside the castle, mind you, the line was literally hours long.

We just snapped one illegal picture simply for blogging purposes:

That afternoon, we headed about 40 miles north-west of Edinburgh to a quaint little hamlet called Bridge of Allan, where we happened upon a wonderful little micro-brewery (aptly named Bridge of Allan Brewery, it was being run out of an old cottage centrally located just between high street and the Allan Water). We chatted up the fellow running the place, tasted several ales and purchased a few bottles for later consumption. In our quest to find a decent meal (and assuming this would be a chore, as many people have, for some reason, propogated the absurd notion that the outlook for finding eats in Scottish towns is grim) we opted for a light pasta at a modern and almost ritzy hotel restaurant. It was incredible! Honestly the best salmon I’ve ever tasted, and I don’t even like fish. I sent my compliments to the chef, to let him know his creation had nearly turned a non-fish-eating vegetarian into a pescetarian. I would gladly go back and order heaps of it right this minute.

It’s amazing how the majority of this travel blog is actually devoted to food.

Here's a quick map inset of the area we'd roamed throughout this trip, from London up to Newcastle. Then up to Edinburgh. The "A" marks where Bridge of Allan/Stirling is. Then, down to Glasgow, and finally back to London. (It's about 400 miles from London to Edinburgh).

View Larger Map

Well, anyhow. The next morning we struck out for a rainy walk to the William Wallace Monument, which was both farther away and a much more staggering view than either of us expected!

Here’s the view from the bottom of the hill upon which is set the memorial:

And from the top, just outside the monument:

We did, actually, climb up all 300 steps to the very tippy top, pausing in various rooms and corridors to learn something of the life and legacy of Sir William Wallace (if you don’t know who I’m talking about, it’s the guy from the movie “Braveheart.” If you still don’t know who I’m talking about, or even if you do, look him up! There are some truly amazing stories about his life and the battles he led against the English).

After enjoying a delicious lunch of cheese sandwiches, olives, and a bottle of beer from Bridge of Allan Brewery (that really does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?) we headed across the town of Stirling toward its famous castle, where we did actually go inside.

Stirling Castle:

Looking back across Stirling at the William Wallace monument, and beyond:

Derek explores Stirling Castle:

And…that’s where the camera battery ran out! Which really was a bummer, because the castle was just fantastic. I mean, really cool. Wish you could have seen it.

LUCKILY…(yes, there is more) we were off to Glasgow to meet up with Paul and Noah (our brother and nephew, whom you met before in London). Even more luckily, Paul is a much better photographer than either of us.

We were scheduled to arrive several hours before them, however, and busied ourselves by finding a bus to the nearest distillery, called Glengoyne, about 30 miles north of Glasgow. We perched on the top level of a double-decker bus and were whisked off on an incredibly narrow road. Beyond the tree limbs whacking at our windows, we enjoyed beautiful views of the highlands “foothills” and some rather pretty little villages. Then, we were dropped off in something that can only be described as a little Whiskey heaven in the middle of nowhere. Blessing the wonderful bus networks in the UK, we opted for the “deluxe” tour (also known as the “drunken sailor tour”). We were thus offered a taste of 10-year-old, 17-year-old, 21-year-old, and a choice between the 12-year-old “regular” and the 12-year-old “cask strength” scotch whiskeys, as well as getting some important information about how the stuff was and is made. We were so impressed that we spent a bundle in their gift shoppe. We’re saving one bottle for a special occasion that might be coming up soon…

So, part of the reason we’d decided to meet Noah and Paul in Glasgow was for the World Championship Piping Festival.

We heard some absolutely wonderful music:

We also enjoyed walking around town and seeing the various sights and pubs—as the piping events were spread across town, it worked out as a great way to walk around, see some sights and then sit with a nice cold pint whilst enjoying some traditional music!

One of the great sights in Glasgow is the cathedral, which is massive and majestic and all other things you’d expect of a gothic cathedral in Scotland.

Again, credit to our Paul for the photos:

After having a look around inside, we explored the surrounding gardens and cemetery:

This caught our eyes: the grass had grown over some of the gravestones; someone had peeled the layers of sod back to reveal the inscriptions. The letters had made a mold for the sod to grow in—leaving the letters imprinted on the underside of the grass, as well. Neat!

The next morning, we parted ways—Paul and Noah were off to Edinburgh to finish their tour-de-Europe, and Derek and I headed home for London via Ryanair…about a third of the way through our journey (after taking a train to the airport, where we arrived extra-early to find our flight had been delayed) we realized it would have been probably easier and faster and more comfortable to simply take a train. Ah, you live, you learn.

Still, we can’t wait to go back to Scotland—it was absolutely wonderful, everything about it, really. But don’t take our word for it, why don’t you come with us next time?!

Slainte Vor!

Matt's Newcastle

2010-10-06T20:05:00.019+01:00

Our friend Matt gave us a really great excuse to go to Newcastle…for those of you who don’t know Matt, he’s a good friend of mine (now ours) from high school. And he’s pretty darn awesome. He’s just recently started medical school at the University of Northumbria…so he spent a little time in London with us first and then dragged us up to the north of England to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Yep, dragged us skipping and giggling, "Wee! A trip!"

So, we arrived on a Friday with Matt at his student housing and reminisced briefly about our lives in dorm rooms. Yucky. Luckily Matt will be so busy studying he won’t have time to hate his new “home.” After settling into our B & B, the three of us hit the town, which people take pretty seriously in Newcastle. I started to wonder how Matt would get anything done in such a party town.

Here’s a lovely picture (stolen from Matt’s camera) of the Castle Keep and the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas, as seen from up the road.

Yep, just another castle and amazing, gigantic cathedral plunked down in the middle of town. It's just so unoriginal, building a town around a castle like that. Someone should come up with some NEW new ideas. This "new" castle dates back to 1080.

We started the next day at a place called Wallsend, which has an especially nice ring to it when said with a northern British accent. Wallsend is named as such because it is near the end of Hadrian’s Wall (the gigantic wall that the Romans built to keep those ruffians, the Scots, out of all of England. Pansies.) It’s also the site of an old Roman fort, which isn’t exactly picture-worthy as it’s a big archaeological dig-site which has been filled back in. What sticks up looks like matchbox cobblestone streets. It was cool, though, don't get me wrong.

Here's a small slice of Hadrian’s Wall, next to a wall which they think may replicate what the original once was.

Next we headed out toward the coast (and we're talking the Northeast coast, here) to a place called Tynemouth Priory and Castle. This is where Derek and I became English Heritage site members. Now, to get our money's worth, we have to visit over 400 sites across England (plus more in Wales, Scotland, and the Isle of Man) in the next year. (It was my idea. I swear, we'll save money. Really.)

The ruins at Tynemouth.

The weather started out crummy, but then turned on us and got sunny! So I took a lot of pictures...sometimes it’s nice to look back at pictures and see what blue sky is like. I'm ready for winter, can you tell?!

Matt graces the archways at Tynemouth Priory.

The Tynemouth Priory...and some handsome guy just walking around like a hobo with a rucksack on a stick.

The cemetery at Tynemouth Priory and Castle. Behind me is a really awesome view of the River Tyne flowing out to the North Sea. Sure wish you could see it...

We hopped on a ferry to take us across the river to see what was on the other side. The grass was greener there--and by that I mean there was good local beer and friendly pub conversation.

Then we meandered through Gateshead, south of Newcastle, and found our way back to the River, where we crossed Newcastle’s Millennium Bridge. Here's the River Tyne, the new performing arts center (the big silver thing) and the Millennium Bridge.

The Millennium Bridge as seen in the "down" position.

We got ourselves a nice pint of Guinness and waited for 9:00, the magical time when the millennium bridge moves. After we watched it, we all came to the conclusion that London’s millennium bridge pales in comparison. If it was music, it would be Jimi Hendrix playing a harp: extremely cool and somehow elegant at the same time. Take a moment to envision that. You'll see what I mean.

Here's the Millennium Bridge in the raised position.

The next day, we walked around by the river again, taking more photos and getting a daytime look at things. Somehow, all the night ones turned out better. Oh, we also found a pub that serves only vegetarian food. AWEsome. I had "chili non-carne." Very clever, eh?

Finally, we wandered inside the beautiful Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas.

We were sure sad to go; Newcastle is a fun and friendly old town. Really REALLY old. But Derek and I had a date with Edinburgh, so we just had to go...More on that later. Ta!

Paul's Stonehenge

2010-09-08T12:19:00.021+01:00

Only a mere five days of freedom for Noah, getting spoiled by his auntie and uncle and running us ragged across London, before his dad joined in the fun. Paul arrived on Saturday, and our good friend Matt arrived the very next day. (It was a wee bit crowded in the Wellesley Flat). So, on Sunday Paul and Noah ventured northwest of the city to the Royal Air Force Museum to see several hangers full of aircraft whilst Derek and I headed across town to pick up Matt (and his life, stuffed into only 2 giant duffel bags and a large backpack--Matt's just started Med School in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, a city up near the Scottish border. He came to London about 2 weeks early to hang out with us and see some sights before heading north to settle in--which we'll write about in our next post!)

Needless to say, it only took a slight amount of persuasion to get everyone on the train to Salisbury and out to Stonehenge the next morning. We were all pretty psyched--there's a lot of hype surrounding it, and for good reason:

A nice shot using the handy panorama setting on Matt's camera.

Now, I'll just take a moment to say that all three of our guests are avid photographers; Noah, for example, likes to take at least two or three pictures of each subject. Figuring the excitement and splendor of Stonehenge into the equation, we knew that there would be billions of photos taken by the end of the day. So Derek and I left our camera at home, knowing we'd never be able to accomplish with our menial skills the same ingenuity as the the other three. The day became a competition, of sorts--to see who could take the best photograph of the stones, with the fewest people or cars, with the best clouds, etc. etc. The three guys were seen sprawling about the grounds, trying to get just the right angles. It was amazing to watch.

Matt and I chillin' by the stones.

Note the "tongue" sticking out of the top of the stone...

Here's a few very interesting things about the stones (and there are many interesting things about them). For one, one of the types of rock used at Stonehenge is only found in the Preseli Mountains in Wales, nearly 200 miles-as the crow flies-from Stonehenge. They think these rocks--many of which weigh about 4 tons--were carried both across land and on rafts along the southern coast of Wales and up several rivers to get to where they are today. WHY? (No one really knows). Another interesting thing is the constructors used mortice and tenon joints and the tongue-and-groove technique to stabilize the rocks (see the pic, above).

Derek and I in front of the magnificent structure.

A nice angle, found by Noah

It's a bit sad, but true: while some of the structure has probably eroded naturally, parts of the stones have been chipped off and taken as souvenirs--or even for practical purposes. What's left is still pretty amazing, though.

A nice shot of Paul & Noah.

Paul has an amazing knack for taking pictures in crowded places without getting any people in them (and it was, indeed, very crowded).

Keep in mind, this isn't the view you'd have seen in 1500 b.c. when construction was completed (so they think); instead it would have been surrounded by a thick forest.

If you're interested in more of the history surrounding Stonehenge: http://www.britannia.com/history/h7.html

After we had finished at Stonehenge, it was back on the bus for a bouncy ride to Old Sarum, a Norman Castle Ruin. Archaeological evidence suggests this site--resting atop a hill about 2 miles from the current city of Salisbury--dates as far back as 3000 b.c. Historians claim the site was first occupied by neolithic peoples, then by Iron-Age early Britons, then used as a Fort by the Romans, expanded by the Anglo-Saxons, further expanded and altered by the Normans, and continued to be used for various reasons--sometimes a palace, sometimes a prison--until about 1220 when inhabitants essentially packed up and moved a couple of miles south.

Laura lounges on the soft grass in the middle of Old Sarum.

Derek ponders the fascinating history of Old Sarum; Matt, Laura, and Noah rest on the ruins of the castle's battlements and chat about their Norman ancestry.

Noah gazes out across the ruins of a cathedral, built around 1075, which lies just below the hilltop castle ruins. As you can see, it was an absolutely fabulous day, weather-wise.

Laura, Noah, Derek, and Paul graced by the gorgeous British countryside.

The Haunch of Venison

Of course, after all this we were rather thirsty. A friendly employee at Old Sarum recommended this pub called "The Haunch of Venison." We knew by its name alone we'd have to pop in for a pint.

Sláinte!

Noah's London

2010-08-29T21:03:00.021+01:00

This is the story of a wee lad in a great city, a young man full of questions lost amongst aged stones, walking the same earth that saw the rise and fall of kings and queens and their empires; heard the words and ideas of great poets and great philosophers; and housed the heroes of history...And that was just day one! Yes, this is the tale of Noah's visit to London. For those of you who don't know, Noah is our Nephew. He's 14 years old and he came here to visit in mid July. He stayed with us for 5 days before his father (Laura's brother Paul) showed up and the two of them carried on across Europe to continue their adventure. We'll post more on our time with them both here in London and our meeting with the two of them up in Scotland later, but for now, in this massive post, we will try to convey to you the immense amount of ground we covered as Noah (full of spritely exuberance) all but dragged us about the Old Foggy City. You could almost hear the buildings and several weary oaks whispering in a wheezy voice, "slow down young chap, there's plenty of time, plenty of time to see everything." But, of course, there really wasn't. Enjoy!

So, here you see our protagonist next to one of London's famous red phone booths. We're pretty close to St. Paul's Cathedral here and before that we visited Buckingham Palace, walked through St. James's Park to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. After having a little picnic in St. Paul's churchyard, we continued on to Spitalfields Market where Noah bought a cool black leather fedora and then we strolled about Brick Lane before finally heading home. By the way, this all happened in the afternoon after we picked Noah up from the airport. What about the jet lag you ask? Pshaw! Jet lag! what a bunch of rubbish!

We realized that we haven't posted any pictures of the inside of the British Museum. So, here's a snapshot. It's an incredibly beautiful building and Noah caught some of the essence of it with this great picture on our first full day of sightseeing. We spent quite a bit of time here (maybe three hours), but I'm fairly certain one day or even one week would not give you enough time to cover everything there is to see in this place.

After a hearty and healthy lunch at Noah's favorite place to eat here in London (Pizza Express) we headed south of the Thames to see the Imperial War Museum. This is a shot of Noah next to one of the shells they used to fire out of the German Big Bertha artillery gun.

Here our fedora clad hero poses by the fuselage of arguably the most successful bomber of World War II: the Lancaster.

And this is the outside of the museum with two big guns from a British battle ship mounted out front. It, also, is a rather pretty building.

We made our way back across the river and walked along it for a bit before catching a bus to Trafalgar Square. Noah snapped this picture looking back south across the river at some modern green buildings with some kayakers in the foreground.

And finally, we have Noah atop one of the Trafalgar Lions during a beautiful summer day in the great city. Day 2 complete!

And here's a picture of us on the third day of Noah's visit. We're looking surprisingly fresh despite our lack of sleep and all the traipsing about the city from the previous two days. This is in front of a section of Roman Wall that can be seen just outside of Tower Hill tube station. It's pretty incredible as it's one of the few visible signs still standing in London showing that the Romans were actually here, but if you didn't know about it you could easily walk right by.

After the Roman wall we carried on to the Tower of London. This is the central tower, known as White Tower and it houses most of the exhibits (like the armor). The slightly tan tower that you can see behind it is where they keep the crown jewels.

That day we were lucky enough to catch a siege weapons demonstration. They had a different name for this, I believe, but the weapon Noah is standing next to is essentially a man powered trebuchet (i.e. it uses people pulling on ropes instead of a counterweight). In the video below you can see me, and three other blokes, operating it.

We were hurling water balloons, but as you can see the pressure was too great for this one.

We started out day 4 with a climb up to the top of the Monument remembering the Great Fire. Here's a shot of Noah and I (Derek) from the top.

From there we went on across Tower Bridge to see the H.M.S Belfast, a WWII era battleship which has been docked in the Thames and turned into a museum of sorts. Just as we got on board, though, we were lucky enough to catch a tall masted sailing boat going under Tower Bridge and requiring the bridge to open, something we haven't seen since we've been here.

And here's Noah sitting at the helm of the Belfast. And that concludes the pictures for Day 4! What you say? That's it? Well, we'll have you know that before we went to the Monument we went down to the Victoria Apollo Theatre where we rushed tickets for Wicked. So, after some supper (again at Pizza Express) we were back down to the Apollo for the evening show. It was very good, but, unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of it. They frown on that.

Noah and I began day 5 with a trip to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard while Laura went to Heathrow to meet Paul.

We then carried on to the Guard Museum, again through St. James's and over to see the horse guards where I took this shot of Noah. From there it was up to Picadilly Circus to meet Paul and Laura, and then to St. Paul's again for another lunch before heading back to our place. 5 days complete. They were really wonderful and we did and saw a ton of stuff we probably wouldn't have if Noah wouldn't have come. The best part, though (no matter how much of a hard time we give him), was getting to spend some quality time with our nephew! If you're reading this Noah, we hope you had as much fun as we did!

Chap Olympiad

2010-08-20T08:21:00.016+01:00

So, it's been some time since our last post mainly because we've had a rather busy summer with lots of friends and family traveling across the pond to visit, which has been great! It gives us a little taste of home and lets us remember the people and places we're most familiar with, and we'll write about some of our travels and outings with them in a bit. This post, however, has very little to do with reminiscing about home and is more about fully immersing one's self in British culture. Yes, what I'm talking about is the Chap Olympiad! Where manners are prized, leisureliness is expected, mustachios are groomed, hats are doffed, pipes are lit and gin, that most prized of spirits, is never spilled. Laura and I did our best to represent the American brand of dandyism at this years events and what follows is a chronicle of our efforts (without showing too much exuberance of course) to bask, with grace and composure, in the English summer sunshine with the most debonair chaps and stylish ladies Britain had to offer.

One of the judges is taken aback by his beverage--a martini jointly concocted by four people during the martini relay event.

A chap prepares for battle, waving the Union Jack, just before pedaling towards his opponent in the bicycle umbrella jousting event.

Applying and preparing the mustachio for the mustachio tug of war. It is crucial, in this event, that the mustachio be both well combed and then waxed so that not a single hair comes out of place as this may weaken the mustachio and cause it to split.

Laura and I enjoying the day on our picnic blanket under a tree.

Our friends Aöne and Sevrin dancing on the main stage during a break in the events.

Laura, atop her steed (me), objects to a false start during the steeple chase.

A bit blurry, but this is Laura spurring me on with my own hat.

The view from Aöne's mount (Sevrin) during the steeple chase.

Finally, Sevrin and I looking quite serious (since it is a most serious event) at our picnic spot. I'm wearing a pith hat I borrowed for the occasion from a fellow chap.

Sitting in the Park with Friends

2010-07-24T23:44:00.017+01:00

This post features a smattering of fun events, visitors, and so on which have occurred over the past month or so...

Julie Williams, a friend from Spearfish, and Laura in Trafalgar Square. This giant ship, a replica of the HMS Victory--the ship with which Admiral Nelson won the famous Battle of Trafalgar--was created by an African artist with the goal of reconciling the imperial/colonial past. No one can figure out how he got the ship into the bottle! Anyway, Julie was in town for a few days with a study abroad program, so we had dinner and showed her around town a little bit!

Our next "friends in the park" refers to our good friends Ben Harper and Eddie Vedder, who played a nice quiet, quaint concert just for us. OK, we are very generous people and allowed about 30,000 other "friends" to join us. It was Laura's first Pearl Jam concert (and her first mosh pit, though it was a pretty tame one!), and they rocked. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get any pictures, as we had stupidly forgotten our camera.

The next day, our good friends Jessie and Dennis came into town on their way to Sweden & Italy, so we went out for an amazing dinner at our favorite Indian food restaurant and enjoyed each other's company. The next day, we spent some time wandering around London before the next concert!

Posing in front of the statue in front of Buckingham Palace. You can't tell from this picture, but it was BLOODY hot!!!

Jess and Den in front of Buckingham Palace.

This is what Crosby, Stills, and Nash look like from a very great distance. We're pretty sure that's really them. They were awesome.

[Commence screaming]

Ahhhhhh!!!!!!

Paul McCartney!!!

The concert was unbelievable. McCartney was just radiant, and incredibly energetic. He switched instruments nearly every song, playing some of his own tunes and many of the Beatles classics (Day Tripper, Paperback Writer, Hey Jude, and so on and so on.) He even brought out the ukelele for Something in a tribute to George Harrison--Laura's favorite Beatles song, and a fantastic version it is. We were so glad to share the concert with Jess and Den, too!

Just a little "teaser" with some of Paul's theatrics.

Unfortunately, Dennis had to leave the next day for his business trip to Sweden. But Jess was able to stay a few more days, and we had a lovely time doing all sorts of things: exploring the city, shopping for wedding dresses (no luck there, yet), and getting duped into free theatre tickets!

So, the story there is that we noticed a show called "Prisoner of Second Avenue," a Neil Simon comedy starring Jeff Goldblum, on the Old Vic Theatre website. It was very difficult to understand the woman on the phone as I bought the tickets, but I knew (so I thought) that the tickets were for that night. So, we enjoyed a fun day seeing some of the sights before going to the Old Vic Theatre to see the show. After about 5 minutes of conversing with the box office staff, who were nearly freaking out because they could not find our tickets anywhere in the system, I realized we were at the wrong theatre...with about 3.5 minutes to Curtain. But then we were informed that "Prisoner of Second Avenue" didn't start until the next night. I was obviously embarrassed; then the guy turns around and asks "So, do you guys have plans tonight? Obviously not. So here you go, head upstairs and see a free show and sort out your tickets for tomorrow in the morning." So that's how we got free tickets to "As You Like It" at the Old Vic Theatre, which was absolutely fantastic. We're going to start doing that more often.

These pianos were all over London as part of a summer arts festival, available for anyone to stop and play. This is in St. Paul's Cathedral churchyard.

Sister-Friends on the Millennium Bridge; behind us Tower Bridge spans the Thames.

Jess snapped a nice photo of Derek and I in front of the Tower of London.

Looking across the Thames at Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. It was SO wonderful having Jess and Dennis with us--we're hoping that they can return soon for a longer trip. It was like having a little taste of home here for a few days, and great to enjoy this amazing city with our dear friends. Jess headed off to Italy to meet Dennis and enjoy the Italian lake country...and informs us we'll have to go ourselves someday!

Killarney Day 3

2010-07-11T17:29:00.019+01:00

From Killarney to Kenmare and Back

View Kerry in a larger map

So, this was our longest ride and we covered about 35 miles, but it was also one of our best days, I would say (though the boat ride day with the Gap of Dunloe was pretty incredible). You can see basically where we went on the map above, but briefly, we headed out from Killarney with the intention of taking the "Old Kenmare Road" part of the way to Kenmare before meeting up with the Kerry Way trail and riding through a valley down to the coastal town of Kenmare to watch the U.S./Slovenia World Cup game. Several people had told us that this would be an excellent bike ride and full of spectacular views. However, when we reached the Old Kenmare Road early in the day we found a rather obvious sign warning us that bicycles were not allowed on this road and so, we had to take the main road to where it met the Kerry Way. This meant dealing with more traffic, but we also got to ride by an old castle, an old church and a very pretty creek as we hugged the three lakes in Killarney Park on our way. I'll let the pictures below do the rest of the talking.

This was the old church which stood at our turn off of the main road and on to the Kerry Way. It was a bit of a climb up to this point and Laura felt particularly good to be at the top and off of the busier road. However, the celebration may have been a bit early as there was still plenty of uphill to go.

Another view of the church with the creek that runs past in the foreground.

This is a bit closer to the top of our ride. You can see the gap in the hills behind us which was the highest point on the way to Kenmare. There was absolutely no one on this trail except for a bunch of sheep, as the video below will show.

So this is our first attempt at uploading a video. Someone should let us know if it worked. Enjoy!

Looking back the way we had come, towards Killarney. We were happy to be at the top, and the sheep were happy to see us go. We pondered the idea of hiking up one of the hills at the top (you can see part of one better in the picture below), but decided against that, and for lunch, beer and the match.

This is the view of our trail as we came down into the area of Kenmare. As you can see, it wasn't much of a path for bikes, but we did our best and used our brakes often.

Another view coming down into Kenmare. You may just be able to see the ocean and the bay in the background off to the right which Kenmare sits on.

(And now Laura takes over the authorship of this post...)

Yet another look at the road toward Kenmare. We decided we'd wished we had just camped along the way, as one of this meadows would have made the ideal campsite. We hadn't seen another person for hours.

In Kenmare, we were too hungry and distracted to take photographs. It's an adorable town, and we found a fantastic little vegetarian cafe which served heaping plates of several varieties of salads as well as main dishes like butternut squash stuffed with bleu-cheese and walnuts, and red-onion Gorgonzola cheese quiche. YUM. We justified eating ridiculous portions with the 20-some miles we had just ridden. We justified topping off our meal with cheesecake...somehow. Anyway, then we asked around for the best pub to watch the game, and headed down high street for a pint of Murphy's Irish Stout. No justification needed, there. (By-the-by, it was a great game!)

Then, with very full bellies we ventured on, taking a smaller road as far as we could before joining up with the main highway. We enjoyed a leisurely ride for a while, and immediately after joining the main road began the climb we had to tackle to complete the loop. The picture above is at the point on the way up where my legs gave out, and looks back south, toward Kenmare.

This is at the tippy top of our ride back to Killarney, a spot called Moll's Gap, which is marked on the map by the westerly green arrow. I was overjoyed at this juncture, as I knew it would be downhill most of the rest of the way. Derek was overjoyed that I had finally stopped whining!

On our way down, we bumped into this spot, called "Ladies' View" apparently because it's a view fit for Queen Victoria. So, you're looking East, toward the lakes and mountains which lie in the boundaries of Killarney National Park.

Here we are, in front of the Ladies' View, looking North. I was ready to be finished, but didn't want the day to end. And, oh...ready for more food already (and a pint), and sleep. This truly was an amazing day. I was glad we had saved it for our last day of riding.

We spent the next morning returning our bikes, eating a leisurely Irish breakfast, and strolling about the town before heading home to London. When we arrived home, we decided it was time to start hunting for some "new" bikes of our own...

Killarney Day 2

2010-07-02T22:44:00.030+01:00

View Kerry in a larger map

Our second day started off wonderfully, and perhaps in Ireland as it ought to: with a castle and a boat ride on a fisherman's dinghy. Our boat, which was to deliver us and our bicycles to the starting line of our next cycle route (shown in red on the above map), left from a pier next to Ross Castle (apparently the Rosses were an important family in this region at one time).

A side note: Unfortunately, Google Maps does not show the lakes/rivers in this area except in satellite mode, but the terrain mode allows for an easier view of our route. This map is interactive, though, so feel free to click on it and explore. Also, you should be able to enlarge any of the photos on the blog by clicking on them. I have only recently figured this out, and just in case any of you are equally blog-savvy, I thought I'd share.

A wonderful shot of Ross castle (which took several minutes of waiting for the many people milling about to move!), and the picturesque view behind the castle as well. Unfortunately, we didn't have quite enough time to tour the castle...perhaps on another visit.

The crew on our boat (which we agree we would call a small motorized row-boat) consisted of the two of us, two other couples, and a "boatman" who was several minutes late and spent the first several minutes of the ride on his hands-free cell phone (whilst steering the dinghy across the lake). In fact, another, older man is the one who arrived with the boat and, cup of coffee in one hand, steered the boat single-handedly into the dock with incredible penache. This older gentleman helped us load our six bicycles and then said "it'll be a few minutes while you wait for the boat man. I'm going fishing." (apparently, for salmon). It was the beginning of an awesome journey, chronicled below in photographs. Above, a shot looking back at Ross Castle.

Orange is really Derek's color, don't you think?!

Innisfallen Abbey, the boatman tells us, was the site of one of the earliest universities (in Europe or perhaps in the World, he didn't really specify). Of course it looks, from this picture, like a teeny little Fransiscan Monastery sitting on a teeny little island in the middle of a large loch in Ireland. And it is.

Here you get sort of an idea of the size of our boat. In the background, you'll see the bridge upon which we had taken a photo of the two of us the previous day. It was sort of neat, seeing the same place again but from the other vantage point.

This is The Old Weir Bridge, at a place aptly named "Meeting of the Waters," as it is, indeed, the place where one lake meets the other lake, and the river pours into them both. The waters were quite shallow, and I was surprised when the boatman steered us in this direction. Then, he said abruptly, "I'm going to have to ask you all to take a short walk." He maneuvered the boat toward shore, where he asked Derek to hop out and hold the boat steady so the ladies (and one of the men) could get off. He asked Derek and one of the other men to stay on. "Just meet us down the other side of the bridge," he noted, and quickly began spouting off directions to his crew (which I didn't quite hear).

The Pirates of the Unnamed River: Derek and Heinrich (I call him this because he was German but I don't know his real name) pulling our boat and boatman upstream, beneath the bridge. As I said, the water was shallow, as they were having a bit of a drought. Derek says the boat was scraping the bottom just a bit. Funny, they didn't advertise this as part of the adventure. I thought it was quite amusing, but tried not to chuckle about it too loudly.

Back on the boat, at a place titled on our map "The Long Range." The river opened up here and offered lovely views in all directions; we were surrounded by green, and rock and mountain.

I was a little "trigger happy" and was enjoying this view of our bicycles, being moved along with us by motorboat upstream along this scenic river. The whole ride took us an hour and a half. I wonder that we couldn't have ridden a similar route faster...but considering the experience and the views (and the fact that there isn't a path or road that follows this route) it doesn't really matter.

The view coming into the third lake, cleverly dubbed Upper Lake, and at the end Lord Brandon's Cottage, where we ate a lunch of vegetable soup, pie, and coffee, before continuing our journey via bicycle. (This spot marked on the map as a yellow monopoly-looking house, directly south of Purple Mountain).

This picture taken just after we had stopped to fix a flat tyre on my bicycle...Derek was rather pleased that: A) we had asked for a puncture kit at O'Sullivan's Cycles before they sent us off on our journeys, and B) I happened to get my flat tyre next to a gently flowing stream, which made finding and mending the hole much easier. (Not to mention the view, the sunshine, the warmth, and the journey which lay ahead.)

This picture taken (and they're all of Derek because Laura is typing this post) just after we took a wrong turn, which was nearly a four-mile detour, I suppose, but it was splendid and (as you'll see in the next picture) brought us a lot of joy.

Yep. Totally worth the detour. Derek was able to get in some practice for the upcoming International sheep dog trials at Antrim, Northern Ireland. (Yes, I looked that up.) Our first sheep encounter was an adolescent lamb who had managed to end up on the wrong side of the fence line, and was happily nibbling away. Derek blew past it, hardly realizing it was there, but scared the wool right off the poor thing; it immediately tried to jump right through one of the squares in the wire fence. It almost made it, but its wool was just too thick to get past the shoulders. I slammed on my brakes, still a short distance away, to let the thing calm down in case it should actually injure itself. Then, very slowly, I pedaled past, and ready to jump at the slightest wrong movement, the lamb (and now, its mother, who had wandered over out of either sheer curiosity or concern for her little one) glared at me as I went past!! I laughed, and asked Derek (out of my concern for what--the busy road???) whether we should pick the thing up and toss it over the fence. Silly. Later, we came across several more sheep who had wandered to the wrong side of the fence. These two in the picture were particularly dim-witted, and kept running directly away from us down the road. Finally there was a break in the fence at some rather large boulders, which they scrambled up lest we should catch them!

After sheep-herding practice, we discovered we had very probably made a wrong turn as the road we were on turned into an incredibly rocky path obviously meant for walking and not for cycles. So we headed back the way we had come, and up a very big hill. And up and up. It was hot. The road was literally melting. But, we finally rejoiced as we made it to the summit, which looks down into the Gap of Dunloe--and, originally, the main purpose to our trip. Funny how that purpose changed into Adventure of All Sorts. Anyway, here's the view from the top. We were rather pleased with it, but decided it might be worth a hike farther up one of the hills to see what we could see.

Making it not quite to the top of the hill, as it became very rocky and because we realized we were running pretty low on water, but this lovely false-summit/saddle made an awesome view. This view looking back toward Upper Lake and our boat-journey.

This, the view looking in the other direction from our hike's summit: and, we realized, in the direction of our accidental detour down a rather beautiful valley. It was fun at this point to realize what a treat it was to have actually gone the wrong way. Again, fun to see things somewhat accidentally from two different vantage points.

Luckily, sheep are generally decent photographers. Tough to push that button with a hoof, but this one managed alright.

We headed back down the hill on foot, and then hopped on our bikes and enjoyed the ride down into the Gap, stopping a few times to enjoy the creek tumbling down alongside us and the pools it filled. This one in particular, toward the end or bottom of the Gap, was lush and green and gorgeous (and this picture looks back up toward the summit of the Gap) Another thing made this trip so much more amazing: there were very few cars, and thus few people.

We stopped for a pint and dinner at a place called Kate's Cottage (on the map, the yellow house on the west side of the lake), which was great fun--we ended up talking to some people, including a couple from Australia (the guy had gotten his PhD in Geography, so he and Derek had plenty to chat about). Anyway, then we headed up around the top of the lake and, after finding ourselves on a very busy road, soon found a path heading off into the woods in the general direction we needed to go. We soon found ourselves in a park (not sure if it was part of the National Park or what) with this lovely view, and a nice easy ride back into Killarney via cycling/walking paths. It was really nice to see this view from the North side of the Lake, as it was the only time we did see it from that angle.

St. Mary's Cathedral, which we came upon just as we returned to Killarney. Built in the mid-1800s, it is often referred to as one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Ireland. It was a nice welcome back to civilization after a very long day--well, that and the beer.

Later that night, a friendly bartender taught us how to drink a "proper pint of Guinness." Don't ask us to share: it's a secret. He also tried to water down my Smithwick's with red lemonade to make it a "Smithwick's Shandy" which he noted was an excellent hangover cure. Of course, I was not hungover at the time, and I just hate it when people put fruity things in my beer, but seeing as he was rather friendly I forgave the waste of a perfectly good drink.

Killarney Day 1

2010-07-02T20:37:00.013+01:00

Technically, our first day in the Killarney (Cill Airne in Gaelic) area was the day before, on the 15th when we flew in, but we were only there for the evening and a night of Irish music in a pub, so we'll begin with our first full day of bicycling instead. The route we took is marked by the yellow line on this map.

View Kerry in a larger map

So, Killarney is located in the southeast corner of Ireland in County Kerry. It's a small inland town which backs up to Killarney National Park, which is a hilly region made up of three lakes, some rivers, and plenty of forest and is probably the main reason we chose to visit. Simply put, the area is stunning as our pictures will fail to show fully, but hopefully you'll get the idea.

We picked up two hybrid trekking bikes the morning of the 16th and the woman at the bike shop (O'Sullivan's on the map) gave us some excellent advice on routes, which we followed to a T. So, as instructed, we headed out with a lunch packed to do a loop around Muckross Lake (or Loch Mhucrois). The pictures below chronicle the trip.

This is Muckross Abbey and our first stop. There was absolutely no one here and the entire abbey was accessible. You could even go up some stairs to the second story. In fact, we considered eating our sandwiches here, but out of respect for the likely bland and meager meals the monks ate here, we saved our mozzarella, tomato and pesto sandwiches for later.

Here's a picture of our bikes from inside the walls of the abbey. A lovely scene, don't you think?

We then carried on to Muckross House which was a rather large estate with some beautiful gardens overlooking the lake. We had our lunch here, on this incredibly well manicured lawn. In the distance you can see a horse pulling a jaunting car. These things are everywhere. As vehicles aren't allowed in the park, these jaunting cars are used to take tourists around on the many trails (for a fee, of course). Of course, they leave road apples for bicyclists to be wary of, but that's all part of the experience.

This is the view of Muckross House from the same lawn we ate our lunch on. Hey, that rhymes!

This was taken in the gardens behind Muckross House, which are expansive. I don't know the name of these big purple flowers, but they were almost as pretty as the chica standing next to them.

Apparently, the Irish knew I was coming and put signs up to warn people. Actually, we're still not sure what this sign means, but we do have some hypotheses: 1) Beware of people with broken windshields as they may not be able to see you and you'll have to dive out of the way, 2) beware of men with briefcases who are known to break windshields, 3) Beware of men who break windshields and run off with briefcases, and 4) Make sure not to drop your briefcase when running from vehicles with broken windshields.

This was taken from a bridge where Lough Leane (Loch Lein) and Muckross Lake meet.

And finally, towards the end of our loop we stopped at Torc Waterfall, named for Torc Mountain directly beside it, I'm sure; what Torc means, however, I do not know. Again, the view was simply stunning, and the waterfall was nice too (if you can't tell, it's Derek typing this post).

Churches Galore! (Italia, Part II)

2010-06-24T12:57:00.021+01:00

After our wonderful time in the Cinque Terre, CJ and I boarded the train for San Remo. Here's a map of the whole region, which should be interactive--that is, you should be able to click on it and explore for yourself some of the areas I mention. If you like.

View Italia in a larger map

I'm just going to jump right in, and let most of these photos speak for themselves. (Who am I kidding, I have lots to say about them, too!)

Here, the Russian Orthodox church in San Remo, which is a sight to see.

Apparently Tsar Alexander and his wife (whose name escapes me) were frequent holiday-makers in San Remo, and they built a church there. Interesting.

Here's me in front of the pretty yellow church across from our hotel.

I just really like this picture! I like bikes. What is this bike doing all the way up there?

Nice storage facilities in old town San Remo, apparently!

Left and Right: Some other really neat buildings we saw on our ventures through San Remo.

The beautiful stonework leading up to the Santuario della Madonna della Costa, a lovely church.

Inside, an elderly woman relayed to us in animated Italian the history of the church and the beautiful sculptures within, unfortunately the pics didn't turn out very well and we understood very little of what she told us.

One day, we decided to take a public bus up into the hilly region north of San Remo, which was a somewhat scary and nauseating experience, but was well worth it when we got off the bus! See what I mean:

The ruin of the Chiesa Romanica (Roman church) of San Nicolo, in the little village of Bajardo. This church was destroyed in 1887 by an earthquake which occurred during a service and caved in the roof, killing about 100 people. The church lies on a site once a shrine to druids, and has been the site of castles and churches since. It's so interesting to be in a place like this, where the pieces come together into a scrapbook of history. There are no signs, nothing to tell what's what--just the knowledge that some of this could be thousands of years old, while some of it only a couple of hundred, while still some of it even more recent.

Inside the church ruin, looking out through a barred window toward the valley to the south. The old columns were really beautiful.

Above: Some of the pretty decorations within the church ruin. On the right, the ceiling of the entryway. On the left, an altar, perhaps dedicated to St. Anthony.

Above: The view from behind the church ruin.

On a clear day, supposedly one can see into the Maritime and Ligurian Alps. On this cloudy day, unfortunately, we didn't quite see that spectacular view--but it was still awfully pretty.

A beautiful column, standing alone just outside the ruin.

CJ looks out over the valley in the medieval section of the village of Ceriana.

This was after we found a little cafe in the village to eat lunch--when the little restaurant owner realized we spoke English (and very little Italian), he ran out of the restaurant and down the street to find a man to take our order in English. Not necessary, but sweet-and entertaining! Of course it was either spaghetti or hamburgers. We both ordered the spaghetti, which was good--but unfortunately came with meat sauce. I was too hungry to be a strict vegetarian, and the man had been so sweet I hated to complain, so I just picked around it!

A view of France, to the west, from the beach at Ventimiglia.

I read about this series of Roman ruins at a site called Albintimilium, in the village to the west of us (called Ventimiglia). We decided to try and find them, as they included a Roman Theatre and I have always wanted to see one. Unfortunately, it was closed, but the theatre was perched right off the main road and we were able to see it from the sidewalk! This site dates back to the first half of the 2nd century. Fun to see the roots of modern day performance art and theatre!

CJ and I had an awesome dinner on our last night in Sanremo together. In front of me, you can see a demolished plate of Tiramisu. YUM. It was the best one I had the whole trip! (I tried several, in order to compare and contrast. A very systematic approach involved in finding good Tiramisu. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.)

Italia!

2010-06-24T12:35:00.011+01:00

CJ and I flew from London Stansted into Genoa, Italy, where we caught a bus to the train station, and managed to communicate fairly well with the driver and a fellow passenger—through a mix of Italian and English--to know how much it cost and where we were going. Between my extremely minimal Italian, my fair knowledge of Spanish, and CJ's fair knowledge of Italian, we managed during the trip. However there were some interesting situations in which we found ourselves bumping up against the language barrier. I made sure to learn certain phrases, as one does when going to a foreign country, such as "Parla Inglese?" (Do you speak English?) "Buon Giornio" and "Buonna Serra" (Good day and good evening), etc. In this case, however, numerous people had also warned me that Italian men tend to be…a bit on the flirty side. Naively, I said at one point, "Well I am wearing my engagement ring!" Our friend Amy said "Oh, honey. They won't care about that." So, realizing I'd need to be extra-tough if these situations came up, I then learned these phrases: "non sotta interesatta" (I'm not interested) "non se lei era l'ultimo uomo sulla terra" (not if you were the last man on Earth), and "ho una malattia comunicabile" (I have a communicable disease). You can't be too safe.

Of course, none of this really mattered and these phrases weren't needed. Though some of our acquaintances were flirty, none were being too pushy, and most people were quite friendly and helpful. I should have spent my time more wisely, perhaps learning the phrase "a slice of pizza," which neither CJ or I knew…and, in fact, which I never did learn…

When we arrived in Genoa at the train station, we were starving but ready to get to our first destination, Monterosso (the Cinque Terre). CJ stood in line to get our tickets where we'd be staying for the first couple of days. The ticket agent gave her tickets for the next train—and she came back over to me and our pile of luggage (and I might mention here that CJ had packed a very large suitcase which was so heavy I asked if she had brought her lucky rock collection), and she said "we better hurry, we have a minute to find the platform." I realized she literally meant we had 60 seconds before the train departed, and so we grabbed our bags and RAN through the station, running up and down the stairs and hauling the lucky bricks up and down with us—as there were no escalators or lifts—and arrived at the platform just as the train was pulling out. Oh well. This gave us time to find food before our 2 hour train ride, so I again stayed with our bags and CJ went to find snacks. I repacked my suitcase while she was gone, at one point looking up to see her across the street at a little restaurant. She waved and made a motion that it would be a minute or two. A minute later, I looked up again to see her crossing the street with her hands full of soda bottles and pizza boxes. She had tried to order one slice of vegetarian and one slice of meat pizza. Instead, she got one vegetarian (a.k.a. cheese) pizza and one meat pizza. Oops. :) We proceeded to chow down in the middle of the platform, even though people looked at us like we were pigs!

We stayed in Cinque Terre for 2 days, and had a lovely time. It was really a beautiful place, although the weather wasn't quite as friendly as one would hope. Our first day ended up being rather nice, though, and we took an awesome hike to the neighboring town to the south, called Vernazza.

Above, the very recognizable rock just off the shoreline at Monterosso's "new town" section. It only took me about 14 shots to get the waves crashing in just right.

On our way, we stopped for lunch in Old Town Monterosso and enjoyed delicious fresh mozarella cheese, olives, and tomatoes (among other things). We had noticed the lovely old building, above, on our walk, which was at the promontory of a peninsula and was really quite a lovely looking house. We asked our waiter if that was someone's house, if anyone lived there. "Yes," he relied in a charming accent. "My mother!" He smiled, pleased with his jest, and then proceeded to tell us that this gorgeous abode belongs to a businessman who lives in Milano and only uses it about a week every summer. What a shame!

Above, looking back towards Old Town Monterosso and the little restaurant where we ate lunch (underneath the happy yellow umbrellas).

We proceeded with our hike, enjoying a lot of lovely wildflowers and wildlife (ok, just the one lizard) as well as the scenery.

Here are some of the awesome views along the Cinque Terre coast between the towns of Monterosso and Vernazza:

Looking down through one of the many vineyards toward Monterosso.

Another view of the extravagant house on the promontory in Monterosso, with the rock from above in the background there as well.

Looking towards Vernazza (hiding behind the cliffs), to the south, from the top of one the rocky cliffs.

The pretty little village of Vernazza.

Coming down to Vernazza, a closer view.

Here, we ran into a couple from Denver, and a guy from Oregon. We all stood around chatting for a few minutes and taking pictures of each other. Amazing that none of us realized our backdrop was not just the town of Vernazza, but the lovely and rare Italian telephone pole.

Friends in London

2010-06-24T12:35:00.008+01:00

CJ was in London for a couple of days before the two of us (CJ and Laura) flew to Italy for a week. We went to some of the "usual spots" with CJ to show her around London. First, we took her to St. Paul's Cathedral. Here we are on the busy Millennium Bridge, the cathedral towering in the background.

I love the back entrance to Westminster Abbey--especially in Spring/Summer, it's covered in vines and leaves and is so beautiful! Derek was rather proud to have name-dropped, again, (one of his professors lives in the Abbey--see our earlier post on drinking wine in the abbey) and we got into some really cool parts of the abbey which are normally meant to be part of a paid tour!

Probably the best picture we've taken yet of this area--on CJ's camera, and Derek held it over his head in order to get a view over the hedge. We had just come out of the abbey, blinking into the sun. Dark clouds had just passed over the top of us, providing this very dramatic background, but the sun--starting to descend--provided wonderful light on this little cathedral by the abbey (I forget its name) and in the rear, Big Ben.

Lanzarote, Los dias cinco, seis, y siete (y ocho)

2010-05-26T19:40:00.016+01:00

Lunes (Monday) 19 de Abril

Puerto del Carmen to Playa Blanca

14 mi./22.5 km

View lanzo in a larger map

Feeling fresh after a day off from riding, we set out for the Southern tip of the island. Originally, we had planned to bike along the "Bike Route" which follows the rugged southeastern coastline, but, you may recall, the "bike route" is a volcanic rock rubble field marked by the faint tracks of the lost, dead cyclists of Lanzarote. After talking to a local bartender who knew the route and confirmed our misgivings, we opted for pavement. Our route is shown in green. Luckily, the bartender pointed us toward the "old road" which runs parallel to a new road from Yaiza to Playa Blanca. Funny thing, at one time the old road used to be called the new road. The whole route turned out to be quite enjoyable. The first half was a steady, gradual climb from the beach into some foothills, finally reaching a plateau littered with jutting volcanic peaks and craters.

You can see the caldera a bit better in this shot:

Then we flew down through the towns of Uga and Yaiza, and we were glad to have gravity on our side. We made really great time, stopping here and there to take pictures and enjoy the view. We were surprised to find this right next to the road:

Salt! And lots of it. The Salinas de Janubio. I don't know what Janubio means, but "salinas" are salt pans. If the Salinas de Janubio got together with mucha pimienta negra, they could flavor all the sweetcorn in Minnesota (and any leftovers could be spread on roads in Winter).

At this point, the terrain flattened out and the wind began to blow up the valley, and seeing as it was the end of our day, we were tired, and because heavy backpacks tend to make bicycle seats less comfortable, there was a lot of whining. But we made it and had some time to enjoy the coastline before going out for supper. In the photo below, you can see the neighboring island, Fuerteventura, in the background.

That night, we rode our bikes down the coast until we found a suitable restaurant (local cuisine, with some vegetarian options and some seafood options). We opted for Paella, which is a rice dish with vegetables, and in Derek's case, every sea creature that they could trap, dig up, net, or spear. We're pretty sure there was some mermaid in there. The waiter wheeled our sizzling skillets out with a forklift--okay that's a slight exaggeration, but he really did wheel them out on a cart, and dish them out into gianormous plates, which he filled to the brim. It was so delicious we both had seconds. Needless to say, we didn't bike home; we walked along the coast moaning with agony, pushing our bicycles, and cradling our distended bellies. It was later that night, though, that Derek rolled over--much like a beached whale, in fact--and said in the most pathetic voice he could muster, "I ate Shamu." Laura laughed so hard she almost threw up.

Martes (Tuesday), 20 de Abril

Playa Blanca (hotel) to Playa de Mujeres

10 mi/16 km

View lanzo in a larger map

We hadn't yet gone swimming, so we headed for the South-eastern tip (El Papagayo), which was strewn with beaches. We ended up at Playa de Mujeres--though we stopped a couple of times to see some sights--and spent the day there, reading, lazing, and swimming. Our route is shown in blue. Here are some photos from along our way:

The Castillo de las Coloradas on Punta de Aguila built in 1778.

Another view of it capturing some of the sea-eaten lava rock of the coast.

The first good view of the beach we settled on.

A closer look.

Miercoles (Wednesday), 21 de Abril

Playa Blanca back to Puerto del Carmen

16 mi/ 25.6 km

View lanzo in a larger map

Now, during all of this time, we were trying to figure out from Ryanair (and news sources) whether or not we'd be able to ever leave the Canary Islands. Which we really only cared about because Derek was to give his Research Proposal Presentation in front of his department in 8 days. At this point, we still didn't really know anything but decided we had better head back to Puerto del Carmen, near the airport, where we could be more flexible if our flight actually DID leave (at this point, our flight had gone from the "cancelled" status to "reinstated" and was scheduled to leave the next day. As it turned out, we did leave that day, though were bumped to a later flight and didn't arrive home till the wee hours. There's a much longer story here, but we'll spare you, for now). So we returned, via the same way we arrived (the green route, but we took the purple route where those lines meet), and our new hotel was (conveniently) next to the bike shop. Thus, you have already seen our pictures from the journey.

The following pictures are the magical mixture of the lovely Jameos Playa, a lot of sangria, and the "last night in Paradise" mentality.