Stonehenge / Plymouth / Devon and Cornwall

Over the four day Jubilee weekend we went camping on the south coast of Devon near Beesands. Without realising it, our trip took us right past Stonehenge, so of course we diverted our plans slightly to pay a visit. We also visited friends Patric and Julia and stayed at their house for one night in Plymouth. While camping we did several hikes and took a day trip to Padstow in Cornwall.

Stonehenge. Built before 2000 BC! Some of the stones weigh 50 tons.

Plymouth

Where the Mayflower left from Plymouth harbour

The farm where we camped

Campsite at Lower Beeson Farm

Hiking from Redlap to Dartmouth

Decorations in Dartmouth for the Queen's Jubilee

Padstow harbour

Beaches north of Padstow

Hiking north of Padstow- looking out to the Celtic Sea

Mom and Dad's Cambridge Visit

My parents visited us in Cambridge at the end of April. Their trip also coincided with my birthday!

Richard made me a nice birthday surprise in the morning.
Yes, cake for breakfast! Specifically, Victoria Sponge Cake.

Tea room in Ely

Walking along the River Cam in Ely

Ely Cathedral

During a bike ride along the Cam, there happened to be a rowing race going on. 

In front of the rapeseed flower fields near Horningsea

Our new and improved back garden-- after a lot of work by Mom and Dad. Thank you!

We've Moved! No Longer Inhabiting Ireland.

We've moved! I've been in Cambridge five weeks now and Richard two weeks. We found a place to live and are settling in, emptying moving boxes and getting our new place organised. I've been at my new job five weeks and am just getting used to new spellings ('s' instead of 'z') and the '@' and the double quotation mark being switched on the keyboard. And accustomed to when someone asks 'Are you OK?', this doesn't mean that you look distressed or that something is the matter; it's just another way of asking 'How are you?'

Cambridge is really beautiful and we live in an area with a lot of trees and greenery, just a five minute walk to the River Cam and a few more to the city centre. I've been biking or walking to work, and once Richard starts his job (he still has another week of vacation) he will also walk or bike. The walk to work is beautiful, going through four parks with interesting names (Jesus Green, Midsummer Common, Christ's Pieces and Parker's Piece), some of which have herds of cows grazing and all of which have a lot of cyclists zooming through at all times. Bikes are definitely the preferred mode of transport here!

Waiting to board the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead

The crossing

Our little front entrance! It's a Victorian (late 1800s) 3-story terrace house.

One of four original fireplaces.  No longer in use, so they're really 'just for decoration'.

Tiny back garden- but enough room for a laundry line and hopefully some vegetable planting

The front of the house looks out onto a very green and pretty cemetery.
Good because it's unused and really quiet, and so far not too spooky.

The River Cam near our house

Third floor loft/spare bedroom-- for our visitors!!

The market square in Cambridge- lots of nice food and crafts for  sale

The daffodils are in bloom

River Cam

Family Visit in Frankfurt

Several weeks ago we visited Richard's family in Germany. We stayed with Richard's sister Sofie in her apartment in Frankfurt. On Saturday we drove to Neider-Olm to see Margarethe and her family Matthias, Daniel and Julian where we played a lot of fun games with the kids and ate lunch. On Sunday Richard's parents took the train from Freiburg to have lunch with us. They brought a delicious lunch of Rinderrouladen, red beet salad, sauerkraut and Marmorkuchen (marble cake), all made my Richard's mom. 

Sofie and Richard. It was very cold in Frankfurt, about -12 C.

Julian showing us his winning from the game

Playing games with Daniel and Julian

Richard, Julian, Matthias

Julian showing us his Lego catalogue

Julian, Matthias, Sofie, Richard, Daniel, Margarethe

The European Central Bank, where it all happens 

The Old Square

Schnitzel and cheese spaetzle with apple wine, a Frankfurt specialty

Lunch with Kasimir and Alexandra at Sofie's apartment

Amsterdam

A few weekends ago I met Holly and her coworker Lori were in Amsterdam. They were there for a work conference, and Dublin is only an hour flight, so of course I met them there! I had been to Amsterdam before but hadn't seen many of the sights. We walked around the lovely Jordaan district, went to the Rijks Museum, the Anne Frank House, did a canal boat tour, and generally had a really fun time. We also met with friends Joost and Karen but don't have photos from that evening.

On the canal boat

Vermeer at the Rijks

Dutch canal boat and crooked houses

New Year's Trip to Donegal

[Richard] Over New Year's, Sofie came to visit, and we went on a long overdue trip to Donegal, in the far Northwest. It is a fantastic place. We did a mix of indoor and outdoor activities, almost climbing Slieve League, almost going swimming on the many beaches, and visiting almost all the pubs in Ardara on New Year's Eve. Mighty craic, so it was.

St. John's Point. Sofie painted a soon to be sought after landscape of the spot.

Time for a refreshment.

In case you wonder: if you enter 'end of world' into your navigation, this is where it will take you.

Slieve League hike: still the sun shines.

The rays lulling us into a false sense of security.

It's all smiles for now.

And still...

But last shall it not: the mighty wall of cliffs about to face a wall of water. We first struggled on, but when hale started approaching our faces at high speed, we turned around.

Where we celebrated the New Year!

The safety of Nancy's pub.

And the obligatory visit to Trinity College.