A Wee Bit of Ireland

We just returned to our hotel from a day of sightseeing in Dublin. First, getting here...we took the bus and then a train from Jenna's house to the airport in Amsterdam. First, you stand in a line to get your boarding pass, then another to check your bags (which by the way, they charge you for), then a line for passport control and finally one last line for security. I got frisked/felt-up as my knee set off the metal detector. Good thing the security guard was a woman or I may have really felt violated! On Aer Lingus, the Irish airline, you pay $3 for a cup of instant coffee. Unbelievable! Oh, did I mention that gasoline in Holland costs $9/gallon? So we Americans should quit belly-aching about the price of petrol. Here in Ireland, it's even more expensive. So anyway, we land in Dublin fine and take a bus to our hotel. Nice hotel, but in the middle of the night, it sounded like there was a riot going on, outside our window. The front desk clerk said it was just the Friday night crowd from the pub. He promises tonight will be quieter. I hope!

Today, we saw most of the obligatory Dublin sights, that one should see if one only has a day in Dublin. Of course, our favorites were the Guiness Brewery and the Jameson Whiskey Distillery. Gene was chosen to be one of 5 whiskey tasters at the end of the tour. Of course, they had to drag him,, kicking and screaming to do that! They even gave him a diploma, suitable for framing. I'll never hear the end of that.

And it's been raining.

Tonight, we hope to walk to a pub for supper and traditional Irish music. If I can stay awake that long. And tomorrow, we head home! I'm missing my critters and my little cabin in the woods. I'll post my bes photos when I get home, sorry it didn't work out on the road.

Hope all is well with everyone; it's great to be an American!

Love, Joan

Still Here...

This is Thursday afternoon and our last full day in Holland. Tomorrow morning, we'll fly to Dublin, check it out and fly home Sunday morning.

I left off after our Leiden Loop on bikes...that night we went out for Indian food. Another of Jenna's favorite restaurants. Lots of new taste treats and with Prilosec beforehand, a lovely dinner. I was more than a little worried about the spice factor. Tuesday, Jenna felt puny, so we had a stay-at-home kinda day, which was fine, gave me a chance to do laundry and Gene continued fixing things around her house. Since Jenna wasn't feeling so whoopie, we stayed in for supper, with me making a vegetarian meal. Gene kept asking where the bacon was!? Wednesday was market day again, so Gene and I pedaled in and picked up some groceries, including a roasted chicken. He can't believe that one of his offspring is a vegetarian! Later in the afternoon, Gene and I took the train to Delft. Another really old town. Visited the big church, which houses the mausoleum of the Dutch Royal family and folks like William of Orange (local hero). I was interested in purchasing a small piece of the blue and white Delftware, but when I saw the prices, I settled for an imitation, Christmas tree ornament. Yesterday was also a busy day in Jenna's house, with the contractor, electrian and cabinet refinisher all here. Jenna said she's never had this many men in her house before! Hopefully, the marble countertop for her bathroom sink will be delivered today and the electrician will return to finish installing her new light fixtures. Right now, she's out shopping for a small sink to put in her bedroom. It's a very Dutch thing to do... Last night, we just had pizza delivered and drank red wine. Tonight I think is going to be Thai food. There really isn't such a thing as "Dutch food", it's very international eating. At least the snow has stopped, yesterday just had a few sprinkles and so far today is dry.

I'm not sure I'll have access to a computer in Dublin, so you may not hear from me until we return, but then I can post some pictures.

Hope everyone is well and I think of you all daily. Oh look, it's starting to rain...

Love, Joan

We're here!

Greetings from Holland! First of all, the trip...upon arrival at the KC airport, we were told that Chicago was getting snowed in and that we would be re-routed through Dallas. What we didn't know was that our business class tickets got bumped up to first class. Sweet! The seats are like pods and fold flat. You also get your own butler practically, who wines and dines you the entire time. They take really good care of you. So, we arrive in London, and sprint to make it to our connecting gate, in another terminal of course. We make the flight, but our luggage does not. It did arrive at Jenna's house, much later that night, so it wasn't too horrible. On Sunday, we took the train to Amsterdam with the idea that we would see the Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh Museum. The rest of the country seemed to have had the same idea. Instead of standing in the long lines, we walked around the city, had lunch, cruised the Red Light District (yikes!), enjoyed the flower market (did I mention that it was raining/snowing this whole time?) and trained it back home. The flower market was unbelievable! The quantity, variety and prices, just unbelievable! Then for supper, we went to a restaurant that only has one seating, so the table is yours for the night. It's a set menu, so everyone is eating the same thing, but it's about 12 different things! They bring 4-5 small plates of food at a time and we would munch on that, then after awhile, they'd come back with 4-5 more plates, and so forth. We ate fish, pork, veggies, pasta, mussels/clams/oysters, meatballs, prosciutto/melon/mozarella, it just went on and on! And of course, a lovely Chianti. Good thing we had to walk home! We ate for 3 hours; I was a very happy girl.

Today, we rode The Leiden Loop on bicycles. Jenna has 4, as everyone bikes. The Loop consists of 25 stops of historical importance. Leiden is a very old town and has lots of history. This is where they planted the first tulips in the west. In fact, one of the 2 tulip growing districts is here. Right now, the daffodils are blooming. Gene was a little concerned I think, about the whole bike thing, it's been quite awhile since he's ridden. But he managed without any wrecks or killing any pedestrians. Did I mention that it snowed while we were biking? If we can find an open restaurant, we'll go out again tonight, but since it's Easter Monday and a holiday, that may be harder than we think. Funny, businesses were open on Easter Sunday, but not on Monday. Go figure.

I haven't asked Jenna for a tutorial on downloading pictures onto her Mac yet, but I'll try eventually. So for now, that's what happening here. It's lovely and so unlike anything we've seen before. It's easy to see why Jenna loves it so.

I hope everyone is well, I wish you could be with us, it's a great adventure! Take care, more to come...

Love, Joan

hi - it's me, mom, I don't seem to remember my password

Dad and I are having a good visit - both with Carolyn and most of her family and now here at the Nelson camp. We had some snow Sunday night and the weather is cold so this person stays in the house. We are going out tonight to Brick's for steak but it cannot be any better than what we have had here out of Joan's kitchen. Last night was venison tenderloin! We start home tomorrow afternoon and should be in Ontario by 8:15 pm. Hope you all are well - see you soon Love, Mom This is a picture of the band Joan plays in - caught their "show" Sunday night. The third member's hands are visible on the left. I'm a great picture taker - the wedding pictures leave something to be desired also.

Not a very good attempt, on my part. Anyway, the top photo is Mark and Martha Shook, middle one is Andy with Brody, talking with Tom, and the bottom photo is Megan the bride with Maddy the flower girl. I should make those pictures a little bigger. I still can't figure out how to position the photos...Mom and Dad really are taking notes on how to do this, with the pictures and I think while they're here, they'll try their hand at it.

It snowed last night, after raining hard for awhile with lightening and thunder, so they're getting a real reminder of what Kansas weather can be like. Today we have nothing planned, just lay low and let them rest a bit. Yesterday afternoon they were treated to a performance of The Bi-Polar Bears at the Enchilada Lounge (my garage band). We played for an hour and mom took some pictures. Maybe she'll try to post those later. Anyway, it was fun and they were duly impressed. Easy audience.

That's all for now, we'll get back to y'all later.

Joan