Look out the window

Last year I flew over 30,000 miles. This year I am on track for that and more. My first trip to France last May I had butterflies in my stomach doing double back flips with excitement, but then over time travel time became more of a chore. It is just a means to get to the next destination. And then I remembered to look out the window...How could I forget? This world is far too beautiful to not pay attention.

That being said, if I had a super power it would still be teleporting. Brink!

The best of the best

As I have discussed many times before, Ireland is one of my absolute favorite places on earth. The BEST. So clearly if 2 great girls from Norway and a hot stud from the states come to visit me in Ireland at the same time....well that's bound to be the highlight of my season.

All three were absolutely fantastic at going with the flow and consistently game for anything. We hung out in town while it was pouring rain, chased sheep, and walked to Killarney on the last day. Well, almost to Killarney. We did take a "jaunting car" that picked us up just past the cascade but that only shaved off a few miles and we had already finished 15. Whoop whoop! Git on lil pony!

I love having that little slice of familiarity somewhere out of context. Ireland has quickly become a second home to me so having some of the people who molded Portland into my HOME home see my second home...it feels like things always come full circle.

One of the greatest things about the whole week was the bad weather. I am so glad it was miserable out. It alleviated all the pressure to see and do and instead we could just be. What a gift. We did not ride as much as we wanted or go see as many things as we had hoped, but it just proves that no matter where you are in the world, sometimes the best thing to do is just lay on the couch and watch a movie.

Besides, how else would it get so green? More shots from the Dylan & Co. invasion can be found here.

Ireland in a nutshell

Where has the time gone?

I am en route back to Portland and while I am incredibly excited to get back and absolutely thrilled that I am goign to be in my house where I can sleep in my own bed TONIGHT, I am also a little sad. I'll be coming back to Ireland, just for the day and then I'm off to Croatia again. It feels like I just got here yesterday and now my time here is done and gone for the year.

Pete McCarthy wrote "Is it possible to have some kind of genetic memory of a place where you've never lived but your ancestors have? Or am I just a sentimental fool?"

My thoughts exactly Pete. I have never fully understood my fascination or connection with Ireland, but from my very first trip (10 days back in 2002 with two wonderful friends), I have always felt absurdly comfortable there.

I'm sure it started with Oma. Almost every Irish granny that I meet makes me think of Oma. They somehow have the same adventurous soul, peppered with a mental toughness that can only come from great challenges in life and topped with a slightly disheveled appearance. They are smart. Still sharp as tacks with piercing wit well into their 70s and 80s. I guess that's the irish humor in general, but the grannys are no exception. Even if they are not the ones making the jokes, you can rarely frazzle them.

It extends beyond the grannys too. I love that every time I ask our local walking guide a question I get a "smart" reply from him first. I love that the owner of a five star hotel where we stay rushed us out the back door to help us escape a guest who was "absolutely mad". More like forced us out the back door. I love that we can trust every single one of our subcontractors to go above and beyond with our guests. Most recently one went home and looked up in the government archives the family history for one of our guests then showed up at brunch with the fruits of his labor- not looking for any acknowledgement, just excited to help out.

I love the GREEN. And the blue and the red and the purple and yellow. All the bright colors of the towns we pass through and all the moss covered trees in the "four-est" that remind me of hiking at home.

I love the big swooping curves of Healy's Pass and Caha Pass on a bicycle.

I love feeling connected to the earth and being surrounded by others who seem to prioritize the little things in the world higher than wealth and material items. They sincerely care about people. It is refreshing. They know your name and your story...in a good way.

Last night as I sat talking to our local guide- and friend- he said it is always harder for them to say goodbye to us because they never know if we will get sent back. It is true.

I can never be sure if I will get sent back. Here is hoping.

one-hundred-thirty

That was the goal for today set by my dear friend Scotty O'Nair and Tomas and I somehow fell for it. 130km. Who put that guy in charge?In the end, I'm not really sure how far we actually made it, but it was long. Maybe 110ish. Long enough with a couple big hills.

I am tired and my shoulders are aching. I have not been on a bike since a week before leaving for Germany and those times were few and far between. Instead I've been the walking queen...walking trips, walking presearch, and walking my buns over to the coffee shop.

It was worth every km of pain today just to see beautiful Ireland cruising by. Not to mention, good quality time with my friends. Always a bonus. You can insert sily ACDC song here..."yes I'm back in the saddle again..."

Life really is wonderful.

Now...bed time. Click here if you want to see some more photos.

The homeland

There is something about flying into Ireland that just feels really, REALLY good. It is gorgeous and familiar and somehow stepping off the plane and being greeted by a good whiff of cow manure on the runway and then Scotty at the gate is surprisingly nice.

If you want fashion and style and loads of material things, don't come to Ireland. If you want to see some unparalleled natural beauty, jaw-dropping scenario, and meet some of the nicest people on earth then this is the place for you.

Once again, I've been assigned to do preseason work (not a bad gig). Writing directions, driving a rental car on the "wrong" side of the road, spending loads of time on the computer, and just enough time on the trails to keep me sane. That has been my life for one week not. Not too shabby. Check it out.

Prague

One of the highlights on my visit with Kate was taking off for a night to Prague. A short, but sweet trip we boarded the train on Tuesday, wandered the city and then headed home a little over 24 hours later.
This city is architecturally one of the most fascinating places I have ever been. It has a very strong gothic and medieval influence which is rare since so many comparable cities were destroyed during WWII. We stayed at a lovely hostel in a private room and wandered all night and all day. Here are a couple of things that I learned:
1. It's hard to find a good and honest Prague taxi driver. Just leaving the train station the head taxi guy quoted us 880 Czech koruna (about 60 dollars). Then the tourist info office called a cab for us and quoted 95. Then the guy took us to our place and charged 120. The return taxi, same route, cost 90. Ridiculous.
2. Castles can be downright creepy. Evil disney castle anyone... 3. The closer to the old town square the more expensive the ice cream and the smaller the portions (I actually new this, but apparently needed a good reminder).
4. I generally have a good sense of direction, but the combination of winding streets and a bending river leads to a very confused brain.
5. There are a lot of puppet making shops. They make mean looking puppets.

6. I may be completely insatiable. On the train back we were talking about the trip and Kate said she would probably not make it back there. It was a four hour train from her house. Me on the other hand, I said I definitely wanted to get back there "someday". This is a reoccuring theme. I don't check things off my bucket list, I just add more. Maybe I should work on that or I am going to have to start making a lot more money to support my travel habits. That said, there are worse habits to have.

More photos here.

We couldn't have done it without Josh. Thank you!

Germany

A good friend of mine from high school recently moved to Germany with her gorgeous family. Knowing I was going from Croatia to Ireland with a week off in between I scheduled a little detour. Why not. It's on the way.

I can't tell you how good it was to have down time with a familiar face. It is amazing how many friends I have, people I love dearly, that I have not seen in years. I guess it is one of the unfortunate side effects of my overly nomadic lifestyle combined with knowing really cool people spread out around the world. But with the really good friends, it is just so easy to fall back into that comfortable place.

My friend Kate is beautiful and funny and an overall blast to be around. She has always been this way. In Germany, though, I was greeted by another side of Kate: she is a mommy now and a really good one to boot. It was incredible. To watch her with her son and husband it made me so proud.

Don't get me wrong, I can assure you that I made absolutely zero contribution to Kate's development into the strong, confident woman she now is. If anything I just stirred the pot a little along the way with some mischief.

Point is: I knew her well when we were really just kids, then I saw her when we were in college a couple times, met her (then boyfriend) Josh visiting home after college one night, and then once more, I saw her while traveling the US when she was living in Colorado (Josh, her now husband, was deployed at the time). And now I have seen her in Germany where she is embracing life, and looking some real world challenges right in the eye. I feel like I have gradually seen this growth in her and I am so impressed. She is still the same old Kate at the core, but even better.

It is hard to move to another country where you don't know anyone and you don't speak the language, but she and Josh are really making it happen for themselves. Not to mention, they managed to show me around Regensburg with casual grace and abounding generosity all while carting this little one around with us. It was truly my pleasure.

Kate- I don't know how you do it, but I hope we continue to have these rendezvous for many years to come. Don't ever change "you" and never ever ever stop laughing.

More photos