Slainte!

That's Gaelic for cheers!


Dublin is the perfect city for a quick weekend get away....from London that is!
We stayed at the Shelbourne Hotel, a landmark in the heart of the city over looking St. Stephen's Green. It was just a few blocks away from shopping on Grafton Street and Trinity College where the major attractions are the Old Library and The Book of Kells, richly decorated manuscripts of the four Gospels in Latin.





Our first stop, not surprising, was the Guinness Storehouse and St. James's Gate Brewery. It is a self-guided tour through six floors of the brewing process and popular advertising campaigns of the past. It ends with a generous tasting of draught Guinness at the rooftop Gravity Bar with a 360 degree fabulous view of Dublin. Normally, I'm not a fan of the dark brown beer but once you get past the thick foam and the first few sips.....well it's all about the experience!
And for lunch....Steak and Guinness Pie of course!



We had no idea until we arrived that on Saturday night Ireland was playing France in football for a place in the championships and Sunday was the big rugby match between Ireland and Australia. It was a great weekend to be in the Temple Bar area in Dublin!

What to pack???

Or should I say, "What NOT to pack!"
Instead of taking photo's of London sights I thought it might be helpful for my Sister and her son, who have started the "thinking about packing" stage of their travels here for Thanksgiving, to actually take photos of some of the tourists...taking photos of some of the sights. Weird, I know but interesting none the less!

Boots and jeans, raincoats and scarves, cameras, backpacks.....huge silver bag?

I see a lot more people using their phones for a quick memory shot.


What happens to Ugg's when they get water-logged?




















Don't even think about it...the sandals that is!





Bright red hair seems to popular...easy to spot in a crowd!

Can you spot the American?

We plan to do A LOT of walking, go to the American Thanksgiving ceremony at St. Paul's, enjoy a Thanksgiving feast with good friends, see a show, and hit a few Pubs. The Oyster cards are topped off and ready! Start packing!

The Wizard of OZ

On Thursday, the 29th of OCTOBER, Dannii Minoque (Judge on X Factor) magically transformed Harrods in to the Emerald City. The green glow (usually blue lights!) of the building can be seen for miles and the windows invite young and old into Munchkin Land, the Corn Field, the Apple Orchard, the Scary Forest and .....

THE WIZARD OF OZ lies inside...as only Harrods can do it!







I will have to post another blog on my trip down the Yellow Brick Road to the Ruby Red Slipper Boudoir!


My neighborhood is decorated for Christmas, is yours?

The Kensington Wine Rooms

Since the sports car was covered with leaves and tucked into it's parking spot in front of the flat....Rick and I decided to take the bus to Kensington.......
(I didn't say it was OUR sports car!)





One of our new favorite restaurants in London is the Kensington Wine Rooms on Kensington Church Street. Friends met us there for a quiet birthday celebration, it was the perfect spot on a brisk autumn Sunday afternoon for a glass of wine and a hearty meal. The bar area has self-serve wine dispensing machines where you can purchase a taste or a glass of wine from all over the world. I didn't get a picture of my meal but when you read this your mouth will water....

Mint, Beet & Warm Breaded English Goat's Cheese Salad £5.95
Suggested wine: Pouilly Fume' Les Cornets, Loire 2007 125ml £6.95

Filet Steak, Fresh Horseradish Sauce, Green Beans, and Chips £19.50
Suggested wine: Argiano Brunello Di Montalcino, Tuscany 2004 125ml £10.75
(I included the prices for all my "foodie' friends back home!)

I especially liked the Isabel, Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from Marlborough, New Zealand.....thanks Steve, I'm saving it for another special occasion!

When history reads like a novel...

Alison Weir is one of my favorite authors and she was our guest speaker at the AWC meeting this month. She is best known for her richly researched and impressively detailed novels of the Tudor period of history including two best selling novels, Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth, but my personal favorite is Mary, Queen of Scots. Her new book, The Lady in the Tower is about the imprisonment and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife.....unprecedented in English history. She engaged us with her storytelling, signed books, and then, over lunch, graciously answered every question we could throw at her. It is her opinion that the present Queen, Elizabeth II, is not going anywhere and that Charles will be the oldest King in history to take the crown.
Before I left the States I also downloaded The White Queen by Philippa Gregory on my Amazon Kindle.....I just love it when history reads like a novel!!!

A fallen leaf..

A FALLEN LEAF IS NOTHING MORE THAN A SUMMERS WAVE GOOD BYE!




The boat has been trailered and wrapped, the hard cover is back on the Jeep, the oil tank has been topped off, the patio cushions stored......oh Haley, we forgot to put out the snow stakes before the ground freezes!

U2 Spy Pilot

One of my "New Year's Resolutions" this year was to record some of the interesting stories my Dad occasionally enlightens us with about his days as a U2 Spy Pilot in the 60's. To honor his 80th birthday my sister has been collecting pictures of our Dad in his glory days for a slide presentation and while combing through old trunks in my basement I came across several news articles about his FAMOUS "Half-way to Hickham" story. Now, all I can do is print the facts as they appear in these various articles...it's not the same story without Dad's animated expressions, his hands imitating the wings of a plane, and lots of cursing, as all pilots do when they are telling a "flame out" story...but it's the best I can do on my public blog!

In the News- November 24, 1960
A boy, weighing 6 pounds 3 ounces is born to President -elect and Mrs. Kennedy........
Cheating the Pacific Ocean, a Laughlin Air Force Base pilot flying a U2 aircraft made a deadstick landing at Hickham Air Base in Hawaii Thursday at 6:01 pm after a flameout caused brief engine failure......

Intrigued????

"Captain Robert (The Deacon) Hall's plane had a brief engine failure about 1,100 miles northeast of Hickham before 3 pm. He was able to complete a normal air start and continue toward Hawaii but the fuel was exhausted several minutes before he reached there. The pilot established a glide pattern and a T-33 jet trainer was launched from Hickham to guide him through the overcast into the landing pattern. An SC54 rescue aircraft from the 76th Air Rescue Squadron at Hickham was dispatched to intercept and rescue the U2 when Captain Hall reported the possibility of fuel shortage which was caused by the high rate of consumption which caused the original engine failure"

Here's the humorous part...
While waiting word on her husband's arrival, Mrs. Hall stayed by the phone and entertained her children...."When they called me, I told Colonel Wilcox that I knew Deke wasn't going to get all wet. He has too many babies at home to think about!" Officials notified her as soon as the message reached Laughlin (Del Rio, Texas) that he had made a safe landing.
(I'm sure, She and Miss Kay poured themselves a stiff one, babies or not!)




A great story, a great career, a great man...
Happy Birthday Dad!