We have just scheduled our next trip - while the winter weather is still at bay, we are off to Belgium on my Birthday (Oct. 4).  I SO love the fact we can schedule these last minute trips and get great deals.  We are flying into Brussels and going to dinner at Comme chez soi, the first 3 star Michelin at which we will have eaten - very excited about this dinner so I hope it is a fun birthday treat.

We will be there 4 1/2 days so plenty of time to see Brussels and hopefully do a couple day trips to Antwerp and Bruges.

After a month of non-stop going I am enjoying a few down days before the fun starts again!

The last week of September I was off to Belfast for the Society of Archivists Conference and annual general meeting.  I took the train up which was really a nice experience and let me see a bit of the countryside. I had forgotten it was a bank holiday in the UK (of which Northern Ireland is part) on the Monday I arrived and I have to say it really did seem like a ghost town.  I had arrived the day before the conference so I could do a little touring about and walked from one end of the town to the other.  I did a boat tour of the harbor ad saw the areas where the Titanic was built as well as the botanic gardens and city hall. 

The conference itself was very interesting and different than those is the states. Each "session" has 3 speakers, but there are no breaks so it makes it difficult to mix & match conference sessions.  Also, everyone goes to lunch, tea, dinner in one big group - a bit too much togetherness for me.

I ended up coming back a day early since I got a second interview for a position at the National Gallery of Ireland - still waiting to hear....

The next day we were off to Germany!  There is so much we did I will just highlight a bit here....

We met Reeves's parents in Dusseldorf and saw his old house which is now an Italian restaurant!  We did a bit of touring about, saw the area where his old school was (now a whole new complex of building) and then went to dinner in the altstadt (old town) at a restaurant which they used to frequent 25 years ago.  Some good traditional German food to start the trip.

 Reeves Family's old house - now an Italian restaurant

We had a bit of a misadventure on our way to the Harz mountains.  While zipping along on the autobahn our car started loosing power and we were forced to pull over and wait almost 3 hours for a tow truck to rescue us and get us to a new car.  We had to be delivered to the nearest airport to pick up a new car because it was a Sunday of a holiday weekend - not the easiest when you are trying to get things accomplished. 

Our broken down Peugeot - if you are offered one as a rental - JUST SAY NO! (even the rental agent said this!)

So we ended up getting into our hotel just in time to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary dinner a bit weary but no worse for wear.

We stayed in the tiny town of Ilsenburg, which was a nice central spot to visit the scenic town around the area.  Our first day was spent in Goslar, the town were my family called home over 100 years ago.  My great-great-grandfather was a master gun-maker here in the late 19th Century and his wife and children came over to America in 1909 after he had passed away.  It was a picture-perfect town which had been untouched by the bombs of WWII and its 14th-16th Century building had been beautifully restored.  It was fascinating to think my family had walked these same streets, gazed upon the same churches and lived their lives in this perfect little town.

 Overlooking the town of Goslar      Us in the town square of Goslar with the Rathaus (city hall) behind

To break up all the touring we took a half day hike the the Harz national park.  Gorgeous deciduous forest with wonderful varieties of wild mushroom and blackberries everywhere.  While we didn't try the mushrooms, the berries were delicious! The afternoon was then spent in the town of Werigerode, another charming town whose town square was bustling with a local market day. 

On a side note, the hotel in which we stayed was very charming.  The breakfasts & dinners were taken in this wonderful glassed conservatory overlooking the lake on which the hotel was situated.  Our room was on the top floor which was set into the roof line with 2 dormer doors, also looking over the lake.  While we had to watch our heads so we wouldn't run into the 300 year old beams running through the floor to the roof peak.

Our hotel in Ilsenburg -  Zu den Rothen Forellen

The next day we were off to Hamburg. What an interesting town and much larger than I expected. We took a boat tour of the gigantic and active port. A statistic they told us was that a ship comings into a port in Long Beach would take 5 days to turn around (unload and load) and only 12 hours in Hamburg! They didn't say why this is (security, unions, etc.) but it did underscored the efficiency.

In the courtyard of the Rathaus in Hamburg

Our hotel in Hamburg was quite a treat - it was the Hotel Abtei and is a converted stately home which was furnished with real antiques. It had a Michelin starred restaurant that seated only about 10 people.  We had a wonderful and lavish dinner there one evening.  The breakfasts too were quite elaborate with silver teapots and Christophe flatware.

The front elevation of Hotel Abtei in Hamburg  The sitting room which is attached to the dining room

Reeves and his mother, Rhea, at cocktails before our dinner at Hotel Abtei

Our next destination was Lubeck, northeast of Hamburg and built on an island.  Greatly influenced by maritime production, being set close to the Baltic Sea, we had a fun dinner at the Shiffergesellschaft, a place which still hold meetings of the shipbuilder's guilds.  The building was spared the WWII bombs (unlike 1/3 of the island) and is over 350 years old.

A view of the ceiling of the Shiffergesellschaft and the model ships - the oldest dating to 1607

En route to Berlin we stopped by the beach to see the Baltic sea and for me to collect a single seashell to add to my collect. There were the most charming wicker beach chairs punctuating the sand, but it seemed far too cold, even in the brilliant sunlight, to ever imaging this as a "seaside" resort.

 Seaside at Travemunde on the Baltic Sea

We spent the rest of the day at the town of Schwerin and their castle - amazing afternoon with a brilliant blue sky punctuated by fluffy white clouds - quite the backdrop to photograph the castle set on an island.

Schwerin castle in the glorious afternoon sunlight

Berlin was our last destination and we arrive just in time for dinner at the hotel.  Reeves and I had only one full day in Berlin as real life was waiting, but Reeves's parents stayed on for a week of lectures and tours. 

A soggy morning at the Brandenburg Gate - can you see the rain on Reeves's glasses?

The day we were there it poured rain in the morning which after a quick run by the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate, drove us into the German History Museum.  Just opened a couple years ago in what was former East Berlin, this is one of the best museum displays which I have ever seen.  Germany, obviously, has a very turbulent and tragic history, especially in the past 100 years and the philosophy behind the collection was not to dictate a point of view, but present evidence which asks questions of history and the viewer so they can conclude their own ideas and "truth". The collection was also a great combination of textual documentation interspersed with physical objects - I have never seen such a collection which draws so heavily on its written archival  history. Definitely a must see if you are in the Berlin area.

It was a very fun and busy trip and has inspired me to start reading more of my German history.

As of Saturday, July 14th 2007, we have been living in Ireland one year.  It really doesn't seem like it could have gone any faster, but when I think back we sure have experienced some great things.  As a bit of a review and a way of sharing, here are a few of the highlights....

Travel:

August 2006 - Amy was our first guest and we went to Edinburgh, Scotland for a few days.

September 2006 - Reeves & I went back to Redmond, WA as he need to have work meetings

October 2006 - Reeves & I visited Salzburg, Austria - a first for both of us.  It was a trip over my birthday and we went to the opera the night of my birthday - another first for me!

November 2006 - Reeves & I visited Rome, Italy - over Thanksgiving we had some great authentic Italian food.

Christmas 2006 - We stayed with Reeves's sister Beth & family and his parents and other sister and family all joined in the festivities

January 2007 - Reeves was back in Redmond again

January 2007 - I went over to Oxford University to do a weekend paleography workshop and Reeves met me with the car.  We then drove into London where we stayed for a couple days, then a drive over to Wales for a few days and up to Hollyhead for our car ferry ride back.

February 2007 - I visited Amy in NYC and the two of us visited Boston for a few days - another first for me to see Boston. 

March 2007 - We joined the whole Little clan in Akumel, Mexico for some sun, surf and sand.

May 2007 - Reeves & I were back in the states for 2 1/2 weeks.  Reeves had two conferences and some work in SF, Seattle & Redmond and then we had a week in Mountain View/San Jose to visits friends and attend my graduation from SJSU for my masters.

June 2007 - We drove over to the West of Ireland, Connemara, specifically Westport, Delphi, Clifden & Cong to see some of the countryside for the first time.

Hobbies:

We have started getting into our family history project.  While we are still in the beginning stages of research, we can trace Reeves's family back 8 generations on at least 4 lines and 5 generations on my side.  We are looking forward to visiting some of the local Ireland archives to uncover some of Reeves's Irish relatives.

I have just started trying to oil paint.  While I have done many craft projects throughout the years, this is the first time I have tried painting - so far so good...well, at least I am having fun even if you can't tell what I have painted yet! :)

While Reeves has enjoyed photography for quite awhile, I just got my own digital SLR camera with which to play.  I am looking forward to our trip to Germany in September to practice with more techniques.

We have a ton of pictures I am trying to digitize.  While I haven't gotten into a systematic method for doing them all, I have at least begun.  I hope to get some of the older ones done before the colors completely fade - especially those from the 70s which were poorly processed and are yellowing. 

Career:

I think the biggie in this category would be I finished and graduated from grad school!  I still can't believe it is over after the extreme amount of stress at the end, but I have been relishing the ability to just sit and read for pleasure at a whim! 

While I still can't find someone to pay me for working, I have been working hard volunteering at the National Gallery of Ireland since the end of February. I have really enjoyed working with the Pembroke Estate Project but mostly I have really enjoyed establishing my own sphere of being.

To occupy one day a week, I have also been volunteering for an archeological conservatory who works out of the labs at University College Dublin.  Just this week we we to the National Museum to use their room-sized x-ray machine to x-ray dozens of artifacts. The reason for this is partially to determine what is worthy of conservation as well as to discover anything for which she need to be careful with while conserving. 

I have also joined the Irish Society for Archives and the Society of Archivists, Ireland chapter (it covers the UK & IE) - I am going to the AGM this August which happen to be in Belfast this year.  I am very curious to hear the discussions as what I have seen here seems to have a much greater emphasis on historical practices over the US's concentration on archival theory & practice.

While I also wanted to write about our Irish cultural discoveries, I am afraid I am typed out for the evening and that will have to wait for another day...

We have been in Ireland almost a year now (yikes! My how time flies) and we had not yet been more than about an hour beyond Dublin. All of that changed last week when we spent 4 days and 3 nights in the West of Ireland, specifically at the Delphi Lodge and the surrounding attractions and outdoors. As soon as I saw a tiny article in a magazine on the lodge, I knew we had to stay there and as luck would have it, the stars aligned and they had space right away!

The lodge is in the middle of the wilderness and draws fishermen from all over the world. I really didn’t even know this until we were there, but I guess it is supposed to be world-class angling. The best part of the trip, beyond the amazing rural setting, were the group dinners. Every one sits down at 8 pm at one long table, after a nice cocktail hour in the “piano room”. The people were fascinating and the first two evenings we were up quite late chatting. In addition to the lovely company, the food was fabulous and they had at least 6 house dogs who would visit us at the breakfast table and at cocktail hour – heaven!

If you are coming to Ireland, I highly recommend staying here....

  The Delphi Lodge & the Lough just outside the front door.

Our room was located with the two windows just to the above-right of the front door.

  Cocktail just as we arrived on the front lawn.

  A few of the guests at one of the facinating dinners.

I'm first for cocktails!

....and of course, the doggies, including two precious new puppies born March 28!

Right now we are mid-trip in Redmond, WA and I thought it was as good of time as any to try and start to blog again.  We really have been having a nice trip so far. Well, I should re-phrase that a bit – I have been having fun and Reeves has been productive.  He attended the eMetrics conference in San Francisco and the MS Business Intelligence conference in Seattle.  While he has been working long days, I have had a fabulous time playing with my friends.  While staying in SF I was able to do a few things I haven’t done before.  Trina took me on a wonderfully guided tour of Chinatown including a yummy lunch of Dim Sum. She is now officially “Travel Trina” not just WebTrina anymore!  We also did an afternoon lunch at the remodeled Cliff House – what a clear and perfect day for a three hour lunch!

Now that we are in Seattle/Redmond I have been able to spend time with Leslie.  She came into Seattle and we did a little shopping and sat by the bay and had a lovely afternoon chat in the sun.  Reeves and I were able to spend Saturday wine tasting around Redmond/Woodinville (found a new wine I like – Red Sky) with Leslie and Jason and a really great dinner at the restaurant Purple Café and Wine Bar in Woodinville.  

Can’t wait till we are both officially on vacation starting on Wednesday night as well have many fun events planned with our friends in the week to come!

…Reeves and I had just walked in the door from him picking me up from the airport when the doorbell rang and a large padded envelope was delivered for me.  It was my diploma for my masters signed by all the appropriate officials, including the “Governor of California and President of Trustees”…. Arnold Swarzenegger.  It is still hard enough for me to reconcile he is the Governor, but signing my academic diploma is just too weird!

We have been going to and fro so much lately I just haven’t had the gusto to write much.  After we returned home from the Christmas holiday, visiting the Little family in Maryland, including the Terach’s new golden retriever puppy, Midas, Reeves left for a business trip two weeks later.  He returned home the day after I had left to Oxford to do a weekend workshop on Palaeography, meeting me with the car after I had finished the class on Sunday evening.  We then drove into London where we stayed at my favorite hotel, The Pelham in South Kensington, for 4 days.  While in London we went to the show Mary Poppins and enjoyed some really yummy cuisine at Bibendum.  En route back to Ireland we drove through Wales – what an enchanting countryside!  I absolutely LOVED the place we stayed near the town of Hay-on-Wye, The Felin Fach Griffin – it had modern and comfortable updates while still keeping all the authentic and traditional details which make up the soul of a home.  It is one of the few places I know I will visit again.  We drove about the countryside quite a bit and ended up visiting three of Edward I castle’s on the North and West coasts of Wales.  I also loved the car ferry experience – is was so much easier and relaxed compared to air travel, especially in this day and age.  In all, the trip was a wonderful time spent in our neighboring country!

I have also been busy trying to break into the archival world here in Ireland.  I have joined the 2 associations/societies and after attending the annual meeting of the Irish Society of Archives last week, the contacts paid off, I have a job!  Well, it is a volunteer position, but it is the first good step in the right direction. I will start at the National Archives of Ireland the day after I return from holiday.  I already know some of the collection on which I will be working, which is extremely exciting.  Even if I don’t get a paid position here, at least I will have the opportunity to work with some wonderful “old stuff”.   

I am now off to the States on Friday to stay with Amy for 10 days.  We are going to visit Boston for 4 days while I am there – some place I have never been and very excited to see all the history in which this town is steeped. 

We promised ourselves that if we moved to Dublin we would make the most of living so close to so many great countries, and we are starting the year off with a trip to the UK.  One of the things I personally am so excited about is living within an hour flight (and then only a 30 minute bus ride) to Oxford.  Ever since I did a summer course there in 2001 I have been hooked. Now, since we are within a reasonable distance, I can attend some classes. I am SO excited - in 2 weeks I am doing a 2-day workshop on palaeography! (yes, I am a big geek) I have dabbled in it a bit while doing my masters, but now I will actually have some formal training in it, and from a renowned institution.  For those of you who don’t off the top of your heads, palaeography is the study of old handwriting, specifically in this case late medieval handwriting of England. 

As English history has been a passion of mine for over 20 years, this will be a great opportunity to enjoy a closer look at some original documents, as well as adding to my greater knowledge base. Since Reeves has to be in Redmond, WA for work up until the first day of the workshop for me, he will meet me in Oxford with the car at the end of the weekend (he is taking the car ferry over from Dublin to Wales) and we will go into London for 3 days, returning West to Wales to stop at Hay-on-Wye for a day so I can load up the car with old books and then drive north to visit some of the castles built by Edward II of England before we take the car ferry home again.  In all we will be gone a week.  I am so excited because I have not been to the UK since 2002 and I have been aching to return.

Trina put me up to the "what are 5 things people don't know about you" challenge...here is my response......  :)

1) I play the accordion and I have always wanted to learn to play the banjo.  I have played a multitude of instruments over my lifetime, mostly in the first 20 years or so, including the accordion which I took lessons for about 8 years and got pretty good. I haven’t picked it up in awhile, but it is here in Ireland with us and I do hope to dust it off again.  Other things I have played; the piano, the clarinet, various recorders, the organ, a very little bit of guitar, and the ukulele, which I wasn’t half bad. It is the banjo, however, that has always fascinated me and is something to which I aspire, but have a feeling I will never get around to doing.

2) I am the first one in my family to go to and graduate from college.  Neither my parents nor grandparents on either side of the family ever went beyond HS.  Both of my parents were from farming families in the mid-west (Iowa and Kansas) and came from farming families. It is a personal and family victory to have my undergraduate, much less my graduate degree, accomplished. 

3) I love to people-watch and pick out which women are carrying fake hand-bags.  It is a little guilty pleasure of mine.  I have a personal thing against “fake” designer bags.  The reason you buy a fake bag is to look like a real one, right? I have never understood this. Is it to impress? The problem with that is the people you are trying to impress (e.g. other women) who can afford the real thing are going to know it is a fake to begin with.  Is it because you just really like the style but cant’ afford it? Fine, that is understood, but then forgo the “designer” bag and find a wonderful unknown handbag designer with great talent and quality materials which is in your price range, or save up for the real thing.  I personally equate stealing a designer look by trying to identically copy a bag the same as someone trying to sell me a fake Van Gogh or Picasso – they are works of art designed by an artist who shouldn’t have their work facsimiled and talent diluted.  An art lover wouldn’t frame one of those cheesy Monet posters (you know the ones, you had them in your dorm room freshman year at college) and hang it over their mantel, why would a handbag lover use a crappy copy of the real thing when there are tons of great bags out there of better style and quality.  OK, rant over.

4) The longest relationship I had before Reeves lasted 3 months.  I think after 11 ½ years of marriage and 13 years of being together, this one is going to stick. :)

5) I used to have about 24 pet Gerbils. Yes, that is a lot, and frankly, too many gerbils for any one household. This was my first pet which I got in 5th grade and I thought it would be great idea to get a boy and a girl gerbil to see what happened. Well, 24 gerbils happened! After the first litter, we let them grow up in the same cage for awhile, but we A) didn’t know how short the reproduction cycle was and B) even when we separated them by wire partitions, those little hormones were strong enough for them to chew though some serious metal. This all happen within a couple months. Needless to say, I am not sure what my mom was thinking when see agree to this, and we quickly decided two girl gerbils was plenty.

I am supposed to tag 5 more bloggers, but I have to say my blog-o-shpere is pretty limited and all the people I know with blogs have already been taged, so if you are reading this and you haven't been, please feel free to add yourself to the list.