TravelStream™ news feed for member moconnor on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/moconnor en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Sun, 30 Dec 2007 01:29:09 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1184989440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1184989440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1184989440/tpod.html Sun, 30 Dec 2007 01:29:09 -0500 Italy, Paris, Dublin, County Clare, London, and back home again.

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Paris, France

Our first full day in Paris (with Alison's luggage which arrived at our hotel at 3 a.m.!) was spent touring the Gallerie Lafayette and its extensive food court. While the Italians can cook you an outstanding meal, gelato aside, dessert is a wash (unless you like tiramisu-which I don't). The promise we made the girls was that there would be breakfast pastry in Paris which Gallerie Lafayette delivered. After gorging ourselves, we headed to the Palace of Versailles which has been completely restored since Larry and I visited with Mom and Lizzie in 1983. We had a blast! It was crowded but the boon for all of us was that a golf cart could be rented for 7 Euros per 15 minutes (a 1-hour minimum) which we waited in line for but the hour that we waited sped by. The three people in front of us were Italians who were complaining about the French and their penchant for running everything a certain way added to the fact that Versailles wasn't much to see in the first place. I started to laugh and the woman realized that she had to watch herself because I understood what she was saying. She and her aunt (and the 13-ish year old boy with them) had a running commentary that was quite entertaining; the main speaker was quite concerned about people cutting in line in front of us and she wasn't shy about yelling at potential offenders (and this from an Italian). It was quite the show. The day was gorgeous (a threat of clouds but no showers materialized)-all of us actually had jackets on (the girls were in jeans!). It was a relief from the unrelenting heat and humidity in Venice. Once we got in the golf cart, we hit the trail and went as far as the Grande Trianon (which we realized we made Peg walk to 24 years ago) and parked our heap and walked around the grounds. It is much like I remembered it, as was the palace though it smelled of urine to me (Lauren and Alison thought I was crazy). After we got back to our hotel, we decided to try a recommendation from our book Good Eats, Paris. We found a "salon de the" which had an interesting menu. We had a good dinner (with coffee) and marched down into Paris and strolled through the Garden of the Tuileries which has a small fair with rides and then down the Champs Elysees (the seats are already going up for the end of the Tour on the 29th) all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. The weather was cool and there were tons of people walking around. It was a nice finish to our day. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by Brentano's and purchased a copy of the new Harry Potter book. After dropping Alison back off just after midnight, Larry, Lauren, and I went back to Brentano's so that Lauren could get her book at 1 a.m. It was quite the scene with all of the adults who were lined up to pick it up in English (it won't be out in French for a couple or three weeks). We finally made it bake at 2 a.m. and went to bed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1184106180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1184106180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1184106180/tpod.html Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:57:15 -0500 Italy, Paris, Dublin, County Clare, London, and back home again.

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Bologna, Italy

What a day! Bologna was an interesting, diverse place to visit. We began our trip from the train station with a stop for cappucini. We hit a H&M for some shirts for Lauren and didn't realize, at the time, that we were around the corner from Gelateria Gianni! No matter--it didn't open until noon and it was well before that. We were on the hunt for the various street markets though we didn't ever actually locate them (found out later that they don't happen in July or August). The Piazza Maggiore with the Church of San Petronio (impressive church which Larry couldn't take his backpack of cameras into so we did it in shifts)is the place where Bologna commemorates the massacre of the resistance fighters in 1944, in Marzabotto. The memorial is a wall of photos of the people that the Nazis rounded up as a reprisal for the killing of several Nazi officers in Bologna. The individual photos of all those people (several hundred)and a tile for those who don't have photos was a moving testament both to the Italian resistance and to the devastation of war. Many of those killed were in the same family and many were NOT resistance fighters but merely suspected to be resistance fighters. Both men and women were killed. While Larry was in the church, I was approached to do an interview on local television. I was asked, by the reporter, if I thought that American food, i.e. hamburgers were better than tortellini. What a choice! She informed me that tortellini was winning hands-down after I made my choice. The fact that I am a vegetarian was never mentioned, nor offered. Our next stop was very "uplifting." We found the Due Torri (two of the remaining watchtowers that were used for defensive purposes) and climbed the one that is still intact (the top of the other tower was removed because it was structurally unsafe). While 498 steps didn't sound too bad, some of the sets of steps were SO steep and narrow all 4 of us were huffing and puffing on our way up. The stairs are set up for one way traffic so it was necessary and restful to wait on the landings while people descended. The view was spectacular though windy. As a reward, we went back to Gelateria Gianni for some outstanding gelato. Then, off to lunch. Important lesson--neither Larry nor Lauren can consume large amounts of alcohol and be productive after lunch! We wandered around the University of Bologna and finally made our way into the National Gallery. By the end of it, we were all exhausted and glad to sit on the train back to Parma after some gelato from Stefino! We were saddened to find only two of the three gelaterias we were looking for but, no matter. Perhaps we will return!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183931100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183931100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183931100/tpod.html Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:55:05 -0500 Italy, Paris, Dublin, County Clare, London, and back home again.

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Parma, Italy

It has been a couple of days of firsts. We made it to our apartment in Parma and we all like the slower-paced lifestyle. We have done quite a bit of window-shopping (everything was closed on Sunday)and checked out the Grom Gelateria in Parma. We were not impressed. Yesterday, it was a matter of "hurry up and wait" as most stores were closed all day (you have to love a Catholic country). Everyone slept well last night (though not enough in Alison's case) and we awoke to the construction workers in the courtyard of the palazzo. We love the apartment (regardless that the washer/dryer combination takes approximately 6 hours to wash and dry one load of laundry--3 pieces-- while melting the ice in the refrigerator right next to it). We found K2 Gelateria (went twice today) and think it is superior to the Grom in Parma but not the one in Milan (we have a hierarchy, believe me). We visited the Baptistery and Duomo which are just outside the palazzo and were awed by both. The pink marble from Verona is amazing. We also had an outstanding dinner at a restaurant that we happened to find and Lauren insisted upon (Lexi recommended it, which clinched the deal). Larry sampled the Parma specialty of raw, ground horse meat (insert reference to a favorite horse here...we covered everyone from Mr. Ed to "My Friend Flicka"). We are on our way to bed because we will be up early tomorrow to head to Bologna. According to Larry, there are 5 gelaterias that need checking out. We figure we can hit 3 of them...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183810620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183810620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183810620/tpod.html Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:53:33 -0500 Italy, Paris, Dublin, County Clare, London, and back home again.

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Milan, Italy

Our last day in Milan proved to be an interesting one. The street in front of our hotel was turned into a "mercato" that lasted the entire day (setup began at 4 a.m. and clean-up ended at 10 p.m. right outside our window). It was difficult to pass up some of the food and some of the clothing but street market lingerie was not that appealing. The smells reminded us of Sicily and the hand gestures and yelling were so very Italian. We escaped the noise and crowds by taking our favorite tram until we were "off" the only map that we had. Larry's hope that the Tram would loop back to the city center evaporated at the second to last stop. Thank goodness for transfers; we hopped off one tram and on to another in the opposite direction. A consolation prize for this "DAR" was some Grom gelato when we finally made it back to our original destination (you can check out their website at www.grom.it). It was quality gelato (and we do know our gelato). We spent the rest of the afternoon in two amazing museums--the Brera which not only houses an amazing collection of art but also the oldest and most famous art school in Milan--and the Ambrosiana, the house and extensive collection of Cardinal Borremeo. The Cardinal was quite the art collector. He had everything from antiquities to Latin inscriptions (Alison really demonstrated her knowledge of Latin in translating so much of what we saw, though she refused to give the Greek a shot--"Uh, that's Greek and I don't DO Greek"). Probably the most "interesting" non-art item was the lock of Lucrezia Borgia's hair as the kindly "vecchio" docent urged us to notice (Lucrezia--she's beautiful but don't drink the wine!). There was something soothing about being in the museums; as a family it has to be one of our favorite things to do, so long as there isn't much "scavi." We retired to our hotel, thought about dinner, ate early after which the girls passed out before 9:30. Tomorrow, off to Parma...early.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183752420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183752420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183752420/tpod.html Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:51:10 -0500 Italy, Paris, Dublin, County Clare, London, and back home again.

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Milan, Italy

We have all been reunited with our luggage! We spent the day looking at clothing that we couldn't afford and then buying something for Alison at H&M. Climbing the Duomo was reminiscent of St. Peter's in 2005, though not as steep or narrow. After only one day (and thanks to the urging of Lauren) we are beginning to understand the bus system of Milan (we are too far out of town to ride their underground). I would say that "The Last Supper" was a highlight of the day with sore feet being the absolute low point. Of course, Larry and Alison sprinted up the stairs when the reception area "hottie" told us that the last two bags had been delivered to our room.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183730640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183730640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1183730640/tpod.html Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:50:02 -0500 Italy, Paris, Dublin, County Clare, London, and back home again.

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Milano, Italy

Our flight out of SFO was delayed an hour, so, after quite the sprint through Heathrow, and through security again (love the British!), we made it on to our flight to Linate Airport but our luggage did not. Fortunately, for Lauren and for me, our bags arrived sometime after midnight at our hotel, so we are sitting pretty in clean clothes. Unfortunately, Larry and Alison are looking a little worse for wear-Alison's swollen cartilage piercing is a bother--Larry's big complaint is his rumpled clothes. There is a H&M in Milan (perhaps a better financial decision in this expensive place) and even Larry is consenting to do some clothes shopping. Our appointment with "The Last Supper" is at 6:30 this evening so we will try to check out the Duomo and other Milan highlights. Lauren's cold is better, my fever is down; regardless, we are grateful to be in "la Bella Italia" again. Last night's dinner--for those of us who ate it [Alison hit the wall at 7 p.m. and emerged from her coma-like sleep at 2 a.m. when I was getting up for the day] was the best local gelato. Lauren ate peach and strachiatella and I ate coconut and strawberry. Larry drank Scotch. It was quite the night. Breakfast was ample and diverse (we loved the techno music in the breakfast room) and Update--Larry has scored some socks and underwear from the local supermarket. It is going to be a good day! Off to downtown Milan and away from the continuous soccer coverage (too many hot players) and the German porn!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185848700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185848700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185848700/tpod.html Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:48:31 -0400 Italy, Paris, Dublin, County Clare, London, and back home again.

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London, United Kingdom

It was nice to be in London, today. We split up and spent the day pursuing our own interests. Lauren went to see the latest Harry Potter film while Alison and I went to a couple of museums. We walked through the National Portrait Gallery, met up with Larry and Lauren (still waiting for the movie)and then walked through Covent Garden together. Alison and I ventured out alone (Lauren finally in the cinema-you buy a specific seat in London cinemas-at least in Leicester Square). We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum in Knightsbrige and swung by Fortnum and Mason to pick up some tea. We happened by Buckingham Palace on our way back to Leicester Square and each posed for a photo. Lauren, finally out of the movie, we all went to the Tate Modern to see the Salvador Dali exhibit. It was fantastic! I think the most unbelievable detail (or one of them) was that Dali worked with Walt Disney on a film, along the lines of Fantasia. It has never been released and from the little piece I saw, I hope that it will be someday, though I doubt it. Walt and Salvador? It is amazing to me...the Hitchcock/Dali collaboration (Dali wrote the dream sequence in Spellbound)was more plausable. At any rate, we adjourned back to our hotel and then went out for Indian food around the corner. We are sitting here, not looking forward to the 10 hour plane ride back. The plane lands at SFO at 1:40 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. Larry leaves for Oklahoma on Thursday and Lauren goes back to Santa Monica on the same day. Talk about a quick return to our lives.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185847980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185847980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185847980/tpod.html Mon, 30 Jul 2007 03:30:59 -0400 Italy, Paris, Dublin, County Clare, London, and back home again.

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London, United Kingdom

I suppose it will come as no surprise to many of you that Colleen continued to piss Larry off this morning on our way out of County Offally. We all agreed, during the intermittent pleasant periods on the drive to the airport, that we would definitely go back to the Harbour Master's House and spend a couple of days looking around the area. There was a castle with some spectacular gardens. the oldest telescope in all of Ireland, and some other brochures that caught our fancy. When we said goodbye to the car, Colleen, and the country of Ireland, most of us felt like we would need to come back. The flight to Gatwick was uneventful though the monorail we got on to get to the train station malfunctioned and we were stuck in a tram without air-conditioning until the engineer appeared after about 10 minutes. Larry and Lauren were willing to hit the emergency escape but the very well behaved British people we were riding with urged us to wait it out. Afterwards, our trip into London went without incident and the girls and I reflected, on the train in, about things we learned on this trip. Both Lauren and Alison were very practical. We agreed that if there is an automatic coffee machine, stick to tea (the sound of milk being steamed is a good sign, usually-though we had our first bad coffee in Italy on this trip). Vegetables, as we are accustomed to eating them, are is short supply, even in Italy. Forget salads completely, if you don't like bitter greens and are tired of oil and vinegar. Use an "inside voice" all of the time (thanks, Lauren) and ALWAYS travel with a computer and some way to access the internet. I decided that if a place is known for a dish, try it AND NEVER forget your driver's license if renting a car. Otherwise, our plan for this evening was to find a nice dinner (which we did at a nearby Thai restaurant--I had more vegetables that I could actually see and taste at dinner than I have eaten on this entire trip). We thought about walking into another section of London and looking around but I realized how tired I am. I plan to post and then hit the sack. It isn't "half ten" as they say. Alison is getting a cold, Larry has a sore throat--tomorrow should be interesting. While you are probably thinking that we SHOULD be home by now, being here is the last hours of our trip and we have had, all things considered, a BLAST. I hope we make the most of tomorrow.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185675840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185675840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185675840/tpod.html Sat, 28 Jul 2007 18:32:26 -0400 Italy, Paris, Dublin, County Clare, London, and back home again.

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Shannon Harbour, Ireland

We covered a lot of territory today. For our last day in County Clare, we decided to investigate the two well-known natural sites in the area. We headed to the Cliffs of Moher which was an interesting drive (more narrow roads) with only minor difficulties with Colleen (as we have been calling our "Never Lost" voice). Despite Larry's initial reservations about exactly what the cost was going to be and how commercialized the Cliffs had become, he was pleasantly surprised what a good job "they" did. Really? The walk was nice, the scenery spectacular, and the weather cooperated. It was at this point in our day that things began to go sour. Colleen had a difficult time navigating to (and later, from) The Burren. It was quite tense in the car (and quite funny at times) as Larry would follow Colleen's directions and end up going exactly the wrong way. It was raining fairly steadily and Colleen could not account for new roads, detours, and the like. Probably the best "screw up" though was when Larry decided to follow a smaller map and we cut across the Burren on a road that can only be described as one narrow car's width. We met the occasional bicycle tourist looking soaked though the "road" emptied onto a larger road and a place called Cassidy's. It advertised pizza, seafood, scones, and cappucinos so we decided to stop and try to have some lunch. By far, it was the BEST meal we had in all of Ireland. Larry's adventures in strange meats did not extend to the goat burger that was offered; we all ate well and the scenery was spectacular. We overlooked what is called the "disappearing lake" which I would most likely describe as a seasonal lake. Whatever. Lauren and I ate stuffed potatoes, Larry had soup and salad (omg--real lettuce and real dressing), and Alison also enjoyed a salad with homemade brown bread. We shared our food (Lauren even let us taste her Irish coffee) and Alison and I shared our scones (warm from the oven with homemade peach spread and whipped cream). The cup of tea I had was the best finish. Unfortunately, the high of lunch did not extend to Colleen. She continued her peevish ways and led us down some one-way streets (great for morale in the car)but we did eventually make it to the Harbour Master's House. Of course, once we arrived here, we wished we had time to spend a couple of days. The innkeeper, whom we will not see tomorrow when we jet out at 7:15 to sprint back to Dublin Airport, was incredibly gracious and didn't try as hard as good, old Sheila did. Larry will be so glad to say goodbye to the SUV and Colleen, the idiot. The local entertainment of the night was when a man down the street let a herd of horses loose. The horses came charging down the street and turned left and went over the bridge and came up the other side. It was quite an event! It took two kids, a couple of cars to block traffic, one man and a small, persistent dog to round them up and really kill their fun. Off to bed...up early tomorrow. Our number one job is to find a washateria once we hit London.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185588840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185588840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moconnor/july2007/1185588840/tpod.html Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:17:59 -0400 Italy, Paris, Dublin, County Clare, London, and back home again.

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Kilbaha, Ireland

Without a real plan for the day, our excellent adventure started out in Sixmilebridge. For those of you who don't know, most of my mother's ancestors came from that town in County Clare and I set off this morning to see if I could find out some information. After not being able to find out consistent information, the woman at the parish office sent me to another church about 5 km away. The man who runs that parish office was not available but a helpful woman took all of my notes and my email address and assured me he would get back to me. From what little I know of the Irish, I expect that I will hear from him. While I was working on this, the girls and Larry were busy flagging down a friendly FedEx man who directed Larry to the new FedEx office at the Shannon airport. We have shipped packages to Emily, Larry's work, and home to lighten our luggage. Another 25 kg box went today with all of our shorts, sandals, and bathing suits-needless to say we won't need those things any more. Sheila, the hostess at our bed and breakfast, recommended that we check out The Church of the Little Ark. Although the trip there and back was a white knuckler, at times, it was well worth the trip. The British "occupiers" would not allow the Irish to hold church services, so the parishioners built a small "ark" that they floated off the coast so that church services could be performed. You have to love the Irish spirit-following the letter of the law and yet still getting their way! On the way there (after the airport), we stopped in the seaside town of Killkee where we ate a "shady" lunch. I have included a picture of the front-Jean and Mike will understand why I gave this place a chance...what a mistake. We sat and watched people swim in Atlantic (with full wet suits) while we ate. The girls put their hands in the water...it was too cold to take off their shoes. Irish roads are small and windy...some even resemble one way streets. Aside from that (we are in a Kia Sportage), Larry is driving (which results is anxious moments for me and for Alison as it looks like we are going to be driven into the soft shoulder -perhaps flossing with the local greenery) and he did actually hit the curb on several occasions. It makes for an interesting experience. We are off to The Burren tomorrow (more narrow Irish roads!) and then to Birr in County Offaly for our last night in the Irish countryside.
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