Day Before Departure Home

Tom sums up our last day: After our late night exploring the English railway system(i.e. getting lost again) we decided to sleep in.I awoke at 10 and soaked in the tub with my latest Grisham novel while the girls slept another hour(yes we have yet to adjust to this time zone). Once ready we journeyed to downtown Winchester on this warm and sunny day to have bite to eat and shop. Pizza Hut (yes that's what I said) was our dining spot of choice and boy is it nicer here than it's US peers. Excellent food at reasonable prices. Afterward we did some shopping, viewed the open air markets and then toured Winchester castle, the old city gates (Winchester as we mentioned was the capital of London until the ? 11th century), Winchester University and an ANCIENT spooky old cemetery on a hill overlooking the town. Ended the day at a classical appearing English pub called Bishops on the Bridge which were known for their tasty "faggots" which we found were herbed meatballs made of ofhal (pig guts - note top item on menu above). Though I was tempted Terri and Angela reminded me I would be eating alone if the faggots came to our table. Therefore it was appetizer day as we dined on deep fried brie, "jackets"(baked potatoes) with butter, onion rings and bread topped off by Chardonnay and Angela's favorite fuzzy navels. Called it a night at 7pm so we could packed and get to bed early for our 9:35 a.m. bus ride up to London for our 2:25 flight back to Mpls.
It's been an eventful 2 weeks and we have been awed not only by the beautiful sights but also by the kindness of the people we have met. Our cabdriver(part-time history buff) summed it up by stating that the universities of old emphasized that "manners make the man" and we have certainly seen that in the folks of the Isles. Signing off from Europe!

Winchester Day One - loving High street

We decided to take Keith's suggestion and Angela is writing the blog today!

Go Ang!

Alright, while I'm not as detailed as my Mom and Dad when it comes to writing blogs, I'll do my best!

After a loooong day of traveling the previous day, we embraced the opportunity to sleep in. Although we initially planned to explore the towns of Hampshire, we opted to spend the day getting to know our immediate surroundings.

After using the BEST shower of the trip, we took our time getting ready. I tell ya, nothing feels more refreshing then washing off the grime and dirt traveling brings! Once we were ready, a taxi arrived and to town we went.

We arrived at the top of High Street, where all the main shops in town are, and walked into O'Neils, an Irish pub I often go to in Winchester. Decorated with old Irish sayings, and PLENTY of beer, my Mom began reminiscing of her time spent in Ireland, so we took this picture to bring her back to her time with her, "peeps," as she calls them. She ordered the fish and chips, my Dad ordered a tuna and cheese sandwich, and I got my usual Chicken sandwich. After washing it all down with an ice cold Pepsi, we moved onward!

Now, my Dad isn't one for shopping, so we found a book shop for him, and my Mom and I went off to explore the quaint shops of downtown Winchester. Finding no place to do laundry, buying clean socks were first on the list! I took her to SuperDrug, the go-to shop for the needs of all Winchester citizens. I tried to convince her to buy me make up, stating that it was NEED to me, but she patted me on the head and we pushed ahead to the next location.

After our purchases were made at a variety of different stores, we met up with my Dad and stopped for a drink at an "American" diner called Buddy's. As it looks like a traditional 50's diner, I had to get a root beer float! My mom got a Chardonnay (hey! it's never too early in the U.K.!) and my dad had a beer. For several hours we journal-ed, read, and relaxed in the cozy booths.

A friend of my Mom and Dad's suggested we eat dinner at the Wykeham Arms, an old fashioned pub complete with several fireplaces and tables made out of old school desks. To the right is a picture outside the classic pub.

While waiting to be seated, we got our own drinks and continued to read/journal while munching on home-made kettle chips (or crisps, as the English say). Delish!

Once we got our table, my Dad excused himself, as he always does, to wash his hands before dinner. We should NEVER give that man a camera as you can see from the picture....

After eating too much yummy bread and eating my tomato soup (Mom had chicken, Dad had fish or something...hey I can't remember every detail!!), we hailed a cab, and went back to the hotel. It was a relaxing, but busy day, and I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Angela O' Poterucha

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles

Terri: We did it, we did it, we did it ... more on that later - but we did it! An accounting of our day - car ride, airplane ride, bus ride, bus ride, train ride, bus ride, taxi ride and finally here!

Tom: Easter morning in Ireland dawned as a beautiful sunny day. We were up at 6am however, as this was a hectic travel day beginning with a drive to the airport, a flight from Galway Ireland to Manchester England, take a bus from terminal 3 to terminal 1, pick up baggage, go thru customs, a short bus trip to the Manchester train station followed by another train ride to Reading England, a bus to Winchester and finally a short cab ride to our hotel toting 8 pcs. of luggage all the way. Whew! This was NOT something we were looking forward to!
First though, we had to say goodbye to our gracious B&B host Frank and wife Joan in Galway.... was quite tough to say the least.

Terri: Who would want to leave the most gracious and friendly people in the world. And - if you've been following our blogs, you saw Tom's breakfast ... at home, he's lucky to get a bowl of cheerios.

Tom: First, the girls asked Frank if it was alright to give him a hug. Frank answered, "An irishman never has to be asked for a hug" and gave them a nice, warm, irish hug. The morning chill had frosted our car windows so Frank followed us out to the car with an old stainless steel teapot. He poured hot water over the windshield so it would be easier for me to clear the ice.

Terri: Sorry to say - Tom forgot to turn off the windshield wipers and when I pointed that out, Tom apologized to Frank, to which Frank replied, "it's not the first time I've been doused with cold water in my life." What a gentleman.

Tom: It was really a nearly tearful departure as we really got that close to him. He was SOOO kind as he functioned as our morning waiter, travel guide, housekeeper and friend. Left him a generous tip and thank you note.

Terri: We were really apprehensive about our trip as first, a week ago we were threatened with a "rail strike" which was diverted 2 days ago and then second, with the thought that we would never be able to make all our connections today. But as they say in Ireland, the luck of the Irish was with us. The plane was early getting into England from Ireland, customs was a cake walk - literally, we walked straight through the door that said, "nothing to declare" and we were done - then as our plane was ten minutes early, we had time to flounder around trying to find platform L or M for the bus when one man yelled, "are you looking for the Winchester bus?" We sprinted ahead and not only did they direct us to the spot but one of the attendants went away for a minute and came back with all the connections we needed to make with places, times and numbers (information that was unavailable to us when booking the trip). Finally, on the train as we were to unload our 8 bags, move through the entire Reading train station, go down one floor, walk over a skyway, go up one floor, and walk a block to the bus a kind young man helped us unload all of our suitcases to the platform - course it didn't hurt that he kept trying to get Angela's attention ... duh, didn't he know she only has eyes for Michael???

Next we boarded a bus where we sat with a 17 year old gentleman from the border of England an Scotland who was heading back to his Army camp in Winchester. He had bright red hair like our Jeff but was about 1 foot shorter. What a character that kid was. His biggest moment was when he discovered that Angela was 21 - he swore she was 17 or 18 - he was soon dashed when Angela revealed that she had a boyfriend. Still, we learned a lot about life in Scotland from this young man and it made the trip to Winchester fly by.

Tom: Twelve hours after a group prayer on this glorious day we were in our brand new Holiday Inn in Winchester. NO delays, NO missed buses or trains, and kind people to guide our way.
After we settled in our cozy room (fighting for who would get to soak in the big tub first - of course Angela won) we had a marvelous dinner and called it a night. Interesting note that our waiters maternal great grandfather DIED on the Titanic (a fact we discovered when asking about the Titanic museum in South Hampton). Alas, he said the Titanic museum in South Hampton was very disappointing and really not worth the mention - oh well, guess we'll be heading to Halifax to see that exhibit instead.

Terri: Time to say nighty, night - we've deserved this rest but I have to say, my heart is still back in Ireland - land of my "peeps" or people. It was amazing how at home we all felt there, but then, how could you not - the people of Ireland are some of the most humble, fun loving, happy and friendly people I have ever met in my life. I am proud to claim my Irish heritage and I just hope I can live up to the reputation. Signing out ---- tired but happy!

Last Day in Ireland :o(

Today we decided to ignore our schedule for once and take a bit of a respite. Slept in until 8:30 then after the girls showered, dressed and ate (yes room service ala Tom again- see pic top left) we ventured to the myriad of shops downtown to buy postcards and gifts for the
family back home. Saturday in downtown Galway was bumper to bumper and packed with shoppers many visiting for Easter. Parked in the Eyre Square shopping mall garage then took the "lift"(elevator for you Americans) down to the main floor. I parked myself at O'Brien's gourmet coffee (see 2nd pic) shop with book in hand while the girls did .. well ... what girls do. They found success at a place called the Treasure Chest who for a small fee offered to mail our purchases back home which we gladly accepted to save weight (as our luggage is already close to overweight as the airlines have told us). Also, no tax if you mail it.

Afterwards we lunched at the Skeffington Hotel tavern ... a cozy place with warm paneled walls and awesome food. Angela and I had a tuna sandwich on toast with a cup each of Vegetable soup while Terri dined on roasted potatoes and chicken fricase, and we all ate a few bites of hers too. Terri and I topped off with a cup of tea (and Angela a scone). Later we went to the beautiful Galway cathedral and spent some time with the big guy thanking him not only for our safe travels but also for the beauty He has shown us this week. Afterwards, we lit some candles for the family then headed back so Terri could use the loo. Angela napped while Terri and I packed for tomorrow.

(Terri interjects a few words here) ****Since we haven't washed any clothes while here, Tommy McPoterucha was out of "roos" so he learned how to handwash clothing today. Cathy and Keith Dahlgren (Michael's aunt and uncle) told us about washer sheets that come in a pack like disposable baby wipes. They work like a charm - what worked even better was laying Tom's underwear out on the radiator in our room to dry. Who needs a dryer, that thing dried his undies in less than an hour. No offense to Tom, but I made sure he really cleaned those undies well before I let them steam over the radiator! I also had to keep an eye on the door as Tom likes to leave it wide open and so does the guy across the hall in our B and B and I really didn't want the guy to get a view of Tom's tighty whities wafting with steam. I think Tom was even impressed with his handwashing skills. Now if I could only get him to learn how to use the washing machine at home. Maybe I should go back to the cathedral and light a candle for that :o)

Tom's back ...

We toasted the end of our wonderful Ireland trip with a dinner at McSwiggans pub (recommended by the former butcher now cab driver who drove us downtown (limited parking downtown late). Terri had roasted chicken (the beef is a little gamey in Europe for our tastes so chicken is always a safe bet), Angela chicken salad followed by a banana split and me Baked cod with mashed potatoes that had little chives in them. Superb! Tomorrow at 8 a.m. we head to the airport for our 10 am flight back to Winchester. We will be sad to leave Frank and Joan here at the Petra House as well as the other guests who have been so kind and friendly to these Americans.

Wish us luck as it will be tricky making all of our connections tomorrow to get to Winchester ... rental car to airport, flight from Galway to Manchester, bus to Manchester Picadilly, train to Reading, bus to Winchester, taxi to Holiday Inn - all on a holiday ... I think we should have prayed a little longer at church today.


Happy Easter to all!

The Aran Islands - Inis Mohr

Today we boarded a ferry for a 40 minute cruise to the Aran Islands. Lo and behold, when we were ready to board , Angela said, "I think that lady looks like Cristen Schwab's mom." (Cristen is one of Angela's friends that she met through Kat McCarthy.) As we stepped onto the ferry, Cristen's mom walked on at the same time. She said hi to Angela and yes, indeed it was Cristen, her mom and her aunt. What a small world. (see pic of Ang and Cristin top right).

We had a fast ride over on the ferry as we learned about Cristen's recent semester in Ireland. So there you have it - those Rochester ties have very long strings.

By the way, I've wanted to write this for 3 days and haven't so I'm going to say it now as Dr Suess would - that I do so like those fish and chips and I will eat them in a pub and I will eat them instead of subs - I will eat them here or there but I will not eat them everywhere. The haddock is amazing here. As I am allergic to shellfish - I haven't had a lot to do with fish in the past but the haddock here is so fresh - not fishy at all and very light. What a treat it has been!

O.k. back to the Aran Islands and Tom is going to take the wheel here ...
Thanks to some over the counter Dramamine as a backup Angela and I tolerated the ferry trip on this largely sunny day (our third straight) without any seasickness. Jumped on a tour van for a 2.5 hr tour of the island. By the way the Irish eyed wife was actually "mistaken" for an islander by a native! Funny.

Anyway the first stop on the 9 x 2 mile island was the Dun Aonghasa a huge 2500 year old U-shaped Celtic stone fort with the back of the U being sheer cliffs dropping 500 feet into the sea. No way anybody could get in that place! Very weird to walk amidst a structure that old and touch the stones trying to comprehend how long ago they were placed there. On the rest of the tour we saw ancient crumbling churches, moss covered tombstones, thatched roof huts of old and even seals bobbing among the waves. So symbolic of this Good Friday was at 3:00 (time of church services on Jesus'death) when the rain came followed by a resurgence of the sun about an hour later.

The boat trip back was quite restful... in fact Ang and I dozed off pretty much the whole way (yeah, they both fell asleep leaning on either side of me - thrown in by Terri). Beneath a magnificent rainbow we drove back to town and decided to order pizza and watch a flick which was quite relaxing. Tomorrow we head to the Cliffs of Mohr(sp?) and Burren down south to sight see and shop.

Forgot to mention our Galway pub waiter last night was this big tall husky red-headed bloke with big blue eyes and a low voice. Reminded both Terri and I of a relative we both know (aka our son Jeff!). That kid must have inherited 99% of his mom's Irish genes cause he sure looks the part!

Lastly, yesterday on our way home, we passed through a tiny village and stopped on a scenic stone bridge over a bonnie bubbling brook (try saying that fast 10 times!). Turns out it was the site of John Wayne's 1930's-40's film "The Quiet Man" featuring Maureen O'Hara! In fact there was a plaque with the Duke's picture near the site. Cool! Gotta catch that flick when we get home.

Terri is making me a cup of tea so time to sign off. Thanks for all the comments and notes!

Tom and his lassie Terri

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Ireland and the Connemara Coast

Tom is taking the helm and writing the blog today ...

This morning began at 8am when my alarm went off. Angela had sneaked from her room down the hall onto our day bed at 11pm so she and Terri were still in dreamland as I showered shaved and then went downstairs for breakfast. As you can see the breakfasts (3rd pic above) here in Ireland are quite hearty and I even failed to display the basket of toast, blueberry scones and brown bread along with the bowls of fruit. The USA today (where I read about tiny Butler University making the Final Four) plus my cup of hot coffee made my meal superb! Afterwards, I roused the girls with breakfast in bed compliments of ever to please host Frank and later after getting directions from him we began our journey north. Now, in Minnesota, the only objects to avoid on the road are fresh roadkill and the occasional displaced truck tire tread but here in Ireland I experienced veering around grazing sheep, dueling billy goats and humping catttle near or on the highway. As we drove up the mountains (peaked with snow from a recent storm) we eventually ended up in beautiful Clifton where we dined at Griffin's Pub (highly recommended by the Esso gas station manager). There we sat near a peat and coal fire while enjoying carrot and parsnip soup (yeah I tried it finally..was great), BLT's and salad washed down with tasty Coke from bottles (yes it does taste better). Introduced myself to two old local boys (one named Paddy) enjoying hot brandy and Guiness at the ba r(note it was only 11:30 AM) but for the life of me I couldn't understand their heavy Irish brogue! Angela came over and tried to translate for me. Afterwards we shopped for postcards, souvenirs as well as one of those weird electric plugs for a hairdryer (as you have guessed not for me).

Then onto Sky Road which led to the top of the mountains where we experienced breathtaking views of Ireland and the sea. (picture above of Angela sitting on the wall was about 5 minutes from the peak) Stopped at an old abbey before arriving to Galway at 8pm. Angela wanted to skype with Michael on the computer so Terri and I went out to dinner ourselves.

While Holy Thursday conjures up visions of church services and Lenten sacrifice (we missed church while driving back from the coast - you lose track of time easily here) my bride and I instead spent the night at a pub sipping Harp beers singing "Que Sera Seray " with the crowd at the packed Irish pub down the street. Yes we are going to hell for this one but I think we will have plenty of company judging by the crowd in the bar. Tomorrow it's on to the Aran Islands off the west coast by ferry to see some old ruins,etc. Till then we wish you a good night!
Tommy McPoterucha

Galway Ireland Day One

Yippee yahooey! I'm in Ireland - I'm in Ireland - my number one bucket list wish fulfilled. I can't even tell you just how happy I am. The picture up above and to the right might look like I'm clenching my teeth and maybe not too happy but really I was just freezing. How could it happen that we leave MN in March and the weather jumps to 70 degrees and we go to England and Ireland where the temps are usually 60's this time of year and they have had, "the most wicked winter that they could ever remember" (or so they told us). Don't let the sunshine fool you in the picture either - this is the first day of sun we have seen and the temp this evening was about 35 degrees and I only had a windbreaker (no not Tom) or raincoat on. I know I was chilled but not freezing because I was way too pumped to be here in Galway.

The pic of Angela is at the Petra House Inn (she has her own room) and she is delighted that she can skype Michael with a little privacy. Huh, doesn't she think we would like our privacy too - we aren't that old YET! Tee hee!

The third picture is in our room where they had the sweetest little shamrock cup and saucer set, tea, biscuits and a hot water teapot. We are really embracing the "tea time" thing here in Europe and I think I will search for one of those teapots that you can just plug in and they boil the water in about 2 minutes (is that called a microwave ??? - it's so much more romantic to have a tea pot that you plug in just for tea time).

Today we traveled from York to Manchester by "rail" (they say that instead of 'by train') boarded a plane to Galway and rented a car and set off to find the Petra House Inn - yes, we got lost AGAIN - seems they don't need street signs in Europe - or at best they are an afterthought and Tom finally relented and stopped at a Petro station (gas station) to get directions. We were in the middle of "rush hour traffic" in the city center of Galway and by the time we made it to our Inn - we were stuck in high gear and wound as tight as a spring. We rang the door bell and 10 seconds inside the door with the most mellow, friendly and cheerful Irish man, our Inn keeper Frank, we went from 100 miles an hour down to zero. Frank has the smoothest, most calming voice and he took one look at us and knew we needed some nurturing.

He knew who we were, said he was expecting us and without even taking a credit card or our credentials said, "would you like to see your rooms!" They are the sweetest, coziest rooms and face the front of the house. Ours even has a huge bay picture window in it. The room was ready, sparkling clean and a welcome sight. The house had the smell of something baking and Angela asked Frank what it was. "Oh, we just popped in a few loaves of bread that will be ready for breakfast when you are." Ahhhhhhhhh, nurturing, comforting, home!

Tom and Frank brought in the luggage and Tom asked Frank for a suggestion of where to eat supper. We are just about 7 minutes walk from the downtown of Galway and though there are lots of places to eat, Frank suggested one of the closest An Pucan. Frank said, "they are doing some nice things with their menu these days." Isn't the Irish brogue the best ever? I do admire a good Australian accent too!

We came back to our room and were met by an e-mail from Think Bank telling us our credit card had been compromised but no charges had been added to it yet - still they suggested closing the account immediately. We do tend to have a black cloud overhead but we brush it off because we have the luck of having Think Bank that catches these things quick as a flash. It really gives us confidence in our bank and the fact that when I called (by skype - cool huh - free) the phone was answered within 3 rings by a real live person who could actually help. So - life is good.

We are off to Araan Island tomorrow (well, we will try to do that if we don't get lost) - we may check out Salthill and possibly the Abbey nearby. Angela isn't too thrilled to go to the abbey as it would be the 4th one she's seen already - they sure do have a lot of Abbey's in Europe! But what the heck, it is Holy week - what did she expect.

Off to our cozy beds. More tomorrow.