End of august

The day after we arrived we went 

to mediatheque to get a lot of books

We went to visit Grammy

 

Last day: long walks in Dublin

Morning early going back to the center of city:

breakfast in Temple Bar

And then walking, à la recherche de my Irish ring...

Prides flag

Artists ateliers

It's holidays bank today:

lot of shops are cosed

Little houses Yuta liked a lot.

Those windows and those bricks...

Those grafs

Those vivid coloured doors

those flowered shops

playgrounds surrounded by buildings

the fox detail

the story of each pub:

I liked so much the hairy lemon one...!!

those huge streets

and nice buildings

I really loved each fragment of this trip;

I decided to mark it: I found a ring

with a celtic medieval graphism

which can be found in book of Kells.

I'll bring it each day, remembering

each landscape, sound of waves, colors of soil,

trace of rivers, freshness of wind, peace of lakes,

gentleness of mounts, fun of dolphins, moving puffins etc etc...

After a really hard year mentally and physically

this trip calmed me.

We had lunch in the same café as our first snack

our first day.

And then we walked again,

looking for some caramels Amané likes so much.

In a secondary shop Yuta found an irish hat!!

So much wind near the Liffey !

Those windows, bricks along the river

Those pretty trucks

Yuta had a chance to have a look in the station.

and Amané found her caramel bar !!

In order to make a pause we went to Phoenix park:

the hugest park in Dublin !

We walked too much:

Amané need some massages !!

but then she found a ball...

and we met a special guy...

We took for the last time the imperial bus

to reach the center...

Found a special souvenir for Amané

Last apéro in a noisy vivid pub

And last fatty diner with huge fish and chips...

with the tiny beverage, as usual, for Amané.

Look at the decoration of the pub.

Thank you Yuta to drive us each day...

Thank you Yuta and Amané to have followed my wishes...

It was the best gift I received !

I won't forget those 2 weeks 50 y old present !!!

 

Back to Galway: Laura's family then Athlone then Dublin

 

In the morning we said bye to Connemara's wild landscapes...

and we went back to Galway

to meet Laura and Makoto's family.

I met Laura in Tokyo thanks to my student Koichi.

She married Makoto.

After her first daughter was born she moved to England.

Then to Ireland (easier to get a visa for Makoto).

Then they had 2 other kids.

They are living in County Mayo.

After sharing lunch on the beach,

we left them to reach Athlone:

a city in the center of the country.

We were lucky because it was the day of the traditional festival.

For the first time I saw the card loom:

I need to study more and to practice it !!

We got a problem with our  RB and B

so we decided to directly reach Dublin.

In Dublin we stayed in a really chic suburb...

I didn't take pictures but it was really beautiful houses

made by bricks, with colored doors, gardens all around...

but no life in the streets...

We ate an other really fatty dinner in a really vivid pub.

Conemara day 3

After a huge irish breakfast at the B and B,

we went to lake Gorrigh: the 2nd biggest lake of Ireland:

182 km2 ! With so many many tiny islands (365 !!).

There you can fish salmon or trout.

People says that the Guiness family has a lot of

properties all around this lake and some islands.

Then we went to Cong, a tiny village 

located between 2 larges lakes: Lough Mask and Lough Corrib.

The Irish name Cunga Fheichin means Saint Feichin narrows'.

Cong is home to a 12th century augustinian abbey

founded by the O Connor family.

The last king of Ireland Rory O Connor spent his last years here.

The tiny village located on the border

between County Mayo and County Galway.

The village is surrounded by several streams

that encircle it, making it aptly called an 'island'.

Amané bought an irish casquette in Dingle.

Inside there was an explanation about  the movie

The Quiet man 1952 with the picture of John Wayne

wearing the same hat

 and Maureen O Hara.

The movie was shooted in Cong.

We watched the movie coming back to France.

It's a movie deeply irish made by John Ford 

with people from Ireland or descendants of Irish people.

It was one of the first long movie in colors:

the filmed landscapes had a big impact on local tourism.

Winton C Hoch's photography is praised

for its almost painterly green and gold hues.

Maureen O Hara embodies Irish pride: 

passionate, independent, proud of her honor.

John Ford painted also a typical Irish humor.

In this movie we found: picturesque village, flower filled cottages,

green hills, lively pubs, close knit yet spirited community.

This old movie is a dream of Ireland: Ford 

projects the nostalgia of Irish emigrants.

Than we had a lunch in a special place 

we didn't take picture: an old tiny church

surrounded by majestic trees...

But it began to rain...

So we just took the road...

Reaching Kylemore abbey

and our special pub for an other fatty dinner...!!!