The 40 Foot on Christmas Day

The 40 Foot in Dublin (actually in Dun Laoghaire, a town, just south of the city center) is a tradition in Ireland.  Hundreds of people line up to jump into the sea.  It is about 4 C outside and the water is icy cold.  I would have gone in too but someone had to film this. ;)

It was a great sight to see my brave girls join their daddy on the 40 Foot!!

Hope you have a wonderful and relaxing (if not refreshing) holiday!

Summer vacationing in Ireland

There is so much to offer in Ireland, and, let's face it, the weather is never better than it is in the summer, so we thought we'd see more of the Emerald Isle.  We decided to hit the Beaches of the South in Wexford County, but we also wanted to fit in a bit more history, visit some castles and see Waterford, Ireland's oldest city and third oldest city in Europe (next to Paris & London.)

This beach in Wexford County is called Curacloe Beach.  It is know as the best beach in Ireland.  We would have to agree!

The kids took their boogie boards and went sand surfing on the dunes. It was amazing!

We mixed in a bit of culture with the beach time and went and visited some of the best sites around town, such as the town of Wexford, an Irish Heritage Park, and of course, a castle!! 

Town of Wexford, a stunning little harbor town with great
shops, restaurants and a pretty harbor.

The Irish National Heritage Park in Wexford 

A typical view, pretty much anywhere in Ireland

An old monastery dating from the 1100s

We went touring the ring of Hook.  The Hook Peninsula is one of the Southernmost scenic routes in Ireland.  There is the oldest working lighhouse there, the Hook lighthouse.

We visited the Johnstown Castle, build in the early 1800's for the Grogan Morgan family.  Now it is an administrative building for the Irish Department of Agriculture.

Our moto: Another day, Another castle!   

More beach time ...

A beautiful example of a typical Irish thatch roof house.
The thatch was originally used for warmth & insulation.

Heading into another county in the south, we visited Waterford.  The town is known as the oldest town in Europe, next to Paris & London.  It also has a castle, where we not only visited, but where we stayed!  The Waterford Castle.  The castle is actually on an island that you need to take a ferry to and from.  It was a beautiful spot to visit and fun to be staying near an actual castle!!

In downtown Waterford

The pretty streets of Waterford

Tour of the Waterford Crystal factory.
The workers still hand make most of these pieces.

SWITZERLAND CASTLE

We were in Switzerland and we were on our way to see a Castle! (We've already SEEN a castle but I like visiting castles where there was no touring of any kind. This is the castle we went to.  It's called the Chillon Castle (Chateau de Chillon)

Here's a view of the entrance.  

Easter Break - Switzerland & Italy

We are settling in back home now after a jam packed two weeks of travel in Switzerland and Italy.  As I write "settling in," I'm reminded that, in fact, we are starting to feel more settled in Ireland.  It did feel nice returning to our home here after two weeks away.  Not quite so nice when I looked at the massive pile of laundry that was in front of me after two weeks of no laundry.

View of the Valley from our apartment

Veysonnaz

Our first week we spent in the ski town of Veysonnaz, part of "The Four Valleys."  It is connected to Verbier but it takes an entire day to ski to Verbier from Veysonnaz and then, you'd have to get back so we didn't even consider it.  The snow, as expected, was typical for April.  Bullet proof in the morning and then slush in the afternoon.  Still, there was more snow than I think Tahoe saw all year so we didn't complain.  The kids reluctantly did their ski program, the swiss ski school program, that is very well run.  They skied with the same instructor and kids all three days.  They loved it after the first day and were happy to join (as were me and Matt who got a few hours to ski alone!)

Apres ski ritual: hot tubbing on the deck.

Again, we were amazed by the magnitude of the Alps, the pristine beauty of the ski areas, and the area in general.  Switzerland, is quite expensive, so we ate at our place a lot instead of going out.  Our landlord in Dublin very generously offered his ski place to us for the week.  It had spectacular views, was very comfortable and a hot tub overlooking the Rhone valley of Switzerland called Valais.

Some very good wines come out of this region as well.  We did some tasting but it becomes hard to enjoy a glass of wine while listening to the other kind of whine coming from kids who didn't want to be sitting at a wine bar!!

Anna & Tessa on the T-Bar

Family ski day!

Tessa tucking

Resting on the deck at the ski lodge.

Switzerland, The Canton/province of Valais

After skiing for a few days, we decided we wanted to get out and explore more of Switzerland.  In two days, we saw an underground lake, an adventure park, a chateau, a chocolate factory and some really beautiful Swiss countryside.  We will be back to Switzerland!!

Adventure park fun - Tessa getting dizzy in the hampster wheel

Anna in her choice of transport

It takes a giant leap .... of faith!  

Even Daddy got into the fun at the Labyrinthe
adventure park.  The bikes were created there.

Roman Amphitheater in Artigny

Trying fondue!  

Inside Chateau Chillon

Outside Chateau Chillon

Italy, Sarzana 

After a week in Switzerland, we headed South to Italy for a week.  We stayed in a town called Sarzana at an old converted farm, which is now quite a nice B&B, called Antico Casale.  There was a pool, although unheated, and some farm animals there.  Our first day there was Easter Sunday.  On my insistence, we went to church in a beautiful old Cathedral in the heart of the town.  It was a beautiful church with murals and frescos decorating the walls and the ceiling was blue with gilded wood moldings.  My attempts at pictures do not do it justice.  

Easter Sunday ready!

View inside the Sarzana Cathedral

Cinque Terre

After church, we took a train to Monterosso, one of the towns in the Cinque Terre.  We hiked from there to Vernazza.  The hike started with over 600 steps up a moutainside.  It was a steep and hard climb.  The kids did great and there were very few complaints.  It was a busy day and the kids came back completely exhausted.  It was so beautiful and I hope we will get back there again.

Hiking from Monterossa to Vernazza...
It started with 650 steps up a mountain side!!!

Vernazza in sight in the distance!  We are almost there
(and a bit tired, me thinks!)

Fortelezza di Sarazana

The following day, we went to explore a Fortress in Sarzana.  It was very interactive and the kids were able to experience what it might be like to live there.  They even had people dressed in mid-evil attire doing dances, playing the old board games, and ready to explain about anything we wanted to know.

That is Carson dressed in a metal armor
helmet and gloves

View from the Fortelezza... you can see why this is a good
location for defending your territory!! 

Fortilezzo di Sarazana (11 c.)

Pisa

After lunch,  we drove an hour to Pisa where we saw the very famous, leaning tower, the duomo and the cathedral, all built in the 12th century.  The tower is leaning because the land that it was built on was too soft at the point of its construction. (You'd think they'd have figured that out?)  In any case, it has continued to settle and lean further all they way up until the 20th c. when efforts were made to reinforce the structure.  We were in and out of Pisa in about 4 hours.  The town is overrun with tourist stores, and people trying to sell you souvenirs.  I was happy to have visited, but probably wont be going back there.

Selfie in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Hold on Anna!  

Camogli

After that, we headed to revisit Camogli, the small town where Matt & I got engaged.  We went to the exact spot that he proposed.  I made him reenact his proposal for the kids... it was quite funny.  He stumbled and fumbled (which was quite like the real thing). Then he said, with a very straight face, "Lizzie, I have question for you." My eyes met his, and I said, "yes?" He then said, "Where would you like to have lunch."  The kids busted out laughing. They thought that was hilarious!  Hmmm.  I'm still waiting for my romantic proposal.

Beautiful seaside town of Camogli

The Camogli marina, the exact location of our engagement!

After lunch, we saw Matt off on the train to go back to work.  Now I was going to be alone with the kids in Italy for the rest of our time.   I was scared at first, but I ended up just fine.  In fact, I was kind of empowered, navigating the crazy small streets, dealing with the too-fast drivers, muddling with my French-Spanish-English version of Italian .... That night, we headed to a town called Lerici which is right on the beach with a lovely village and, of course, a fortress built in the 11th century.  This is becoming a theme!