Roma!!

We are fine, all - Gmail blocked our access from Italy for a day, hopefully I have cleared that up. Rome is energetic, passionate, fascinating, crowded and HOT!!! It was in the 90s yesterday, and probably will be today. Rick Steves says 2 days of Rome is great for your first visit - that is what we get on this trip. It is chaotic, but quite interesting.

Yesteray we visited the Vatican Museums. Astonishing. Whatever your beliefs and feelings, these places are a must see. The collection of ancient Roman art alone makes this visit worthwhile. Some of the huge murals and tapestries of Biblical stories and Church history are amazing. I am struck by the color and detail, the enourmous number of people, definetly individuals in each painting. The energy depicted is amazing. I am no art historian, but this reminded me of some of the detailed paintings we once saw in Nepal and Japan. It seems to me that the Renaissance masters knew about Asian art, but I do need to check on this. I know there was a big emphasis on humanism, presenting each person as an individual and focusing on human interactions.

The Sistine Chapel is overwhelming!! Again, this is a MUST SEE when you are in Rome. My dad, who was an art and history enthusiast but not a believer, always told me I had to see it, and I felt like he was with us. It is a fascinating depiction of the Catholic world view circa 1500. The famous panels of the creation of the world, the creation of Adam, and the expulsion from the Garden are at the center of the vaulted ceiling. Other parts of the chapel have biblical scenes, and there are portraits of popes. Michelangelo was comissioned to paint this during the Reformation as a statement of papal authority, opposing Martin Luther's ideas. There is one scene where Moses and Aaron are confronting rebelluous Israelites, and Aaron is wearing a papal miter (tall hat), meaning that papal authority has existed since ancient times. There is n altar at the front of the chapal; behind that, there is a huge and practically surreal mural showing the Final Judgement. The colors and energy are astonishing... again, see it, whatever your beliefs.

Pissa is fabulous in Rome. The crust is thin and delicate, and the sauce is different from in the States, although I can't really explain how. The gelato is also fabulous - I don't really know which flavors we had, but they were wonderful. We'll have more. And yes, people here are as dramatic as you'd think!

Today we do the Caesar Shuffle - Coliseum and other old ruins. Tomorrow we are off to Florence, I will check in from there in the evenng if Gmail doesn't block me. Ciao!

Fill for me the parting glass

Old Clancy Brother's song. We're off to Rome tomorrow. Ireland, we'll surely miss ye, but plan seriously to come back. It feels like we've been here for months...

Things have been phenomenal since last post. We found a wonderful hiking trail along the river in Sligo yesterday evening, wandered through wetlands towards the mountains. Astonishing. It was like a hike into a wonderland... amazing that tourist office didn't seem to know about it. It is also a biketrail that we plan to follow one fine day.

Today we visited Lough (Lake) Glen Car, and Glen Car Falls. We hiked with an outdoor group, very knowledgeable folks. The lake is in a glaciated valley. The glacier supported the limestone mountains for many years; when the glacier retreated, some of the mountains collapsed, leaving peaks with very unusual shapes. Many are wildly angular, high green peaks rising above forested slopes. One resembled the Rock of Gibralter. Amazing place. We hiked high into the mountains, to a boggy area where we saw several skylarks hovering and singing  above the mountains. The higher country was boggy. Farmers have always dug up peat, which they dry and burn for warmth. Some are now using heavy equipment which is causing ecological damage to the bogs.

Ireland is not a  heavily forested island, although it's said that once forests were so thick a squirrel could cross Ireland without leaving the trees.  Our guide told us the British cut down many trees for shipbuilding. Spagnum moss, which soaks up lots of water, caused the demise of many others. Forests that are here have been planted for timber; there have been efforts to reforest Ireland; this move is gaining much support. The government is talking about selling some forests to Swedish logging companies, but this is meeting lots of disagreement.

Our guide also showed us a spot where he once discovered a hideout four IRA militants once used. This was after the partition of Ireland (1920s I believe). Part of the nationalist movement thought that a settlement where England kept the northern counties was the best they could get. This actually led to a civil war between this faction and those who thought the North should also be independant of England.  A rebellous priest, who also supported the more militant faction also hid in this area for a while. An old woman would bring him food once a week, and he would hear her confession. I do need to get more details on Irish history.

Glen Car Falls is astoundingly beautiful, very tall and very misty. Yeats described it as an entrance to the faerie world; again, much of his writing was based in local mythology. Yes, I know I keep talking about Yeats, but you can't turn a corner here without finding a reference to him. I love that... a culture that honors its poets.

We rode back to Sligo in a taxi. The driver gave us some sobering information. Ireland is reeling from the recession, with a current unemployment rate of 14%.  The health care system is hurting, and people are finding that their houses are worth far less than they paid. They don't expect a recovery for 30 years or so, and their economic fate is very tied to the rest of the European Union's.

Life here is not easy, and the history is bitter. But - we love Ireland, I hope I have given you ideas about why. On to Rome. Tomorrow is a travel day, I will try to post again on Thursday.

Sligo and surroundings

One frustrating thing about Ireland is bus transit is surprisingly lacking, and it is hard to get to outlying areas without a car. We really don't want to rent one... people drive on the wrong side of the road here, and somewhat erratically. We enjoyed biking around Westport, and thought about it here, but we would be on busy roads... again, with folks driving on the wrong side. But we are going to take a guided hike in a more remote place yesterday, looking forward to it.

Today we took a nice hike along the coast. The beaches and mountains here are really wonderful. There is one huge mountain where the mythical Queen Mauve is supposed to be buried. There is a complex legend about her, I believe it has something to do with her stealing cattle from a friend of the warrior Cuchelaine, leading to a chaotic turn of events. People here have long associated specific places with particular stories. This had a big influence on Yeats' poetry 100 years ago. I need to look more deeply into Irish folklore, and into Yeats' life..he was a true character.

One interesting thing is that today, kind of a whim, we wandered into an Irish genealogy center. The guy there gave me some tips on researching my grandmother Karl's background... she was my mother's mom. We actually know very little about her background, and finding out more is a definite longshot, but I am more curious since I talked with this guy. We think she was brought from Ireland as a young child many years ago.

One more thing, is that today we saw guys playing a game called Hurl on the beach. They were hitting a ball to each other with paddles. Kate asked one of them, "Do you have professional teams?"

"No," he chuckled, matter-of factly, "We don't have the money." That comment reveals a lot of things.

Way too much but here we go...

I couldn't get to this site from the Newport computer last night... so much to report. Yesterday we rode bikes along the Great Western Greenway, 38 km from Achille Island to Westport. Amazingly beautiful ride with views of the Atlantic and offshore islands. We looked across a bay to Crough Patrick, a mountain where St. Patrick once fasted for 30 days. There were also grassy fields full of foxgloves, buttercups, rhodadendrums, daisies and many more wildflowers. Sheep were everywhere, baa-ing at us as we rode. We crossed many streams, and saw higher mountains to the east... watch for pix, we'll let you know.

We were lucky enough to be in Westport for the Folk and Bluegrass Festival. We heard two very fine bluegrass bands, one in a hotel and the other in a pub. Irish people love bluegrass... I have heard there are strong connections between traditional Irish music and bluegrass. You can hear it in the melodies, riffs, bittersweet feeling, place based lyrics. I want to do more research on this. And yes, Guinness is better in Ireland!!

Today we are in Sligo, a beautiful small city. This place apparently goes back to the 5th century. It has an amazing history. It was raided and razed in the 1600s by the British; I am guessing this was during Oliver Cromwell's rule, he was cruel to Ireland. It is a very beautiful and artistic town now, surrounded by mountains and lakes, which we will visit. This is William Butler Yeats' territory. We walked by the Yeats center tonight and were invited to an art opening. The featured woman did beautiful paintings of cityscapes with rain. We'll be here a few days, maybe long enough to find "...the silver apples of the moon
and the golden apples of the sun."
Those lines are from "The Song of Wandering Aengus", by Yeats.

Irish Rain

Westboro is a colorful town near the coast, and we are told it rains a lot here. Definetly true today! We weren't sure if we would find much to do today, but we stopped by a local bike shop to make reservations for a long ride we want to do tomorrow. The owner was a friendly bloke, and we asked what we could do here in the rain. He offered to loan us bikes today so we could do a fairly short ride to a historical house in the countryside. Interesting place, it was built by descendants of the Pirate Queen,   Grace O' Malley. She was the 16th century daughter of a chieftan, and a good enough sailor that she was able to be a powerful force on the west coast of Ireland. She also fought the British, and managed to negotiate with Queen Elizabeth without winding up in the Tower. Most of her descendants, the Brownes, supported rebellions in the 18th and 19th centuries, although one black sheep supported the British. I want to read more of the history soon. Ireland is great, but struggling with economic conditions. 600,000 people have left since 2006. We were last here that year, and there was an economic boom, but everyone we talked to said it wouldn't last. Still, I am amazed by the good humor and generosity of the people here, considering what they have gone through and are going through. Stay tuned, more to come.

Here we go again...

Many folks know we are in Europe for the next few weeks. In case you don't, this will be a quick post from Galway, Ireland. This is a beauutiful and very interesting city. It is somewhat touristy - there are ruins that go back to the 11th century; one old wall has a shopping center built around it with no word of explaination of the history. Lots of shops, bistros, etc. But much beneath the surface. Many old buildings, real sense of history. A lovely river and several canals pass through town. I would like to do a birding walk; so far, we have figured out black headed gulls, swans, swallows; there are many others, including some lovely singers. The canal walks are dominated by a huge, green domed cathedral. Last night we heard a string orchestra from Michigan that played Irish jigs, a spiritual, Ramones type rock and roll, jazz, etc. Amazing! I am quickly in love with Ireland after a day here, we are pretty sure my grandmother Karl came from here (her life is something of a mystery). Part of me says "I wanna come home!" We'd be reasonably close to Germany, my other country of origin. But there are more than a few dark sides. I picked up a book of Irish history, which I know is bitter today, and Kate got one on the impact of the recession and austerity on Ireland. You will see references. I can see spending extended time in Galway someday; I have to stop because we need to catch a bus up the coast to West Port soon. Much more to come!

Taking a break between rambling sessions...

We're back in Oakland. We took a train down from Portland yesterday. We passed through the most spectacular part of the trip, the Cascades, after dark, but we will see them in the light on our next trip. Trains are the way to travel... comfortable, spacious, and with an opportunity to walk about. A train embraces you at night, carries you through the Kerouacian darkness, past houses where people are in the kitchen at  3 AM - a mystery we;ll never have the answer to. And where are those lonely cars going at 3 AM?  When the sun rises,  coloring the horizon with paralell bands of multiple colors, it's like a tall musical chord with thousands of notes.

So... we gained many insights into what to do with our future on this ramble. No specific plans yet, but directions. The rambling will continue, watch for notification.