Day 8 - "I feel like the Queen of England!"

When looking at the trip, there are basically two parts to it. They're not neatly separated from one another, and sometimes the line between the two blurs slightly, but there are undeniably two distinct parts. If you ask someone who's been to Ireland before what to see when you go, you'll undoubtedly get a handful of castles and cathedrals to see, the Blarney Stone, and maybe a pub or two that you "have to visit." But, if you ask any seasoned traveler, in general, what the best way to experience a country is (not just Ireland, but any country), the response is usually the same: get to know the locals. We are fortunate in our trip because we get both sides of the coin. We've been able to see some of the most famous sites in the country, PLUS we've had amazing hosts that we've gotten to spend some time with. Day 8 was a day of change between the two sides of our trip, as we transitioned out of tourist mode and into guest mode, and little did we know, but it turned out to be arguably our best day so far.



But I get ahead of myself. We started the day in hardcore tourist frame of mind in Galway. We took a driving tour of the city. You may be thinking, "Are you mad?!? You had such a terrible time navigating last night! Why would you subject yourselves to that?" Alas, in my loops around and around and around the city, I got to know the lay of the land pretty well, and with maps PLUS a GPS unit PLUS four people to help me, it wasn't too painful at all.



We saw several sites, but mostly just in passing. It wasn't incredibly exciting (as Grandma's snoring could attest to), but we did stop at St. Nicholas Church. Absolutely stunning!

The Last Supper

HUGE beautiful mosaic... that's right, not a painting



Grandma lighting a candle

Even if you don't know Jesus, you couldn't help but awe at the amazing art there. There were dozens of gorgeous stained glass windows. There was a series of them along one wall that depicted the major stories of the old testament. There was a large one (seen above) above one door showing the Last Supper. One wall boasted a mosiac probably about 50-60 feet high of Jesus on the cross. (For perspective, if you look back at the picture of it above, Libby standing next to it barely made it to the row of stones below the mosaic, not even to the picture itself.

A much smaller (can you believe that?) mosaic of the resurrection

It was a central altar, with pews on all sides


Resting, appreciating the beauty

The floors were all fancy marble, too... I can't imagine how much that would cost to install today. Just as we were about to head out, though, a group of boys arrived. We weren't sure what they were doing at first, but as time went on, we figured out that they must have been rehearsing for a confirmation ceremony of something. That wouldn't have impacted us at all, but we got a bonus! There was a small choir of boys who apparently were going to be singing at the ceremony, so we got to listen to them fill the huge, acoustically delightful cathedral with wonderful sounds of praise. So fun!

A small audience for a small concert


Heading out

The only other place we actually got out and stopped was the bay. The star of our trip wanted to see the boats that were in the race, so we stopped. We're not sure exactly how the race works, but all the teams stop and spend about a week at each of their designated stops, so maybe they start the next leg of their trip at different times, based on when they arrived, or maybe at the end they just add up all their times or something... who knows? Anyway, we got to see the boats. Throughout the week, they were having concerts and other sorts of entertainment, but when we stopped, it was just the boats, which was fine by us - it wasn't the best weather we've had on our trip. Actually, it was the first time we actually got wet outside of the car, come to think of it.

Appropriately bundled up. Grandma had to beat the men off with a stick while she wore that poncho

Can you believe those tiny sailboats were going around the world?

A whole building devoted to the week-long stop... I guess it was a big deal

But we had an appointment to keep. We had to make it back to our gracious hosts' house. Of course, Helen had a meal ready for us when we returned. And that's when she revealed her surprise to Grandma: "Mary Frances, when you were at the pub, you liked the traditional music, right?"

"Oh, yeah, it was great!"

"How would you like having some traditional music here tonight, with all the family around?"

"What?"

"Would you like to hear musicians here in my house tonight?"

"Oh, wow! Really?"

And so it was. Emma, one of Helen's daughters, was taking violin lessons from a local gentleman, and Helen had invited him with a few of his friends to come play for us! One by one, all of Helen's family showed up. It was impressive that ALL of them made it over. And it was such fun! They're all so happy and social... so talkative and interesting. Although, I must admit that I did grow a tiny bit weary of hearing the question "What do you think of your new president?" over and over and over. But it was fun that they were so interested in what we had to say.

The scene of the crime: Helen's house

I made the mistake of passing some of the time waiting for the musicians by agreeing to jump on the trampoline with Helen's daughters. They were far from eager to quit jumping once I joined in, let me tell you. I don't know how I ever convinced them that it was time to go inside.

You should've seen the smiles on their faces at this point (almost as big as Grandma's)









Trambopaline!

Shortly after nine o'clock, the musicians arrived. Just hearing them warm up, we knew we were in for a treat. They were excellent at what they did, and it was easy to tell. They were also quite versatile. They could all play the guitar, but they could each play at least one other instrument. Cello, guitar, violin, banjo... it was all very, very good.

The band... Emma (lower right) sits and watches her teacher (center)

We all sat around and listened for a long time... As the night went on, they dimmed the lights for mood lighting. We were told that the music would have to be faster for anyone (anyone Irish, that is) to get up and dance, so they sped the music up, and we even danced a little! It was tons of fun. Imagine the most intimate of venues: a home. And absolutely amazing live music! And then throw in some wonderful company on top of it all... It was a blast! It's hard to know how to describe it sufficiently to convey just how much fun we had. I think Grandma put it best, upon realizing this whole party was really for her, when she said, "I feel like the Queen of England." We all felt fortunate to be taking part in this night. A celebration of my Grandma... of her friendship with Helen... of Ireland... of just the great people surrounding us. It was a night we'll probably never forget. Towards the end of the night, I think Grandma hoped it would never end. It was getting late, and she caught Libby yawning, and quickly exclaimed, "You can't be tired on a night like tonight!"

On left: Emma. From near to far on right: Phyllis (Helen's aunt), Grandma, The Dancer, my mother and the pretty lady

Can you believe she said "No" about 10 times before she let a young attractive doctor dance with her?

The mood lighting and the mood makers

It's hard to sit still with such great music

THAT's where the musicians get their inspiration!



The last dance

Is that smile permanent now?

Sophia Lauren with family... from left to right: Phyllis (Helen's aunt), Helen's mother, Carmel (sis), Margaret(sis), Olive (sis), Mary (sis), Catherine (sis), Helen, Nancy (Timmy's mother).

(Not pictured are Derek [brother] and Siobhan (pronounced "Chevonne") [sister] who also came... only one brother was missing from the party!)



With Carmel

With Mary

With Olive

With Nancy

With Helen's mother

With Catherine

Thanking the musicians

With Helen and parents

A new feature on this blog. Since it's hard to explain what the music was like, I included a few videos (with sound) below. They may load slowly (especially the first one, which is longer), if you have a slow internet connection, but they're both a lot of fun.

A typical song

The last dance!

I think the coolest part of the whole night, though, was just observing how quickly and how deeply Grandma is able to affect people and get into their lives. It was obvious that these people love her, just like we do. She's a wonderful person, and when she gets together with other wonderful people (like Helen's family), really cool things happen. My parents, Libby, and I were the luckiest people on earth to get to watch that happen this night.