What started off as a quiet calm weekend on the McDermott dairy farm, became a celebration as the Wicklow Gaelic football team won a huge game on Sunday.
Steph took us all over County Wicklow, including Glendalough – where many of her ancestors are buried in an ancient Monastery. We also visited the site of her and Chris’ upcoming wedding and the beach by her farm. We learned how a dairy farm operates and even learned about the calving process as one of their cows gave birth while we were staying on the farm. Other highlights included Sheela’s cooking and incredible baking and a tour of the neighboring horse ranch.
Congratulations Wicklow on the big win!
We’ve just spent a wonderful week in Ireland, enjoying the very generous hospitality of Chris and Steph and her family. We spent a few days in Dublin and made trips to Counties Kerry and Wicklow.
Steph hooked us up with tickets to the Dublin city bus tours. It was a great way to get oriented to the city and our driver/commentator was hilarious! We also caught the very entertaining Seafarer play and spent several nights out on the town.
Ever since I first tasted Guiness, I’ve wanted to try a pint in Ireland. We skipped the Guiness Factory, but I sampled Guiness all over the city!
We spent a really fun week in Boston, with a few days in Cape Cod and a daytrip to Marblehead. We stayed with my college roomate, Samantha, and her talented chef boyfriend Gendreau. We rented a car and spent last Thursday in Cape Cod. It was a beautiful and clear day, and we drove all around, starting with a quick look at Plymouth, first settlement of the pilgrims. Sadly, there was a construction zone around Plymouth Rock, leading Aaron to speculate there was a conspiracy and they had actually moved the rock.
We spent some time walking around Hyannis (home of the Kennedy compound) and then driving all the way up to the edge of the Cape at Princeville. We liked Princeville, it is a really cute beachy New England town, and we walked around and ate fudge, which along with salt water taffy is a staple in every New England tourist destination. Aaron was really excited by the Pirate Museum but there was a sign saying the grand opening was May 2 (the next day.) We drove out to the Atlantic coast (Princeville is a tiny town in between the Atlantic and the Bay) and tried to take a walk out on the breakers but were prevented from walking by a sign stating there was contaminated shellfish and it wasn’t safe. Foiled again! Nevertheless we enjoyed Princeville and would like to visit sometime again.
The next day we picked up Sam from Boston and headed out of the city again, this time to Marblehead, which is a tiny town on the outskirts of the city and is rich in New England maritime history. We were lucky enough to get a private tour of the Old Town Hall and even a trip up to see the belltower. We heard lots of great stories from our host and were charmed by the city’s history.
In Boston, we enjoyed great cuisine by chef/host Gendreau who is opening a restaurant in Boston (Circle) in the next few months. Thanks for the french toast!
The weather was pretty rainy for most of our visit, but we still managed to walk around parts of the Freedom Trail, including a memorable visit to Old Ironsides (the U.S.S. Constitution, an old navy warship) and the accompanying museum. We had never heard of the Barbary War before. We also hung out in Copley, and went out to Harvard Square, where we had brunch with friends Simonetta and Jan. Afterwards we went to an art show with Rabi, Dang and Chris and finished off the day with more great food courtesy of Gendreau (this time, it was duck.) The final day of our visit I took Aaron on a tour of my alma mater BU and we had lunch with Jeff, Aaron’s college roommate who is now getting his graduate degree at BU.
Thanks so much to Dang for the early ride to the airport! We had a great time in Boston and can’t wait to visit again soon.
The above title is in tribute to our dear friend Martin who is also leaving San Francisco. Martin is returning to Stockholm after several years in the Bay Area and we were glad to spend some time with him and other friends before our own journey.
We spent last Thursday in San Francisco wrapping up visa logistics and doctors appointments. After our adventures at both the Indian consulate and the place they outsourced visas to we had a chance to relax. We found it hilarious that the Indian government is now outsourcing to the U.S!
We took some time to enjoy a last burrito in the Mission for old time’s sake and hang out in Dolores Park.
Aaron spent the late afternoon at a wine tasting event with his childhood friend John while I went shopping in Union Square. In the evening we met up with friends at Bliss Bar in Noe Valley. It was great to see everyone and get a chance to say goodbye!
After a long day, we were happy to relax over some wine with Matt and Raish in Novato. I appreciated spending a night in my old bed, which is now housed in their guest room. Aaron had a hard time making me get up the next morning!
