Cassidy's Fall Break to Dublin

Since we hadn't had Cassidy over for a while, we wanted to take advantage of her few days off for fall break. She was tired of coming to London, so we met in Dublin for a very quick few days. Diana and I flew in on Wednesday so we had a place for Cassidy to crash on her arrival, as she suffers from jetlag really badly.

We had a blast. We toured the city, including St Patrick's cathedral. We also booked a coach tour out to Tara and some of the neolithic monuments. It was kind of cold and rainy, but we did our best. On Saturday we got drenched and decided it was a PJ night. We ordered in pizza and watched TV.

We ate tons of good food, and had a pint or two of the black :) Yes, it's different in Dublin, where Guinness actually tastes like beer. We even toured the Guinness Storehouse and learned to pour our own perfect pint.

Of course, we caught some really good traditional Irish bands as well. every place had several bands playing.

I'm trying a new tool I downloaded and I made a movie of our pictures, set to music. Please let me know what you think, especially those of you on slower links, as I know we have readers on dial-up connections still. I can make 2 more videos with it before I have to pay for it, and don't want to pay unless it's good to use it.

Brussels September 2008

At the end of September I had to work a trade show in Brussels. Now, Brussels is a funny city, and not my favorite in Europe. In fact, it rates above only Paris from being at the bottom. But I enjoy going anywhere with Diana, and she'd never been there.

I say Brussels is funny. As the HQs of NATO and the EU, as well as lots of other international organizations, you'd think it would be a very international city. But it's not, it's French!. Outside the tourist areas, no one can or will speak english, and you see very few foreigners on the streets.

Also, I'd always wanted to take the Eurostar, the train that runs between London and Paris and Brussels. So we booked onto it.

After a September of really rainy, crappy weather, the weekend in Brussels was lovely, sunny and mild. We spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday playing Japanese tourist around the center of the city. Then, when I went to work on Monday, Diana went to the city outskirts for more sightseeing.

A couple of more notes. Brussels is also a city of bizarre fountains. You'll see several pics of fountains. The most famous is the Mannequin Pis, which is a little boy peeing into a fountain. They dress him in different costumes. There are 2 other that go with this, his sister and a dog. There's pictures of them too. Not really sure why the Belgians are so fascinated with urination.

Also, you'll see pics of the Atomium. This is a giant replica of an atom left over from the 1958 or something world's fair. Oddly, the place I was working the trade show turned out to be right beside it.

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I'm starting to do some automatic posts on music I'm listening to and how to download it. I'm not a big listener to pop music or stuff you can hear on the radio, and I don't use iTunes online store much, preferring more eclectic sites.

Virginia waters Walk

We try hard to find walks to do on week-ends and we found a walk near Windsor
Park called Virginia waters walk. We had to take a train to start the walk. The walk was advertised on the trains web site. The walk was advertised as a 8.5 mile walk which we found out later. We did not prepare for a long walk. No snacks or water for the boys or us.

The walk was mostly side walks through a golf course lined with mansions that are homes to the likes of Sir Cliff Richard and golfer Ernie Els. We finally got to the park and because it was a nice day a lot of families where out and about, biking and walking having picnicking. At the park the trail went around a lake called Virginia waters and around the lake we saw a Roman ruins, brought in the 19th century from near Tripoli, and finally the Cascade Bridge by the waterfall,and a Totem Pole, a gift to the Queen from Canada. and small cottages.By the end of the walk we decided that it was not walk we like. We enjoy more the country side walks better.

County Fair at Hampton Green

While James was in the US in August the boys and I took the bus to Hampton where at the green
(a open green park) a county fair was being held. The advert said that a jousting
group was performing and a wild bird display. It was a warm day the boys kept looking for shade.

We were able to watch both shows. The pictures maybe a little fuzzy.
Holding the camera still and the boys under control was a challenge especially when the horses came close. Over all it was a great day out. The boys get lots of attention. They do so very well on the buses.