NorthDownMuse

Arkadi Monastery

In the morning we walked around Rethymnon. On the left of this shot are three water spigots. This fountain dates from the 1500s, when Crete was part of a Venetian empire. It was later part of the Ottoman empire. Crete is a mountainous island and our habit has been to

Thomas Cook

David and I have never done a package tour because he's very good at putting together wonderful vacations on his own. However, the cheapest way to do a week in Greece is with Thomas Cook package holidays. For 800 pounds, the two of us will fly to Crete

Unpack, pack

We leave for Crete tomorrow so today was about tidying, doing errands, packing, showing the neighbours the ropes re. cat & fish tending. A few more harvest photos then I'll try to get some Crete photos up before I lose battery: There also was a flower arranging competition:

Dancing at Lughnasa

(I'm backdating some posts. Photos below if you prefer photos to verbiage :-) I met a man at church this morning who is an excellent songwriter--a friend had told me of his music and I had read some of his lyrics online. After chatting a bit about my

Back to Belfast

As I leave Buncrana headed to Derry, my view is of Lisfannon Beach. My first stop was An Grianan, a hotel near Grianan of Aileach, of which Wiki says: a group of historic structures atop a 244 metres (801 ft) hill in County Donegal, Ireland. The main structure is a

Dunfanaghy Day

Another perfect day. Pictures then words. This church is just outside Buncrana. This is Marble Hill Beach in Dunfanaghy. Donegal is a series of peninsulas jutting out into the ocean. I stayed on Inishowen Peninsula but spent today two peninsulas over visiting friends. Same angle later that day: I took

Lake of Shadows

Today was a perfect day. It didn't start well. Lots of e-mails/texts/calls as I tried to set up meetings with friends. I also needed to schedule a facial and a four-course meal--both included in my spa package. And I wanted to go for a bike ride,

Driving to Derry

I decided a three-day getaway to Donegal was in order. This morning I drove to Derry, which takes me through the lovely Sperrin Mountains. None of my photos do justice to the beautiful two-hour drive. I will never tire of looking at hills covered in a patchwork of fields, all

My Big Day

The last week leading up to today's deadline have been stressful. My dissertation weighed in at 17,350 words; 70 pages using 1.5 space for the six chapters and single space for the references. In the final days, I spent many hours checking and formatting 110 references,

European Heritage Day

I have finished my dissertation. I will write more on 9-15, the day it was due. I'm backdating a few posts to include some photos over the past week. "Today" (the 9-12 date posted even though I'm writing on 9-17) was European Heritage Day

Queer comedy and kickass bluegrass

A few things from the past week. There was the movie 45 Years about a couple that is about to celebrate their 45-year anniversary when the husband receives upsetting news from his distant (and secretive) past. The incomparable Charlotte Rampling stars. It was our kind of movie because it left

Yahoo!

I have a yahoo e-mail account, which apparently means I'm to automatically receive a daily Yahoo news round-up. Today I unsubscribed, which gave me a great deal of satisfaction. I don't know what algorithm Yahoo uses, but it seems to think I give a toss about

For the record

I had a post about how much I love Ireland followed by a post about the insanity of Stormont, where politicians are paid very handsomely to sit around and argue while doing jack for the people who live here (other than maybe whip them up in opposition to each other)

Van the Man

Van Morrison celebrated his 70th birthday today with two concerts on the street he immortalised in his songs--Cypress Avenue, which is about a 10 minute drive from our house. Tickets were $140 each and sold out immediately. People came from California, Australia, you name it, however most of the 3,

Mela

So today was Belfast Mela, when we get to hear singers and watch dancers from a range of global traditions. My favourite was the Bhangra dancers Ankhile [http://2015.belfastmela.org.uk/entertainment/world-stage/ulster-youth-choir/] --an interesting name since I would break my ankles if I tried to do what

A storm at Stormont

Today was exciting. I met a friend for lunch at the Northern Ireland Assembly, where she works. I went into the lobby to meet her and found a few dozen reporters and camera crews. Apparently there was about to be a big announcement. So you don't get only

Altan

The East Belfast Arts Festival is on now, as is the Brian Friel Writers' Festival, and the Belfast Mela is this weekend as well as the Tennent's Vital concerts. Since there are 100s of things to choose from, we try to at least get out to one

Scandal; a story from Ulster's past

David returned this morning after a week in America on business. When he's gone, I make more of an effort to be social to fend off loneliness. So I had a friend over for dinner one night (I made veggie lasagna--and no one got hurt!). I went to

Nothing a good walk won't cure

I found I was not willing to sit down and write on Wednesday so I remembered that I live in Ireland, for God's sake, near the coast, so why not walk for two hours along Belfast Lough, which is what I did. I walked past the farthest point

Mournes

Three things. I have written 4,000 of my 20,000-word dissertation and my advisor gave me a strong thumbs up so I feel I'm on the right course. My topic is the fossil fuel divestment campaign and what, if any, impact it could have on climate change.

A day at the beach

...in Ireland isn't quite the same as in the U.S. First, we walked through high dunes on a boardwalk. But there were no t-shirt shops or pizza places or shiny condominiums. It was cool and windy so not many people were in the water. We walked a

Pride

I'm allowing myself a weekend update, given that I don't do much in the way of research on the weekends. Yesterday we walked in Belfast's 25th annual Pride parade. It was far more tasteful and G-rated than any I'd been to in

Hiatus

The time has come for me to buckle down and get my dissertation done. Lots of reading and research and writing lie ahead. I feel like I'm two months behind, but I can make up the time if I focus. Which means fewer distractions. Which means Facebook and

Parting shots

A few things about Zurich. All the towers have clocks. Usually you notice this on the historic churches, but here's a modern church: It is not cool to be late because there is no reason to not know the time. I loved the ubiquitous water fountains, as I

Sad goodbyes

Last night we stayed in the park quite late. You could tell we weren't looking forward to saying goodbye today. Maybe 20 of us sat in a circle and played whisper down the lane, except in a different language for each round depending on who went first. Phrases