reply

Hi,

To reply to a few comments and questions..

Sheila, Annie didn´t go to the top cause her feet hurt.

Mark, I was not sick cause I was drunj, stop spreading rumors, it was the greasy food......not good dinner :)

We are waiting for the shuttle to the airport.

Long trip ahead.

See you soon!

Me

Our Last Night of Vacation

Greetings everyone. We had a great day today. An early morning start with a 900 appointment at the Prado Gallery. It was wonderful. Saw some great pieces, by Rembrandt, Diego de Goya, Ruben, and Titiano. Then we walked through the Ritero Park == which seemed to be to be larger than our Golden Gate Park. We also had tapas (for the first time in Spain) at a small tapas bar that is world famous == Rick Steves wrote about it and Maureen and Judy had recommendations to try it. We saw the Palace on the way back to the hotel, and it was lovely.

Were on the way home tomorrow so we decided to eat in tonight (with our bottle of wine of course) and after dinner decided to sit outside the hotel with another bottle of wine to enjoy the music, crowds going by and people watching. Judy got sick after last night´s dinner but she´ll probably never tell you about that. Thankfully, she was fine this a.m.

Now we need to pack and be ready to leave for home at 900 tomorrow. Well be home before some of you read this. Its been a wonderful holiday, the 3 of us spending the time together (and our Scott the first week), but it´s winding to a close and I think we´re all tired now. See you soon.

Annie (and Maureen and Judy)

home tomorrow

Really looking forward to coming home tomorrow.

Up early to see the Prado after waking up Annie and Moe last night.........I had an upset stomach.............dinner didn't sit well with me.

Prado was excellent.

Retiro Gardens next, Mark has the pic with the guy in the boat posted.

We covered lots of places by foot.

Now off to see the Royal Palace.

Take care and will be talking to you soon!

Me

We are in Madrid!

After a funny dinner in Rome ...................Annie is now gawking too much.....the waiter actually asked her if she had a problem while pointing his finger at her.....needless to say plenty of laughter at that dinner.

All day travel today was taxing. Plane late. I think train is the way to go in the future.

But, we were revitalized arriving in Madrid.

What a wonderful, lively area!

Our hotel is great and we so appreciate it after the dungeon.

Such helpful staff and right in the middle of all the action.

Spanish mariachees sp? are playing outside our hotel right now........computer off the lobby.

We are off to explore and have tapas for dinner.

Judy

Madrid

Prado Museum




Alfonso XII's mausoleum, Parque del Buen Retiro










Main Post Office, Plaza Cibeles













Cristoforo Colombo pointing west, Plaza Colon





Palacio Real

Plaza de la Villa

Plaza de la Puerta del Sol

Puerta del Alcala

Real Casa de la Panaderia, Plaza Mayor

Ciao

We have seen everything in those pictures. Thanks Mark.

No rain today.

Moe is probably writing all the same things I am right now.

Daisy, per your comment, at this point I would not do amazing race with myself! Yes, it starts this weekend! I will be able to identify with the train-plane scenes more this time while I watch it.

We have been doing soooo much.

Back on the hop off hop on bus today. Long stop when our driver was pulled over by police.

Today we were more off than on touring many sights listed by foot.

We got in a little gawking today too..... Mark, you would be proud, Annie and Moe are getting more into it.

The place we are staying really is a dungeon.

Off to Madrid in the morning. Our flight is 12 so we wont have to get up at the crack as we have been doing so much.

Rome is really crowded and noisy. More so this time. Interesting contrast to Florence.

Hope everyone is well and looking forward to seeing you. Trip is almost over!

Judy

sept 24

we had our ital breakfast of a roll and cafe this am.hopped on the bus and got as far as the coliseum, where we were stopped for over twenty minutes.we were on top of the double decker bus and i finally went downstairs to ask what the "£$%$$. the police had pulled over our driver and the tour attendant couldn't tell us how much longer we would be. we got off, started walking and when we were half a block away, judy saw that the bus was starting up again,so three folans started weaving and doing our version of running to get on the bus again.....we did go back to that pizza place for lunch again and ordered a glass of wine at a bistro across the way, so nice to sit and watch and gawk and use a free restroom......i now have been spoiled by this excellent pizza. we went to the st. peters basilica and the panthenon, trevi fountain and spanish steps for a last walk about the city.tonight we hope that Rula our landlord made reservations at a restaurant judy and mark went to last year...well it will be back to work and the rest of reality soon. cio, maureen folani.Mark these latest pics are fun to relive, thanks.

Roma.....in pictures

Castel Sant'Angelo

Spanish Steps

Colloseum

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Square from top of Basilica

Trevi Fountain

Piazza Navona

Piazza della Repubblica

Hello from Rome

Hi everyone, we arrived in Rome this afternoon after another early train ride. We still cant get over the nice place we stayed in in Florence. Though it was too early for breakfast, the owner made sure we had freshly made cappucinos before leaving at 730 this a.m. Lovely train ride and now we just got back from seeing the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, heading back to our apartment. Its roomy for a small 3 bed unit, but its dark without the lights, the windows are barred and open up to an alley we think, though you cant really tell. We call it the dungeon. Were next to the owners bathroom and expect to hear some interesting sounds coming from there. Were having way too many laughing fits.

Judy and Maureen and pretty much behaving themselves, so you dont need to be too concerned about them. Maureen, however, has taken a liken to grappa so were going to make sure she doesnt buy a bottle and start with her late night singing. Judy refuses to try for Amazing Race with us after our 2 weeks stint so far. No sense of direction? Bad feet? Mark, youll have to try out with her.

Hope everyone there is fine, looking forward to seeing you soon. Toodles.

Annie

rome

sergio the owner of our florence b&B set us off with cappuchinos before the kitchen even opened so we would be stoked to walk to the train station to catch the euro star to rome.took the hop on and off bus around rome...great way to get an overview of yhe sites(per mark and judy who did it that way last year)had THE BEST pizza at a small pizzeria that had a constant flow of locals streaming in and out for slices....we ate sitting on the fountain in a piazza.we had dinner in the apt tonight. then saw the trevi fountain...AMAZING.... it is massive! I thought it would be half the size it was...we then walked the spanish steps.......take care everyone...maureen

Restaurant near the Spanish Steps

Judy, the restaurant near the Spanish Steps in Rome is Ristorante "Al 34." It is located on Via Mario de'Fiori 34. Telephone number is 679 50 591. This is what the front of the restaurant looks like.

At the base of the Spanish Steps, if you walk down one block away from the Steps either down Via Delle Carozze or Via Della Croce, Via Mario De' Fiori is the first street that intersects them.

From Piazza Barberini, walk up Via Sistina up to the top of the hill. That should bring you past the Hotel Hassler. If you bear right there, you should be right near the top of the Spanish Steps.

Campanile di Giotto (Giotto's Bell Tower)

In 1334, Giotto started the cathedral bell tower (clad in the same three colors of marble gracing the Duomo) but completed only the first two levels before his death in 1337. He was out of his league with the engineering aspects of architecture, and the tower was saved from falling in on itself by Andrea Pisano, who doubled the thickness of the walls. Andrea, a master sculptor of the Pisan Gothic school, also changed the design to add statue niches -- he even carved a few of the statues himself -- before quitting the project in 1348. Francesco Talenti finished the job between 1350 and 1359 -- he exchanged the heavy solidness of the base for a lighter, airier effect.

The reliefs and statues in the lower levels -- by Andrea Pisano, Donatello, and others -- are all copies, the weatherworn originals now housed in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo . You can climb the 414 steps to the top of the tower. What makes the 84m-high (276-ft.) view different from what you get out of the more popular climb up the cathedral dome, besides a cityscape vista, are great views of the Baptistery as you ascend and the best close-up shot in the entire city of Brunelleschi's dome.

For a short video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JTaUCjFrmI&feature=related

More Florence and Chianti Region

hello

Annie got a fly in her nose tonight at dinner at Quattro Leone Restaurant and Maureen got hit in the face by a pigeon today.

This morning after a great breakfast at our hotel we went up to the top of the Capinele SP? or tower next to the Duomo......... hope Mark can find a pic of it...........what a breathtaking view of all of Florence.

We went on a wine tour of the Chianti Region with 5 other people and Anna who was our English speaking guide from Placerville (who worked at the restaurant on Chestnut and Steiner called Bin 23 last year). We took a scenic ride out to the Chianti area and went to two wineries for tasting and a place that I can't remember the name of for lunch and more wine. It was an all day event that went by so quickly. We walked around the Mercado area, Moe rubbed the boars nose, and then we went over the Ponte Vecchio at sunset to a great dinner place and ate outside...........it was too cold. It's cool but sunny and clear here.
I can't believe how much quieter it is here this time. Our guide today mentioned that tourism is significantly down.

Can you tell we have free internet at this hotel?

Off to Rome in the morning for two nights.

Ciao for now.

Me

i really hate pigeons now

maureen reportng,pigeon did a full flying body slam into the right side of my head this am.judy and i climbed the 421? steps in giottis tower to be rewarded with a breathtaking view of florence.it was not crowded at all..the tuscan wine tour was so enjoyable.the van took us on about a 25 minute ride out of the city into lush vineyards and cypress groves.the first stop was a wine tasting at a castle originally owned by the Pozzi family (which means crazy in italian.)we then went on to lunch and another wine tasting at a smaller vineyard.Anna our guide is originally from placerville.another early train ride tomorrow into rome. i will miss florence,so much to see, so little tme.what a beautiful city.scott, thanks for the cicada clip.

Fiesole & San Miniato al Monte

Villa San Michele, Fiesole (Florence in the backround)

Fiesole

San Miniato al Monte (Some ancestors of my grandmother are buried in the cemetary right near this church)

Ristorante La Giostra

Florence

This place is okay. A bit less crowded so far compared to last May. It was great being up early to get to the Uffizi because on the way we got to see the Duomo area in the beautiful morning sun without the crowds. After the Uffizi went over the Ponte Vecchio after showing Moe the Hermitage, a place that Annie and Liz and Mark and I have stayed and loved before. As Moe said we did explore the other side of the Arno. Up the hill to St Miniato and the Poggio area that has spectalcular views of Florence. I led us of course on the way back and we ended up walking more but did find a great road that took us down the Forte Belvedere and then back across the Arno heading back home by way of Santa Croce where there was a outdoor market fair thing going on.
We had a full day already but Moe and I have been wanting to go to Fiesole, a small town above Florence and we were not disappointed. I would recommend it for anyone visiting this place.
Speaking of recommendations, and I have pictures to show when I get home, the place we ate at, La Giostra was my new favorite place to eat here. It was recommended by someone I know. Mark, we are eating at Quato Leone tomorrow. We love food. The place we are staying is charming and not too expensive. Very nice staff and free internet. More later. Hope everyone is well..........miss you guys.

september 21

maureen reportng.we went to the uffizi museum this am.this whole place is an emotional rollercoaster of such beauty i cannot even find the words to descrbe it.after the museum we walked across the ponte vecchio and up a hill where we had lunch near the poggio.great deli sandwiches ,a great variety of italian cookies and a nice chianti in plastic cups.we ate overlooking the city.we then explored the side streets of florence.in the late afternoon we took the local bus to the small city of fiersole.WOW, the panoramic view was surreal.while we were waiting for the bus to go there an older italian woman sat by judy and I and chatted away to us in Italian.She was sweet and very animated and she didn't seem to mind the language barrier.on or return trip from fiersole to florence a mean bus conductor yelled at judy and i.we did not realize that we had to machine stamp our transfers.all i did was tell him that we showed the bus driver our passes and that set him off.do you understand english? he kept asking...i guess he deemed me the friggin village idiot because he then got right in judy's face asking do you understand english.....he was a mean mean man...two old italian ladies that were sitting down then grabbed judy and pulled her up into a seat...they had a more difficult time hoisting me up and a little old man had to help push me up into the seat...they all gave judy and i looks of sympathy.we had a wonderful dinner at la giostra restaurant this evening.complementary champagne along with a fantastic appetizer plate that included duck pate.it was the best meal i have had in a long time. ciao

Update from Florence

annie said...
Great pictures Mark, its almost like youre finding and posting the pictures we took. Another beautiful day today, perfect weather for sightseeing and walking around. Went to the Uffizi this a.m., early, when it opened and there were not many people there, it was wonderful. Then we walked to a wonderful sight I cant remember the name of, we had a picinic there, wine to go with our Italian sandwiches, thank you were much. Twas lovely, it was. Tomorrow were going on our wine tour, so that will be fun as well. The public toilets are too much == Sheila will appreciate this. We each paid .60 to use the toilet today. But it was a regular toilet with a man in there to hand us paper towels to dry our hands after using the facilities. Both Maureen and I saw the attendant pick up dropped paper towels and put them back into the stack of towels he was giving to the customers == on 2 separate occasions. Lovely. I just realized, I should have written this as a new message instead of posting acomment. Hope everyone will read it anyway. Oh yea, when we were on the other side of the Ponte Veccio (sp) we saw a large bike race go through the tiny, narrow streets filled with tourists. It was fun we cheered the bikers on, they were escorted by police cars, motorcycle offices, and cars with who knows who in them proudly waving to the public, and followed by ambulances and more police. It was fun. Our dear Judy hollered go USA when the US car drove by, then quickly quieted down thinking she was offending the people. She was embarrassed and then was ready to run and hide in the massive crowd in case a terrorist was now after her. Poor Judy. Now, having said that, its our poor Judy and her wonderful sense of diection and skillful use of the map thats getting is around in all these wonderful places. We give her pats on tne back for that. Will write again soon, Maureen and Judy May will probably write tonight. Toodles everyone.

Firenze

one more week

Man, we have been moving. Train ride was nice from Nice. No rain but did see some dark clouds ................better go, someone keeps turning out the lights ......yikes

Hey kids, Annie here. Were all drunj now Im afraid. Its 11:30 and we finally ate and came back to our wonderful hotel. We drank more wine than water today, which is something for the 3 Folan girls. However, were living up to our reputation as walkers and I have the blisters to prove it!!

Spent most of the day on the train, the ride from Nice to Florence was just lovely. Im builidng muscles from carrying my suitcase up so many stairs at the train stations and then onto the trains. Were staying in a wonderful hotel, with a REAL shower. The shower head is actually above my knees this time, I cant wait to use it. And, theres an actual shower door, weve been having bathtubs with no shower curtain or door, its impossible to keep from wetting at least the floor, if not more.
Actually, its pretty hard to keep from wetting our pants too with some of those laughing fits were so famous for!

Sheila, we really missed you at dinner tonight when we had a laughing fit over something silly and said Sheila should be here with us. Everytime we sit together too, we think we better not tell Sheila about this, shed tell us to widen out, though Judy keeps threatening to ask someone to take our picture like that for Sheila.

Were off to the Uffizi at 815 tomorrow, which means another 600 start without coffee but whose complaining.

Hope youre all well, I still cant find the apostrophe. Will write again tomorrow or Monday. Toodles.

In the French Riviera

Today, the girls traveled to Nice, France on the French Riviera. They got in around 11 am and immediately headed out for a tour of the town. They decided to take a hop-on, hop-off bus to tour the town. As soon as they got on the bus, a downpour hit. They decided to stay on the bus for its entire loop around the city. At the end of the loop, the rain stopped and they continued on their way, touring around the town. They enjoyed it very much.

They had some trouble with their room. I didn't get all the details, but apparently the roof was leaking onto Maureen's bed and I think also in the bathroom. They're only there for 1 night, so they made the best of it.

Tomorrow, they are on their way by train to Florence. Along the way, they plan to get off in Pisa, check their bags in the train station locker room, visit the Leaning Tower, and get back on the train to their eventual destination........la bella citta...Firenze, Italia.

Cicadas

Here is a clip about cicadas from the documentary Planet Earth, the greatest nature show ever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNqF_3cDrWA

pics

mark;thanks for posting the pics;they are spot on of all the wonderful sites we have been fortunate to explore:it rained briefly tonight:it was kind of nice;judy agqin made us a wonderful pasta dinner and we enjoyed more bourdeaux:yesterday at lunch i tried a kir which is a french apertif of white wine and blackberry liquer:it was actuqlly refreshing:we took a free shuttle boat across the Rhone and walked qround a bit:we heard but did not see those friggin huge cicadas that the french are fond of:mark, maybe you can post a picture of one:they are a little larger than a june bug:all kidding aside; i feel so lucky that i have two great traveling companions that also just happen to be my sisters:bye from maureen

Birth of a Cicada

Just for Maureen.......

Provence Photos

Aqueduct - Pont du Gard, Nimes

Les Baux

St. Remy

Chateauneuf du Pape

Wine

It is really cheap here::::::::::::::::::just about the only thing!!!!!!!!!

Pictures

Mark; thanks for posting the pics

Update from Provence

Hello everyone, Annie here. Im having difficulty with this French keyboard -- Id never pass a typing test here. Thankfully, Judys by my side guiding me. Were having a wonderful time here in Provence, food is wonderful as is the wine and the sites of course.

Flying to Ireland was an ordeal as flights were delayed and then they lost our bags. Had a very nice visit with the family in Ireland and Birmingham. Scott, I hope youre home safe and sound and that your blisters from your walk to Spiddel in the rain and in your sandals have finally healed. I trust our trip home will be easier than yours.

We finally did a load of laundry last night, jeans, pants, etc. which we needed to do. Everything went fine till Maureen was getting ready for bed and tried to clean her face with astringent only to find that she used the bottle of astringent in our wash and had only the laundry detergent to clean her face with!!

Went to the cutest town yesterday, Le Baux, built on a mountain. I enjoyed a wonderful omelette for lunch and my shadows both had crepes which they thoroughly enjoyed too. Great little town, also did the Market place in St. Remy -- great tablecloths, fresh fruit and vegees, much larger than the weekly Farmers Market I know you frequent there at home. I wasnùt as excited about Arles, reminded me of Cuba.

Were off to Nice tomorrow. So far, were getting along very well, unless Maureen or Judy told you otherwise, then Ill say theyre being difficult. In case you havzent noticed, Ive yet to find the apostrophe on this keyboard. Thats all for now, we hope youre all well.

Annie

Last day in Avignon

Got up early and got picked up by our tour guide Jacque:
There was only one other person on the van with us so it was almost a private tour

First stop Pont du Gqurd:::::::::::::: the Roman aquqduct thqt looks like q beautiful bridge; it was built to bring water to Nimes:
Man, those romans know their architecture

Second stop was the town of Orange zhere there was an outdoor market going on
We toured the Theqtre Antique dOrange: An impressive theatre of the roman empire where they still perfor, opera:

Kinda weird touring all this roman stuff in france

Next was something mark will be jealous of:
After getting a kitchen demontration of a chocolatier making chocolate; we got to do a "workshop" of winetasting and chocolate tasting:::::::::::::it was fun:
Since we were in the Chateauneuf du Pape region we had some of that wine with several pieces of dark chocolate, on having ginger in it::::::::::::hated that, wanted to spit it out
We kept snitching the choco almond samples
Our last stop was the Popes summer home which was the actual remains of the "Chateauneuf du Pape"

Back to our apt for a quick lunch and off to explore more of Avignon
We walked through the grounds of the Popes Palace and then took a water taxi across th Rhone to check out the menu of a place that was recommended::::::too expensive so back on the boat and her we are in the internet cafe

tommorrow we are taking a 7am train to Nice where we will stay for the night

We plane to do our own extensive walking tour since we will just be there overnight

We have been doing our share of laughing

Sheila, not all toilets have seats and some are seriously just drains in the floor

Maureen actually used one

Big big day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After another big breakfast it was off to St: Remy; Maureen C called us to check up on us:::::::::::it stopped raining in irelqnd

Isle sur la Sorgue

This is where they visited today. It's a small town in the southern portion of Provence.

avignon

maureen here;it is so fantastic here:today we took a local bus to the little town of isle de la sourge:the ride was so scenic: we had a wonderful long relaxing lunch by the river; the town was a fishing village in the past and the story is that the river came from below the earth one day and just kept bringing forth a great abundance of fish:we bought a nice bourdeaux(judys pick) there along with some olives and grilled eggplant ,tomatoes;etc fresh fresh fresh:When we arrived back in avignon we stopped at a deli where the owner gave us ideas on how to use all fresh ingredients to whip up a quick tasty dinner:While i was at the counter judy waited outside: a lady came up to her and asked her if she spoke english:::her reply was "a little" whoo ... i have to get on her because she feels it necessary to tease me about the following: in every new place we visit i need to find the tourist information center and where i can find our wine and my postcards,judy also cooked us a wonderful pasta dinner this evening:tomorrow we are taking the bus to st remy and possibly arles:our apartment is dear and like it is out of some french movie:hello to everyone;

Bonjour

We are in France and their keyboard is different so i knoz i zill make mistakes.
Avignon is bigger and busier than we thought it would be: our hotel apart,ent is charmingly old french: we will do lots of exploring
it is sooooo windy; it,s their windy "mistral wind" and the temp is about 60 something
scott will be staying an extra day because we are both goofy::::::::::::::::::::i kept accidently saying he would be in dublin until tues and he never checked his paperwork so he goyt a bit of a shock when they asked him when he would be out of the room::::::::::::::::he had gone to dublin a day earlier than ::::::::::::::::nevermind: long story and i cant type well:::::::::::
so we rebooked his flight ::good thing its airmiles for flexibility
sheila; we did see our moms house and we look forward to telling you some flaherty cousin stories also;
aunt bridie sends her love to you all we really spent lots of time with her and the family
we watched cd pics of mike and martines wedding and the families thailand adventue
okay:::hope all is well wirh everyone and i am off to find my sisters
me

I've Clean Knickers!!

Hello all -- this is Annie checking in from Judy's log on. We had a nice day with Aunt Bridie and all in Birmingham. Will write more cause Maureen is coming back now and found me sneaking in before her.

No rain today or yesterday so we're pretty jazzed about that. We were worried about our luggage and are very happy to have clean knickers to wear again.

Annie

maureen o'b here.We are at the Birmingham airport having just left Aunt Bridie and clan.It was emotional for us to say goodbye to /aunt Bridie,She is so sweet, but unfortunately she is in a fragile state health wise....although her appetite is still good which seems to run in the family.Ok, now i don't know why, and don't nobaody be mean to me, but there seems to be a pattern emerging of all the places I stay the toilet backs up...whether or not it has something to back it up with.They had to change my room today because the toilet leaked all over the bathroomm floor.On to happier things, we are told that the sun started shining in Birmingham the moment we arried and it has been dry ever since.We have to get uo at 3:30am to check in at the airport at 4:30am tomorrow.It is fantastic that we can just walk across the street to the airport.I am a little nervous about France because I didn't bone up on my French.....before I go, you all must see the tourniquet they all gave us that was supposed to pass as underpants no crotch no nothing but it could not stretch far enough for me..cringe......bye for now,aaron i wouldn't mind hearing from you i emailed you the other day...

Leaving Donegal

Explored the town yesterday. Had a wonderful visit with our cousins and their kids. Walked 3 miles to their house in the country. Very simple and charming lifestyle. My cousin Bernie cooked a traditional Irish dinner for us. Lamb, turnips, carrots, parsnips, and potato. Heard lots of stories about our family. Sounds like a few of them were quite the characters. It is such a beautiful sunny day here. We will be taking a 2 hour bus ride shortly to the West Knock airport and catch a plane to Birmingham to meet Mike and Martine and gang. We will be staying for two nights. So happy to have my suitcase. Seems it has traveled more than I have. Scott is now in Dublin with Faye.

Hellooooooo from Donegal

I see the sun!!!!!!!!!!! We are all doing well. We saw Faye and her parents and uncle and will be meeting up with them again today along with other family members we have never met. Charming town. Beautiful rolling green hillsides with plenty of cows and sheep (many goats Joe). Scott will be off to Dublin today to hang with Faye and to get out of the sisters retirement group. He has been funny. We listened to Irish music last night. Tomorrow we will fly to Birminham to meet up with more family. Still no suitcase for me. It should come today. I finally got another pair of shoes yesterday................... the ones I had were getting pretty stinky............ Hope all is well with everyone. Tootles.

Paging Mr. Gideon.....

Today, Annie, Maureen & Judy took the bus into Galway. The purpose of the trip was to do a little sightseeing and to buy some clothes, underwear, and other personal items that they were still without. The day before they had bought some large men's T-shirts that they could use as nightshirts. They enjoyed seeing all the red-haired lily white kids on the bus and in the town speaking with their Irish brogues. Judy said that they did bring up the story about the "cheese" that Sheila commented on and, of course, laughed a lot about that.

Scott was determined to go out fishing on Galway Bay, so he set out to walk from the house to the town of Spiddal. Unfortunately, he got lost on the way and went out of his way over a mile. He did all this walking in the rain and wearing his flip-flops. He finally got to the town of Spiddal, but didn't arrive in time to catch the boat. He did manage to get blisters from the walking and his feet are now a nice brown color from the dye of the flip-flops.

When they all got home, they got a nice surprise.......Maureen C. & Uncle Joe had brought over the lost luggage for Maureen, Annie & Scott that the airlines had delivered. The whereabouts of Judy's bags are still a mystery, having been recorded at the airport as belonging to a Mr. Gideon. Perhaps Interpol should be contacted to run this man down.

Tonight, they had Maureen C., Uncle Joe, & Helen over for dinner. After dinner, they went down to the local pub. However, they were disappointed that it was quite dead...only about 6 people in the place. Tomorrow, Maureen, Annie, & Judy are going to visit the houses of their Mom & Dad. Early Thursday morning, they are off to Donegal. I'm not sure what Judy will do if her bags don't show up by then........it could get expensive.

The Empresses Need New Clothes

Well, it's going on 3 days now and the travelers are still wearing the same clothes that they departed with. Maureen is just on the verge of cutting off the neck of the turtleneck that she is wearing. No makeup, no change of clothes........it's not a pretty sight from what I am told. The airlines are not returning their calls and they are 2 1/2 hours away from the airport, so who knows when they will see their bags.

They were met in Galway by Maureen Conneely (sp?) and Uncle Joe. They had a nice visit. Maureen C. even got on the phone and left a nasty message for the airlines saying, "I've got 4 Yanks here with no clothes." That got a few quizzical looks from others in the restaurant that they were calling from.

Scott took the bus into Galway and took a "hop on, hop off" tour, which he enjoyed very much. He did get a view puzzled looks from the locals since he was walking around in flip flops in the rain. Tomorrow, he had arranged to take a deep sea fishing excursion. It should be interesting to see the looks he gets there from the deck hands.

Annie, Maureen & Judy spent the day touring the town of Westport up north, which they enjoyed very much. On the way, they stopped in to visit Marian & Chase in their new house. Tomorrow night, they will be cooking dinner for Maureen C., Uncle Joe & Helen in the house that they rented for their stay. The house is a 4 bedroom house that is very nice and is only a few minutes away from Uncle Joe's house.

Not off to a good start....

A hurricane has started their trip off on the wrong foot. After arriving at the airport very early on Saturday morning, they found out the flight was delayed to NY due to hurricane issues. Of course this meant that they were going to miss the connecting flight to Galway. After much hurrying around and waiting, the travelers got a flight our of SF at 2:30 going to Dublin. They'd then have to get a connecting flight to Galway from there.

This, however, was not the end of their troubles. It turns out that their bags are traveling to NY without them. To make matters worse, Judy's bagged were mis-checked in under the name of Walter Gideon.........whoever he is. The airlines said it may be a couple of days before they get their bags. They are in Ireland now........somewhere.

Hola

Ok, something's wrong here. I typed my message, tried to post it, and it was gone. One last try. Stop laughing at me Mark.

Scott -- go to bed, you have to get up early in the morning.

Hi, I completed the registration...wahoo