I am a little behind on blogging...
With the great weather this week (they call it a heat wave here, which it is for them, but for us it's like a lovely spring day in San Carlos) we hit a few beaches and spent as much time outside as possible. One day we went to Seapointe and Monkstown...
...and the next day down to the Vico Bathing spot and Whiterock. Unbeknownst to me, Vico is a spot for skinny dipping, a task always undertaken by aged men. So we had a long conversation about cultural differences and that bodies are just bodies and we're all human, no big deal. Vico is an absolutely gorgeous spot, like what I imagine the Mediterranean coast is like. Insane. Note, however, that the water was still ridiculously cold. As in, difficult to breath cold. Those Irish are hearty!
Even the local riding school did their lesson on the Dublin Bay waterfront because the weather was so nice. I told Sally, "me running into horses at the beach like this gives me the same feeling you get when suddenly the ice cream truck appears at the park!" (I was very happy).
We had 3 big FIRSTS this week. First, Sally went all the way across the monkey bars for the FIRST time this week!!
Second, she ATE THE CRUSTS on her grilled cheese of her own volition!
Third, she successfully learned how to do Sudoko at our local pub on the kids menu.
So proud, all on the eve of her 8th birthday, so to speak.
On Friday we did a family morning walk to the top of Killiney Hill in Dublin and then stopped at the playground on the way down (the playground with the best view in Dublin, I should add). A short walk but gorgeous views and a delightful little trip. The park kind of reminded me of Stulsaft Park in Redwood City, at which I used to spend a lot of time. They both are very accessible, popular, and comprised of lots of wooded trails breaking out into terrific views.
Friday afternoon Sally and I attended a magic show in Ringsend. Sally volunteered to participate and test out the magician's sword-swallowing sword. She was SO excited but I can't videos to work in here so you'll just have to imagine it. The magician was awesome and I literally laughed so hard I was crying during the ventriloquist part.
On Saturday we took a Go car (David is doing awesome at driving here!) to Brú na Bóinne, where we visited the UNESCO world heritage site (1 of 3 in Ireland) New Grange on the River Boyne. The New Grange (and Knowth) burial mounds here were built in 3200 BC by the neolithic farmers to honor their dead. At over 5000 years old, these mounds are older than Stonehenge. Much like almost everywhere we've visited in Ireland, the visitor's center was incredibly impressive with immersive experiences and thoughtful exhibits. The actual burial mounds were amazing! Apparently it took like 200 years to build these - which, if you do the math, is about 7 generations given the lifespan 5000 years ago. They had almost no tools, no wheels, and yet created these monstrous (the largest is 20 ft high inside) structures. A true feat of architecture. David and I were remarking how these people had probably pretty difficult lives (cold, rainy, minimal good shelter, disease, etc.) and yet spent all their time making a nice cozy home for the dead (reminds me of the Egyptians and many others)...why was that so important? Why not funnel some of that energy into building nicer residences to actually LIVE in? It's so interesting.
I have to add this photo of Sally with 2 buddies and their very tall Magnatile tower, of which they were very proud.
And, of course, we ended up the week with a trip to our local, the Merrion Inn, with great service and friendly staff!
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