Fall and Football

Written by - aw heck, who else could it be: It's not even September yet, and already it's beginning to feel like fall over here. I've been downright cold during the last two nights, but pure principal prohibits me from turning on the heat! How's that for alliteration? I think both Nate and I are in denial over the sudden change in season - I keep trying to wear short sleeves in the fruitless hope that my clothing choice will persuade the weather to warm up again. I mean, it's August for heavens sake! I didn't even break my summer clothes out until well into June!
At least with the cooler weather comes one thing that brings joy into both our hearts - especially Nate's: American football!!! Three years ago we started a fantasy football league with a great mix of friends and family from both sides - and we just kicked the season off with our draft last Saturday. The Ireland contingent of The League completed their draft from an Internet cafe - I'm sure we had a few raised eyebrows in our direction during our three hours spent poring over notes and shouting at the computer screen - Nate says I get a little "intense." Does that sound like me? I cannot mention The League without noting that I was the first member to win the championship - so I get a little competitive trying to regain my title. This isn't our trophy, but we have one - and my name's the first one on it!

Since Nate's parents are currently visiting, we had three drafters at the keyboards - Nate's mom is also part of the League, and I must say she came prepared - with a binder chock full of secret information of which neither Nate nor I could steal a single glimpse! Nate's dad was very patient for three hours, watching us draft away. Hopefully some of our readers have heard of Fantasy Football - otherwise I don't think any of this makes much sense.
We weren't the only ones in unique drafting circumtances. My parents made a party out of draft day, inviting my uncle and cousin to join in at their house. I can only imagine the mayhem that took place over there.
But the first prize for fantasy football dedication is awarded to our dear friend Marshal, who drafted from his laptop in the hospital, where his wife had given birth to their first child not even 24 hours before! He was apparently caring for his new daughter in between his picks, as he kept asking if any of us wanted to hold his crying baby. I would!! If I didn't live on another continent right now. Congratulations Marshal!
It was an impressive feat to be able to coordinate twelve people drafting all at once - well, nine people. Three weren't able to make it. But the nine who did draft spanned time zones from Ireland all the way to California! Now that the first step is done, we have only to wait for the season to start. I'm ready to take my championship over again. Let the games begin!!!

Cyprus - Our first stint as houseguests in Europe

Written by Megan: Our trip to Cyprus gave us one of the most personal, and therefore most meaningful glimpses of any of the countries we've been able to visit so far. The inspiration for this trip began last summer when we were still in St. Louis. Ismet, one of Nate's St. Louis co-workers, is from Cyprus. Though he was about to move to London, Ismet suggested that Nate and I visit him in Cyprus during one of his visits home. Fast forward over a year later, and there we were - staying in his family's beach house.

During our five-day stay, Ismet's family welcomed us into their home - we had delicious, leisurely breakfasts every morning. I always looked forward to coming downstairs and spending an hour listening to the ocean and talking to Ismet's family about our plans for the day.
The Turkish side of Cyprus is beautiful - and though it seems a lot of British have discovered how ideal this part of the island is, there were still significantly fewer tourist crowds than anywhere we've been this summer - during the height of tourist season. This made everywhere we went extremely affordable and accessible! One of our favorite sites was Salamis - a site of Roman ruins, with a remarkably well-preserved temple, bathhouse and theater. The best part - we were able to walk around the site and see the statues and mosaics and columns up close. The entire site would have been roped off in Greece, but here we were able to climb around and explore. I expect that won't be possible in about ten years, so we were extremely lucky.

While beautiful and uncrowded, the Turkish side of Cyprus is also experiencing its fair share of political turmoil and hardship. The military presence there is ever-present - we drove by multiple barbed-wire fenced bases and training camps regularly, just visiting everyday tourist sites. We had to be careful about what we photographed - the Turkish military frowns upon taking pictures of any of its facilities. We also saw more soldiers toting heavy-duty weaponry than what I'm accustomed to. Cyprus has a long and complex history of conflict tracing back to tensions between Greece and Turkey. Half of the island is affiliated with Greece, while the other half is affiliated with Turkey. The history is tumultuous and complex, and the tension is still evident, as most residents from either side don't typically cross the border. Ismet gave us a balanced breakdown of his country's history during our five days, which helped us to understand more about why people behaved the way they did (ie. why our Greek Cypriot taxi driver at the airport ripped us off and treated us rudely when we asked to go to the Turkish Cypriot border).

The five days flew by, culminating in a barbeque with Ismet's family. After five days of climbing castles and ruins and laying on beautiful sandy beaches, we reluctantly toted our slightly tanner bodies back to the airport. We were so fortunate to have had this experience, and are extremely grateful to Ismet and his family for opening their home to us - we hope to return for a visit again someday!

Other Firsts for Megan & Nate in Cyprus:

• Walking within a few feet of a 6-foot black snake - it was out of there before Megan had a chance to scream.
• Eating a whole fish - eyes and all - at the family barbecue. (Someday I'll get over that, but eyes just get to me)

Greece - The (Mostly) Unillustrated Version

Written by Megan: I suppose we'll have to cross our fingers that we find these photos, but I want to get this post out before I forget what we did in Greece. I'll post the photos separately if we ever find them. Until then, this lovely pic of the tomb of the unknown soldier will have to suffice as the sole proof that we visited this ancient land (I'm the tiny person at the bottom).
The very day that my parents left Ireland (way back at the end of June) was the same evening that Nate and I boarded a plane to begin our trip to Greece and Cyprus. What an insane turnaround! Regardless, it was an amazing trip - one of the longest vacations we've ever taken, other than our wedding - or the fact that we've spent the last year in an alternate reality, interspersed with vacations!
We started our trip in Athens, exploring the Acropolis and Parthenon. It was so surreal to explore ruins that were around 5000 years old. We were disappointed that we couldn't actually go inside the Parthenon, but it's understandable considering how many tourists go there each year - it must be hard preserving a 5000-year-old temple that is still exposed to the elements!
Everywhere the Greeks do any digging, they uncover ancient artifacts. When Athens built its subway system, they kept uncovering more ruins - so every metro station is its own mini-museum with the artifacts from that site on display. (Imagine a pic of the Parthenon here)
Shortly after we arrived, we took a four-day cruise around several Greek Islands. I think we picked the right place for Nate's first cruise, especially since we didn't know much about the islands.

Our two favorite Islands:
Patmos - smaller, more laid back and less crowded than the other islands. We visited the cave where St. John apparently wrote the apocalypse!
Santorini - the middle of this island sunk into the sea over 1000 years ago during a volcanic eription. This is supposedly the lost island of Atlantis, and I believe it. It was indescribably gorgeous. We sat on a cliffside cafe in the midst of pristine white-washed buildings and sipped cocktails - I don't think it's possible to have a bad view on this island. (Imagine a pic of Santorini here)

After our cruise, we finished up the Greek part of our trip by taking day trips out of Athens. We visited the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, where the ceremony of the Oracle was once held. Sounds like the women who were mediums for the Oracle were taking some strong stuff in order to make their prophesies! (Imagine a pic of the temple)
We spent a total of six nights in Athens when all was said and done. We actually started recognizing a few locals after a while. One shopkeeper was out walking her dog one night and chatting with friends - we had purchased a few small paintings from her just a few days earlier. It was fun feeling like "long-term" tourists! One of our favorite moments was watching the world cup final match in an outdoor cafe - cheering on the Italians with a bunch of people who didn't speak our language. I admit, I'm a football/soccer novice, but it was hard to avoid getting caught up in the world cup fervor.
Stay tuned for our post on Cyprus - we really felt both countries deserved separate write-ups.

Evening at Lansdowne

Written by Megan: Ugh - we keep running into hiccups in keeping the blog updated! Our latest delay has been the loss of one of our memory cards from our digital camera - the one containing hundreds of photos from our trip to Greece!! Since I'm trying to maintain some sort of chronological order, I've been holding off on the post in hopes of finding it. But alas, I should probably just move on - maybe find something off the web to show how beautiful and interesting that place was.

Moving on - last night Nate and I finally snagged a chance to see a football match at Lansdowne Stadium - the field just behind our house! Our timing is impeccable - we chose to watch a match against the Netherlands, one of the better football teams out there. Poor Ireland didn't fare so well, losing 4-zip! Nevertheless, Nate and I agreed we like watching live football better than on TV. It was so much more fun to be in the middle of the crowd. There wasn't as much pomp and fanfare as we're used to seeing at American sporting events - no band, music didn't play except at halftime. But it was still fun to be in the middle of the crowd. We're hoping to catch a rugby match some time soon.

My brother's in town visiting now, but unfortunately wasn't at the match, since he and his friend took the train to Galway (or maybe it was lucky, given the outcome of the match!) We'll have pics of their visit up - after we post all the other trips we've got backlogged!

Tackling Ireland!

Megan's parents rolled into town in mid-June, becoming our first official visitors to Ireland. It was just in time to celebrate the half-way point of our stay here! Though we've had a few visitors drop by for a few days at a time, my folks were the first brave souls to experience a stay in our little town house. They were still smiling when I put them on the aircoach a few weeks later, so I don't think the little inconveniences were too difficult for them! As pictured above, we had plenty of time to enjoy a few pints with them throughout their stay.

It was a hectic but richly fulfilling visit - Megan and fam spent a week and a half traveling around the island. The traveling alone was one of the biggest adventures - none of us had driven on the left-hand side of the road! Kudos to my dad for bearing the burden so well!
Honestly, I could dedicate an entire post to each of the places we visited - each site provided another layer of perspective to add to my understanding of Ireland's complex history. Here are a few of the highlights:

The Highlights - a few of our favorite adventures:

• Touring Waterford's crystal factory - home of the famous crystal factory - the tour is great, I don't care what other people say. It is so interesting to see the crystal being made - these people are artists!
• Getting doused in the Ring of Kerry (pictured above before the rain rolled in) - this was the rainiest day, which was a tragedy, given that this is one of the most scenic areas of the country. I swear that photo above isn't a postcard! Too bad most of the drive was shrouded in fog.
• Dolphin-watching and discovering Irish music in Dingle - A small town snuggled up to a picturesque bay and surrounded by lush, green hillsides. Fungie the dolphin has been swimming by himself in this bay for around 20 years - we got some great photos - of is dorsal fin. We had a great night in the pubs here too listening to traditional music.
• Picnicing on Great Blasket Island - Also in the Dingle Peninsula - this island, now abandoned, once housed a small community whose people retained the original Gaelic language. Three people living on this tiny island went on to write internationally renowned novels! Their empty houses now lie vacant, but are fascinating to explore.
• Cliffwalking at the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands - The famous cliffs are undergoing renovation, so the experience there will be vastly different from what people have been able to see up to now. Due to heavy tourism, they are walling off parts of the cliffs to prevent erosion - very sad!
• Soaking up Derry - tension from the Troubles were much more evident to us than we had expected. The impact of the conflict exhibits itself in many ways - through the people, political murals and graffiti. Though our experience was eye-opening and somber, I found this to be one of the most thought-provoking places we visited.
• Cracking up at Carrickfergus - the name of the town made this destination a requirement for my family! It's a seaside town with a large castle that's been restored. Displays there were rather cheesy, I suppose because the castle is used for lots of school field trips.

All in all it was a great visit. My mom put together a great slideshow of the trip on Kodak EasyShare, complete with commentary on a lot that we learned about the sites we visited. Although it took us nine months, we're glad to have finally taken the opportunity to see the rest of the country.