Self arrived in Dublin yesterday. Just in time for the last day of Walking Squares!
Heartfelt thanks to Life of B for hosting and sharing the Squares Challenge, which made November 2022 so much fun.
Here’s a shot of the Grand Staircase at the venerable Shelbourne, 27 St. Stephen’s Green, hotel of kings and queens and John F. Kennedy (his visage is everywhere) and Charlie Chaplin and Bono.
Much thanks to Life of B for hosting Walking Squares!
It is cold. Today it is too cold (and blustery) to walk. These pictures of Lake Annaghmakerrig are from two days ago.
There are some gorgeous walks that people have shared for Life of B’s Walking Squares challenge, this month.
Happy that I’m in Ireland and can document the winter phase of Lake Annaghmakerrig.
Took these pictures with my laptop — yes, really. I just carried it around, open, screen pointed at the lake. I wake veeeery early to write, and sometimes I end up walking to stretch my back. But I find I’ve let my camera or cell behind. I am still clutching my laptop, though. So, why not.
The painters are working on self’s room, so she’s been hiding out in the library. She dozed off in a deep, plush armchair. She’s never dozed off in an armchair before! She must have been deeply asleep, because she had a dream.
Then she decided to watch the first episode of the new season of The Crown. Elizabeth Debecki is a dead ringer for Diana. And holy hell, did Prince Charles ever get a glow-up: this season, he’s played by Dominic West. Dominic West. The two little boys who play William and Harry are very cute (and look just like young William and Harry).
And now to Walking Squares!
She set off for the lake (her favorite destination). It was getting dark, there was nothing to steady her hand, so her pictures came out somewhat blurry.
On the walk back, she decided to take pictures of the studios and the Main House. She leaned on a gate, which made her efforts sharper.
This place, with the Main House that directly faces Lake Annaghmakerrig, is magical.
Tonight, wanting to post something for Walking Squares, self did a circuit of the main building.
It was cold, but not raining. Self had a long coat and a cashmere hat. The only thing she neglected to bring from California were gloves.
Posting for Life of B’s November Walking Squares Challenge: Early morning walk to Annaghmakerrig Lake.
It’s been a hectic two days of hard traveling, but now self is almost to her destination, and she only has to get on the bus to Monaghan tomorrow.
Here’s her latest installment for Life of B’s November Squares Challenge: Walking Squares.
Dublin is warm! And sunny! Perfect walking weather. From her Airbnb on Aungier Road, she walked to the Chester Beatty Museum (in Dublin Castle), which is a jewel of a museum, with the most amazing collection of ancient texts, all compiled by one man, Chester Beatty, who deserves to be a household name. She spent about three hours there (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) today. The museum has a café/restaurant (called, appropriately, The Silk Road), where you can take a break and eat a wide variety of hot food and/or pastries/salads/cakes/coffee.
The Chester Beatty is a small museum (only 1 % of the permanent collection is on display at any one time) but this is the Holy Grail of book collectors. If you can, take a docent tour. They’re 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays. There are also excellent downloadable audio tours (free)
Fell back a little bit on Walking Squares, but am back now. Thank you to Becky at Life of B for hosting this challenge. November has been a lot of fun, looking through archives and at other people’s Walking Squares.
Self was fortunate enough to spend time the entire month of April writing in Northern Ireland, at River Mill, near Downpatrick. One of her fellow writers, Anna, a mystery writer from Dublin, asked if self wanted to go with her to a beach nearby. Self agreed, and that is how these pictures came to be.
We arrived at Rossglass Beach at the perfect time, just before sunset. The only other people on the beach were a group of teen-agers who decided to strip down and jump into the water. The mysterious mountains in the distance are the Mountains of Mourne. There is only one word for that setting: MAGICAL.
Again, much thanks to Life of B for this month’s Squares Challenge: Walking Squares! So much fun to create a gallery of memorable walks!
In April, self finally crossed Belfast off her bucket list. She’d been wanting to go ever since she got into Game of Thrones, the HBO series. She was a huge Gendrya fan, and every time Joe Dempsie showed up in Belfast she would cheer!
She stayed at the Europa Hotel, which was fantastic, and each day she explored a different area of Belfast. One day, she went to Queen’s University and explored the botanic garden, right alongside:
This is one of those places that never seem to change — a little oasis of peace right in the center of the city of Menlo Park, a bedroom community for Silicon Valley tycoons. Every year, the shops have seasonal “themed” parties — Fall, Christmas.
The day she took these pictures was her birthday. She was with her son and daughter-in-law and Lucia.
Thank you to Life of B for reviving the Squares Challenge!
Kanlaon 