France from the back of a motorcycle.

On August 21st I waved goodbye to Mick as he headed off on his BMW K1200 GT with Grado, Italy locked into his GPS. I wasn't too sad cause I knew I'd be seeing him in a week myself when he picked me up from the Rodez Airport in the south of France. On the morning of Saturday the 28th I boarded a dreaded Ryanair flight and two hours later we were fixing the new Autocom to my helmet. The only question now was, North or South? I had my sights set on south to Carcassonne and since I was appointed navigator that's were we headed. Three hours later after a stop in Toulouse for sausages we arrived in Carcassonne. We followed the Good Book (Lonely Planet's guide to France Mick borrowed from his sister) to a recommended 2 star hotel in the city. I was anxious to see the Castle that the city was known for so so after we threw our bags in our room we headed towards le cité which happened to be about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. However the site of the castle was just around the corner and we were not disappointed. Carcassonne was a fantastic introduction to medieval France and more beautiful than I could have imagined. We walked up to le cité and walked around the walled city for the remainder of the evening. Due to our huge Toulouse sausages we didn't have any room left for dinner. We filled what space we did have left with Coca-Cola and Amstel. The view on the way back was amazing as well as all the lights had come on and the entire walled city was beautifully lit up.

After being awoke at 3am to the fire alarm going off, all the guest at the hotel went outside to either await a fire truck or the hotel manager. The manger showed up first and after a bit of messing managed to turn the alarm off. We got the impression that wasn't the first time it had happened. Back to bed and up early on Sunday and on our way North again. Our destination was Sarlat-la-Canéda about a three hour drive. But three hours turned into 5 after our stop off at Gouffre de Padirac, caverns with a massive sink hole as an entrance. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any images inside the gaves so you'll have to let google do the honors. When we drove up we were a little apprehensive, as there was a queue of about 50 people of all ages outside. We were worried it was going to be a 'disneyesque' experience but when we saw the size of the sinkhole we knew were we wrong. After a long flight of stairs descending into the earth and a long walk down a cave passage (conveniently paved) we reached water where gondola's (also convenient) were awaiting to take passengers through the cave. After a short time we arrived at land again where we got out and made our way through the accessible 2km of the cave. Then back into the boat and headed towards the light.

Onto Sarlet, still awestruck by the awesomeness of the cave we arrived hungry and quickly found a hotel for the night. Mick had a great time driving down the small medieval cobble stoned alley way to get to the Hôtel Les Récollets. This was an absolutely amazing hotel. Set in a small cobbled stoned alleyway with views that look out of over the city. Very friendly staff who seemed to love the fact we were on a motorcycle. Now that we had a place, on to the important things: Dinner. We headed towards a restaurant recommended in the Good Book but it was completely full (must be good!) so we went to the restaurant just across the way hoping it would be just as good, we were not let down. I will never look at a duck the same again. I had the traditional meal of a Cassoulet while Mick had margaret canard which was also delicious. We ended the night with a stroll around town which was very lively for a Sunday night, we particularly enjoyed a punch and judy going on in one of the squares. I also wont forget the view from our room that night, looking out over a completely medieval city with a clear sky and stars as a backdrop.

We knew we had a full day ahead of us on Monday and it was a day we were looking forward to, but I don't think we knew exactly how much of an impression the day was about to make on us. Our plans were to head to some more caves in the Dordogne area. We asked ahead at the hotel if we'd need reservations for the caves as the book highly recommended them. But he said with such short notice it was best to just go and see if they had space. The first cave we headed to was Font de Gaume. The woman at the ticket office informed us that normally we would have to reserve a space a month in advance, however 'tourist season' had officially ended the week before, therefore it would be an hour wait. For us this meant an obligatory ice cream break. Once again we weren't allowed to take photos inside the caves. This is one of those things that I'll never be able to explain to anyone, it's something you'd need to experience. Within the cave there were several prehistoric paintings that dated back to 17000 bc. The most amazing part was how the artists used the natural shape of the cave rock as part of the paintings themselves. We then had a choice to go to either of 2 more caves. One was just around the corner but the next tour was at 4pm which would take the rest of our day and give us a 2 hour wait. So we headed to Rouffignac instead. Unfortunately we felt as tho we chose wrong, as the Rouffignac caves consisted of an hour 'train/trolly/cart' trip into the depths of a cave while a rude french woman repeated herself twice at every stop in french. When we asked if there was an English tour (which all the others had) we hardly got a reply of a shrug. The highlight of the tour was at the furthest depth of the cage there was the 'Sistine chapel' of cave paintings, animals of all shapes and sizes painted across the domed top of the 'room'. Very impressive.

After the caves we continued our journey north and stayed the night in Brantôme. We stayed the night in a cutesy BnB run by a chatty British woman who informed us that on Monday nights the town pretty much shut down . We had dinner at an outdoor restaurant next to the river. While we ate our delicious duck we were able to watch the sun sink into the horizon which set the river alight with pinks and purples. After dinner we took a short stroll around the town and but everything was shut up tight, so we headed back for an early night in.

Up early the next morning as we had a long drive ahead of us to the coast. The woman at the BnB was kind enough to give us a list of towns to hit along the way that would take us on a beautiful drive through wine country and farms filled with sunflowers. However at some point the list blew out of my hands and we had to make our own way. But I don't think we could have gone wrong if we tried. When we finally reached the sea we stopped at the tiney beach side town of Talmont to grab some lunch, delicious pizza. Back on the bike, we started seeing signs for the Zoo in La Palmyre which was on our way north so we decided to stop in. We were there for a good 2.5 hours and it was one of the best zoo's I've been to. My particular favorite was the Pelican who took a liking to Mick and walked along side him as if they were having a conversation. We then headed on as it was getting late and we needed to find a hotel for the nite. I struggled to remember the names of the town that was recommended to us. Finally giving up we headed to La Rochelle as it was a bigger city and we'd have better options.

Around 8pm, we pulled up to Bar de l'Hôtel de Ville which was a bar that had 9 rooms above it located conveniently in the center of the city and right next to the famous harbor. We unload and headed off to find dinner. It was only fitting that we had seafood and boy did we. Mick ordered a plate of mixed grilled fish and I went for a large pot filled with what I'm pretty sure was everything that lives in the sea. It was good, but hard work. I must have had 5 different utensils designed for cracking, scraping, de-boning and general picking small morsels of meat from various shells. Of course this was all followed by profiteroles, some of the best I've ever had. We then strolled along the harbor for a while making our way back to our hotel/bar where we had a final glass of wine before heading for bed.

Wednesday morning we decided we'd head back inland a bit and set the GPS for Chinon. On our way out of the city Mick saw a bike shop and thought it would be good to have the front tire looked at as it had been bothering him for the last few days. A spot on the tire had begun to wear a bit and causing a bit of alignment issues. After waiting only an hour to get it changed we were on the road again. We had a lovely drive through the country side, more wine vineyards and more sunflowers. However just outside Chinon the bike came to an abrupt halt, I thought Mick had just stopped the bike but when we tried to push it off the road the bike wouldn't budge. We both thought we may be in some serious bike trouble. Our first thoughts were that somehow the guys who fitted the tire messed something up, however they worked on the front wheel and this seemed like an issue with the back. As we were stopped around a corner I headed back to warn any traffic that may be coming and left Mick to see if he could find the problem. After a few minutes he waved me back and said that somehow the back break had locked-up, after a bit of messing around with it and using the rest of my coke to cool the plates down it seemed to unlock. We still aren't sure what actually happened perhaps a small stone was lodged in the break...all we knew was that it was fixed. Onwards to Chinon!

Happy to have made it to Chinon safe and sound we sat in the sun for a minute before looking for somewhere to stay for the night. We booked ourselves into the Hostellerie Gargantua for the nite. This hotel is best described by Lonely Planet:

"Harry Potter would feel right at home at this turret-topped, soaring medieval mansion, once occupied by the town bailiwick , and now a simple endearing offbeat period hotel. Spiral staircases, pitch-dark wood and solid stone conjure the Middle Ages atmosphere..."

We absolutely loved it. I was beside myself when I went in to check it out while Mick waited at the bike. I came back beaming like a little kid and best part was it was our cheapest stay yet. Unloaded and headed out for a walk about town. We stopped and had a few drinks beside the river and then walked around for quite a while looking for dinner. When we couldn't find anything to our liking (and our pricing...) we settled on pizza where we sat next to an English couple who had a few suggestions on what to see in the town and on our travels. The next morning we headed up to the famous Chateau Chinon. This place has made it's mark on the history books as the place where in 1429 Joan of Arc met with future Charles VII and informed him that he would be king. The Chateau was in in ruins with only a bit of restoration, but we didn't need any buildings as the view alone was worth the visit. We then headed back down to the city and tried to go to the Caves Painctes, 15th century wine cellars in caves under the Chateau, however it had just closed for the tourist season the week prior.

Back on the bike again and back to the Atlantic coast. We took the advise of the young English couple we had met the night before and set our sites on La Baule. Late in the day we pulled into the town, which was lined as far as the eye could see with resort hotels...not our cup of tea. So far we had been staying in Medieval towns where prices were relatively cheap. However we were here now so we had to make the best of it. La Baule wasn't in our guide book so we had to wing-it in regards to finding a place to stay. We headed inland, away from the beach stretch and found a nice little Hostellerie for about the same price we had been paying. Then we headed straight for a walk on the beach were we saw the most amazing sunset and we kinda figured, "hey, this town ain't so bad after all." The region we were in is famous for it's crepes and galettes, so for dinner we found a creperie. But this place wasn't just any creperie this was the Cat Creperie. It had cat pictures, paintings, figures, dolls, toys everywhere, including a 4 foot tall wooden cat carving and napkins every. Not to mention the galettes and crepes were amazing. I ordered a crepe that comes with rum, on fire... it was awesome.

We had a bit of time to kill the next morning so we hopped on the bike, sans all of our bags, and headed out to find the salt flats which apparently La Baule is famous for. We found them, drove past them and stopped in a small town of Guérande which was another cool medieval city. We ate ice cream and bought salt (why not!). Then back to the road north towards Brittany. Our destination was the town of Dinan. Upon our arrival we thought we'd check out the local hostel as it sounded like a great place to stay, however, it ended up being a few kilometers out of town, so we ended up at a hotel inside the city walls. That night a lady who worked the hotel recommended that we head around the corner for diner. It was early (7pm) and we were the only customers. We had a bit of a chat with the owner, turns out he'd been to Oregon before and rafted the Rogue. Then we had dinner...wow. I nearly cried at how good it was. It was a set menu with a starter, main, desert and cheese. Of course we ordered duck for dinner and it was actually the same meal that we'd had before but the way it was cooked was amazing. I've never tasted anything quite like it. Afterwards we had a small walk around the walled city and a few more glasses of wine at a bar.

We decided it would be best to book another night in Dinan so we could head out to Mont St. Michel and not have to worry about staying somewhere for our last night. Mont St. Michel was only a 40 min drive from Dinan and when we got there we were both blown away at how beautiful it is. I've seen it in photos but to actually be there is such an amazing experience. Tide was completely out so before we headed into the 'city' itself we went for a walk on a beach that is usually covered with water. Once inside the city we headed up to the abbey and followed a tour round which was fantastic. We were very happy for the tour because there are so many small things we would have never known about the abbey and the people who lived there.

That night we headed back to Dinan for a walk around town. We strolled down the Rue du Jerzual, a street that is labeled one of the best streets in Europe. It's a very steep cobble stoned street that heads from the walled city down to the harbor and river. Once at the bottom we sat by the river and had a drink and then headed across the river for a dinner of Moules et Frites (mussels and chips)! They were delicious.

The next day we had a bit of time to kill before catching our 7pm ferry from Cherbourg to Rosslare. We decided to make a stop at St. James to visit an American War Cemetery. It was beautifully set in a peaceful valley, quite and serene with only the sounds of birds chirping. I couldn't imagine a better place for men who died in such an awful manner to come to rest. We silently walked around the cemetery paying our respects to the dead. Then on to Cherbourg for the boat trip home.

We stopped at a market before getting on the boat to pick up our last french dinner, consisting of 2 baguettes, pork pate, cheese, chorizo and chocolate. Once the boat started moving, I suddenly remembered...I don't do boats very well. My head immediately started to swim around and I couldn't walk straight. So while Mick stayed up stairs to enjoy his Guinness I headed to the cabin to lay down and read my book. As long as I laid down everything was fine. After a rough nights sleep for me and a great one for Mick we pulled into Rosslare to be greeted by the fine Irish weather. From there we had a 2.5 hour drive home in some of the heaviest rain we've been in, especially on a bike.

A few overall notes from the trip:

• I enjoyed being on the back of the bike more than I thought! Not a second of boredom.
• We learned that in the French countryside if you don't eat between 12-2 and 7-10 you don't eat as everything closes down (thank you Super-U or we would have starved).
• France so many medieval towns much more than I expected.
• The food is delicious: bread, chocolate/almond croissants please and duck!
• The french are quite nice no matter what Mick says.
• Wine is much cheaper than beer!

I really enjoyed the trip and and can't wait for my next holiday! Which happens to start tomorrow at 9.45am when I head once again to the Dublin Airport this time headed home. See you soon PDX!

France 2010

How could the last 11 days fly by so fast?

I picked Mom up from the airport Friday the 30th. After a 18 hour flight she was very happy to see a familiar face. To my surprise, jet-lag never seemed to set in. I had planned the first 2 days of her visit to just be resting and catching up. However, she seemed fresh as a daisy and ready to start her vacation. Since I didn't have much planned we didn't do anything major, we hopped in the rented Hyundai i10 and drove through Dublin and down on to Dun Laoghaire, visited the botanical gardens which are just up the street from my house and had a drive around Howth. Mom (and myself) was a bit dazed by the crazy driving but we managed okay. I think the first thing she noticed was the houses and how they're all stuck together like duplex style and also just how everything in general is much smaller, roads, cars, houses, buildings, everything.

Our adventure really started off on Monday, when we headed up to Newgrange and Knowth. This had been my second visit out to them but it was just as interesting as the first. Mom enjoyed it also, as they are older than the pyramids and much older than any structures found in America. They're something that really need to be experienced, seeing photos of them just won't do them justice.

On Tuesday we headed to the West of Ireland with Galway as our first stop. We had planned on having lunch at Nimmo's which came highly recommended. Although when we got there, they were closed for lunch due to 'chef problems'. We headed around the corner instead to Goya's where were had a lovely lunch. I'll have to save Nimmo's for another time. After lunch we headed North to the village of Cong where I had a little surprise for Mom. I managed to book a night at the 5* Ashford Castle. As we turned down the road to the castle and mom saw the signs she assumed it was just a tourist stop, which I then had to convince her that we were actually staying the night there! The castle was great, very 'castley'. It had miles of manicured garden walks and plenty of places to snoop about inside. Mom was a bit tired from the day (maybe that jet lag was setting in after all) so I ventured out on my own down the river path into the village of Cong. The walk was lovely along a long river dotted with men fly fishing and the occasional pair of swans. At the end of the path there was an old stone bridge that led over into the village entering through Cong Abbey dating back to 1135. That evening we both headed into Cong for some pub grub.

The next day we packed our bags and headed towards Connemara. After a 4 hour drive on overgrown and narrow roads we had our fill of cows and stone walls. With a short stop at Kylemore Abbey, we headed back to the Castle for High Tea. Tea was fantastic, served with mini sandwiches, cakes and scones. Scrumptious! (Thanks Kathy!) Around 4.30 we figured we better stop pretending we were royalty and head to our next destination. Back in the car and heading south.

We arrived in the extremely small village of Doolin at about 6pm. After finding a b&b for the evening, even though we had plenty of light left we decided to leave our Cliffs of Moher visit until the next morning. To the pub! At O'Connor's Pub Mom had a dinner of fish and chips while I opted for the Guinness Stew with a side of Guinness all of this was accompanied by a Trad Session (a trio playing traditional irish music). The next morning we were up early to go tour the Cliffs of Moher aka the Cliffs of Insanity! Back in the car and heading south again. We drove the coast line down to Killimer where we got the ferry across the Shannon River which saved us quite a bit of time. We then continued on south until we hit Killorglin where we got some lunch and decided to push on around the Ring of Kerry as it was only 3pm. We decided to settle down for the night in Kenmare at the end of the Ring. We stayed in a lovely B&B and I think we were the only one's there. Kenmare was a really cute little village and I'd happily go back when I have a bit more time to look around.

Once again, up early Friday morning to head back to Dublin. We made a few impressive stops along the way. I figured we started our little trip west with a castle (Ashford) so we should probably end with some. First we stopped off at Cahir which is home to one of the largest castles in Ireland, built in 1142. We had a great tour guide around the castle, learning of all sorts of medieval and norman traditions, such as catapulting dead animal carcasses over walls as a form of 'biological warfare'. After lunch in the town we headed just down the road to Cashel. This would be my third visit to the Rock of Cashel, the first being in 2001 with Sarah and the second in 2007 with Emily and Christina. Cashel is very impressive, but not to be confused with a castle, it is actually a church, only a ruined one on top of a hill making it look quite castle-esque. After we had our fill of norman history we hopped back in the car and hit the motorway all the way back to Dublin in time for dinner.

Saturday was filled with cooking, eating and laughing with friends. Mick and I decided to have a little BBQ so Mom would have a chance to match some faces to names. Even though we managed to overwhelm her with 15 people who spoke with accents I think she still enjoyed meeting everyone. After a bit of a clean up the next morning, we picked up Orla and headed down to Powerscourt Estate in Wicklow where we met Susan for lunch on the garden terrance. With full bellies we headed on over to Glendalough for one last look at some old ruins and a walk through the park.

With Mom's last day upon us, there was nothing left for us to do except go shopping! Neither one of us would be your typical shopper, however when you're shopping for gifts it's another story. I took Mom to the renown Grafton Street to find a few souvenirs. After we were shopped out we met up with Mick for a late dinner at my favorite Indian Restaurant, the Green Chilli. Once again with full bellies, we headed on back to the house for one final late night chat before Mom's flight the next morning.

As I watched her disappear through the security doors I realised that I already missed her. It was absolutely fantastic to have my Mom come for a visit. I guess I just didn't realise how much I miss her every day. She knows me better than anyone else, loves me unconditionally and is very proud of her little girl.

It's hard to see my Mom grow older but it's even harder to be so far away and to realise that time is just flying by so quickly.

Thanks for coming to visit Mom, love you!

Pictures to come...

V-Day 2010

Mick and I decided to stay in and avoid the masses on v-day this year. We treated each other to homemade sushi followed by Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Coulis (found on an aptly named blog). I would highly recommend this recipe, don't be scarred off even Mick loved it!!!

Thanks Mick for the great dinner company. ♥

Over the hill

Or maybe I'm just on the ascent of the hill? On January 15th I officially turned 30. I was lucky enough to spend my birthday in the amazingly beautiful Austrian Alps. A group of thirteen of us went to Saalbach, a cozy little village (resort) in western Austria. This was my first attempt at skiing which the idea of has never quite suited me. However since the back surgery last year I decided that snowboarding (aka falling on my ass non-stop) probably wasn't the best idea, so I thought I'd give skiing a go.

Getting to Saalbach in the first place proved to be quite difficult. In what will forever be known as the Big Snow/Ice Storm of 2010 here in Ireland we were attempting to fly. After 9 hours in the airport, with our Ryanair flight to Salzburg delayed and finally cancelled we were able to book another flight with Aer Lingus to Munich, Germany and this flight actually was on time. Instead of our 1 hour transfer from Salzburg we were now looking at a 3.5 hour transfer from Munich which put us into the Hotel Panther at around midnite. A few beers and we were off to bed.

Up and early the next morning to book into Ski School. Myself and another guy, Rob, were the only two beginner skiers in the group. We stuck together for the first few days until Rob quickly surpassed me in skiing talent and I decided to drop down a level. I'm not sure if I hurt my left ankle on a fall or if it's just my weak ankle but the boots did not agree with me either way. When I had my boots on I could only put pressure on my ankle for about 10 min at a time, this does not really agree with the concept of skiing so I stuck to the beginners slopes while everyone else moved on.

I found out the real reason that everyone goes skiing anyway:
Après-ski (French: after skiing) refers to going out, having drinks, dancing, and generally socializing after skiing. It is popular in the Alps where skiers often stop at bars on their last run of the day while still wearing all their ski gear.

Skiing is a hard life: up at 7am, ski till 4pm, drink till 8pm, eat till 10pm, drink till 2am, sleep, repeat. And there you have it.

The best nite out by far was my birthday. At dinner the hotel had made me the most amazing hazelnut cake with a Firework on top! No joke! Then after dinner, off to the bars for some karaoke, bowling, drinking and general fun times...And then up at 7am again.

Overall it was a great holiday and a fantastic birthday. I'm looking forward to my 30's I think they're going to bring some great adventures!

I'll get some photos up for you soon.