Walk 3 - the Other Castle

Go a mile along the river one way, you get the views from Walk 1, below. Go half a mile the other direction, you run into scenes like this. Look carefully above - that IS some tower ruins hiding behind the trees. Again, no sign or plaque, just cool scenery.

This stretch of the river hosts several colorful fisherman's huts - this was the most unique.
More swans.
This is the front entrance to the ruins. Behind the kids is a hole in the wall, an entryway. You pass through successive minor courtyards, etc to ultimately arrive at the keep. Very Robin of Locksley.

Walk 2 - Campus

Here's some various shots of some of the more picturesque corners of UL campus. This little canal leads to a bridge over a smaller river to get to the bigger river and the river paths that we love. The photos don't really do much justice to any of these places, but still, it will give you an idea.

Below: is a section of student housing - they made it look like a town square which I think was a nice idea. Very homey.
In the courtyard of the village above is a courtyard with this crazy sculpture, below. Cute, but,... ?

Some of the older and newer construction on campus. Most of it looks like the building on the right, but some leans towards the avant garde more, like the one on the left. I still need to get a picture of Gary's building, the home of the Academy for World Arts and Music, which is fabulous and original and unexpected. As is the unique steel pedestrian bridge crossing the river to it. I WILL take my camera with me next time we go meet dad for lunch!
This is the soccer field which is the first thing we hit when we enter campus property. It's spacious and open and we love exploring and playing soccer there. All our walks (unless we're going to the store) begin and end here. There's usually dogs to pet as well, which of course we love.
This is a very important building to the Larsen family; it houses the UL pool. The kids swim there as part of their school's PE program and we swim there for fun as a family. It's also adjacent to the soccer field above, so we pass it frequently. Starting to feel like home around here.

Walk 1 - The River

Okay, I just had a lovely, mellifluous description of our two favorite walks edited and ready to post - then Mr. Computer decided to crash on me and lost it all (not that I'm not grateful for said Mr. Computer, but...). Such flights of poetic fancy (accompanied by amazing vocabulary, of course!) are few and far between these days, so instead you'll be getting the Cliffs Notes version.

To recap - our neighborhood and the University of Limerick itself aren't exactly standouts of aesthetic beauty, or even provincial charm, but once you get to the river that cuts through UL, it's a different story. The paths along the riverbanks are the stuff of myth and legend - lush green corners, mossy dells, friendly (or not) trees with an excess of personality, surprising twists like huge patches of wild blackberries (yum!) and castle ruins... it's all magic and fascination with us! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

We loved the ruins especially - ruins are so common here, even remarkable medieval strongholds like this one, that most aren't even on the map. They didn't even bother putting up a plaque or sign for the ones on our walks, so we don't know who built them or exactly how old they are. They're just these ruined towers in the woods - we kept waiting for Rumpelstiltskin or the local witch to appear and return the spots to their former glory.

Note to the Wise: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire sound poetic and conjure some of the most charming holiday imagery, which prompted us to gather the shiny, pleasing horse chestnuts, take them home, and roast them. Ours turned out rather bitter - edible with butter and salt, but we're really glad we don't have to survive on them! Gathering them was like a treasure hunt, and I love fingering the beautiful, glossy nuts. Just don't try to eat them.

Right now Spence and I are playing badminton with two flyswatters and a throwing dart we found at the park yesterday. Necessity is the mother of invention! He and Sophie fell in love with badminton this summer at Aspen Grove and now he's created his own version. Smart kid!

Conference Weekend

Well, we pitched our tent - literally - facing the prophet a la King Benjamin this weekend. Instructions: gather all blankets and pillows in house, and combine with elastics, umbrellas, brooms, anything with long sticks. Rearrange every piece of furniture in room. Add legos, cards, popcorn, caramel apple dip, periodic walks down to the river to get out the wigglies, and GENERAL CONFERENCE, and the result is one totally wonderful weekend!

I love Conference weekend SO much, and look forward to it breathlessly every six months. We've been listening to some of our favorite talks in the mornings since we got to Ireland and so the kids were well primed for the long sessions of playing quietly and listening with at least one ear! Not bad for a 10, 6 and 4 year-old. They always perk up when Presidents Monson and Uchtdorf appear - they are our favorites. Loved both of their messages, as always. Got teary when they announced the Provo Tabernacle would be converted to a second Provo temple. Was inspired to be a better mother, wife and scriptorian by the Sat. sessions, and to be a better missionary and example by the Sunday sessions. I still have so much to work on, but am inspired and encouraged by the words of these beloved servants of the Lord. Now it's over, and I feel a little sad, as always. I'd like to live it over again. Ah, the beauty of LDS.org - I can!

"No matter how meager your circumstances in this life, you are not invisible to God... you matter to the Lord." -Elder Uchtdorf

Limerick City

Let's be honest - if you're planning on visiting Ireland, you don't particularly want to stay in Limerick. It's main points of interest are the river Shannon, King John's Castle, the Georgian quarter, St. Mary's Cathedral, the Hunt Museum... and that's about it. It's centrally located, but not very picturesque. However, we set out one night (on a festival night where every major monument was free) to discover the best and brightest of Limerick!

Sorry about the pictures not being in order, but I'm having issues with downloading pics onto the blog in order, so I'll just go through them as they appear. First, above, preparing Spencer for dinner on a spit in the courtyard of the medieval St. John's Castle. Mmmm.

Below, the castle is on a strategically important location on the river Shannon, and layers upon layers of civilization are to be found built one upon another. This excavation work shows some of the earlier settlements from about 800 AD; most of the rest of the castle was built around 1200 AD.


Look, the whole family in one picture! Glad captured the moment!
Sophie in the stocks.
The ancient city wall of Limerick, which circles, in crumbling bits and pieces, most of the medieval quarter of Limerick. I love studying the stones, and thinking of the hands which put them there so long ago. Those stones have seen a lot - Maggie was a little traumatized by one of the films they show in the visitor's center portraying the violence of the 17th century wars and sieges. It was a bit brutal; life here has not always been very pretty, between constant Anglo-Irish battles, internal clan spats, the unspeakable ignorance and cruelty of the Middle Ages, and through the civil wars of the 20th century. Luckily I think most of it went over Spence and Sophie's heads.
Spence hunts down the cannon everywhere we go - he loves the big guns!
This is one of the loveliest views of the city, taken from the bridge on William Street. The castle is down on the left, and St. Mary's cathedral (the oldest in the area) are the spires to the right. Wild swans live on the river; once Spence and I were sitting on some stairs leading down to a dock eating some chips (fries). We'd been there for about 30 seconds when suddenly, from all corners of the river, about 30 gorgeous white swans started swimming towards us. It was truly a magnificent spectacle, so we stayed as long as I dared. But I've been bit by the vicious white birds before, so we hightailed it out of there before they had a chance to do serious battle for our snack.
Back to St. John's castle, in the battlements (and gangsta Maggie). Lovely views of the city. We also went to the Hunt Museum that night; it houses the personal collection of a wealthy family who had spent fortunes gathering relics from all historical periods. We saw a Greek statue 4000 years old (wow!), gorgeous medieval jewelry including a "beloved" ring (made with gems that begin with each of those letters), collections of miniatures of generations of aristocracy (very Pride and Prejudice), rusted swords from the dark ages, Greek pottery, ancient Irish cloak clasps, works by Renoir and Picasso, and all kinds of similar goodies. Then we stumbled into the kids craft area where the girls made paper crowns and Spencer decorated a paper sword and shield. Great night.

Yummy new lunch recipe: fresh spinach, grilled veggies (red and yellow pepper, onion, sliced carrot), feta and balsamic vinaigrette all wrapped up in a tortilla. Mmmm. Plus it's an antidote to Irish cuisine, which is traditionally deep fried and bland. This is going in the cookbook.