At first blush, the strand race is one of a bevy of small town horse races that dot the pastures of West Cork each summer. Yet this race requires no lush fields. The strand race, you see, is run in… Read More ›
Western Europe
Information on trips we have taken to places in Western Europe.
Sunday Evening at the Anchor Bar
Fall comes early to Ireland. By mid-August, each day is noticeably shorter than the last. The weather doesn’t so much change as it doubles down. The wind blows slightly stronger. The rain grows more persistent. Kids return to school. After… Read More ›
Mont Saint Michel, France
Shortly before midnight, I crawled into bed and pulled the comforter up to my chin. The sea breeze billowed the curtains. Other than the drone of the wind and an occasional squawk from a gull, silence. Blackness finally erased an… Read More ›
The Harbour Festival
For years, we vacationed in the village of Courtmacsherry, Ireland and each year we heard the same lament, “Too bad you can’t stay for the festival. It’s the best week to visit.” In my mind, I constructed a mental image:… Read More ›
By Train, Bus, and Foot: Sénanque Abbey
For years, I’d admired photographs of the purple lavender fields in front of the stark-grey Notre-Dame de Sénanque, a Cistercian abbey in Provence. With our time in Paris dwindling, and with the lavender season a brief mid-summer event, if I… Read More ›
