By March of 2005 my job required an excessive amount of travel. Now when I say excessive I was spending more than 80% of my time on the road and during one 18-month stretch the longest time that I spent at home was 8 days. Most of the time I would fly out for a few days be home for a couple and fly out again, I was a true road warrior. I chuckle when people talk about how fun it would be to travel, but it is only fun if you like seeing a lot of airports, conference rooms and hotels. Seldom is there time to visit any of the places or for that matter, even go outside except to catch a cab headed to the next destination.
One of the perks of that much travel was the number of frequent flier miles that I accumulated, so when I had to go to Dublin, Ireland for a meeting I used some of those miles for Kyle to go with me. Neither one of us had been there before and besides we just needed some time with each other at that point. I had meetings for 2 ½ days so that left us with time in the evenings and two additional days to be tourist once you take out the travel days.
I highly recommend that get a chance that you take the Hop-on/Hop-off tour bus as we did. It allowed us easy access to all of the regular tourist sites: Dublin Castle, Trinity College and the Book of the Kells, The River Liffey, Ha’Penny Bridge, Guinness Storehouse (I drank a Coke), Old Jameson Distillery (I drank water). In fact Kyle spent one of my meeting days riding around town he enjoyed it so much.
On one of our days together Kyle and I took the train down to the town of Cork and then off to Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone. Its official Kyle is full of it. We even have the certificate mounted and hung in our house commemorating the fact that he kissed the Blarney Stone. The legendary Stone of Eloquence found at the top of Blarney Castle and it is said that once you hang upside-down and kiss the stone you gain “the ability to influence and coax with fair words and soft speech without giving offense’. Now he is on par with the likes of Sir Walter Scott a host of American presidents, world leaders and international entertainers that have gone before him. Can you imagine the germs that are on that thing?
In that same period of my life, besides all of the travel and day to day stuff with my job, Kyle and I had a new home built, my mother moved from Michigan to Monroe and I took responsibility for her and her upkeep. So I was stressed with a capital “S”. I was on the verge of a physical and emotional break.
This trip along with some great advice from one of the pastors at The Rock Church brought some much-needed rest and a reconnection with my husband. We enjoyed long walks, many laughs at nothing at all, eating the best fish and chips ever, sitting in the park talking with the locals and even sharing a kiss on while on the walls of Blarney Castle. There are times in each of our lives that we just need to stop and take a break. Even today, Kyle, my Swedish, Jewish, German husband speaks with a fine Irish Brogue upon request.
There is a stone there,
One of the perks of that much travel was the number of frequent flier miles that I accumulated, so when I had to go to Dublin, Ireland for a meeting I used some of those miles for Kyle to go with me. Neither one of us had been there before and besides we just needed some time with each other at that point. I had meetings for 2 ½ days so that left us with time in the evenings and two additional days to be tourist once you take out the travel days.
I highly recommend that get a chance that you take the Hop-on/Hop-off tour bus as we did. It allowed us easy access to all of the regular tourist sites: Dublin Castle, Trinity College and the Book of the Kells, The River Liffey, Ha’Penny Bridge, Guinness Storehouse (I drank a Coke), Old Jameson Distillery (I drank water). In fact Kyle spent one of my meeting days riding around town he enjoyed it so much.
On one of our days together Kyle and I took the train down to the town of Cork and then off to Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone. Its official Kyle is full of it. We even have the certificate mounted and hung in our house commemorating the fact that he kissed the Blarney Stone. The legendary Stone of Eloquence found at the top of Blarney Castle and it is said that once you hang upside-down and kiss the stone you gain “the ability to influence and coax with fair words and soft speech without giving offense’. Now he is on par with the likes of Sir Walter Scott a host of American presidents, world leaders and international entertainers that have gone before him. Can you imagine the germs that are on that thing?
In that same period of my life, besides all of the travel and day to day stuff with my job, Kyle and I had a new home built, my mother moved from Michigan to Monroe and I took responsibility for her and her upkeep. So I was stressed with a capital “S”. I was on the verge of a physical and emotional break.
This trip along with some great advice from one of the pastors at The Rock Church brought some much-needed rest and a reconnection with my husband. We enjoyed long walks, many laughs at nothing at all, eating the best fish and chips ever, sitting in the park talking with the locals and even sharing a kiss on while on the walls of Blarney Castle. There are times in each of our lives that we just need to stop and take a break. Even today, Kyle, my Swedish, Jewish, German husband speaks with a fine Irish Brogue upon request.
There is a stone there,
That whoever kisses,
Oh, he never misses
To grow eloquent.
'Tis he may clamber
To a lady's chamber,
Or become a member
Of Parliament.
Francis Sylvester Mahony
Next M. E. – End of an Era
Fowl Words
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