9 months

Hard to believe I've been here in Wales nine months already. In many ways, it feels like two weeks.

The Eire update is still to come. The long bank weekend here at the end of May was an incredibly trying and exhausting one at work. Even given three days off following it, I had no energy and consequently caught a bad head cold that is only now fading away. A co-worker (the superwoman of our housekeeping department) said it was the worst she'd experienced in two years. She had four days off and spent them exhausted as well. (It was a perfect storm -- hen and stag parties, small children and cribs, a broken service elevator -- five days of nonstop craziness at the hotel.)

However, because of the gift of three days off in a row, I managed to get away for a day trip to Merthyr Tydfil, a town in the Valleys about an hour's train ride away. I'm getting back intoa work/play rhythm and hope to get some serious blogging done within the week.

And, the sun has come out as well. One thing I've learned since being in the U.K. is that if the sun is shining you don't sit inside a library in front of a computer. You get outside and bask and work on your tan!

eire travel

I have been back from Ireland for a week now and the time with my brother and his family was too short.

This is just a post to say I have landed back in Cardiff. I will post more with some photos, probably next week, as I'm a little crunched for time right at the moment and the library is closed for three days (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) next week for another bank holiday. (The library is usually closed on Sunday -- not sure why it is taking two days for one bank holiday.)

It's hard to believe it's almost June. After a lovely, warm and sunny March and April, May has been quite cool and overcast. The weather in Ireland was typically cloudy and rainy as well. I am getting tired of wearing sweaters (or jumpers, as they say here) all the time, but I did move to the U.K., so what else should I expect?

Ah, but the sun is shining now in a relatively cloudless sky, despite a cold north wind. I'm facing a busy weekend at work, with my days off upcoming on Wednesday and Thursday.

Land of half of my ancestors

On Friday I am heading for a four-day visit to Ireland to meet up with my brother Kelly and his entire grown family (and respective partners) who are flying in to Shannon Airport from Detroit, Chicago and Boston for a bicycling holiday. Actually, my brother is in Austria at the moment on a European business trip, and will be flying in from Germany, I think.

Though our Irish ancestors came from Wexford County in the late 1800s, south of Dublin on Ireland's east coast, we are touring the much-heralded west coast. (On the maternal side of the family, the line is solidly French, with two Baillargeon brothers heading to Quebec from western France in the 1650s. Whew! Quel adventure!)

I am not certain Ireland will surpass the beauty of Wales, but it will probably come close.

I've been working hard for the last seven months non-stop, so this break is long overdue. It will be more than fantastic to see my sister-in-law Wendy, my nephews and niece Shane, Kate and Michael, and their partners Neil and Katie, and to 'discover Ireland.'

Time to pack!

ma bicyclette

I haven't blogged much lately as the weather has been gorgeous and I've been soaking up sunshine on my days off. I've been taking some reading and have headed to explore and relax respectively along the banks of the River Taff (in Bute Park), along the Barrage (at Cardiff Bay), and 'lakeside' at the delightful Roath Park.

I know previously I didn't give Roath high marks as a destination, but with the warmer weather, it has won my heart. It is closest to my flat and is lovely in the evenings or on a hot day with families enjoying the boats for rent and birds nesting everywhere. It is also a perfect place for reading with benches every twenty feet.

And, to further embrace the spring, I have made claim to 'une bicyclette' that lay abandoned in my shared patio. At first I thought it belonged to the students next door, but when they seemed to do a personnel change mid-winter, and then proceeded to dump garbage around the bike, I realized the bike was ownerless.

The bike is now safe in my flat and, despite being out all 'winter' runs perfectly fine. It is a bit rusty, and I'm sure needs a tuneup, but it is just the right size (a miracle!) and lets me feel the freedom of the road and the wind in my hair.

April in Cardiff

Here are a couple more shots of Cardiff in the pink.

I walk through this park, Alexandra Gardens with the Welsh National War Memorial centre stage, on my way to work in the morning. Good way to start the day.





Beth in Paree

When you can't be there yourself, nothing beats being an armchair traveller.

I urge any of you perusing this blog, to check out Beth Kaplan's Born to Blog. There is a link to the right, but you can also get there from here.

Beth teaches creative memoir writing in Toronto at both Ryerson and the University of Toronto, and I was very fortunate to have taken a class with her. Not only is she an excellent teacher, but she's a wonderful writer and for the last couple of years has been sharing her spring visits to Europe -- as well as chronicling her life in Toronto.

April in Paris! She's there!

flower power



Magnolia magic

Last week was a glorious week of sunshine and summer heat. The flowering trees at Bute Park were among the most beautiful I have ever seen. Kudos to the Cardiff Parks department for amazing work.

Cardiff Castle from Bute Park



  

More of Bute Park





At the back of Bute Park are a canopied wood of camelia --  red, white and pink.
They look like roses and can grow into tree-size shrubs.  Simply breathtaking.



BobbyGeorge, the giant warthog troll, so named by my niece Sarah and nephew Shawn.
He has been given a fresh spring coat of sod.