Snow, An Unusual Occurance

Well, we had a little snow this weekend. Good for the holiday spirit, as we enviously read about the early snow in the Pacific Northwest. Last winter, Ireland had some snow as well, but apparently it was otherwise quite a few years ago when it last snowed. It has been cold, by local standards. Typical day temperatures around 6 degrees Celsius and nights around freezing, with some black ice. The days have been clear, for a week. A good respite from the wild, windy storms that hammer this first piece of land that they encounter coming off the Atlantic. We have had 2 storms with winds between 50 and 85 mph, to date. The girls bravely go down the driveway, and wait for the bus. Occasionally I will drive them to the school, as I do for Stephen. The days have been brilliantly clear and crisp.

Yesterday, Summer celebrated her thirteenth birthday, with four Irish girls from her school. Justine asked them if they would go to college, and they all said yes. Typically, a large percent of children do go on to college, in part because it is pretty cheap. They take exams for the last few weeks of high school, which are graded by a point system. The highest scores on the test get into the most competitive fields, for instance medicine. This is called the "Leaving Cert." for leaving certificate. Patients often ask me for a "cert." when they are sick and can't go to work of school. The girls have big tests this week and next, in their twelve school subjects.

We celebrated Thanksgiving, even managing to find some turkey. Justine cooked up a big feast. I worked, and the kids had school. Somebody anonymously dropped off a box of cookies on our front doorstep. We have been given fresh lobsters, crabs, salmon and homemade jam, from this kind community.

The Celtic Tiger, No More

We arrived in Ireland in September, when the news was bad about the countries' economy. The unemployment rate has been well into the teens, and the bank most people around here use had been nationalized, due to bad debt. Does this scenario sound familiar? It is worse than in the USA, where by most measurements, the unemployment rate peaked at 10%, and the economy has bottomed out, and is in a slow recovery phase. Here, the economy has gotten worse, each month.

It all started with the Celtic Tiger. This was the name given to the country's roaring economy during the last decade. Ireland had never seen its' economy accelerate and grow like it did then. Houses appreciated astronomically, often to one million euros. The banks loaned money to virtually anyone, without checks and balances. People bought second homes, villas in Spain and elsewhere, There was a speculative frenzy, fueled by the banks and developers. Much of the money loaned out by banks in Ireland came from speculative monies from Germany and France. Do you remember when we all felt safe depositing our money in an institution with the highest regard? Then, the world economy slowed. Jobs were lost, and home values plummeted, often as much as 75%. Many of the patients that I see are of able bodies and minds who haven't worked for 2 years, collecting 200 euros per week, wishing that they had a job.

Then, the Irish government, with the ruling party Fianna Fail, nationalized some big banks, taking their private debt, and making it sovereign debt, to be paid back by the people of Ireland. They felt this was necessary, in order to prevent these banks from closing their doors. This decision is costing the country, many say impoverishing it, for years to come. The speculators, who gave monies to the banks to lend out, are getting paid back by the Irish populace. You might expect those who lent money to the banks to share in the losses. The government felt otherwise, turning this private debt into public debt, handcuffing this economy for years to come.
The Irish have developed an austerity program, in order to get rid of this debt, which is around 36% of their GDP, compared with the US debt which is under 10% of their GDP. This country is cutting expenditures and raising taxes. I am already taxed at 41%.

Ireland is part of the European Union, which, in a way, is like the United states. there is one currency, the Euro, and no border crossings per se. Germany is the economic powerhouse, still healthy with a low unemployment rate. Other EU countries are at vriable states of economic health. Greece got bailed out a while ago. Then, the EU came to Ireland, offering a bailout, which happened very quickly.With all the politics, it was and wasn't a surprise. The monies are loaned to support the ailing banks,as Ireland can't print money, which is how the USA is (fairly successfully, I might add) solving their crisis. The proud Irish cringed when they accepted this bailout, and many wonder if the government, with a 17% approval rating, has been making the right choices. I believe, in the USA and here, there are many bankers who behaved recklessly, and they should be in jail. Millions of people are affected by their mis behaviors, loosing their livelihoods.

In the last month, even with the bailout, the Euro has dropped in value from $1.40, to $1.30 and the US stock market is also dropping. The worries are that multiple other countries here may need financial help, and that the EU cannot bailout them all. If this developes, the world economy will suffer significantly. This state of affairs is changing almost daily, as we saw with the lead up to the Ireland bailout. There are big demonstrations happening in Ireland and Europe, as people are faced with the reality of a worsening recession. Nobody wants to see people suffer, I hope this economic crisis "settles down" as the Irish say.

Cashel, Ireland

Photo highlights, top to bottom:



Cashel church

Tombstone for woman who died at age 103

Paris, looking at vistas, including cemetery off in distance

Small blue pond, in front of the Twelve Bens (Na Beanna Beola, mountains of Connemara)

Coastal island

Old abandoned house, with tree shadow

Various old rock structures



Paris and I went for a hike around Cashel today. This is a small village not far from Carna. We parked in the local church parking lot. The church is 109 years old. We walked up in the hills behind the church. Interestingly, the cemetery is a half a mile up the hill from the church, in the middle of nowhere. We saw a grave for someone that lived to age 103.


The views from up the hill were incredible, up and down the coast, and inland. I should mention that the scenery is somewhat brown, not always the green that one expects when picturing Ireland. I hear that the hills change with the seasons, and this is true. Most of the trees have lost their leaves, and the ferns are brown. It was a bright sunny, albeit cool autumn day. We walked amongst the usual contingents of cows and sheep. We are becoming used to walking amongst the herds and flocks. Sometimes they startle us and sometimes vice verse. We could see the twelve Bens, an inland mountain range, and the coast, from Carna northward. On our descent, we found an abandoned house, complete with basic furnishings, slowly falling apart. We could only wonder who used to live there, out in the country, and what had happened to them.



Back home, we saw another great sunset. Amazingly, at this time of the year, we can see the sunrise to the southwest, over the sea, as well as the sunset, to the northeast, also over the sea!

Madrid, Spain

See Barcelona blog for Madrid photos

We journeyed from Barcelona to Madrid. Originally, we planned on taking the high speed train, a 2.5 hour trip. However, this whole trip was rather last minute, so we found out that the train ride would be 530 euros (around $700.00) one way. We switched to the bus, and had a predicted eight hour ride become a ten hour ride, due to traffic accidents, and a police roadblock, checking vehicles for drugs. So much for civil liberties here. We arrived in Madrid after 1AM, so the subway was closed. Fortuitously, the hotel was not far from the bus station, so we split up into 2 taxis. Typically, the hotel rooms are for 3-4 people, so there is an expectation that you will rent two rooms for a five member family. Well, we were on a budget, with the average room going for over 100 euros. We would rent 1 room, and slip in the other 2 family members. We would usually have 2 double beds, so it all worked out. All of the TV programs were is Spanish. Also, there were porn channels included, that would inevitably show up when the channels were being changed, drawing yelps and blushes from our innocent children.

The return trip was much smoother, in the daytime. The countryside is fairly stunning, with small, quaint villages, each with an old church and spire prominently seen from the road as we went by. There were beautiful mountains, with Fall changing the deciduous trees into myriad colors. Also, the orchards and vineyards were plentiful, with brilliant orange and yellow leaves. We saw many large windmills, as Spain transitions into a more green energy country. I highly recommend this trip. The geography was constantly changed. I snapped many a photo, thru the bus windows.

Madrid is a very large city (six million, 3rd largest in Europe,after London and Berlin), less conquerable than Barcelona. We stayed a few miles north of the city center, taking the bus to Plaza Puerta del Sol, where the pedestrian activity blossoms. This "Port of the Sun" has an interesting activity, on December 31st. When the clock strikes midnight, one eats a grape with each ring of the local bell, twelve total, which is said to bring good prosperity for the coming New Year. We walked nearby to Plaza Mayor, a large enclosed space, surrounded by a rectangular white building, with scenes painted on the facades. The plaza was constructed in the 1500's. It has quite a history, as it was the scene of soccer games,bullfights and, during the Spanish inquisition, public executions against supposed heretics. Now, it is the scene of artists selling their wares, and quaint cafes.

On Sundays, there is a huge outdoor market that has thousands of vendors, called El Rastro. The kids had a blast wandering from stall to stall, buying cheap leather jackets and scarfs, which were 1 euro each. Stephen found a monkey puppet. It was quite crowded, so we were on pickpocket alert. I have a money belt, and this time I kept most my outside cash tucked into my sock. The kids always get embarrassed when I reach in my waist for money. The food was as good as in Barcelona. Justine even found a Mexican restaurant, that had great soft tacos. I enjoyed a cactus taco. We also found an indoor market, that had the usual tapa offerings, as well as great olive, cheese and seafood selections. Typically, dinner starts at around nine PM, so when we would have our usual six PM meal, the restaurants were not crowded.

We went to the most famous of the Madrid museums, El Prado, reputedly the largest art museum in the world. The paintings had to be moved out during the Spanish civil war, ending up in Switzerland. We were most impressed by El Greco, Goya, and of course, Rembrandt, the latter work from 1634. A roman statue from 2010 years ago really got the kids attention.

Spain is in the hot seat, along with Ireland, in the European Union. Ireland repeated the same mistakes that we did in the USA. Their banks were reckless, lending out money without regard to the ability to pay it back, and they have gone bankrupt, precipitated by the death of the economic Celtic Tiger. Now, they await a bailout from the European Union. The Irish and the Spanish are proud peoples, and it is humbling for them to be in this position of dependency. I listen to the talk on the Irish radio when driving. People are frustrated that this reckless behavior has put them into a debt that everyone will feel, in terms of budget cuts, and reputation.

There were many "are we really here" moments on this trip to Spain. You get the feeling that you are in another world, which, in some ways is accurate. Everything is different, and quite exotic, in some fashion. It is quite special to go somewhere new, and see how similar, yet different, peoples of this planet are. The old structures that we saw reminded us of how young the USA is, in terms of the cities and their buildings. When you start looking at stuff that has been standing a thousand or more years, you really look at time differently.

In January, we are off to France, and England. No, we have not been asked to scout wedding or honeymoon sites for the next Royal couple.

Barcelona,Spain

We made our first major venture off the island of Ireland, going to Spain for a week. It was an amazing trip. As Justine says, it wasn't a vacation, it was an adventure.

We drove to Galway, spent the night, watching our 1st cinema, The Social Network, which I highly recommend. I am not a big facebook fan, but the movie is pretty cool. Read "You are not a Gadget" to see why some of us are not on Facebook. We took the 3 hour bus to Dublin, arriving in the middle of the Dublin marathon run. There were thousands of runners, and their cheering entourages. We did not get to see much of Dublin, as the roads were jammed. We were encouraged by the sights, promising to return there as a destination, instead as an embarkation point. We did stroll down the famous Grafton street, looking at various shops, and we explored the old Trinity College campus, where the Book of Kells is housed. This book is from around 500 A.D. and it documents some of the roots of Christianity in old Ireland.

We flew from Dublin to Barcelona, Spain, arriving late in the evening. The hotel shuttle was tardy, and we discovered the Spanish taxis refused to take 5 passengers. A couple of times on this journey, we actually took taxis, always two, splitting our family! The next day, we took the hotel shuttle into Barcelona, getting dropped at a plaza. We hopped onto a double decker open top sight seeing bus, and had the best ride of the trip. We proceeded to see most of the famous and incredible architectural creations of Barcelona, on a beautiful cloudless day, listening to a recorded narration during this tour. This was a highlight of the trip, for sure. Many of the photos that Paris and I took are posted on this blog. We could literally touch the leafs of the trees lining the streets, as the bus wound around the city.

We saw many highlights, including:

• Barri Gotic (the old Gothic style architecture district, built on an old Roman town)
  


• Sagrada Familia (An incredible church designed by Gaudi, the most famous Spanish Catalan architect. Construction started in the 1800's and is ongoing! I think this church, when finished, is the in the running for the 8th wonder of the world. Ultimately, there will be a total of eighteen spires, representing the twelve apostles, the four evangelists, the virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. The project is massive, and it is expected to continue for decades more.
  


• La Pedrera (A large stone building with elaborate wrought iron balconies, again designed by the futuristic Gaudi, evoking the motion of waves)
  


• Street Lamps (lining many avenues, by Gaudi)
  


• Arc de Triomf (modeled after the one in Paris)
  


• La Vila Olympica ( part of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics)
  


• Cap de Barcelona (designed by Roy Lichtenstein, for the Barcelona Olympics, made of ceramic tile)
  

We spent many hours wandering the narrow cobble stone allies, lined by tall, old buildings, with unique, small shops lining the allies. There were clothing shops, tapa bars, pastry shops galore. We would get lost, then wander into a local square, with, for instance, a 700 year old church. We went inside, and listened to a choir, with the voices resonating in the tall, dark, mysterious interior, lit by stained glass windows and colorful candles and multiple galleries, each dedicated to a Saint, hundreds of years old. Some of them contained the person's remains.

We ventured on La Rambla, a mile long avenue that was for pedestrians, with outdoor stalls and performers. The painted statue type performers were common, and quite amusing for our children.

The tapa bars were a new adventure. They would have plates of exotic looking food, from which you would pick your choices, for a smorgasbord of local cuisine. Choices included: seafoods, cheeses, salads and meat filled pastries. When finished, you got the bill, called "la dolorosa" or "the sadness".

We stayed at a hotel a few miles from the center of Baarcelona, in the Sant Marti area. We would get off the bus, and walk on a smaller version of La Rambla to our hotel. The major part of the avenue was a pedestrian walkway, down the center of the street. It was filled with tables for outdoor eating. There were neighborhood shops and restaurants lining the avenue. You felt quite safe walking there after dark, which was when things really picked up. I enjoyed taking one of the kids to a local tapa bar nightly for a beer and a meal of new foods.

We also went to the Aquarium, which the kids loved. We saw some illegal vendors, selling African carvings, and famous purse knock offs (which intrigued our daughters). When the vendors would see the police coming, they would grab the four corners of their blanket displaying their wares, and bundle it over their shoulder and literally run off. It was amusing to see. The aquarium had 3 of the world's most poisonous fish, that the kids were facinated to see.

We often rode the subway, it was there I had an encounter with a pickpocket. Fortunately, I was on the alert, and I avoided becoming a victim, as I saw this person with his hands folded across his forearms, covered by a draped sweater, making his move on me. I was pinned by him and 2 partners against the subway door, so I pushed him off, and moved away. I later saw him and a partner bump another rider, then quickly leave the train.

I have been fortunate to have travelled a lot in my life, and I would rate the city of Barcelona near the top of my favorites!

Next blog-Madrid.