Great Deeds and Noble Sorrows

“Not a day passes on over this earth but men and women of no great note do great deeds, speak great words, and suffer noble sorrows.”Charles Reade, The Cloister and the Hearth

Last week I took a very necessary break from blogging for the sake of my mental health. Though my husband, daughter and I, along with our entire family, are thankfully healthy, this COVID-19 business has been more than a little trying on my emotions. I think it would be a different story if I wasn’t a new mom (although I know it is difficult for nearly everyone for wildly different reasons) but being separated from our extended family while still adjusting to parenthood, well, let me tell you it has not been easy. They are our support system, our replacement rockers, our “take a breather and some time for just the two of you” superheroes. We are making sure to take turns soothing our little daughter but sometimes having a third party come in and take a shift can be the most rejuvenating gift. Our strategy while self-isolation is the name of the game is just to take it one day at a time and to allow ourselves to choose how we spend each day based on what we need most each moment – no to-do lists or goals set in stone. Last week, I needed to just relax and read as much as possible, so that is what I did. I hope, dear reader, that you’ll forgive me.

So. Back to France.

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A Stroll Between Living History and Ghosts of the Past

“Veni, vidi, vici”     

“I came, I saw, I conquered”

– Latin phrase commonly attributed to Julius Caesar

Photo Credit: Kristen

Well, it took about two months longer to get here than it did in reality but finally…Kristen and I reached the York City Walls.

And a glorious sight they were.

One of the incredible things about the UK, and most of Europe come to think of it, is how extraordinarily interactive their large-scale historical attractions are.

Unless you’re visiting an art museum in which most of the works of art are in constant danger of being damaged beyond repair, the historical enthusiasts and authorities alike across-the-pond are remarkably supportive of proactive exploration.

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Ireland’s Garden

“This is the place that sustains me. This is where I have planted myself. It is a refuge where I restore myself.”

– Oscar-Winner Daniel Day-Lewis on his home in Wicklow

Cloudy SkiesThis is so long overdue it’s incredible but I feel as if much has been accomplished today so I can allow myself a wee bit of time for musing and writing, right?

        It’s high time I introduced (or re-introduced) you all to the wonders that are encompassed in Ireland’s Wicklow National Park, also known as my 2nd…3rd? 4th… OK one of my MANY homes (there’s no limit on this).

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History Lives Most Vividly in the Imagination – Inspired by the Senses

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find

something. You certainly usually find something, if you

look, but it is not always quite the something you were

after.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien

Wow this post was a long time coming. I actually started it on the 16th of June if you’ll believe it and suddenly a month had passed and an ocean and half a continent had been crossed before my thoughts returned to the quiet beauty of Wicklow National Park. I’m hoping the fact that I’ve been lucky enough to visit the county 3 times in my life will make writing this from memory easier so lets see how this goes. I have a feeling this will end up a 2-part post.

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