Rob stopped the car, way up there on the backroads, so I could photograph an Irish donkey. ...
Little did we know, he had companions and before we knew it, there they were, a donkey and horse with heads inside the car looking for ‘gifts’. Much laughter and we escaped without incident.
I’m sleeping in the most comfortable bed here and it’s making me sleep like I never sleep. I’m loving it.
Yesterday, this is the boat we set out on ...
Why we turned back is a longer story than I have time to tell here today but Rob’s boat is a beautiful boat, and we were out in it on one of the best fishing lochs in Ireland.
Rob took us down to the river with the dogs. There was this boat, just lying there in the grass looking beautiful ...
Since then, there’s been wandering through the village talking with lovely people, fishing by the river, fishing from the sail boat, now it’s cooking dinner. A most enjoyable day here on the west coast of Ireland.
It was magic out there this morning, on the edge of the Owen Riff River.
Gus, the border collie, was out there doing his serious work with the tennis ball.
So yes, we went fishing on the boat today. It was absolutely marvellous except for those moments when Rob took my camera and photographed me ...
So I did it ... passed the ‘haven’t driven in 7 long years’ test.
There was the flight from Brussels to Dublin, with the politest airline I’ve ever been on ... Aer Lingus. So polite, so sensible, so amusing.
Loved them!
Boarding order was strictly enforced. Really. Then, so sensibly, they had the people at the back of the plane board first ... so we didn’t have to wait while those at the front of the plane faffed about with their overhead lockers.
I laughed, thinking ‘they’re teaching us manners’, as they enforced the order of boarding ... with charm. A first over here, I have to confess. It was so like New Zealand's way of being that I could only smile.
My first drive in 7 years was only a Peugeot 308.
A 2011 Peugeot 308!!!
I think the Hertz guy almost smiled (and he didn’t seem like a big smiler) when he asked if that was okay. I was surely a little bit sparkly and enthusiastic.
It’s a diesel, with 14,000kms on the clock. It handles like a dream. I thought I might just stay in the slow lane and sit around 90kms for the 200km trip across Ireland, from Dublin to Gallway and beyond but ummm no ... it handled well at the speed limit of 120kms.
Along the way, we stopped at Athlone for a little food but made sure we picked up a Christy Moore cd. He was just the perfect traveling companion, up loud as we drove.
We arrived, found Rob and Angie’s, met Gus and Jessie - their big beautiful dogs, had a lovely glass of red wine handed to me and we sat down to chat some of the night away.
This morning, I made myself get out of bed just before 8am ... groaning a little, as the bed is one of those ones that are good to just kind of stay in but there’s talk of a bit of a sail today, out on the water here where we are, after we’ve walked the dogs in the forest. This New Zealander is just beside herself with excitement over it all.
Sadly, I did forget that Ireland is an hour behind Belgium, well, it’s on GMT actually. And it may be that my 7.45am, ‘feet on the floor, Di’ was really a 6.45am start. Oh well, it gave me time to write here before I go off and harass Rob for some coffee.
So, good morning, and I’ll let you know how it goes.
So this was how we began today ...
A walk in the forest that took me back to times in New Zealand. Loved it.
Rob showed me this face in the forest where we walked his beautiful dogs in the forest this morning.
This is one half of the two -dog-trio who walked in the woods with us this morning.
Jessy was looking at me like this because well ... maybe I was meowing.
Today we wandered up to Mamean, here where we are, near Gallway, and Rob wrote of howthe 12 Bens of Connemara stood high and handsome behind us across the Inagh Valley, Bencorr in front, with Beanna Beola and Benbaun peeping over her shoulders. Ahead, the slopes of Binn Mhór and Binn Mhairg cradled the rising path, their quartzite rock glinting dully as cloud shadows brushed through, now gleaming dazzlingly as sunlight struck across.
After waxing poetic, with quite the mocking self in the ascendent, Rob continued with this ... Up at the pass stood a tiny chapel, an altar and the cave-like recess called St Patrick’s Bed. A statue of the saint brooded over the path, a sheep at his heels. Had the good shepherd Patrick once walked these slopes, blessed the holy well nearby and slept in the cave? Many down the centuries thought and felt that he had, and they forged a pilgrim path to the pass, with its breathtaking views over the Inagh and Maam valleys.
And here we have one of the stations cross. So beautiful it was up there.
I’m loving Ireland.
The gate we had to slip through on our way to the little church on the hill ...
Follow this sign if you see it, it was magic up there ...
I think, if you have lived through a war
or have made your home in a country
not your own, or if you’ve learned
to love one man,
then your life is a story.
Anne Michaels, extract from Blue Vigour
I think, that when you have made your home in a country not your own, you never take the good people you find, out there in this new land, forgranted.
A few weeks ago, I photographed a family and met a woman who has the sweetest soul I’ve experienced in a long time. Since then, she has quietly opened doors into her world, determined to connect the people she is leaving behind when she finishes her time here in Brussels. She’s another world wanderer.
Spending time with her has felt like time spent around the warmth of a small sun. And I’m writing of it here because I think, sometimes, we forget to thank the people who are like this. And honestly ...I know more than a few really good people.
As I waded into the reality that is being a professional photographer, I had to shift my focus from the passion I feel for photography and people, and deal with the fact that I had I market myself and play a little bit of hardball to get paid. I have had to learn so many hard lessons along the way about things like contracts.
I’m not like that. I love photography, I love people. To price everything was deadly but every 3 months I had a minimum social security payment of 600euro to make. Just one of many many bills.
Lately, I’ve gone back to just being me and my photography, chasing the passion again, instead of turning myself inside out about paying all the bills.
And lately, the magic I had been missing has returned.
First there was Karla, then she introduced me to Marcia and these two, they’re just so absolutely lovely.
Yesterday, they invited me into their circle of friends. I should have known not to worry about meeting new people ... it was the sweetest few hours.
It turns out, our host Doug, is one of those special people who just knows how to be with people and he delighted me with a small taste of the stories from his life. We have both lived in Turkey and share a love for Italy. He’s a writer.
There were babies involved, 3 of the most beautiful roly-poly baby boys and I left with the badge of motherhood imprinted on my black top ... banana fingerprints. Champagne and most incredible food. Quiches like I haven’t tasted since New Zealand. A chocolate mousse by Felix, one so good that Doug got goosebumps from tasting it.
I was lulled into a sense of a forever afternoon ... you know? Where time feels like it has stopped fora while? I guess it’s the mind’s way of protecting you from the idea of it all ending.
So yes, that’s what I did with my afternoon.
Oh, and I’ve found somewhere so perfect to hold my photography workshops. Details and dates to be announced by the end of August.
Hmmm, I think that’s all. Now to pack for Ireland. Dublin tomorrow ... first time driving in seven years. Just a couple of hundred kilometres ...
Maurizio Carnevali was one of ten international artists creating a Brussels-themed sculpture in Brussels recently. I wandered by, with Paola, on Saturday and could have spent hours attempting to capture something of the artists and their work… then came the rain.
This is the artwork created by Italian sculptor, Maurizio Carnevali during the 1st Brussels International Sculpture Symposium.
The symposium took place between 2nd and 16th July and was rather stunning. Ten artists, of international reknown, created a Brussels-themed sculpture in Park Parmentier, Sint-Pieters-Woluwe.
I only arrived on that last day, as finished sculptures were revealed, artists were thanked, and champagne was poured. Thanks for letting me tag along, Paola. A lovely outing despite the rain.
I was cleaning out my external harddrives tonight and went through my owl series.
I couldn’t resist reposting this image ... one of my favourites in the series, taken in Zonnebeke a while back.
I couldn’t not share this over here ... This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA’s Benjamin Franklin award.
Click here for more information on Sir Ken’s work.
But I loved this too ... Sir Ken was asked by the British newspaper, the Observer, to contribute a 280 word piece on passion to the regular series on Life Lessons.
Here it is:
Make the most of whatever it is that floats your boat…
It was Jeremy Bentham, I believe, who said there are two types of people in this world: those who divide the world into two types and those who do not. Well, these days I do. On the one hand, I’m constantly surprised by how many people settle for so little fulfilment in their lives, who endure their lives rather than enjoy them. On the other, I know people who simply love what they do and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. “This isn’t what I do,” they say, “this is who I am.” There are people in every walk of life for whom this is true: people who are in their element. Being in your element involves doing something for which you have a natural aptitude. But it’s more than that: it’s about passion. You have to love it, too.
Passion can be a disconcerting idea in Britain, conjuring up images of fiery glances, pounding hearts and a hint of castanets. It’s not always like that. Passion is a deep attraction. It can be for someone else or for a process: music, maths, cooking, sport, entrepreneurship, teaching… whatever fires your imagination and stokes your energy. We all have different aptitudes and we have unique passions. The challenge is to find them because it’s in the fusion of both that we live our best lives.
An original meaning of “passion” is to suffer or endure, as in the Passion of Christ. Its modern meanings have evolved to include love, attraction and pleasure. Finding our own element is also a journey from endurance to enjoyment. It’s a vital step, too, in moving from being one type of person to being the other type.
I love climbing literature and films about as much as I love reading the stories of war photographers and journalists .... it’s like that with me. A bit of an armchair passion.
Perhaps this short film gives you an idea of what it is about this kind of life ... where it’s just about what’s in front of you. And there’s more treasure over here at Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo. Found on Jimmy Chin’s blog.
I had to add a link to the incredible Alex Honnold’s film too ... but you’ll see, the Camp 4 Collective have a whole range of short films on their Vimeo site.
Towers of the Ennedi from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.
The North Face®: Towers of the Ennedi from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.
I’ve been busy and I have had no idea how to write of it all.
Perhaps I should blog a story of each day because I know I have missed telling some beautiful stories along the way. I saw it begin to happen back in the Genova. I dropped the ball when it came to some of the every day beauty of people and place. There was the time I wanted to save the story of eating at Chichibio with Stefano until I could tell it beautifully ... but it slipped away in the cascade of the life I lived there.
It’s not too late though, and if you are ever in Genova and want someplace where you can enjoy exquisite food in elegant surroundings, I would suggest you hunt down Chichibio at via David Chiossone 20R. You can phone for a reservation on 010 247 6191. Not to be missed. And, as always, I followed Stefano’s advice when ordering and had not one single regret.
Grazie, Stefano ...a long overdue grazie.
Then, on Thursday, I was up and out the door with Gert. Well, that was the intention however, he did ask me if I had my 10-ride train ticket for the big trip to Leopoldsburg and perhaps I didn’t ...
So I set out again, scarf and train-ticket packed, arriving in plenty of time to board my departing-hourly train and blogged my fabulous Wednesday from the train. Destination reached, my lovely lovely friend, Judy, met me there with her car and over coffee we agreed, Maastricht was the destination. I had heard rumours of book stores ... rumours whispered to me by Judy, who just happens to love books as much as me, if not more.
We started out in Selexyz Dominicanen, which has to be seen to be believed. It is housed in a most unexpected space, a cathedral full of books, with a coffee-selling cafe up the back ... seemed like heaven to me. I was disappointed with their selection of English books but then again, I’m not the easiest reader to please and have been spoilt by De Slegte, my favourite secondhand bookshop in Antwerpen. It seems the English-reading Antwerpenaars and I are compatible.
After exploring Selexyz Dominicanen, Judy and I wandered off into the streets of Maastricht, making our way to the secondhand bookshop, De Slegte, Maastricht ... hooray. And it was there that the wheels fell off Di’s Intention to be a Good and Frugal Wife. No really huge crimes were committed. There was a beautiful book titled Venice is a Fish, a sensual guide by Tiziano Scarpa - a Venetian poet, novelist, playwright, and essayist. And a couple of others. Under 20 euro altogether ...
If books are my heroin, then I think we could view this visit to my ‘supplier’ as hopeful in terms of managing my addiction.
It would have been more positive were I not currently intent on roaming the ‘Roads to Santiago with Cees Nooteboom. A beautiful book ... exquisite. I think you might really enjoy this one Shashikiran.
But back to Thursday ... so Judy took me over to the river Maas, after book-shopping, to a beautiful little cafe on the edge of the water. She wanted to show me that Maastricht really wasn’t in Luxemburg, Germany or Austria (silly kiwi girl), and it takes its name from the River Maas. This river Okay?
Okay ... I get it now. Mostly.
Happy, we drove back across the border and into Belgium for dinner, where we devoured the most excellent pizza I’ve had in a while. Dank u wel to Judy ... it was a lovely day in a lovely place with a lovely person. And the pizza, a thank you to Willy too.
Back in Antwerpen, and waiting for a very tardy tram 10, on the very day that Belgium was having its coldest 14 July since records began back in the 1860s. It was an unexpected 12-14 celsius, with rain. No one else there at the city tramstop was prepared for the summer plunge. We were all very sad and grouchy.
Friday came along and was a slow day, where I caught up on housework and photo-processing. There was a wee Nana-nap in the afternoon, some lovely Chianti in my evening ...
4.30am Saturday morning.
I should have been sleeping. I wasn’t.
I tried but no, that was me, still awake when the alarm went off at 6.30am.
A mad dash, my bag packed (more or less), running from the house at 7.15am. I was on my way to Brussels to visit with a lovely family ... or two.
I’ve been enjoying my recent adventures to parts of Brussels I’ve never been in. Yes, it’s less compact than Antwerpen, difficult to navigate in some ways but those little villages within the city, like Ixelles and Stockel are so very worth visiting.
I was at Paola’s by midday and off on whole other adventure. An international group of sculptors, a presentation of their work to the city ... champagne, red wine, lovely nibbles, excellent company and enough space in the big open-sided tent when the heavens opened and the rain poured down.
Evening came and it was a girls night in ... a multi-national private event with excellent conversations. Oh, and the most delicious selection of food, accompanied by yet more champagne and red wine.
Bliss ... just the 4 of us.
I arrived home today, using that first class train ticket that only costs 4euro more return on the weekend. I love first class.
Now I’m just waiting for tomorrow morning ... for breakfast and a Nespresso.
I love my Nespreso machine.
Tomorrow ... the story of the machine. You might want to find someone else to read, just in case I lose myself in Gollum-like mutterings ... my precious, my precious, drool, and etc.
Oh ... and I had the pleasure of spending quite some hours hanging out with this sweet little man this weekend.
