2018: A Year in Brief (Part 1) - The Hamiltons

2018 was much more exciting. Susan and Verity visited in January and then Nicola and Gerard came in May. (I guess they really did like us back in Belfast!) 

Mom and Dad (Hamilton) came in March-April, which was amazing. We spent a bit of time here in England, but we went to northern France and met the Wilmes for a few days (always great!). One of the highlights of this trip was the ferry crossing from Portsmith ... said no one ever. I stupidly booked us regular seats for an overnight ferry ride and no one slept. Lesson learned, and we had slightly better seats in a dark room on the return journey. From now on, it's a cabin or no ferry.

We celebrated Easter in Rouen and then drove up the coast to Mont-Saint-Michel, an island and monestary that is only accessible when the tide is out. We forgot the camera on this trip, which was a shame, because it was stunning, but here are just a few we managed to capture. (We'll have to go back some day and take more!)

2017: A Year in Brief

I keep forgetting that I started this blog to keep a record of Andrew and my crazy adventures. They never stop and I don't ever want to forget all the bits and pieces. I'm going to keep up with this from now on, as we've got another amazing trip in a few weeks when Mom and Dad (Hamilton) come to visit for Easter. So, to recap VERY quickly and then I'll start again more regularly.

2017 wasn't even that exciting, except that we moved from Belfast to Winchester. So, actually, I guess that was a pretty big change. Andrew started a new job at the University of Southampton and I decided to go back to school for an MSc in Information Science at UCL. It's 2019 now and classes are over for said programme. Dissertation will be written in a few months and graduation will be next fall. That went quickly.

We did go to Belgium in June that year, which was beautiful and pretty fun - photos are on flickr.

It was back to Donegal in July and then some Irish friends came to visit us in October. We spent Christmas in Florida with the Kennedys and New Year's in New York with the Hamiltons.

2016: A Year in Brief

As I've been a bit delinquent on posting (again), I'll do a short recap of 2016. Here goes.

January:  We said goodbye to our apartment on the Irish Sea (in Bangor) and moved to the big smoke (Belfast) this month. I also flew back to Chicago to say goodbye to Mom. A lot of goodbyes.

February:  Andrew and I had tickets to see Andrew Bird play in London a few years ago, but we weren't able to use them. The concert was the week we were moving to Belfast and you can't really take leave the first week you start somewhere. So when I saw that Andrew Bird was in Europe again, I snatched us some tickets and we were off to Amsterdam for the weekend. We saw him play twice that night: once in a big hall with another band and again by himself from the front row of a very small venue. It was amazing!

March, April, May:  We went with Tom and Beatrice to Donegal once. The rest of the time, we were working and I can guarantee it was raining. 

June:  I went home to Chicago to welcome Emma Sue into the world and to set a record for eating the most deep dish pizza and Portillo's in a two-week period (thank you, John and Elizabeth!). Meanwhile back in Belfast, Andrew hosted his cousin Paul for a few days. They went to Donegal, up to the Causeway, hiked up Cave Hill, and visited a few pubs in Belfast. Their adventures are on flickr! I'm sad I missed it, but I always love being there for the arrival of a new Moravec.

July:  Back to Donegal for both of us to celebrate (or actually, to avoid the celebrations of) the 12th of July. No goat this year, but as always, a wonderful time - photos on flickr to prove it.

August/September:  Andrew had to head home for a conference. As he wasn't with me in June, he stopped in Chicago and New York to say hi to our families. (I bet he had some deep dish pizza, too...)

October:  Our first trip to Vienna! One of my best friends from high school, Brian, was living there with his husband for the past few years and a reunion has been long overdue. We visited a few museums (Klimt), hung out with them and a few of their other friends who were also in town, and even went on a winery crawl. We caught the last summery weekend of the year and it seemed like everyone was out, walking from one winery to the next, tasting wine and sturm. It was amazing to see Brian and visit with such an old friend, to meet Dan, and to explore a new city. Photos are on flickr.

 

November:  Italy with the Hamiltons. A whirlwind trip through Rome, Pompei, Naples, and a breathtaking drive along the Amalfi coast. Perfect! Photos here, here, here, and here. (I don't know why we split up this trip into so many flickr albums...)

Pompei

 

December:  Luxembourg & France with the Wilmes family for Christmas and then back to Vienna to ring in the New Year with Brian and Dan. It was easily the most amazing New Year's Eve I've ever had, and probably ever will have. Christmas photos here and New Year's photos here.

Happy New Year!!!

I don't want to come home! (Hawai'i December 2015)

Andrew and I spent a blissful week and a half in Hawai'i (and two pretty awful days of travel) before Christmas in December 2015. Andrew had a conference on the big island, and as usual I tagged along. The first half of our trip was spent at the conference hotel in Waikoloa, the resort area of the island with beautiful beaches. Andrew went to sessions in the mornings while I laid around at the pool, and this conference had an unusual schedule, in that the attendees had the afternoons off and then picked back up in the evenings after dinner. It was great, as Andrew was was able to take advantage of the sun and heat rather than being stuck inside in this amazing place during the day.

We snorkeled a few times, and also just relaxed by the pool and on the beach. I'd like to thank the organizers of the conference for planning what was clearly just an opportunity for a vacation in Hawai'i.

When the conference ended, we picked up a rental car and began our exploration of the rest of the island. We went on a tour of a coffee plantation, which was really cool. They showed us through the fruit trees (yes, coffee is a fruit!) and also explained the process of making coffee from growing the beans to the final product, all the while letting us drink said product for free. I'm not the biggest coffee fan, but they gave us a chocolate covered coffee bean and I tried some tea that they make from the shells of the beans. We also spent a day swimming with dolphins, which was absolutely my favorite thing we did, and hiked in a crater and to Akaka Falls.

  

The rest of our photos of our trip are on flickr.

Another visit from Amit

In October 2015, we were lucky enough to get our second visit from Amit (we got him in Denmark, too!). While visiting family in London, Amit popped over to Belfast for the weekend and Andrew and I took him around Northern Ireland to see the greatest hits:  up the coast to the Giant's Causeway one day, of course, and a stop at Dunluce Castle. We also visited the Glens of Antrim and hiked around to some waterfalls.

 

We went to Scrabo Tower (above) and Castle Ward and explored the grounds there. They do most filming of Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland, and this is a place that gets a lot of action.

It was honestly one of the best weekends in a long time. We loved having Amit again, and we're looking forward to the next time he comes (hopefully we can lure him over for another visit)! More photos of this amazing weekend are on flickr here.

Home (bitter)sweet home. Part II.

We flew into Chicago on Tuesday and were welcomed with open arms by Elizabeth, John, and Charlie. Charlie even welcomed me into his bed for a bit of a reading/ipad-ing, which was particularly sweet. 

On Wednesday, Elizabeth, Charlie, Andrew, and I spent the morning at the zoo with Ben, Rita, and little Andrew. It was so wonderful to see our old friends, and we got to have lunch at Portillo's, to boot! We went to see Marisa and Dave's new house in Oak Park on Thursday before having lunch with Marisa, and then headed back to Mom & Dad's to meet Christopher after his flight got in. The wedding was Friday and we were flying away again on Saturday afternoon, but not until after I had a hot dog. 

More photos on flickr.

Home (bitter)sweet home. Part I.

Only in America:

(Newark allayed us of any fears that we hadn't landed in the USA.)

Our flight over (in September) wasn't actually that bad this time. And arriving at the airport was wonderful; it always is. Mom and Eric were there waiting for us as soon as we walked off the plane in Buffalo and took us to dinner. No matter how many times we go home, it still shocks me just how great it is to see someone waiting at the airport. It's almost as if I don't even realize just how much I miss someone until I'm there in person. Visits home are tough: it's a long way to come for a such a short time.

We saw Emily, Jon, and Addy for a short while on Sunday, and on Monday we went up to the land, which was amazing. 

Mom & Dad & Jon have been working hard all summer long to get it ready for winter, and it seems as if it will be fine; all buttoned up now until spring. This was my first time up there, and it'll be wonderful to look back years from now and remember that I saw it before it was finished.

We spent another day with Emily, Jon, Addy, and Eric before Eric drove us to Buffalo for our flight to Chicago. Before we left, we stopped for some ice cream with A. Joanne, Lou, A. Janet & Uncle Dick, and A. Sandra - it was so nice to see them again. Onward to Chicago for Kara and Brian's wedding, and more photos on flickr.