Surprise - it's a wedding!

AB and I have returned from our whirlwind tour of Galway. We're exhausted but so glad we went. Beyond how nice it was to spend time with friends and with my always-wonderful travel partner/wife, it is pleasant to break away into a calmer, more relaxed pace from the chaos of the real world.

A commenter asked how a surprise wedding could be pulled off when everyone knew they had come all the way to Ireland to see a wedding. The big secret was in the location, which originally was to be a quiet spot on the Cliffs of Moher. However, in the summer on a Bank Holiday weekend, there are no quiet spots of the Cliffs, so some improvisation was in order.

Quite the improv - our friends quietly arranged for themselves and their 16 guests to board a bus that took them out of Galway and to a dock on Monday morning, and from there everyone boarded a ferry to the smallest of the three iconic Aran Islands, Inis Oirr. Outside of AB and me, only one other couple knew the plan (the bridesmaid and her boyfriend).

On a picturesque day, Evans and Lisa got married on top of a hill next to the O'Brien Tower, overlooking Galway Bay. It could not have been a more perfect scene. We were even escorted to up the hill on ponycarts (though the poor pony pulling the men's cart had a bit of a trouble, and while I got to ride all the way up with the groom in order to comply with my duties as best man, the rest of the guys had to walk up the hill to appease the stubborn horse).

Outside of the wedding itself, though, the highlight of that amazing day on Inis Oirr was when AB and I, during our free time before the ceremony, opted not to follow the crowd into the dark pub (as we had already spent plenty of time in dark pubs the previous day) and chose instead to enjoy the sun and the view and the quiet serenity of life on this remote island. We got face to face with a cow, had a dog run along with us for a while, explored the island's tiny church, and ended up in a quaint tea room for lunch, which served some of the most divine fresh food.

Wondering that island will probably continue to be my most cherished memory from a trip filled with memorable moments. I thank Lisa and Evans for giving us the opportunity to spend time on that amazing island.

But now, it's back to the real world...

From Ireland: Exploring Galway

Ireland is a beautiful country filled with wonderful people. For anyone who has not visited, I urge you to remedy that situation as quickly as possible. We were out walking in the rain today, and even walking in a cold rain is a pleasant experience here.

AB and I are here for the wedding of my longest-serving best friend. I am to be his best man, and while I cannot yet tell you where the wedding will be held (it's a surprise, and one never knows who might be reading), it promises to be quite something. Today was spent wandering the streets of Galway, which I had not visited before. It is a quaint town, reminicent of Dublin but without all the hustle-bustle (or, in other contexts, Galway is as Savannah is to Atlanta, or Baltimore's Inner Harbor is to the DC National Mall). Hours were idled away in the pubs, stories were told, laughs were shared, the sun and rain came and went at leisure.

If Master Pangloss were here, he would certainly offer that this is assuredly the best of all possibly worlds.

Ah, Ireland

My best friend Evans is getting married in Ireland on Monday. AB and I are taking a quick jaunt across the ocean to be there (as I am the best man), and we leave tomorrow.

They are, cleverly, keeping a blog of their journeys while there, which serves to only get me more excited about returning to the Emerald Isle. This is from a post from earlier today by Evans' bride-to-be, and it reminds me of why Ireland is such a lovely place:

On the way up the coast, we stopped by a little cafe for sandwiches and soup -- the sign said that they served sandwiches and soup-- but when Evans went inside, it wasn't a cafe at all, but a little old lady's ACTUAL HOUSE!! And, she heated us up some beef vegetable soup, and made Evans a ham and cheese sandwich, and we chatted while we warmed up with some delicious hot soup and it was WONDERFUL! If that was in the U.S., we'd be like, "Uh, no, I think I'll pass on your soup, crazy old lady..."

This is the kind of things that Real People can do when the social fabric hasn't been worn down by crime and abuse. There must be places like this here in the States. Can anyone name some?

Getting Away

Ann Bailey and I escaped to a small reunion of sorts at the home of friends in Richmond this weekend. I don't think we've been so relaxed in weeks. Being away from the hustle and flow of the city is remarkably curative to one's psyche.

What was so relaxing? Seeing friends that I haven't seen in a while is always nice, and they have a lovely home with a terrific deck looking out into their wooded lot. The guys went and hit golf balls at the driving range for a bit, the girls got pedicures, we all played board games, we sipped drinks and ate too much.

The key thing, though, was the conversation. We talked about the things that I imagine Real People talk about in their lives outside of the Washington Beltway - their dogs and homes, the hapless lovelife of mutual friends, our golf game and its deficiencies. We had one serious discussion - on whether true grilling was done over coals or gas.

We skirted politics, because no one cared, and we weren't required to pretend like we cared. Life, for a day, was about the moment, about being together, not about defending our hallowed political ground or being politically correct.

Maybe I'm just become jaded to life in Washington. This weekend was a good reminder that, if that's the case, there's a cure out there.