Not all those who wander are lost.

Not Getting LOST :)

I borrowed the heading from J.J:R.Tolkien, because it talkes to me and I'd like to agree with that. Wandering of course is one of the best things in life because there are so many different ways for that. You can do it in the real life, wandering through nice places and sensing the feeling that you get from there, but you can also wander in your dreams, you can wander in your every day life, what sometimes means that you are not too much present, but your mind is wandering around, you can wander in your past, which is maybe not the wisest way to spend your time or you can wander in your future plans, much better and probably helps that they will be heard and realized. So a great variety of ways to wander and till now I have been lucky not to get lost. Haha, but if you are wandering with someone special, it's sometimes really good to get lost, it even doesn't matter how. Sometimes it's nice to get lost for example in writing or talking, starting with one topic and when finishing at last, finding yourself a bit new and different and not rememberring how  it all started. And sometimes it's the best to get lost in each other, maybe it helps to get to know each other from inside out or feels like stepping in his or her shoes for a while.
But I am not going to get lost in Dublin, although I am going to wander there a lot. This time I have made excellent preparations, because beside all these useful travel guides, maps and other wise books that sit at my home and wait me to read them, I have done something much greater. I have never done it before, although I have travelled a lot, both for work and for fun. This time I have made my trip different, because this time I am not going as a tourist, a work partner or a teacher, this time I am waited and wanted and taken straight to my Dublin Home. And I am sure that together we will spend long magnificent hours wandering in the streets of Dublin and getting lost in long talks and finding ourselves again and again. Now it was me who went a bit romantic :)

It is not healthy to swallow books without chewing

Books make an important part of my life, not to say that in some life periods they have been the most important. Yes, there are better things, I know, but if talking about something that you can do alone, then books have been my cup of tea without any doubt.

The only thing that I haven't learned yet is how to stay with the same book when you have loads of them around waiting to be read. That's the reason why I have my bedroom books and my lunch table books, my English books and my safety books which I have read 25+ times, but still need to overread, my travelling books and books that I haven't read yet but am going to read very soon, therefore I need them to be hold somewhere near me just in case that I would like to peep into them now and then. That sounds still good, like I could read more books, but it's not always like that . It means also that sometimes some very good ones have been left and forgotten. Maybe it just has not been their time yet and they have much more to tell me on some other time. That's my explanation why I still haven't got through two of Edward Rutherfurd's, one of my favourite author's, books which I bought just because I wanted to walk through the history of Ireland with him before I go there in my real life. We had matched so well when we were walking through London, had a journey through Russian history in Russka and not to mention wandering around in The Forest. And I so much wanted to get these books about Ireland and now I have spent my days with the Game of the Thrones, Merchant Princes, the Chronicles of Amber and lots of others. I know why it happened, I have always considered reading to be something that you are enjoying alone, but actually I found the joy of sharing and ejoying the same books with someone who really loves the same books. So maybe these two books are waiting for me to come back to them with my own Ireland experiences - just a little chewing time that I need to swallow them healthily :)

Emerald Island and Newbridge Silverwear

Ireland is called the Emerald Island because of its green countryside. For the very first time that name was used by the Irish poet William Drennan, in his poem "When Erin first rose". Erin is a name that is derived from the Irish word Éirinn that means Ireland. A little bit of googling showed me that  the name was originally given to the island by the Milesians after the goddess Ériu, who was one of the three goddess sisters, who all wanted the island to be called after her name. Although there are not real emeralds found in Ireland I got mine from there. They are nice and green and symbolize the greenness of the island and as they are shiny and glittering they look like the real emeralds. It seems that they have been inspired from the Claddagh Ring, because there are the same symbols - the heart, the crown and the hands. It was the best Birthday Present I could ever imagine.

They say that the Diamonds are the Girls' Best Friends. Ok, there's of course some truth in it, who doesn't like jewellery or other glittering things, but diamonds are maybe a bit overestimated. Girls, I'm pretty sure that all over the world and in all possible ages, love to be paid attention to and especially to be given something that proves it. Girls love things that have meaning,  that have their story to tell and will be able to remind some beautiful moments from the past. Somewhere in Dublin is an amazing shop that is called Newbridge Silverware and from where several sweet, but elegant glittering things have found a way to me. Of course they have had never found that way without you. I have had some very happy moments, which I remember perfectly well, when I have been opening the box with a big smile on my face and found a piece of Silvewear from there. Thank you for these moments :)

My Claddagh Ring

Half of a year ago I didn't know anything about the Claddagh Ring and now I have one in my finger. It's really beautiful, especially because of its meaning and of course mostly because of the very special person who gave it to me. That's the main meaning of the Claddagh Ring, it has to come from the one who is special for you and who thinks you to be as special to give you the ring. And that happened to me. Here it is, placed in a little green box, just as it came to me:

Inside the box there was a short guide how to wear it. I am wearing it every day on my right hand with the heart pointing inward, towards my heart. 

If you don't know what the Claddagh Ring symbolizes, I will give a little overview - the heart in the Cladadgh symbolizes the love that you want to share with your true love, the crown symbolizes loyalty and the hands symbolize friendship, which is, after all, the very foundation of love, with loyalty holding the two hands together. This is so true and all this simple truth is put into a small ring that has more than 500 years of history.

There is also a long legend connected with Claddagh village, Fisherman, Pirates and True Love which of course gives the story the Happy Ending and a special meaning to the Claddagh Ring . For those who love Fairy Tales I put a link to this story on the right.

The Claddagh rings became popular as an engagement or a wedding rings. They took on even more significance when they began to be worn widely by women throughout Ireland. Everyone in Ireland knows how to wear the Claddagh ring - If the ring is worn on the right hand with the heart pointing out, it means that the wearer's heart is uncommitted. On dance parties it was the first thing that the boys glanced at. Worn on the same hand with the heart pointing inward, the Claddagh ring means that the wearer's heart is taken. This is the way I wear mine. Worn on the left hand with the heart pointing inward, it means "Let Love and Friendship reign forever, never to be separated."

Ballykissangel - Opening scene

Father Peter Clifford's journey from England ends in his new parish, the small Irish town of Ballykissangel. It’s a change from his previous job in the centre of Manchester, but this rural Irish community is hardly the sleepy village he expected…

The village of Avoca in County Wicklow was the filmset for Ballykissangel. Stephen Tompkinson as Father Peter Clifford captured my heart at once and I will pretty sure try to watch all these 6 seasons. Maybe I will find them in Dublin :)

You'll be right at home in the Land of Saints and Scholars

That's what the QUIZ "15 Things You Didn't Know about Ireland" told me when I got 12 points out of 15. So I got to know 3 new things which is not bad at all.

Now I know that:

- the famous Irish musical group that was celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012 was The Chieftains, I must say that I don't know the group, but I found it in YouTube and here is:

The Chieftains - Women Of Ireland (Mná na h-Éireann)

- the last port of call for the Titanic before its fateful voyage was Cobh, County Cork - I have to say that I had heard that before but wasn't sure about the right town.  The RMS Titanic launched from Belfast harbor on April 8, 1912, for her first—and only—voyage, stopping at Southampton, England, and then at Cherbourg, France, to pick up more passengers. The last port of call before the steamship set out into the Atlantic Ocean was at Cobh (then known as Queenstown) in County Cork, where another 123 travelers came aboard.

- a steam-powered carousel is not a part of the famous Powerscourt Gardens in County Wicklow, but as I have never been to Wicklow County I couldn't know it, but when I went through the Daily Trips from Dublin the Powerscourt Estate somehow caught my eye and I remembered that Wickklow was called the Garden of Ireland. How could I not expect Japanese Gardens there? With the same Wicklow County trip the village of Avoca was also mentioned, the place where Ballykissangel was filmed. Why didn't they ask a question about that?

BTW, the Quiz is found on the right menu bar.

Ha'penny Bridge

This one hangs on my living room wall. We haven't met yet, but now when we have shared the living room for about a year I am quite sure that when we meet and this will take place the next week already, we will recognize each other pretty well.

The Ha'penny Bridge, known later for a time as the Penny Ha'penny Bridge, and officially the Liffey Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. That's what Wikipedia tells about that. It also tells that it's 43 m long.

I also chose my airport book, a month ago when I was travelling to Malta again just because of the annotation on the back cover - Christine Rose is crossing the  Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin late one night when she sees a stranger :) ok, I know exactly that I am not going to look for any stranger on  Ha'penny Bridge but the name of the book "How to Fall in Love" somehow spoke to me, not to mention the Bridge that has hung on my wall for a year. The questions that begin with "How to .." have been my topic for the past years and although I haven't written them down anywhere, what of course could have been a great idea, I have struggled with them in my mind quite a lot and not always figured out the right answers. But nobody is perfect, but I am pretty close as my fridge magnet tells me every day and what's a part of my personal positive thinking, even if it sounds too self centered.  So the significant words  "Ha'penny Bridge" and "How to ..." made me to choose it and the proverb that suggests never to judge the book by it's cover was a bit useless this time, because it was a fun reading for my Malta week and helped me to mix my responsibilities with my desire for relax. And it helped me to pass the time and to get nearer to my real  Ha'penny Bridge experience.

Insight

Dublin Accent came to my life two years ago when I was quite ready to let something new to enter. Actually it started to show up even earlier, dropping some pieces here and there, then fading away to come back soon making me think about sweet little things that make life worth living, but tend to be left just into the back of your mind. I didn't know that for reaching this I had to make a trip to Malta, a place I hadn't thought about even in my dreams, look deeply into my own eyes and confess that life is full of things that I love, but have avoided in hundreds of reasons and missed at the same time. That was not a surprise for me, I had known it even before that, but somehow the things started to change and I promised myself to remember the feeling of dreaming and sending wishes into the open air and believing that they could be heard. It's not so easy to follow these rules when you come back to your routine, but routine was the thing I wanted to get out of.