Where I Have Been
First, dear reader, I will ask for your forgiveness for it has been so long since last we spoke. So long in fact that I feel like I owe you an explanation.
Well, to put it bluntly, I have just been busy. There has been an incredible number of life’s activities that happened so suddenly I barely knew what to think about them all. This is the first time that I feel as if i can breathe again. But in this breath, let me tell you about what has happened.
What Did I Do?
First, there was a graduation. Then a job promotion. Then a trip around the world (or at least a trip anyway). It is quite safe to say that the last few months of my life have been some of the best and I am beyond grateful for them.
Truth be told, I am not sure where to start. I have never written a publication about myself, instead, always writing about someone or something else. I feel a bit like I would be bragging, although I am sure I could splurge just this once.
Ireland
Ireland was something out of a fairytale and in a good way. It felt like a home away from home in many respects. To put this in context, as an American, one gets rather used to space, lots and lots of space. The homes, the fields, the forests, the roads, and, of course, the portion sizes are all larger and more spacious. I have been to Europe before and as an American, although I cannot speak for all my fellow countrymen, one can feel a bit claustrophobic. Ireland, I am happy to report, did not feel that way. The rolling green fields, the sparkling blue water, the delicious food, made me feel at home.
We first went to Dublin, then to Galway, then to Limerick. Now please believe me when I say that these places each held their own little charm. But, it was not what was in these towns that was exciting to me dear reader, no, it was what was outside of these places. On the way from Galway to Limerick we made a number of stops. One of them was the Burren. If you have never heard of the Burren, do not worry, I had not either before I went there. The Burren, for those waiting in suspense, is a karst landscape that is full of ancient secrets. We stopped at an ancient neolithic portal (see below), that is built above a chieftains grave. He was buried with his family and children and the thought would be these ancient stone portals would take them to the afterlife. Yes, a little dark, but this is antiquity.
After the Burren, we went to Doolin and saw the Aran Islands and by saw I mean literally. We, unfortunately, did not take the ferry to go and explore them. However, we did buy a large amount of Aran Island wool in the form of sweaters, to support the local Irish economy. Do our good deeds for the trip, if one can even call it that. I mean we kept the sweaters in the end.
During the next part of the trip, we found ourselves overlooking the Cliffs of Moher. This area was simply beautiful in every way that mattered. We were also starting to notice that the accents were starting to a get a bit thicker too, as well as some of the feelings against England. See, when we went to the Cliffs we parked in the field of a farmer, which was a farmer that our driver knew and he always tried to support his little parking business on the side. I could not understand a word he said but from the look in his bright blue eyes and kindly countenance, I knew that we were most welcome. After we left, our driver had informed us that the he and farmer had grown up in a time full of trouble, so much trouble that the historians now call that era of Irish history, The Troubles. Our driver had explained to us that the current time, that is modern Irish history, is a very brief peaceful snippet of the history of the island. He also explained to us which part of the country had suffered under English rule, and it became apparent that the Western half of the island is especially filled with resistance, heartbreak, and religious fervor. See the English cared less about the Western half of the island because it was rocky and harder to farmer, so all the free Irish men and women all went there to be free of their rule. However, with it being harder to farm, the native Celts did suffer terribly. Each community we went through had a history of being shaped through one hardship or another. I cannot explain the whole history of the island in this publication but I will promise that we will come back to it eventually.
After all of this, we ended up at Adare Manor (see below). Dear reader, I must take you aside for a moment and give you some advice. If you have ever wanted to travel to Ireland and can not think of where to stay, PLEASE stay here. I absolutely adored Adare. The food, the service, the grounds, and everything else were all immaculate. It is rather out of the way from anything but then again that is the point. The Village of Adare is beautiful as well and will provide you with everything you may need. This was also a place in which I was reminded to count my blessings as the history of the island and surrounding communities was still fresh in my mind.
However, my most favorite part of Ireland was the final part of the trip to Killarney. The food, the people, the natural sights (see Killarney National Park below) were all tremendous in the extreme. I, twice, has Irish people come and sit next to me while I was drinking my morning coffee. They had quite a number of things to say and I more more than happy to hear them. One of them was named Eddie O’Sullivan, who had been an Engineer who worked in Dublin. He grew up in Killarney and was now retiring there too. One of the pieces of simple wisdom he left me with was that “you don’t need much to be happy or healthy.”
This resonated with me rather well. See dear reader, I have been working for this job promotion for quite awhile and in order to do that I needed to be hyper-focused on my job responsibilities. However, in being this focused, I believe I lost track of many things that are important in life.
I believe Eddie O’Sullivan was put in front of me for a reason. To remind me that life is about the little things like coffee and good company. Happiness is a state of being, not a dollar amount. We must remember, and I am speaking to my American comrades here, that we must work to live not live to work. Work is important, I am still going to work hard, that is the only way one should work, but it has to be for something. Eddie was reminding me that there is more to life than spreadsheets and TV dinners and I can only thank him for his everlasting wisdom.
Also, if you have taken note and are rather surprised that the weather is sunny and beautiful in all of these photos, it’s because it was sunny and beautiful. It was a cozy 75 degrees everyday without many clouds in the sky. I must tell you, dear reader, that this was an event. Everyone from the cat to the dog was talking about how weather like this hasn’t happened in a year or two and we were grateful.
England
England was like Ireland although a little bit more serious. Perhaps that is just where I stayed. For those wondering, I was staying around Piccadilly Circus in Mayfair, heart of London, and it was enchanting. Dear reader, I have seen luxury in my life but nothing like this. Mayfair truly excelled in everything from Savile Row, to Buckingham Palace and even William Evens, a hunting store where I picked up a nice traditional English tweed hunting cap. The most memorable observation here though was when I was sitting in a cafe named the The Gentlemen Baristas, reading Joe Abercrombie’s stand alone thriller, The Heroes, I glanced up and saw a full squadron of cavalry in front of me. The commanding officer was quite commanding in commanding traffic to stop for the 25 or so soldiers on horseback, sabers included. The most surprising thing that I noticed were that most people walking by were not even seemingly alarmed at the procession, if one dares even to call it that. I had wondered if it had something to do with the coronation of King Charles the Third, but with the coronation happening sometime before I thought not. Speaking of the coronation, London was still decorated with all the pomp and circumstance that an event like that brings. It was beautiful and ever so English, Union Jacks hung were from The Mall like leaves on a summer Oak.
I was only in London for a day or two but had the best time. I really would have liked to travel up to the Highlands of Scotland or even York in Northern England but we simply did not have enough time. We had been gone for nearly two weeks at this point and everyone was feeling a tad bit homesick, myself included. However, I can confidently say that this was a trip of a lifetime and was grateful I was able to experience it with the ones I love.
Where We are Going
So now that my trip has been summarized, let us continue. Another reason why I have not yet posted is because the research for my previously planned Substack post did not go quite as planned, but in a good way. Quite frankly, I found so much material that I may do a series on it rather than one post. As to what event(s) this material is based on, I will not yet say. From a historical writers point of view, if you’ve ever wondered what is hard about writing about history it’s that it can be rather difficult to distinguish when something ends and when another thing begins.
Instead, thanks to my travels, I have been inspired to write a out an Ancient Battle that involved an Ancient Celtic Tribe and the Romans. I shan’t tell you much but I will tell you that it takes place on the continent of Europe and it is one of the instances in which Rome actually lost.
Well, dear reader, that is all I have to say for you for now. Even though I lament at you not being part of my adventures this time I would like you to know much much I thoroughly enjoyed catching up. Please know that even with my recently accrued job responsibilities I will be back to publishing on a monthly basis. I encourage all of you to travel and tell me all about the stories you accrue on such travels. Until we meet again dear reader, I wish you all the very best.
-Flint