In the Steps of Ernest Hemingway

Visited some of the former haunts of Ernest Hemingway during his Paris years. One stop was Shakespeare and Company, a bookstore which he used to frequent.

Stopped in for dessert at Le Pré aux Clercs Cafe, a favorite of Hemingway's. The chocolate mousse was delicious, but I'm guessing Hemingway favored something a wee bit "stronger" when he used to drop in.

Musee de Victor Hugo

Went to Place des Vosges to see the former home of Victor Hugo, which is now a museum and an art gallery dedicated to his work.

Statue of Victor Hugo in the gallery.

A portion of the gallery was dedicated to Les Miserables. Here I am with a statue of Cosette as a wee lass.

Close-up of the Cosette statue.

More Paris Sightseeing

Spent the day exploring more of the sights of Paris. Here I at L'Hotel de Ville.

The Louvre!

Stopped by the Garnier Opera House to try and pay a visit to the Phantom... sadly he wasn't in. :-)

Statue of Garnier behind the Opera House.

Bonjour Paris!

Left me' beloved Emerald Isle to travel with the lasses from William and Mary during their free weekend. We took one of those confounded Ryanair flights that costs ye' next to nothin', and next thing we knew we were in Paris!

Took an evening boat ride on the Seine to see Paris all aglow.

It was a wee bit rainy our first night in Paris- apparently we brought the Irish rain with us!

Emmy the Great

Stopped for a fish and chips dinner at McDonagh's, a very popular restaurant in Galway.

Then headed over to Roisin Dubh to hear Emmy the Great, a wee lass from Britain, play a concert at part of the Galway Arts Festival.

Harry Potter!!

Although Ireland doesn't seem to partake in the midnight movie hysteria, the girls did make it to an evening showing of the most recent movie about that lad Harry Potter today. Here I am with the ticket stub, and a special Irish magazine celebrating the film's release.

Connemara Marble Quarry

Went to the home of the beautiful Connemara marble to visit a quarry there.

A view of the actual quarry.

Piles of leftover "scrap" marble- they let everyone take a piece home with them!

Home Sweet Home at Corrib Village

The girls are growing quite fond of their little apartment in Corrib Village. They are even making home-cooked meals... gasp! ;-)
Tonight's dinner was garlic and herb chicken with pasta- delicious!

Night Out in Galway

To celebrate the completion of their first batch of papers, the girls had a fun night out in Galway. They had dinner at the crepe restaurant, and then went to see the movie Bruno. (Clearly a truly authentic Irish outing!) ;-)

Visit to Knowth

Stopped by the ancient burial site at Knowth in the Boyne River Valley before driving back to Galway. Here I am in the vistor center waiting for the shuttle to take us to the actual site.

Here I am at the real thing- that mound covers a large passage tomb used to store cremated remains in ancient times. This photo was taken just before it started pouring down rain and we all got a wee bit wet, to say the least.