LoveFeast Table

Our friend Cara from Land of Bean asked us to share a traveling story today!  Cara has this great (meaning, we wish we had thought of it!) site BlogTrotting.  BlogTrotting features bloggers from around the world and they share about their city or trips!  It’s a virtual way to see the world!!

Anyone who’s been following us here at LoveFeast Table, knows we love to travel as do our husbands (which makes traveling easier to justify!)  When we talk about life values and family values, travel is up there on the list!  Todd and Chris Ann have traveled to Spain, Mexico, Australia and Germany to name a few!  Devon and I have traveled to China, Philippines, Ireland and South Africa.  Devon and Todd landed in India within weeks of each other!  But, the one thing we had never done, was travel together!  So, about 5 years ago, we began to scheme.  You see, my brother was getting married to an English gal and the wedding was going to be in Winchester.  As Italy is just a hopper flight away, the four of us began to plan how we could meet!  I have to tell you, we’re not wealthy people, by any stretch of the imagination.  Like I said before, we just make travel a priority!  Some of you may have college funds for your kids, ah hem, all of our kids have passports.

We began to pinch our pennies (borrow from the grocery budget) and book our rooms (thank goodness for Craigslist!)  Then we had a little surprise.  I found out I was pregnant with number 5!  We quickly did the math and realized he would be five months old when we boarded the plane.  Now, I know there are mommas out there that would cancel their plans and rethink the trip…but, not us!!  We are firm believers in traveling with kids!  Does it slow you down a bit?  Sure.  Can it be an inconvenience to lug the stroller around? Definitely!  Is it worth it? Absolutely!

I have to pause here to admit we were in no way nervous about taking Little Man, in fact, this would be easy!  We had traveled through China, Philippines and Ireland with our other four kids!  At the time, Teapot (our daughter) was only two.  So, just taking Little Man would be a cinch!

We arrived in Pisa.  We hopped in our rental car and zipped towards Florence.  Devon said, “Isn’t the Leaning Tower of Pisa here?” “No. There’s no way this is the same place.”  Yup, it was there…we missed it.  I totally chalk it up to “new mommy brain” still in full swing!  We drove into Florence and it took about an hour to find our apartment.  We knocked on the door.  No answer.  We weren’t even sure we had the right building.  We walked around, checked our map, came back.  Still no answer.  Travel Tip #1…when meeting friends in a foreign country and neither of you have your cell phones, figure out way to communicate in case you can’t find one another!  No, we finally did find them!  About a half hour later, we knocked again.  This time, Todd yells out from the third floor…”We’re here!”

We were two blocks from the Duomo!  We walked there that night.

Breathtaking as it was to see it lit up…it was even more breathtaking the next day.

We stood in line, Little Man in the Bjorn ready to climb the 463 steps to the top of the Dome.

The view from the top, was breathtaking!

It’s easy to see why so many artists were inspired in Florence!  On the way down, Little Man was hungry and I stopped to feed him.  He nursed in the Duomo!

It’s funny, because the next day, while we were walking in the city, we overheard two women say, “Yesterday I was in the Duomo and I swear I heard a baby crying!”  Yes, Little Man left his mark!

He was with us when we saw Michelangelo’s Deposition.

He had his first taste of risotto.

He rubbed the pig’s nose, guaranteeing he would one day return to Italy!

He tasted gelato.

No, he didn’t have espresso or

grappa…we do have our limits!

He did make it home with us after we had an amazing meal with “The Baby” and a little limoncello and he spoke Italian.

Little Man sat with us and took in Tuscany…

while we tasted the wine…

savored the food and

let all of our senses be overwhelmed, by Italy.

Whether you’re thinking of globe traveling or Blogtrotting, don’t let children slow you down or discourage you from going!  We met many people we wouldn’t have because everywhere we went we heard “Bellissimo Bambino!”

Two of my five children have red hair.  The question is always asked, “Are you Irish?”  I smile and reply, “Yes!”  My mother’s side of the family is Irish.  I was raised with the understanding that to be Irish was something to be proud of.  Her family is fiercely loyal and loving!  They are a force to be reckoned with.  They can drink beer and appreciate the good stuff!  They are witty and sarcastic, passionate and vivacious!  Even when my grandmother passed away, there was singing and clanking of glasses…a true Irish wake.

My husband and I had the opportunity to travel to Northern Ireland with our family a few of years ago.  I have to tell you, two days in that country, I felt at home.  My family and their personalities were to be found everywhere we went.  My kids fit right in.

We stayed with a family who welcomed all of us and were happy to give us the inside scoop to the culture in Belfast.

We walked the neighborhoods and visited the Shank Hill.

Devon learned how to play the Bodhran.

We walked on both sides of the Peace Wall.

We visited the local places to eat (of course).

This week, I emailed our friend and asked if he would share a little about St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland.  My first question, “Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland?”  (I just wondered how much Hallmark had played a part!)  Jon responded, “We do indeed celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  It’s not traditionally as crazy and commercialized as it is in the States, but that’s changing.  Dublin has a huge parade now.   St. Patrick’s in Belfast, like everything else, is complicated.   It has tended to be a ‘Catholic’ holiday; Protestants usually complain that Catholics wearing Republic of Ireland football tops and waving Irish flags is not very ‘inclusive’.  Over the past ten years, Belfast city council has made moves to make St. Patrick’s day something for everybody.”

I asked Jon if there was traditional food served on St. Patty’s Day.  He said, “There isn’t a typical ‘St. Patrick’s Day’ food or dish, but in general, Irish everyday cuisine looks a bit like this:

Probably one of our most common and popular dishes is a ‘full breakfast’, which despite the name is available any time of day.  An Irish full breakfast will vary slightly depending where you are and what local culture is like, but will usually have bacon rashers, sausages, fried eggs, white pudding, black pudding, toast, sauteed sliced potato, and fried tomato.

Here in Northern Ireland, an Irish breakfast is called an ‘Ulster Fry’ or simply a ‘fry’ and consists of bacon, fried eggs, sausages (either pork or beef), fried soda farls (a form of soda bread; the farl is split in half cross ways to expose the inner bread and then fried with the exposed side down), potato bread and wheaten bread.  Sometimes, depending on where you are, it gets served with baked beans.  Top it off with a cuppa (tea, not coffee; a ‘cuppa’ is always tea; a ‘coffee’ is coffee).

Irish stew is popular everywhere and is made from lamb, beef or mutton (mutton used because it is fattier and more flavorful) potatoes, carrots, onions, and parsley.  Traditionally, stew is made from whatever is available on the day, so that’s not a hard fast recipe.  Many people add Guinness to it, which is fabulous!

Soda bread and wheaten bread are staples.

Another  popular bread is barmbrack, a slightly sweet high-rising bread with raisins in it (the name is from the Irish báirín breac, literally ‘speckled loaf’ because of the raisins).

Boxty, pancakes made from potatoes are also common.

Ham steaks called Gammon are another local dish.

Seafood is also a staple, but traditionally in many parts of Ireland, seafood was looked down upon as what you ate if there was nothing else or you were very poor.  But today it’s very popular and some of the best seafood in the world comes out of our waters.”

Thank you Jon for sharing a wee bit of information with us!  Honestly, I learned a lot!  I have to admit, I’m a little bummed as I have already purchased the corn beef, cabbage and potatoes.  This has been the St. Patrick’s Day menu in my house for as long as I can remember…along with homemade Irish Soda Bread!

So, friends, we raise our glass to you and leave you with this, “Here’s to me, and here’s to you.   And here’s to love and laughter.   I’ll be true as long as you.   And not one moment after.”  (Irish Toast)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Africa on the brain.  I’ve got it bad.  It seems to be the topic of conversation swirling around me this week.  First, I just want to say welcome back to those bloggers who went to Kenya with Compassion International.  I’m pretty sure they landed today!  I know today they will land in their respective airports and feel like they stepped into another world.  The first thing they’ll immediately realize is how clean everything is.  Then they’ll feel lost in the immensity of how large the airport is!  They will be so happy to see familiar faces and hug their kids.  They will be exhausted and a bit numb by all they’ve taken in.  They probably have stuffed all they saw, felt, touched into a box to be opened after some sleep…and slowly.  It’s a lot to unpack.  I’m thinking about them today.

The hardest part about coming back to America after a trip like this, is wanting to have others understand exactly what they’ve experienced.  Their eyes were opened to the realities of how others live.  It wasn’t just on a TV screen, or on a blog post, where it’s hard to relate.  They touched these kids.  They walked into their dirt floor homes and saw the pots of boiled corn mush they were eating.  Their brains began to connect that these kids don’t get pop tarts or hamburgers.  These kids don’t have closets full of clean clothes.  These kids don’t have a mattress and pillow on which to lay their heads.  Many of them have lost their parents.  They may not get hugged and kissed, because everyone (adults included) find it hard to think past their angry stomachs or aching heads.  I could go on.

You see, I have spent some time traveling to countries around the world with my family.  One of those places I went to was South Africa.  We went to serve with Thrive Africa.  They took us to the poorest township in South Africa, Qwa Qwa.  I spent two weeks walking through this township and witnessing how so many people live their lives.  The homes were made with mud, corrugated tin and cardboard.  Talk about a recycling program!  We could learn a lot from them about how to reduce waste.

There was one really large and pristine building in the township.   We asked what that building was.  “It’s the funeral parlor.”  You see, this township totally closes down on Friday and Saturday, because there are so many funerals.  AIDS has torn their community apart.

There is one thing that surprised me about the people in Africa.  They had hope!  You see, when we traveled, one thing I always asked young people when I met them, “What’s your passion?  What do you want to do with your life?”  In the Philippines the question was answered with a dead look.  The young girl looked befuddled at my question.  “What do you mean?” she asked.  “I just need to get a job to help feed my family.”  There wasn’t a sense of hope, just duty.  No room for dreaming.  But, in Africa, when I asked this question I heard answers like, “Be a photographer!”  “I want to be a doctor!”  “I want to make Hollywood movies.”  I know what you’re thinking, most of those dreams probably won’t come true.  But, their answers were riddled with hope!  It makes me wonder what our response would be here in America if our situation were to change.  If our gorgeous, larger than we need homes were reduced to the size of our sheds…if our refrigerators were empty and contained only cornmeal…if we lost a child, what would our answers be?

We even take our hopes and dreams for granted.

You can read the blogger’s stories here:

MckMama …Chris Ann met MckMama at an event this fall.  We love seeing Africa through her lens!

This is Reverb…Reverb is a friend around here! He is part of our TakeOn Challenge!  Read what he’s writing, it will grab your heart!

We Are That Family

Brad Ruggles

Church Relevance

Cataylstspace

You could say that I was rescued.  My husband happened to have a business trip in Mexico last week and I had to go with him.  Had to.  Because my back yard looks like this.

And, actually I could be dying of low vitamin D or even C.  So, you could say that this trip was practically a need.

And, of course, being a mother of four and multitasking a kid in every stage of life (high school, middle school, elementary school and kindergarten… I could use a little R&R.

But really the true story is that I went for the sake of research, grueling tedious research.   Because I  wanted to share with you..our dear, dear readers, especially the ones who live in Minnesota or the Upper Midwest… especially those that are mothers, or married, or those of us who work too hard and too long, those whose fingers are tired from typing and twittering, or even those in need of a destination wedding.

To let you know….there is nothing here not to like.

Unless of course…you don’t like…relaxing poolside.

Or..the idea of stuffing yourself to the brim with all sorts of delish Mexican food and nonstop guacamole snacking….

and waiters who keep you happy with fresh fruity and frozen drinks like this-

or, if you don’t long to retire at night in a bed that looks like this-

after you’ve taken a dip in your own lovely private-ish pool.

Yes, after, much inspection and fearless research..I have discovered that this place is going to be OK for you to visit –safe, restful, beautiful, maybe even heavenly.   Yes, it’s true..that I knew it right off the bat that I was going to like it here.

This was nice.

But, this was a very very good sign.

So, if your not looking to relax and be pampered,

And, if you’re not wanting to indulge in any way,

Don’t bother going here-

you’ll just be disappointed.

I’ll just save you the trip, ’cause I’ve done the research….you just won’t like it.

*Where was I?  Secret’s Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun, in Playa del Carmen.  And, the honest truth is that it’s a perfect place for a haggard mother or a destination wedding.  Unfortunately, they didn’t pay me to say that.