Homeward Bound

One month until I fly home, and it's consuming my thoughts.

The Halfway Point

We've just returned from our trip back home to Toronto. While we were there we celebrated the end of Hannukkah, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and our 2nd wedding party. It was very hectic but absolutely wonderful. In fact, when our Air India flight touched down in Toronto I got so emotional that I couldn't hold back the tears. Although I didn't grow up there, I feel such an intense attachment to Toronto. I can only describe it as love, strange as that may sound. I love my city... I love Toronto. And don't even get me started on the people, my people. Oh god, I love them so much that it hurts to think about it now that I'm back in Ireland far away from them again.

So yeah, it was an intense trip. My parents came from Tel Aviv, my brother came from Montreal, my cousins and their kids came from upstate New York, and other friends were in town too. We ran around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to see everyone (wow, do I ever hate that saying...their heads cut off, really? ugh!). My moods swung crazily between irritation/exhaustion and over-the-top joy/gratitude. Luckily we spent the last couple of days at J's family's cottage where things were very peaceful, and I had time to process my thoughts and feeling. Most importantly, I got to catch up on some sleep and spend time with our sweet little niece.

Overall, I was left feeling very happy and unbelievably lucky. I cannot express how grateful I am to have such amazing friends and family, so many people to love and so many who love me. I apologize for the extreme cheesiness, but it's true. I am entering 2010 with love in my heart, so thank you, thank you, thank you! Happy new year to each and every one of you.

November's News

November was eventful for us here, with our first year in Cork quickly nearing its end and our married life just beginning. It feels like the universe is reminding me that the cycle of life just keeps on spinning, always changing and moving forward.

We spent the first weekend of November on a mini-vacation in Amsterdam with our close friends L & C. It was definitely too short, but it was also really cool to just skip over to Amsterdam for a weekend! Woah, Europe, I love you!






A few days after we got back from Amsterdam, we went on a 5-day trip to Malaga in southern Spain. We didn't know much about Malaga when we booked the flight a few months ago. We were just looking for a cheap vacation to a place that would be warmish in November, at least compared to Ireland. So, we chose southern Spain and then I did some research. First I decided that we should stay in Malaga as opposed to going to the many other (great) places in southern Spain because we were looking for a more restful vacation. Then I found out about a nice-looking hostal (a small guest-house) called The El Riad Andaluz in the heart of Malaga's historic city center. This place turned out to be a godsend. The family who owns it are amazing - really warm, outgoing, and helpful. The husband, Flo, spent ages when we checked in telling us about his favorite spots in the city for food, music, drinks, and other things. Every time we went to one of those places they turned out to be truly wonderful. The restaurants were delicious, the flamenco show was breathtaking, and he was absolutely right that Saturday afternoon should be spent on the beach eating paella or freshly grilled sardines. He also helped us to arrange a day-trip to the Alhambra, and got us out of a bind when we realized during our day-trip that we had forgotten our credit card at a restaurant the night before (ack!). Our entire vacation in Spain was....for lack of a less cheesy word... magical, and it was in large part due to our great hotel owners. I'm so glad we found that place!
These days I dream of returning to Malaga. In my mind, it represents sunny days, delicious tapas, peaceful beaches, dramatic flamenco, streets full of people, wild Picasso paintings, and gorgeous fashions.









After all our travels, we stayed in Cork for the rest of November. However, our adventures continued nonetheless! On Nov 13 we had lots of fun at The Good Wine Show at The Clarion Hotel, only to find it was absolutely pouring rain (lashing, as they would say here) when we left to go home. The rain didn't stop all night, and eventually it actually flooded a large portion of Ireland.
Floods are not completely unusual here since it rains so much and since many rivers cut through the towns, but the flooding in the last few weeks has been some of the worst southwest Ireland has had in decades. Luckily we were not affected much by it, but some of friends had no water at their homes and many of the businesses that we frequent in the city centre were badly flooded. In fact, the flooding was only a block away from our building - crazy! Also, one of the walls of the river simply collapsed (rather than overflowing) and it was just outside Jon's work. Here are some pictures we took in the morning when everyone was out on the streets looking at the water in shock:







Our friends Alex (from Quebec) and Fraser (from Scotland) got married on November 27th. It was the first wedding we've attended since our own in late September, and since it was a civil ceremony it was actually in the same place that we had ours. The woman who married us remembered us and we had a nice chat with her. Cork is just so friendly.

This week our good friends Lyne & Charles are leaving to go back home to Canada. They were in Ireland for a year and now they are ending their adventures abroad. It was very sad to say goodbye to them, and will be strange here without them. We had such nice Sunday wine & cheese days with them, and they were like our extended family here in our home away from home. It feels like the end of an era.

We are going home for a visit too, luckily - Yay! - on December 16th. I can't wait to see everyone. In fact, I'm secretly hoping that all the airplanes break down and we get stuck there. Just kidding. Well, kinda.

L

A Hankering For Home

Despite the fact that I did not grow up in Toronto, the city and I have a very warm and enthusiastic relationship. I lived there from 1997 until I left for Ireland in 2008, and I still consider it my home. I love its neighborhoods, its nooks & crannies, its festivals, the sound that the subway doors make when they are closing, and the fact that there is always a park nearby.

I can't wait to sit on the rock in Yorkville Park:



I can't wait to go to the Art Gallery of Ontario, especially since I haven't seen it since its new design yet!



Ohhh, and I am salivating at the thought of Mezzetta...yummm!



And it's always so cool to check out the Toronto Sculpture Garden, hidden away like a secret little treasure:



The coziest, most delicious brunch spot that I've been craving is Luna Cafe:


(Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawn/3545257956/)


I miss you, Toronto - I miss you and I'm thinking of you!

Highlights of Off-Blogging Times:

1. Our friend D came to visit us after his adventures on the Camino de Santiago. One day we took him to Fitzgerald Park, where we marvelled at the magical mirrored tree.



And played in the playground.


And then in the evening, went out dancing, leaving us in a sort of exhausted euphoria.



2. Our next highlight was a visit to Tel Aviv. We got a chance to hang out at the beach, walk around the downtown shops and markets, and still do plenty of family stuff. My youngest cousin got married, his older sister had her first baby, and we had a celebratory lunch for my father's 60th birthday. On top of all that, everyone was congratulating us on our engagement and wanted all the info & details. Of course, we didn't have the info to offer up, but we just developed a generic narrative for people. Funny how these things go!










3. Jon came home to Cork before me because of work, so I ended up coming back just a few days before my 32nd birthday. Before I left Jon bought me surprise tickets to a Tracy Chapman concert that I'd been dying to go and see. However, the concert was on the night of the day that I arrived back in Cork. Things should have still gone smoothly, but of course they did not. My Tel Aviv-Heathrow flight left late, so I missed my connection to the Heathrow-Cork flight. Luckily I got one 2 hours later, but I nearly had a heart attack when I thought I might miss the concert!







4. The day after the concert, we had an appointment with the Cork wedding registrar at an ungodly hour of the morning. I was tired, but excited & nervous.
A very friendly woman met with us and went through some fairly simple questions and instructions. Then she told us to pick a date for our civil ceremony...!
So, we are getting married on Friday Sept 25th in Cork! Yay!
We are also planning a post-wedding party in Toronto and one in Tel Aviv, but for now we will have a wee little ceremony in September.




5. Next, my brother and his partner Emily came to visit us in Cork for a bit. We had a great time checking out St. Finnbarre's Cathedral, ringing the Shandon Bells, heading out to Blarney Castle, and other shenanigans.









OK, this post has taken me much longer than I expected. Enjoy this last little video, and I hope to be back soon.
Shalom!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9NgXIkyiwk

Today I miss all of you a lot. I know it's very snowy in Toronto - All your facebook info told me so. It's just damp and chilly here. I slept in more than I intended to, and now there are some annoying loud kids in the internet cafe. I'm not in the mood to write a real update. I just wanted to say that I miss you! I want to show you the new apartment, I want to ask you for your advice about how to set up the furniture, I want to stand on the bridge and watch the people & pigeons with you, and I want to take you to see traditional Irish music ("craic") at the pub. So start planning your visits!