Tag: park

Posted in Travel sparks

Village oasis

Posted on by Cate

On Friday, I met my lovely friend Sophie for lunch in NYC. Soph and I used to work together, joining our professional services firm on the same day around six years ago. Fortunately, we have remained friends long after our interesting challenges at that place were over. (But those days will be a chapter in my book one day: the working title for that section, “Mon Dieu! Surviving the GFC and a crazy French Canadian boss”.)

Anyways, Soph is now living and working in New York, so it was great to get the chance to catch up while I’m in town. We met at a great little restaurant, Rosemary’s, near Soph’s home in the West Village. (Not that this is a food blog, but I definitely recommend Rosemary’s for a casual meal – they even have a rooftop garden that supplies some of their delicious fresh ingredients.)

[Image from rosemarysnyc.com]
 
I arrived early, so spent time wandering around the Village and discovered an amazing oasis amidst the bustle of the busy city, where sounds of sirens, car horns and construction can be kinda overwhelming. This magical place was filled with the sounds of birds, insects and quiet chatter (plus one man talking loudly on his phone for a loooong time). Turns out it’s also the site of Miranda and Steve’s wedding in Sex and the City. And normal people can get married there too, just fyi.    

    
    
    
 Jefferson Market Garden. An amazing place, staffed by volunteers, and well worth a visit if you’re in town – a perfect spot to take a break, take a breath, and enjoy this oasis in the Village.

Posted in Travel sparks

There is no place like home. Except when there is.

Posted on by Cate

So, here’s my last travellin’ post for a little while. A collection of some of the pics from my final days in Ireland – after a fortnight of mostly perfect weather, these last few days have been rainy and pretty chilly, so it’s a good time to head home to the sun. Always tough to leave here, but I have had a fantastic holiday and it has been great to be able to catch up with old friends and check out some of my old haunts. There’s a line in that John O’Donohue poem (‘For the Traveller’, which I posted a few weeks ago) about old friends making it seem like nothing has changed since you were last with them, and that is exactly how it’s been. Whether it’s five years or ten years since I’ve seen some of my Irish mates, they’re the kind of friends who fit like a glove. Some people don’t have any place that feels like home – I know I’m super lucky to have two. Waa waa waa – here are the photos!

Beautiful day for a run in Phoenix Park, Dublin. I tried to get a photo of the herd of deer that live in the park, but from this distance they looked sort of like a pile of logs, so I didn’t think you’d believe me anyway.
Phoenix Park – it’s one of the largest enclosed parks in Europe. Yes, I did double check that fact online.
About 30% of the Phoenix Park is covered by trees, which are mainly broadleaf parkland species such as oak, ash, lime, beech, sycamore and horsechestnut. Yes, that’s from the PhoenixPark.ie website too.
Now THAT’s a Banoffee pie. With about 10cm of cream on top, at Avoca cafe.
The first rule of Cake Club? Talk to everyone about Cake Club, I’d say.
Ah, modern pharmaceutical art. From an exhibition at a Wexford art gallery.
It’s a Jedward chocolate bar. A twin bar, to be precise. The side of the packet says, “FULL ON, CRAZY, JEADLEY!” Yes, really.
Some of the locals saying hello in Wexford.
One of the many pretty thatched houses in Kilmore, Wexford.
Kilmore, Wexford.
Great name.
Ah, country life. Stuck behind this big guy for around 20 mins as it made its way along the narrow roads to the farm.
It’s real and it’s in Dublin. I was too scared to go in, though, so I can’t tell you any more about it.
Posted in Travel sparks

A bat and a park

Posted on by Cate

I’ll warn you now that today’s post isn’t terribly exciting – it’s about a cookie and a park. But since this blog is all about finding little sparks in the everyday, and it’s my travel diary while I’m on the road, here it is…

Today was a bit rainy, so we went shopping. We met Barry the Bat at a cafe. A nice take on the traditional gingerbread people and perfect for Halloween next month – although maybe a bit scary for little people to eat a biscuit with big fangs…

Then this afternoon I went for a run in a park here in Dublin, during a break in the rain.

It looks like a nice park, right? That’s what I thought too – then I saw this graffiti on the fence and spent the rest of my run looking over my shoulder. They were out.