We met a young lady in Cork yesterday.
We first saw her sitting alone at a table in the Perry Street Cafe reading a book.
We went to her table and spent more time learning about her and why she is living in Cork.
She's a sophomore studying psychology at the University of Wyoming. This year, she is doing her studies in Ireland while living with a family.
She loves to thrift shop and to hike and start out each day with a little different plan. Maybe it will be tending to academics, or it could be visiting a new place and learning more about it.
She's tall and elegant and quietly thoughtful with her responses. Volleyball was her high school sport, but, already a good student, she made a decision to concentrate even more on her studies.
A Master's Degree and possibly a career as a family counselor are now directing her pathway forward.
We were impressed the moment we saw her and throughout our visit.
We have not seen this young lady since before the Pandemic so it was a wonderful gift to spend time with her.
Aggie is Bill and my great-niece and Willie's second cousin. Her grandparents are my brother Kevin and his wife Joyce.
Aggie has outer and inner beauty aplenty.
We are very proud to know her and grateful for the time spent in that cafe and walking around a small portion of the beautiful city of Cork.
Yesterday was my first time to spend any time in downtown Cork.
It's located on the Lee River, and with nice weather blessing our day, the city, with its old and its new, was beautiful enough to make us yearn to come back and to get to know the place better.
Our first full day in Ireland took us from a fun-filled and tasty breakfast at Lawcus Farm Guest House in Stoneyford (near Kilkenny) to our final waking moments of sitting in our apartment living room, enjoying pizza while recounting our day.
Oh yeah, the surprise.
Willie and Debbie are full of surprises. After we showed them our apartment above the Purcell Art Gallery on Main Street in Kenmare, we headed off to what we thought might be dinner. (That did not happen because the pub kitchens had closed).
As we walked down the stairs and reached a landing, Willie held up his toothbrushes, telling us he had to put them somewhere. This stop along the way seemed a bit strange.
He walked over to Apartment No. 1, which is just below our unit number 2 and invited us in.
The stinkers had found online that the apartment where we stayed last year had recently opened up for a reservation.
They booked it, kept their mouths shut, except for some cryptic comments, and then used the toothbrushes to let us in on their latest secret.
And, so, the Purcell apartments are dominated by the Love family: young Love's and Ma and Pa Love.
During the day, we were feeling huge amounts of empathy for our precious daughter Annie Love who had missed her flight to Seattle on Sunday only to learn Monday morning that her Aer Lingus flight to Seattle had been cancelled.
It was another dramatic and frustrating day for her as she was rebooked on a flight to London which would be followed by a flight to Seattle.
In London Heathrow, things were crazy, longer lines and more time spent going through luggage and minutes ticking away until that Delta flight.
Annie said that, after running nearly half a mile to the gate, she boarded the plane at virtually the last second.
Happy to report this morning that our Annie is safe and sound at home in Seattle. She has one day to decompress and then get ready for another flight Wednesday to Georgia.
A jetsetter, yes, but even Annie, who lets no grass grow under her, would like to follow a much calmer schedule.
Anyway, our day in Ireland was filled with fun, breath-taking rolling green hills dotted with sheep or cattle and some cherished moments we'll take with us for a lifetime.
The one most cherished: seeing Aggie in a place where she feels so comfortable.
Bill and I both agreed that our sixth Lawcus Farm Guest House stay was the very best of many other great times and people who lure us back to Mark and Anne-Marie's every single trip.
The stay is always enriched by the banter, Mark's new creations and Anne-Marie's amazing multi-tasking of serving porridge, fruit, toast and whatever else the guests desire---many of whom return just like us.
Willie has some basketball coaching interviews to do later in the day. We'll have our laundry done at the place next door, and we'll take in as much as possible in this enchanting town, known for its lace and its countryside in Western Ireland.
Enjoy the photos taken by Willie, Debbie and me. Happy Tuesday.
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