News from County Kerry, Ireland...

Out tour guide, Allie, mentioned that men from County Kerry, referred to as "Kerry Men", had a certain presence and charm... here in the south we call it swagger or moxie.... click on links and read about two "Kerry Men" we met while in Ireland.

Billy and The Irish Jaunting Car...

Brenden and his Irish Dogs...

The "Love Birds" exchange Claddagh rings in Claddagh...

The Claddagh ring is a traditional Irish ring, given in friendship or worn as a wedding ring. The design and customs associated with it originated in the Irish fishing village of Claddagh, located just outside the old walls of the city of Galway.... read the whole story... HERE...

Níl aon leigheas ar an ngrá ach pósadh.
(The only cure for love is marriage.)

"Enchanting Ireland" blog just started....

"Like wild geese we all have flown, to Columbia's rich shores of Ameriquay...

Those Emerald hues, they haunt us home, with a vow in our heart to return one day..."

... and we did... as a celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary and our family heritage. We hope you enjoy our experiences from our trip to Ireland, the land of "40 shades of green".

We recently started a new blog titled "Enchanting Ireland" as a way to organize and share our experiences and Bernie's paintings from our recent trip.

Click here... "Enchanting Ireland"

Bernie and Tami

Dublin Rocks!

While in Dublin... Tami and I came across some interesting spots of special interest to me.... proving Dublin ROCKS!

Here I am pictured at Rory Gallagher Corner in the Temple Bar area of the city. The late Rory Gallagher is one of my favorite strat playing bluesmen... I've included a video for you to check out.

Here I am at a Dublin rocker's tribute statue... the late Phillip Lynott of the rock band, Thin Lizzy. Enjoy this video which includes another one of my favorite guitarist... Gary Moore who is from Belfast.

~

On August 20th, 2005, on what would have been his 56th birthday, a statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled in Dublin's Grafton Street by his mother. There to witness the event were members of Thin Lizzy from throughout the band's career. Later that evening they joined forces under the leadership of Gary Moore for a concert that paid tribute to Lynott's memory. Source: Eagle Rock Entertainment

Below is a photo of "The Clarence Hotel" located along the Liffey River in Dublin. The cool thing about The Clarence is that is owned by Bono & The Edge of Irish rock group U2... another one of my favorite bands. I have also included a video by U2.... enjoy....

Enchanting Ireland series officially begins NOW...

Follow my WIPs (Works in Progress) on my new "Enchanting Ireland" painting series HERE...

Great News... My first solo show set for August 2009.

I just received some great news... my recent trip to Ireland will be the inspiration behind my first solo art exhibit set for the Baysden Gallery in August 2009. The exhibit is titled "Enchanting Ireland" and I have exactly one year to paint approx. 24 paintings for the show. I look forward to sharing this journey with you and could use your encouragement every step of the way. I have been sorting through the 1900+ reference images I took trying to chronicle a story about this special trip. I hope to capture the beauty of the country and her people in this special series.
Stay tuned...
Bernie

Forgot to mention... we got addicted to CRAIC in Dublin!

Let me explain... CRAIC is the Irish word for FUN! It all started in Dublin... from day one we were addicted and "had good craic"... translated "had a blast"... the whole time we were in Ireland. We'll share some of our Craic'n good times with you over the course of the next few weeks... enjoy this video I found on youtube sharing GOOD CRAIC in Dublin...



Until our next post...
Bernie and Tami

We are SO small....

While flying to Ireland... I realized something... we are SO small...
Read about it here...

Bernie and Tami had a BLAST in Ireland!

We had a GREAT time in Ireland!

Here we are at Trinity College in Dublin where we got to see the "Book of Kells" and so much more...

Ireland is a lovely country and the Irish people were so warm... "Enchanting"... just as our Go Ahead Tour was aptly named. Our perfect vacation was made complete by the our wonderful tour guide, Allie, bus driver, Hugh, and all the friends we made on our tour. Here they all are... Click on image to enlarge.

Thanks everyone for a special vacation we will never forget!

We promise to share a full report with photos (we took over 1900 photos) when we settle in and catch up with real life.

Bernie and Tami

JAKERS! The "Wild Geese" return home!

Jakers!!!! Tami and Bernie are heading to Emerald Isle for our 20th wedding anniversary.

The real Emerald Isle... Ireland!

Jakers... the Irish expression for WOW!... sums up perfectly how we feel about this trip. We are like "Wild Geese" returning home. Tami's g-g-g-great grandfather, Dudley Lee, left Dublin at age 11 for the new world in 1770... 238 years later his family returns... how cool is that!

We look forward to sharing our adventure with you upon our return...

Bernie and Tami