A Warm Wexford Welcome

Wexford-Soroptimists-web

Originally uploaded by Joyz Life.

Photo: Joy, Jean Ruddock, Eleanor Doyle, Eileen Hurlihy and Mary O’Gara.

Once again Don and I were the grateful beneficiaries of the hospitality of Soroptimists – this time in Ireland. On Friday, May 4, former Soroptimist Ireland National President and Wexford Club member Eileen Herlihy and several Wexford Soroptimist Club members broke away from their work days and hosted Don and me for coffee and scones on the terrace at the Ferrycarrig Hotel. The setting on the river was gorgeous and the ladies made us feel right at home. Our lively conversation ranged from politics to pensions to health insurance and more. Eleanor, whose family is an old Wexford family, helped Don develop some leads to his family roots in Wexford (watch for Johnstown Castle blog).

Besides acting as a local historian, Eleanor is a farmer; Jean is a relationship counselor; Eileen is a retired maths teacher and manager of a school of music, which she founded and operates; and Mary is also a retired teacher.

The Wexford Club is 25 members strong and meets monthly. The club has most recently organized two gowned balls to raise 31,000 € for Special Olympics (that’s about $42,000 US).

This year’s club projects are a local women’s shelter and also the National Rehabilitation Center (DUN LAOGHAIRE) which provides treatment for people with traumatic brain injuries.

The Club also sponsors a young woman in a Soroptimist All-Ireland public speaking competition. the competition was started 25 years ago to encourage public speaking skills in young women and to help heal the rift between Northern and Southern Ireland. There is a winner from each, who then share accommodations at the Soroptimist Ireland Conference.

Eileen says they make a point of balancing good works and good fun. In the summer, instead of having formal meetings, they host social gatherings for club members in their homes –– which Eileen described as good fun and a good fundraiser.

They have paired up with the Avignon (France) Soroptimist Club and are getting ready to host a small group from that club.

Thanks so much to Eileen and the other Wexford members for another great Soroptimist memory.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge 114

Originally uploaded by Joyz Life.

Over 5,000 years ago, the people who lived in this part of England somehow conceived and built this place now called Stonehenge. Thanks to the tour we booked, we had access to the stones, which is limited to tour groups of 26 and only after regular hours. We had plenty of time to take pictures and the tour guide offered the theories of why and how Stonehenge was built.

We are on the run again, so for now, just enjoy these photos.

  

London!

Joy Don Windsor Castle

Originally uploaded by Joyz Life.

Don and I stopped by to give our regards to HM, but she was unable to see us. So, we took the tour of Windor Castle.

This is a very short stay, but thanks to Janice and Tony Lee, we had a very fun and memorable Saturday at Windsor. Today, we hopped on a double-decker tour bus and spent most of the afternoon at the Tower of London. The Crown Jewels are a must-see, after all. However, you will see no photos of them as photography is not allowed.

When I have a chance to catch my breath, I will be catching up on all the other places we have seen the past weeks. Right now, we are getting ready to move on to Ireland, but FIRST — Stonehenge! That’s tomorrow night.

   

Mysterious Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe

St Michel climb1Originally uploaded by Joyz Life.Another stop on the Soroptimist tour of Le Puy was Saint-Michel. At the top of a volcanic chimney laid bare by erosion, called Aiguilhe, sits the mystical chapel finished in 962 in honor of St. Michel. There is evidence this site was used for worship in pre-Christian times and a chapel at the base of the rock is still referred to as Diana’s Temple.

The climb up via over 200 irregular steps is challenging, but offers several landings for rest and appreciation of the vistas that include the Statue of Notre-Dame de France (visible in this photo), the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the city of Le Puy.

The tiny chapel is lit only by natural light thru narrow windows and flash photography is forbidden due to the fragile nature of the frescos that have recedntly been uncovered and somewhat restored. There are 34 columns in the chapel — one for every year of Jesus’ life. The atmosphere is indescribable — powerful and mystical.

This chapel is part of the Saint Michel pilgrimage axis–starting in Italy and ending in Ireland. There are two Saint Michel’s in France — the other on a rock offshore on the Normandy coast and was the destination of our roadtrip this past weekend. Our travel companion, Francis Chan, has some wonderful photos he has promised to give me to share with you.

Here are photos taken on my climb to the Le Puy Saint Michel entry, the rock and the chapel.

 

 

Chartres Car Show

Chartres Car ShowOriginally uploaded by Joyz Life.

How about this? We went on a roadtrip this weekend (gorgeous weather by the way) and found a classic car show going on in front of Chartres Notre Dame Cathedral. What a treat! A local Rotary Club organized it with a car club to benefit children with cerebral palsy. Looks like “car folks” are generous folks all over the world.  There was a row of old “Formula 1″ cars and the proud owner of a teeny, tiny Vespa.  That’s a 1899 vintage car Don is posing with below.

 

 

  

Le Puy-en-Velay: The Tour Begins

First, I have to give proper photo credit to SacredSites.com. Le Puy’s Notre Dame Cathedral complex is so large and the city so built up around it I didn’t get a photo that did it justice.

My designated tour guides for the day – Marilyne, Janine and Marcella (left to right in the photo below, conferring on our route for the day) – met me at the hotel the morning after the club meeting. The plan was to take a walking tour of the “vieux ville” (old town) and climb up to the Cathedral at the top of Mount Anis.  Le Puy is an ancient city with relics dating back to 2nd Century Roman times. The narrow, winding streets in the vieux ville were laid out in medieval times and some of the structures still bear markings and decorations back to those times.

One of the city’s proud traditions is a particular kind of lacemaking called dentelle.  There are many shops in the vieux ville selling dentelle and the proprietor of one of them offered to teach me. Needless to say, I won’t be taking it up as a hobby when I get back!

With Chartres, the Le Puy Notre Dame Cathedral is the oldest in France. The original structure was built on Mount Corneille in the 5th Century but was replaced by subsequent structures which were built in the 10th to 11th century as the popularity of the Cathedral grew. The design and colors on the facade and in the cloisters show a strong Byzantine influence, probably the result of Crusaders returning from the Holy

Land. The Cathedral is the starting point for the St. Jacques de Compestela Pilgrimage. Since 951, pilgrims have made an act of piety or pilgrimage by walking from Le Puy to Saint Jaques de Competelle, Spain. On the way they stopped at places where the relics of other saints were worshipped. 

   Over time, the cathedral has been subject to major repair work, so some of the original structure has been replaced. The inside of the cathedral is lovely and some of the frescos and statuary were repaired  or discovered under whitewash. There is a copy of the Cathedral’s famous Black Virgin on the main altar. The original was burned during the French Revolution. The interior of the cathedral was very dark and I was not able to get a good photo, so this one is from another website: us.franceguide.com.

Les femmes du club de Le Puy-en-Velay Soroptimist sont merveilleuses !

Joy and President MarieJoOriginally uploaded by Joyz Life.When I received the email from Dr. Dominique Testud, I was charmed and delighted. Dr. Dominique not only speaks fluent English — she attended Lousiana State University — she was inviting us to visit her Soroptimist Club in Le Puy-en-Velay!

Le-Puy-en-Velay is a town in the “Haute Loire” region about 90 kilometers southwest of Lyons. It is a very old city going back to 2nd Century Roman times. The geology is volcanic and the city is built on hills — with dramatic volcanic spikes that hold religious statues and a church. The oldest part of their Notre Dame Cathedral dates back to the 12th Century. But more on all that later.

From the moment we stepped off the train in Le-Puy-en-Velay we knew we had come to a very special place. Four Soroptimists — holding a SI logo sign — and one Frère-optimist (that’s what they call the husbands) — were there to greet us, help us with our luggage and drive us to our hotel.

The warm hospitality continued through the next five days — in fact we were having such a good time, we stayed a day longer than planned. Dominique, Janine, MarieJo, Marilyne and Marcella were excellent tour guides, making sure we not only saw all the sights of Le Puy, but of the surrounding area. More on that later, too.

Thank you, ladies, for your generosity and friendship. Don and I will never forget our visit. As time permits I will be sharing all those wonderful sights of Le Puy-en-Velay in prose and photos. So stay tuned for Le Puy Parts 2, 3, 4, etc.