Sorry for the lack of blogging everybody! This summer has been busily rolling along and I’ve been neglecting the site.

Summer has been a madhouse so far. Kelly went back to Canada for 3 weeks and I stayed here to teach and work on my masters. While she was away I got in some hiking, surfing, rugby and lots of cycling.

Kelly returned to a job at the university doing a research project on the treatment of high blood pressure and writing a paper on high altitude medicine. Unfortunately, at the beginning of July Kelly injured her ankle in a tag rugby game. She damaged ligaments, tendons and her calf muscle and followed all of that up with a blood clot later in the summer. So… lots of time in hospitals, in a cast and on crutches. It has been 7 weeks now and she is still on crutches and in a cast. 2 more weeks at least…

Practicing sitting still...thank goodness for a removable cast!!!

Otherwise, the summer has been great!! Here are some highlights of the Irish summer so far (other than work and masters)

Ring of Kerry – 180km cycle around the Ring of Kerry in a day. The weekend after Kelly destroyed her ankle we were set to head to Kerry with a group of friends for a charity cycle. Poor Kell was limited to crutching around and drinking wine with her girlfriends.

Glencoaghan Horseshoe – Had beautiful weather for a big hike in Connemara National Park with a group of friends. Lots of elevation gain and loss, great rock, amazing trail! Will go back for sure.




Achill Island camping – Surf trip up to Achill Island with a gang of friends. Beach camping, pubs, roast meat on the BBQ, and some great coastal hiking.


Momma Oldring visit – Although we’ll take her under any circumstances, it was really nice to have her help out when Kelly got out of the hospital. Not only the company for Kelly while she was laid up (not really, the active little beaver) but she was constantly cooking, cleaning, and making our lives a general pleasure during a very stressful time. She was lucky enough also to catch the end of the Galway Arts Festival and the beginning of Race Week. The city was buzzing with visitors and the streets were packed.



Summer BBQ’s – Lots and lots and lots of meat roasted.

Tag Rugby – Irelands version of softball or coed soccer. Two social nights a week, playing non-contact rugby (with flags instead of tackles). Every season they have a fancy dress night and our theme was “Fame”. Oh yeah, we won the league.

a little aerobics on the pitch!!

Our team captain Eddie

This guy is not on our team but clearly deserves a spot on the blog...hilarious!!

So. For five years Kelly has been laughing at my hilarious wit and basking in my intellectual prowess. To celebrate our 5th anniversary, we found some flights to Italy, YEAH! Our original plan was to find a 4 day backpacking trip but when Kelly destroyed her ankle she felt that she couldn’t do a long distance hike with a cast and crutches. She wanted to but the doctors said no.

So, we flew into Treviso, just north of Venice, rented a car, and headed north into the Alps. After our first pizza, cappuccino and gelato we found our B&B in the tiny village of Nebbiu (pop. 200). That afternoon we went for a nice drive to check out the area.

That night we asked our host for any recommendations for dinner. He mentioned 2 options and we opted for the one closest to our B&B, The Sky Bar Trattoria (Or Ski Bar Trattoria, depending on where you read their name). As soon as we walked in the owner came up and welcomed us with open arms. We didn’t have a reservation but he found us a table anyway and was excited to have two Canadians visiting. As there were no menus, the owner simply asked us what we wanted. ???? When we paused he suggested either the traditional pasta starter followed by a meat dish or he would bring us samplers of typical dishes and a main meat dish (vegetarian for Kelly of course). We opted for the samplers and he proceeded to bring us 4 starters each with a light red wine to suit the dishes (everything from pancetta, olive plates, ravioli with beet root, pasta with pancetta, polenta with mushrooms au jus, ). It was really nice, as he’d come to the table to talk about each and every course; it’s ingredients, it’s connection to the local people and what specific area of the north it was from. When we were just about stuffed he brought the main dishes, a beautifully baked cheese for Kelly and deer for me (I had it finished before discovering it was Bambi), again, with a different wine to suit the food. With no menus, amazing plentiful food and bottomless wine, we began to be concerned about the bill. I knew I had about 120 euro in my wallet and Kelly had another 50 so we hoped we could cover it without Visa’s help. After desserts, cappuccinos, and aperitifs I went to pay the bill. 65 euro. Total. For the best dinning experience of our lives!! That’s 2 starters and a bottle of beer in Ireland!! (Okay, slight exaggeration). Needless to say we made a reservation for the next night, how could we turn our backs on such a great experience?


The next day, after a lazy breakfast, we went up to a refugio that our host recommended. Situated at 1600m Kelly had a beautiful patio to read her book, bask in the sun, and drink coffee while I went for a run. We had an amazing lunch then headed to a lake to cool off. The weather was beautiful, hot and sunny in the day with a thundershower in the evening or during the night. Unfortunately the clouds came a little early that day so we went for a cappuccino and a gelato beside the lake. Pretty rough.





Our B&B host was an absolute wealth of local knowledge. He directed us to refuges, great running trails, and obscure little villages.

Sunday morning, after another lazy breakfast (and another breathless, air-sucking, high-altitude run) we made our way towards our next accommodation, stopping at interesting little villages along the way. This village, , is known for its murals and traditional way of living. It was a fantastic place to take photos of the local people, smiling and enjoying a social Sunday afternoon.








Cortina is a beautiful little town, 8,000 people in the summer but balloons to 30,000 in the winter season. Seeing all the ski lifts and terrain its easy to see why. The town itself is a really posh mountain town (host of the 1978 Winter Olympics) and it was really fun enjoying a cappuccino, window shopping and checking out every outdoor shop we came to.



After Cortina, we headed to the pass where we were to catch the cable car up to our next destination, Refugio Lagazoui (2752m), perched on top of a high mountain cliff in the heart of the Dolomites. We spent the afternoon in the sun, having lunch, playing cards while enjoying mountaintop cappuccinos and cold beer. Unfortunately the clouds rolled in and we missed what could have been a spectacular sunset during dinner. C’est la vie.

The cable car up to the refugio

Euro style his and hers hiking gear!!!

View of the refugio from a nearby peak

But sunrise would be a different story. I awoke at about 4am to use the bathroom (darn cold beers and wine) and out the window was a gorgeous view of the Big Dipper and the sun peeking up in the distance. I went back to the room, grabbed my camera and tripod and headed out to photograph. I thought I’d just snap some quick shots and head back to bed but the sun started coming up and I was mesmerized.

look for the big dipper!!

Let it be known that even though we tried to have a slow weekend, Kelly managed to crutch a million miles through hilly, cobblestone villages, mountain trails and endless outdoor shops. She’s got calloused hands and a strong leg that should be in the Olympics. If crutching were an Olympic event, no question she’d medal.

We had a nice relaxing day on Sunday, slowly heading back to Treviso. Nice pizza lunches, more gelato (and more gelato) and some grocery shopping (parmasean cheese, coffee, polenta and dried mushrooms) on our way to the airport. At the airport we barely made the flight, as the check-in agent wouldn’t let Kelly on the plane without a doctors note. They held us back until about 10 minutes before departure while this agent sought permission from Ryanair. I guess we were luck y that the departing agent in Ireland swept us through without a note or we would have missed our holiday. The good news is that in all the rush and chaos at the Treviso airport the agent forgot to charge us the 25 euro check in baggage fee.

We’ll definitely go back (the flights work really well from west Ireland). It was great to go and see the area, getting an idea for the adventuring possibilities when we revisit. Multi-day backpacking, via ferratas (special climbing routes), high runs, wonderful people, plus amazing food and drink await our return.

Yeah! Mom and Dad Mieske arrived today! Kelly and I surprised them at the airport after they were delayed dealing with the traditional Mieske family custom of lost luggage. They were promised their luggage would be delivered to Galway within the next day. We took the scenic route back to Galway, following the coast road, showing off our favorite surf spots, beaches, and small towns. We stopped in Doolin for their first Irish pub experience and weren’t disappointed. The seafood chowder, mussels, and Guinness lived up to their reputation. With Mom dozing in and out of conciousness, we made our way through the Burren National Park and into Galway.
Now I’m at work for the rest of the week and the three of them can enjoy Galway city and the Aran Islands until we head for Dublin and Portugal on Friday.