Especially with timing & the connections we wanted to make early in the trip -- Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona -- the goal was to pack for a week abroad in ONE CARRY-ON SUITCASE + ONE PERSONAL ITEM (allowances of the airline). A new personal best!!

I used a hard-sided suitcase that fit the measurement requirements (21.5 x 15.5 x 9.5 inches) and a large imitation leather tote. The tote had both hand/shoulder straps and a cross-body strap -- I need options with a bag like that! It had one large zip pocket on one side, which was perfect for my wallet, and two smaller zip pockets on the other side, one of which worked well for my glasses case, and the other... keys & things that I needed to have with me but wouldn't be using while away.

Knowing that I wouldn't be able to carry that large tote everywhere/everyday, I packed my new Baggallini Medium Avenue Tote inside the suitcase. It folded nice & flat and took up practically no space at all. The only downside to this (and mostly because of our nuts-o itinerary) was that I kept having to switching stuff between bags, which wasn't difficult, just a lot of back & forth sometimes.

I had also ordered a Baggallini Everywhere Bagg, but ended up returning it; even though I really loved the idea of the zipper that allows the bag to be slipped over the handle of a suitcase, I did not love the bag itself. I do, however, LOVE the Medium Avenue Tote and have since ordered the larger version (which has that luggage zipper thing) and think the two will make a great travel combo in the future. I've actually been using the Medium Avenue Tote as my regular purse since we returned.

Inside the carry-on tote:

• A couple of small knitting projects (never used)
• A tablet & headset (never used)
• Cell phone, earbuds, charger
• Wallet
• Sunglasses
• Travel dossier
• Liquids
• Ibuprofen, kleenex, hairbands
• Shawl

Travel duds:

I knew comfort & layers would be important. The shirt is one of my favorites, a lightweight, long (& longer in the back) knit top that I've had for a year or so. Scratchy tags drive me nuts, so I have no idea who made it. The pants are a heavy-weight knit from J. Jill that I've also had for a while; they are longer than they look -- about ankle length -- they hold up well and keep their shape. The long sweater is also from J. Jill, purchased earlier this year when we went to Florida; it is a lightweight knit with pockets and a hood. I don't usually like hoods, but this is so lightweight that it's barely there -- and, it came in handy to pull that extra fabric up around my neck (airplanes can be cold!) (I used the shawl, too!).

Pants/Skirts:

The other "bottoms" in my suitcase were a pair of J. Jill medium-weight knit capris, a pair of Eileen Fisher knit capris, and an Eileen Fisher skirt. I have quite a few pairs of the J. Jill capris and consider them my go-to at home/work in the summertime. They were a little heavy for the weather we experienced, as they don't really breathe very well. The Eileen Fisher pieces were definitely purchased on sale, and have been in my closet for at least a year or two. I never actually wore those EF capris out of the house before, but I loved them on this trip and wore them most; they were the lightest weight of all (though not "lightweight") -- and it was HOT in Spain!! The EF skirt is made of the same material as the capris, and has a little shape to it at the bottom; I wore it once, with my new Alabama Chanin tunic.

What is definitely on my wish list for my next warm-weather trip are some lightweight "hiking" pants/capris!

A note here about PACKING CUBES!

Maddy raved about packing cubes last summer, as she was perfecting her "packing for 9 months in a backpack" technique, and I immediately ordered an Amazon Basics 4-Piece Set for myself. I've used them a few times now and pack socks & unders in the small one; layer & roll up 2-3 items at a time -- tops/sweaters & pants/skirts/dresses -- in the medium sizes; and have not actually used the largest one yet (it is pretty big). Rolling instead of folding allows SO much more to be packed and, I think, reduces wrinkles by quite a lot. The packing cubes keep like items together and a bit more organized. I even used them for our quick weekend at the Flowage; stuff doesn't end up in a jumble!

Dress up:

I brought one dress. This was a fairly recent purchase from J. Jill, and it added some color to my otherwise (you may have noticed) very black wardrobe! I wore this dress once, on Saturday/Beach Day with (at times) the long hooded sweater; I love this dress. I brought a couple pairs of "slip shorts" along, my favorite being this pair by Maidenform (not really "shapewear" at all), as I find it makes wearing a dress/skirt much more comfortable -- especially in the heat.

Tops I wore:

Top to bottom:

• Eileen Fisher Knit Boatneck
• J. Jill Tencil Top
• J. Jill Short Sleeve (worn with a black knit cami, not shown)
• Target/Merona Knit V-Neck (still black/neutral, but pattern!)
• Alabama Chanin A-line Magdalena Tunic
• J. Jill Cotton 3/4-sleeve Mesh-knit Sweater

Except for the sweater, which I wore a few times, and the AC tunic, which I wore twice, I think I wore each of these once. I'm glad I brought a mix of sleeveless & short sleeves and different necklines, as there was a lot of time in the sun and it was nice to be able to cover up a bit.

Tops I brought but didn't wear:

Top to bottom:

• J. Jill Linen Tunic
• Alabama Chanin-esque Polka-dot Boatneck
• Old Navy V-Neck

I really wanted to wear that tunic, and even put it on one morning, but I already had a sunburn and it was too rough against my skin! I love the other two tops, but realize that I prefer to wear them with more structured (woven) pants or jeans, which I did not have. I'd also packed a white knit cami... but why? White with all this black? Needless to say, I never wore that either.

Shoes:

I wore my tennies while traveling, as they were the bulkiest; I also brought along two three pairs of sandals. Footwear is tough, especially since I have a tendency to swell when flying. We walked so much, and I definitely wore the tennies most; I wasn't able to wear one pair of sandals due to swelling, was happy to have the other two to switch between.

Miscellaneous:

I stripped my toiletries case to the bare minimum for travel, and so it remains! It "helped" to have a separate bag for the liquids & pastes, and the rest of it fit into a regular size makeup bag.

In addition to everything else, don't forget that I had a box of graham crackers and a box of cheez-its in my suitcase! That actually left a nice space, when we returned, to pack the few items I bought.

I have a few of these Brazilian Canga towels -- they are very lightweight and fold/wad up nicely. I brought this one along and it came in very handy at the beach, both for sitting upon and as a sun block.

Ann & Brian had a washer at their apartment and the girls & I did a collective load of laundry there. That wasn't absolutely necessary, but it was nice. As mentioned, it was HOT, and it was nice to freshen things up a bit!

I briefly considered bringing my big camera, but ended up leaving it at home... and I'm so glad I did. While there were some pretty amazing photo ops, it's just too big and heavy to lug around on a trip like this. Thankfully, my phone does a decent job (Samsung Galaxy S7).

That's it, I think! I hope that helps those of you who are interested and have baggage-limited trips of your own coming up! I'm happy to elaborate or clarify or answer any questions you might have.

Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.
--Frank Borman

We bid fare-thee-wells on Tuesday morning, sending Ann & family off to work/school. No one was too sad, though, because they'd all be state-side within a month or so! (In fact, I am gearing up for 3rd Annual Auntie Camp set to begin July 12th!)

See ya later!!

On our way to the train station, we stopped by Dulce de Leche at Brian's suggestion.

I had severe camnesia, and regret that I didn't take any photos inside... the bakery case was incredible!! Take a gander at Instagram for an idea. So good.

Then it was on to Madrid to begin our journey home.

From the taxi, on the way to our Airbnb, we noticed that Catedral de la Almudena was practically around the corner! I hadn't even noticed that it was right next to the Royal Palace of Madrid.

The cathedral was, of course, AMAZING!

Party on the ceiling!! It was incredible, and one of my favorites.

It was SUPER HOT and very sunny, so we didn't go too far in search of food & drink.

We found a shady spot under an umbrella at el camarote and enjoyed a nice cold cerveza and some delicious tapas. Our server seemed to take a liking to us and treated us very well!!

Maddy hung out at the apartment, while I accompanied Kate to visit an artist-run gallery space that she'd previously connected with through Young Space. It was really fun to find ourselves in Madrid with enough time to stop in!

Then it was back to our Airbnb to chill for a bit and then go to bed early. We are willing to admit that the "open book headboard" totally won us over when we booked this place... though it was a bit less "ruffled" in the photos on the listing!

The next morning (Wednesday), departure from Madrid. We had a short layover in Dublin, and then were on our way to Chicago... scheduled to land at about 6:45 p.m.

...well, that was the plan. Everything was wonderful -- we were even on course to arrive about :45 early -- but it all fell apart mostly due to weather/weather-related backups at O'Hare. We were detoured to Detroit "to refuel," but then ended up sitting on the plane for 3 hours while waiting for Dublin to make the decision about whether we would continue. Eventually, and by then, they decided that some of the crew were too close to the limit on hours (to make the one-hour +/- flight from Detroit>Chicago) and we all got off the plane. Flight cancelled.

It might not have been so bad if we'd been on another airline, but I believe this may have been the first landing of Aer Lingus at Detroit. There was much, much confusion & delay... and long-story-short, there were no hotel rooms, no other flights available until Thursday evening, the promised "buses to Chicago" never arrived (at least while we were there, and with more than one false alarm), and the little coffee shop/deli had been all but cleaned out.

We ended up booking a train in the wee hours of the morning, taking a Lyft ride to get to that station, arriving before it even opened, and having breakfast at Tim Horton next door. The coffee was good.

We snoozed a little on the train (those seats are not very comfy), after little to no sleep overnight at the airport (those seats were even worse). We took the Metro to O'Hare to get the car, found some food, and then drove 3.5 hours home, switching off pretty frequently because OHMYGODSOTIRED.

About 24 hours after we were originally supposed to land in Chicago, we finally made it home. I was in bed by 8 and slept like a log. I'd originally taken Thursday off to run around and take care of some details with Maddy (and do laundry and recover), but instead begged off Friday morning to at least accomplish the most important of those things. Thankful for an understanding workplace and no complications!

I totally jinxed it, by the way, commenting way too early on how smoothly everything went during our trip! When you think about it, though, we had some pretty crazy connections and had purchased all of our train tickets in advance, along with our tickets to The Book of Kells and La Sagrada Familia -- any little delay along the way could have thrown a wrench into our plans. It all worked out.

I wish that O'Hare had chosen a more Detroit-friendly flight to divert instead of us, and I wish that Dublin had allowed personnel some leeway... but in the end, it all worked out. My experience on Aer Lingus up to, and even after that point, was really quite nice (there was one flight attendant who went above & beyond in Detroit -- as did all of the airport personnel we encountered), and I wouldn't hesitate to fly that airline again.

By the way, upping my organizational game, I used Tripit to manage everything (I opted for the Pro version) -- flights, trains, tickets, lodging -- including Maddy's separate flight itinerary, and it worked wonderfully! In addition to having everything in one place, easy to see and navigate, I found it extremely helpful in managing time.

On Monday it was back to work for Ann & Brian and back to school for the boys, so we were on our own for our last full day in Valencia!

The first order of business was a visit to a yarn/craft shop in the neighborhood.

Trusty Google Maps got us there.

There was a street market happening on the way. It was mostly clothing -- some old, some new -- and must only happen weekly or monthly, because there was no sign of it the next day.

Our destination was Lokita Botones. Ann had told me about it earlier, and it was only a few blocks from their apartment!

I forgot to take photos on Monday, so these are from Tuesday, before they opened, on our way to the train station (we took the long way). Isn't that adorable, though?

There was a little bit of everything -- handmade clothing & totes, yarn, fabric, ribbon, knitting & sewing supplies -- you know what I'm talking about. It was adorable, and it was in Spain! I came away with a ball of cotton yarn, a tote, and a big interesting button.

Maddy was in need of some "quiet time," so Kate & I dropped her off at the apartment before heading to Bancaja Cultural Center to see their Contemporary Art exhibition.

These were some of my favorite pieces. (I see knitting!) Those first two pieces were huge -- the people in the images almost life-size.

We met up with Maddy again and -- surprise! -- we visited another cathedral. This time, it was the Cathedral of Valencia -- home of many amazing works of art, the arm of Saint Vincent of Saragossa, and the Holy Grail. We paid for the self-guided tour, which included an audio guide, and we were not disappointed. It is beautiful, inside and out.

Words fail me.

The preserved arm of St. Vincent.

Works by Goya

The Holy Grail right there!

Skulls & bones!

It was definitely worth the price of admission, and I highly recommend it if you're ever in Valencia!

I don't remember the exact order of things, but we had a lovely tapas lunch -- during which we watched two men walk by carrying an enormous pan of paella between them -- and found our way to Torres de Serranos, the city gate.

We made dinner together at home that evening -- tacos! And then went out for ice cream. The girls & I had been enjoying a gelato a day (sometimes two) on this vacation... bakery & ice cream were never hard to find, no matter where we were!

Oh boy... Believe it or not, this was the smallest of the confections at our table! Turns out, though, that most of it is "whipped cream" with a couple of scoops of ice cream plopped on top + various toppings and, at least to our tastes, that stuff was only palatable in very small doses. (Kind of yuck.) (But that picture menu had us all starry-eyed!!)

We amused ourselves...

Self-explanatory -- the boys' work!

Everybody's on Snapchat now (except Brian)!

It was a wonderful last day! There are no firm plans yet, but I am definitely looking forward to a return visit...

Good night, Valencia!!

Sunday was Mack's 12th birthday!! To celebrate, we visited Albufera National Park, just south of Valencia, for a boat ride and paella. Addy had already visited the park once on a school field trip.

So, away we went to catch another bus! Ann & Brian don't have a car in Spain, though they were able to get driver's licenses -- something that most of their American co-workers have been unable to secure. Apparently, there is no reciprocal licensing relationship between Spain & the USA... but there is between Spain & Brazil and they were both licensed there! Incidentally, they rented a car just last weekend to take the boys to camp -- it's that in-between time when school's out but teachers & administrators still have to go to work.

It was a gorgeous day and the bus was crowded!! We stood most of the way.

There's ^^ a wedding!

So, apparently the thing to do in L'Albufera is to go on a boat trip on Albufera Lake and then eat paella -- or vice versa! There are many establishments offering package deals.

Our boat captain was this kindly old gent whose name I don't recall. He made a point of telling us that his grandparents came to Spain from Great Britain. He had fun goofing around with our three youngest passengers -- twins, at least, but we thought possibly even triplets.

We saw fish and birds and lots of ducks & ducklings... patos y patitos!

El Palmar is literally nothing but restaurants. There wasn't a convenience store or gift shop to be found, which I found astounding!!

We had a very traditional paella -- Paella Valenciana -- which includes chicken, rabbit, and snails. Yes, I ate snails!! Between all the tapas restaurants we visited, the mercado, and this, I had octopus, squid, oysters and snails (a couple of firsts). Anyway, it was delicious!!

And another type of beer: SIVARIS TOSTADA is the first rice, artisan and gourmet beer, designed to accompany rice. Aromatic, full of nuances, balanced structure, with a certain turbidity, soft bubble and kindness in the mouth. Perfect to drink alone, with a good paella or maridar with strong rice, red meats, game, foie or risottos. (source)

We missed a bus heading back to the city, so had a long wait for the next one during which we sat in the shade (it was HOT!) and found some water at a nearby restaurant, and I mused (again) on the lack of convenience/gift shops because I'd have totally rather shopped while waiting.

Annie had made the cheesecake before we left in the morning (with the graham crackers I'd brought for the crust). Upon our return, Mack's best friend popped over with a gift and we all sang and ate cake!!

I can't believe this little baby is 12!!

This is a stitched-together photo to show the wonderful view from the window in Addy's room, which he kindly lent me during our visit.

And this was my view from bed -- the window is really more like a door. No screens, only the iron railing.

It was gorgeous... and also LOUD!! In the big city, they don't empty the dumpsters between 7 am and 5 pm, they do it at 2 am!! Most buildings are tall -- 4, 5, 6 stories and more -- so there's also AN ECHO IN THERE!! Yikes. I live on the end of a dead-end street in a sleepy little city, and I'm sure not used to that! I tried to liken it to Rio and the "joyful noise" emanating from Rocinha, but this was not that at all. I resorted to earplugs after the first night.

On Saturday morning, we walked to Mercado Central. Wow.

The food!

We watched a fish vendor shuck some oysters and then had them for a mid-morning snack... along with some champagne!

Meandering back, we found the narrowest house in... the world? Europe? Spain? certainly in Valencia!!

Orange trees line many streets! But they are not Valencia oranges and apparently are bitter and not very good to eat.

They sure are pretty though!

In the afternoon, we packed up and hopped a bus headed for the beach.

It was a gorgeous day!!

Between Saturday & Sunday, despite being under cover practically the whole time, I managed to get a pretty good sunburn!

And day is done. It was so great to have a more relaxing day after the frantic pace of those preceding!

We left Barcelona for Valencia on the 4 pm train, arriving at about 7. Ann & Brian met us at the station and we walked to their apartment. The boys were happy to see us, but also pooped after the school week and ready to hunker down for a bit.

So we took off with Ann!

Surprise! We visited another church!

We found a delightful spot for tapas, and I tried a yummy local beer.

We got our bearings a little bit...

And took off for the park. Jardin del Turia (Turia River Gardens) is a huge garden/park located in what was formerly a riverbed. There are, indeed, gardens...also foot and bike paths, soccer fields, a children's playground called Parc Gulliver, and more, all leading to the City of Arts and Sciences.

We happened upon an Alternative Craft Fair in the park, just before closing time.

Maddy & Annie found some amazing handmade shoes, and each came home with a pair!

I found an adorable dress for Gin (modeled by Jun, below).

And some lovely earrings for myself.

Made by Anna Panyella Joies. I can't stop wearing them!

And we walked, enjoying the park and admiring a few of the beautiful bridges overhead that cross over it. We made our way to the City of Arts and Sciences and, once again, found ourselves agape.

It's gorgeous, day (this photo taken a few days later) or night! Hi-tech, sci-fi, modern... very Star Wars-y. And the whole thing -- everything -- is covered in mosaic tile, almost all of it white. Incredible.

By then it was about midnight and it had been a long, busy day. We head back to the apartment and to bed. Mack kindly gave his room & trundle bed up for the girls, and I slept in Addy's room. We were on the 6th floor, had a tiny shared balcony, floor-to-ceiling windows -- it's really a cute apartment! The boys were thrilled to camp out in a fort they'd made in the living room, so it all worked out.

It was nice to know that we'd be there for a few days/nights, too! To be continued...

We checked out of our Airbnb early Friday morning and hailed a cab, stopping at Locker Barcelona on the way to once again stow our bags. These places are great! Just as at the airport, there were a variety of locker sizes (we needed only one each time) and the cost is very reasonable!

We caught another cab and headed to Basilica De La Sagrada Familia. Those were the other advance tickets we purchased; we needed to choose a time to visit, and also a time to ascend one of the towers -- and, unlike The Book of Kells, they were quite particular about the timing!

It is an amazing place -- still under construction (always and forever?) (at least until 2030 or so!).

And, indeed, men were working and those cranes were moving!

Breathtaking, is all I can say...

Everywhere you look, there's something to see... and then something else catches your eye, and something more... Parts of the ceiling looked as though giant millefleur beads were embedded.

And the color!

We visited the Nativity Tower.

We ascended by lift and then walked up, across, and down. The views were amazing... that spiral staircase seemed endless!

The reflection was terrible, but this model of the cathedral was fascinating!

It looks a little bit like a drip sand castle from afar, doesn't it?

We grabbed a bit to eat, then headed back to explore the area near Locker Barcelona.

Including another church and a fabulous children's shop!

I wish we'd had time to visit some of the other amazing Gaudi sites, such as Casa Batllo, Casa Milo, and Park Guell -- and a whole bunch of other things -- but, as my mother always said, it's good to leave something for when you return.

We retrieved our luggage, hailed another cab and headed to Barcelona Sants to catch our train for Valencia. Stay tuned for Day 3, Part 2!

* * * * *

Missing you every single day, Mom. I can't believe it's been 3 years. xoxox

We checked out of our Dublin Airport hotel at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday and hopped the shuttle for the airport. Our flight to Madrid departed at 6:15 a.m. * Yawn *

We arrived in Madrid at around 10, and the plan was to meet Maddy, who was flying from Sydney, in Barcelona later that day.

Kate & I had already booked our tickets from Madrid > Barcelona on the high-speed AVE train, and that entitled us to a free train ticket from the airport to the city. I'd printed out all the information about that and how to retrieve those tickets from a ticket vending machine, which really came in handy, except that it wasn't working for some reason and we ended up standing in line at Customer Service, anyway. Turns out, those tickets are only valid 4 hours prior to the main departure time -- and we were too early!

We sat and waited an incredibly long 4 minutes... I took a photo of the airport ceiling... and then it worked perfectly and we were on our way!

The Atocha station in Madrid is beautiful -- and huge! We had a few hours in Madrid before we needed to catch the train, and I had done a little research ahead of time, so we headed toward that sign on the bottom right that reads "CONSIGNAS" to stow our suitcases in a locker and took the short walk from the terminal to Museo Nacional del Prado -- Prado National (Art) Museum.

We walked past the Royal Botanic Garden on the way, but couldn't see much as they were having some work done. On the list for next time!

We rushed through Prado, finding the locations of the most important (to us) pieces/artists -- of course, seeing plenty more as we made our way through -- and leaving enough time for a bite at the cafe and a visit to the museum gift shop.

There was quite the garden/atrium at Atocha station!

We retrieved our bags and then went to catch our train, which turned out to be a little hairy, as we hadn't printed out the actual tickets... I had them on my phone, but they wanted paper! Kate rushed over to a machine to try and figure it out, while I held a spot in line at Customer Service; she was finally successful and we rushed to (successfully) make our connection!

The train ride was very nice, and oh how I wish we had a train system like that here! It was non-stop from Madrid to Barcelona, and I saw top speed of 299 kph (186 mph). Maddy's flight had been late arriving in Doha, but she was able to make her connection, and we found each other within minutes at Barcelona Sants!

Our Airbnb was located in the Gothic Quarter and, according to Google Maps, was about a 40-minute walk from the station. I figured, after all the planes & trains, that we'd like a good walk; called our host and let her know we were on our way.

It took us a bit longer than 40 minutes, as we made our way through unfamiliar territory and took a couple of wrong turns looking for the "pedestrian street" on which our apartment was located. Luckily, our host was patient enough... and offered me her fan when we arrived! She was utterly dismayed that we were staying for only one night, having previously sent me a list of things to do in Barcelona that we'd have trouble completing had we stayed a month!

Gorgeous basilicas & cathedrals everywhere!

We had a wonderful evening together, traipsing around a bit, finding a spot to enjoy some delicious tapas & drinks...

Smiles! (And terrible lighting.) (But SMILES!)

...and went to bed "early" as we had another busy day on tap!

I'm back!! Everything went smoothly until the very last bit of the last flight home. Weather was a problem, causing back-ups and delays at O'Hare, and the powers-that-be diverted us to Detroit. It all went south from there for a bunch of reasons and, after several (overnight) hours of waiting, we ended up taking a train to Chicago and making our way from downtown to O'Hare to fetch the car and drive home. Soooo tired. It was a struggle, and we frequently switched drivers; we arrived home at 7 pm and I was in bed by 8!

I ended up taking half the day off on Friday to do the things I'd intended to do on Thursday (fetch Maddy's vehicle, reinstate insurance, reactivate mobile phone, unpack, do laundry, etc). I did some other errands on Saturday, and on Sunday I had an unplanned but well deserved Pajama Day! I didn't even venture outside far enough to see if the paper had arrived... I found it this morning in the driveway.

Anyway, here's the total of my luggage for a one-week international vacation! The tote was my "personal item" while traveling, and the suitcase is carry-on size; I checked the suitcase only on the return flight home, as Maddy had to check her backpack, anyway. I folded & packed my new Baggallini Medium Avenue Tote inside my suitcase for my everyday running around purse (so many ways to carry that bag, including cross-body). I plan to do a more detailed post about What I Packed (used/didn't use), but this is the lightest I ever packed for a trip of any length in my life!

Our flight departed O'Hare on Tuesday evening. Kate & I both worked until noon that day and she picked me up right from work; we arrived with plenty of time to spare, and that's always better than the stress of rushing!

There was a 24-hour layover in Dublin on our itinerary, and we took advantage of that! (I got a new stamp in my passport, too.) We'd booked a room in a hotel at the airport, took the shuttle over and they allowed us to check in upon arrival on Wednesday morning. We freshened up and changed clothes, and then hopped a bus into the city.

There was a little panic & confusion and we ended up getting off the bus a bit too early, so there was a metro ride involved, too! Haha!

Our first destination was the Irish Museum of Modern Art to see the exhibitions As Above, So Below: Portals, Visions, Spirits & Mystics and IMMA Collection: Freud Project.

The museum is housed in a portion of the former Royal Hospital Kilmainham, which is an astounding property. It was interesting to imagine the gallery rooms as hospital rooms (they were quite nice, with lovely windows!).

This was one of my favorite exhibition pieces:

Hilma af Klint, Altarpiece, No 1, Group X, Series Altarpieces, 1915 , Oil and metal leaf on canvas

But these! All this!! This was an installation outside of the museum by Brazilian artist Stephan Doitschinoff (you can see the panels in the photo of the building above).

He speaks about the work in the video about the exhibition below (at about 4:23).

We sort of rushed through this art museum (in what turned out to be a recurring theme) because we had tickets for The Book of Kells. Turns out we needn't have rushed, as they weren't particularly strict about the time at TBoK -- as long as our ticket was dated that day, we could have gone at any time. Oh well.

We were positively agape in The Long Room, but pulled ourselves together for a selfie.

We weren't far from the National Gallery of Ireland, so walked over there, too. They were "between" things, preparing for the opening of a Vermeer show (which would have been wonderful to see), but we did enjoy the Margaret Clarke exhibition. 

I didn't realize, until it began to rain, how lucky we were that it wasn't raining as we made our way about Dublin, as that had been the forecast.

We ducked out of the rain and into a pub for some grub and beer. Kate had Irish stew and I had shepherd's pie -- it was delicious!!

We made our way back to the hotel. I had a message from Norma, who was also in Dublin that day (life is so weird sometimes)!! And we were up super early on Thursday to catch our shuttle for the flight to Spain!

Stay tuned for Day 2!

Well, I was up at about 4:15 this morning... not by design, but because instead of popping up every 5 minutes to write things down so I wouldn't forget, I decided to just get up and do.the.things!

Maybe that means I'll get some good sleep on the plane tonight.

I never did get a chance to pick up the book I had on hold at the library, so will surely finish Barbara Kingsolver's "Homeland." I have a few hours left listening to Wallace Stegner's "Crossing to Safety," so have downloaded "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon... it's set in Barcelona, so it seems fitting!! I also have a book downloaded to Kindle called "Illustrated Valencia Noir" by Isis Sousa & Ove Neshaug.

My small carry-on is packed and once I deliver the boxes of graham crackers (for the crust of Mack's requested cheesecake birthday cake) and Cheez-its (for Addy), I'll have room to bring a little something home with me, too!

Besides PJs, socks & underwear, I've packed a handbag, two pairs of sandals, two capri pants, a skirt, a dress, eight tops, a cropped sweater and a long cotton sweater. I'm wearing a pair of cropped pants, a top, a long lightweight sweater -- and will be switching out to a pair of tennies and compression socks when we're at the airport.

I found a nice, not-too-big tote for my "personal item." I have my dossier including schedules, tickets, boarding passes, maps, etc., wallet w/passport inside (it's been there for a couple of weeks -- since I woke from a dream that we were at the airport and I'd forgotten it!) (I got up right then and put it in my wallet), tablet, phone, chargers, tissues, antacid, ibuprofen, and liquids.

And -- because I had so much time this morning -- even some knitting! I've packed the third pair of Squad Mitts, wherein mitt #1 is about 3/4 finished, and a bag full of scraps for hexipuffs! Seems like good, carry-on, portable, small knitting...

Think good thoughts for Maddy. She's flying Qatar Airways and called in a bit of a panic last night after the news. Everything should be OK, from what I've seen. She's a wonderful traveler, except when it comes to actually traveling (flying, in particular)!!

Kate & I are heading to the airport in about :30. So excited.