Photos by Nanci Blog

After months of planning and decorating, and after a full day of setting up, the all-purpose room at Hartland Elementary School was transformed into the North Pole. Jessica Wright and her best friend Kerri Willey spent the last two months creating the props and backdrops for each of eight Santa activities for the children to enjoy. Activities included: Cookies with Mrs. Clause, Snowman Gift, Whoville Tree, Rudolph Ornament, Gingerbread House, Santa's Workshop, Face Painting and Story time. If the children attended six of the eight booths they would receive an ELF as a reward. The morning also included a pancake breakfast and a visit with the Jolly Old Elf himself, Santa. More images form Hartland's Breakfast with Santa:  http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/VermontStandard/December-2014/Breakfast-with-Santa/ Breakfast With Santa Hosted by the Parent Teachers Association Hartland Elementary School Hartland, VT December 6, 2014 Copyright ©2014 Nancy Nuti...

25 November 2014 The Cliffs of Moher , our final Irish Adventure On our final day in Ireland, Cathal treated us to a stop at the Connemara Marble Shop. Connemara Marble’ is a serpentine-rich rock, popular since ancient times as a decorative facing stone. With its ‘forty shades of green’ and its wild patterns, it represents perfectly the landscapes of the Emerald Isle. Connemara Marble inspired artists, architects and artisans throughout the world. Jewelry and other small objects such as key rings, coasters and crosses are also made with this unique stone. After much shopping by our bus mates, we hit the road for the world famous Cliffs of Moher. We made a pit stop for coffee at Logues Lodge in Ballyvaughan. I think we overwhelmed them, this being off-season and having a bus of 14 show up at 11 am at their doorstep. Back on the road, we drove through some very rocky landscapes. We finally made our way to Liscannor and the Burren Way . The weather wasn't the b...

24 November 2014 It was a dark and stormy morning as we boarded the bus from Galway to Doolin . Doolin is a charming small seaside village on the northwest coast of County Clare on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way. Set against the rugged Atlantic Ocean and surrounded by the spectacular bare limestone landscape of the Burren, Doolin is a place of breathtaking beauty. Doolin is situated 8 km from the famous cliffs of Moher, 6  km from Lisdoonvarna spa town, 50 km from Shannon Airport and 70 km from Galway City on the west coast of Ireland. Here we picked up the Ferry to the Aran Islands . The Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway. From west to east the islands are: Inishmore, the largest; Inishmaan, the second-largest; and Inisheer, the smallest. The 1,200 inhabitants primarily speak Irish, the language used in local placenames. Mos...

23 November 2014 Galway Leaving Killarney we all wished Michelle from Tampa a very Happy Birthday and made our way up to Adare Village in County Limmerick. Adare has been voted the most beautiful village in all of Ireland, And it really is. It dates back to pre 1200A.D.  Adare means River Crossing at the Oak. The village has many Norman buildings constructed of stone. The Normans would endow churches and monasteries to "pray for their souls." To get to Adare we traveled through Rathkeale, (Irish: Ráth Caola, meaning "Caola's ringfort") a town in west County Limerick. It is located 30 km (18 mi) southwest of Limerick city on the N21 road to Tralee, and lies on the River Deel. Rathkeale has a significant Irish Traveller population-(Irish: an lucht siúil) also called pavee, tinkers or gypsies, who are a traditionally itinerant ethnic group. The movie "Snatch" starring Brad Pitt highlights some of the famed Travellers boxing matches. Desmond Castl...

22 November 2014 Ring of Kerry , some of the most dramatic scenery in all of Ireland. We checked out of the hotel and headed into Killarney . Most of the group had arranged for horse-drawn cart rides around the Killarney National Park , Jay and I wanted to explore the town a little more so we went our separate ways. After a couple of hours they group gathered for our trip to the  Ring of Kerry . On the way Cathal told us about some famous folks from County Kerry, one was Tom Crean, nicknamed the "Irish Giant" (25 Feb 1877 - 27 July 1938) was an Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer. He was a member of three of the four major British expeditions to Antarctica during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, including Robert Falcon Scott's 1911–13 Terra Nova Expedition, which saw the race to reach the South Pole lost to Roald Amundsen and ended in the deaths of Scott and his polar party. During this expedition Crean's 35 statute miles (56 km) solo walk acros...

21 November 2014 Following a full Irish breakfast, we boldly tried the Black and White Pudding for the first time. It tasted like a grainy sausage. We grabbed our rain gear and headed over to Blarney Castle . Jay and I DID NOT kiss the Blarney Stone-umm YUK. But I did take a picture of it. Blarney Castle (Irish: Caisleán na Blarnan) is a medieval stronghold in Blarney, near Cork, and the River Martin. Though earlier fortifications were built on the same spot, the current keep was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, a cadet branch of the Kings of Desmond, and dates from 1446. The noted Blarney Stone is found at the top of some very narrow winding stars. Blarney House a Scottish baronial-style mansion that was built on the grounds in 1874 was closed for the season sadly. We drove back to Cork then headed toward Cobh , the last stop for Titanic before crossing the Atlantic. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Co...