An over the top evening, or not.

Okay, so the question today is if I could plan an evening for family and friends with my fiance what would I plan.  Since money and resources are no object, I have decide that  I would fly all of our closet friends and family to Ireland fro the day.  We would take the Concorde and all visa and immigration issues and paperwork would be decided. I would arrange for our plane to land us at an airport that is only an 1 1/2 away from Francis’s hometown. 

In short, I would plan a family/friend reunion and let everyone experience the cultural and beauty of the West of Ireland. In particular I would show them where Francis lived as a child , and incidentally my mother grew up 12 miles away, and then, if time permitted, I would bring them to Achill Island where my father spent his childhood.

I would love to get our close family and friends together for this kind of reunion; there is something special about experiencing where someone grew up; it tells so much about someone.

I would include a trip around Leitrim and Sligo and we could visit William Butler Yeats’ grave and home and birthplace, Parks Castle and O’Donnell’s Rock where one can see five counties on a clear day.  

Or not………..

If money were an issue, and I were being more practical, I would have everyone meet up at Castle Island for a picnic lunch/dinner and set up horseshoes, bocce, and maybe a dj or have some friends and family bring their music. I have family members that play guitar, the accordian, the piano (okay hard to transport), and the fiddle. It sounds dangerously like a country dance with square dancing and all, but then again, irish folk dancing isn’t so different and when my family gets together,people dance, sing (sometimes badly) and place instruments. What is wonderful to me is that id someone know the words to any song and is willing to sing it, he or she is accepted for it.  We sometimes aren’t very icky about the tune, but we like those who jump in and sing along. An evening at Castle Island would not be complete without a tour of the inside of the castle which was originally Fort Independence and used until the turn of 19th Century by US troops. Edgar Alan Poe was stationed there and based his famous short story “The Cask of Amontillado” on events that alleged happened there while he was serving his term. For those who haven’t read the story, a man was buried alive in his famous story and supposedly one soldier was buried by another.  Many think the story was based on folklore, but no so long ago, human remains were found between the walls of the fort when construction crews were renovating.     SPOOKY!!!

An ice cream by the water would be the perfect way to end the evening. Mint chocolate chip, I think.

Advertisement