Happy St Patrick's Day

Image by Loci Lenar via Flickr

I wasn't born in Ireland but neither was St Patrick.  He was Romano-British and was captured by the Irish and taken as a slave for many years.  After escaping he returned to Britain where he entered the Church and as a Bishop returned to Ireland.

I am from Irish ancestry like many Australians are.  My great grandmother Bridget and her sister Catherine came to Australia from County Clare in Ireland and married my Great Grandfather Patrick (who was also Irish) in Brisbane in the late 1800s.  He was a Railway Fettler by trade. They had my Grandmother, Mary and she had my mother Eileen, all very Irish names.

Today in Australia many celebrate St Patrick's Day by wearing something green or a green ribbon.  It isn't a public holiday but the hotels/pubs serve Guinness and sometimes green beer and many restaurants serve an Irish lunch.  There is a street parade but for some reason it isn't held on the actual day.  We had green cupcakes for morning tea today at work to get into the mood of the day.

I will wish you "top of the morning" and hope you have a nice St Patrick's Day today.

My favorite travel pic of me

I would like to share with you one of my favorite photos.  It was taken in Cabo San Lucas on our cruise of the Mexican Riviera.  I loved that cruise and enjoyed the ports we called at.  It was a Carnival cruise for 7 days from Long Beach return.

Excuse the hat (I dont suit them) but I wasn't going to have an iguana sit on my head without one.

I love traveling and when I feel a bit down I look at this photo and smile.  I hope it makes you smile too. For those who ask....yes they are real live iguanas and I was careful handling these lovely creatures so as not to hurt them in any way.   They didnt seem to worry at all about me.