We had an old Diesel hatch back since donkeys years as the beast of burden. With my family I did go on yet another trip to my native place .i.e Kasargod. On the return trip, the final leg of the jorney, the last kilometre to my home is when the car broke down. That is when I decided that my parents deserve better and I had a few choices in the market, but you know when it comes to choices, it takes time. Time is one thing not on my side. I headed straight to the general Motors showroom and booked the hottest hatch in town. The bookings were way too high that I asked them for the high end Display piece. On 24 th of Jan I got my not so cute little red hot Chevy. It has a pointy nose and an aggressive stance. Its poise definitely stands out compared to the rest of all the small hatch backs. its peppy 1.2 litre engine, ready to unleash 80 horse display a very zippy performance in the congested, Bangalore traffic.I am enjoying it. Now I finally reveal the name, its the Chevy BEAT.
Oysters and fish. Next day, after a wonderful breakfast we decided to head to the slay head, which is a scenic drive along the Dingle peninsula. Every time we stepped out of the car it was a battle against the wind. later we drove down to the "Ring of Kerry" which is a long 180 kms drive along the Kerry coast. The sights were heavenly, it made me feel insignificant, minuscule which on the contrary means I felt the world much larger than then tiny cubicles i spend my day . We stopped at the famous Killerny national park which is 10,400 hectares in area!! The entire landscape in the jungle was carpeted with the Irish colour ' Green'.The moss seems to be the chosen clothing for the damp trees. The thunderous waterfall sounded like a jet engine in full blast. Its mostly due to the incessant rains that has pounded the county since weeks. Sun sets by 5:30 here and we begun our trip back to Dublin. It was the journey (900 kms in total) that was fun and the beauty what nature offered was the seasoning to fun. This beautiful country side deserves another visit is what is etched in my head now, which i truly intend to fulfill when Ireland lets me soak up the sun.
There were a few of them. Some of them for the first time and many of them were long timers. They were talking about being here at the same place last year. Me being Mr.Hasty in spite of knowing that it will drizzle, forgot a few essential things. Like the lens hood,lens cleaning cloth and most important of all an UMBRELLA!! Mr.Richard in the group was a pro and he was guiding most of them on how to operate and the various settings that would be optimal. 
Mayor of Dublin and the Dublin City Council Corporator showed up there was the count down and then came the lights!! It was beautiful. I must admire the spirit of the people. At least a thousand had gathered there weathering the irritating chill drizzle and the six degree temperature. I met guys from Costa Rica and Philippines and shared my experiences with the camera. I very weired thing happened at the meetup; it was like as though its meant to happen.All the "
I had brought a few bananas that look like the kerala "nendram" bananas but the sticker on that said, Congo. Thought it would be nothing like it, but to my surprise before i binned it I just tasted it and "walla" it was almost the same!!. That resulted in some fantastic banana pakodas. prepared some veg puluo which would beat the can air freshener in fragrance. Mihir bhai took care of the potatoes and made the "aloo sagoo" for the masala dosa. Mihir bhai had come in with two bottles of the finest wines and so did Paula and Noreen. Paula was eager to open up the wine and all had some with the banana pakodas and god did they both go down well!! Masala dosas was next along with wine. What a terrific combination I must say. I must truly appriciate Noreen and Paula who had the food in Indian style, with bare hands!. We talked and sang and laughed and spoke. The perfect desert was the perfect ice cream. I can imagine the ice cream being a perfect topping on the wine and masala dosa in my tummy. Brought out my camera and lenses and everyone had a go at it. before we know it it was well past midnight. I was feeling sleepy because i am not used to late night stay ups. My good friends were having a good time. Finally bid good bye and all I remember was I slept like a log till 4 am, till the wine inside of me decided to come out the way it went it. None the less it was a great time we all had together.
its' more than a kilometer long. The stena line was getting loaded with passengers and cars with its engines humming all set to sail to Hollyhhead,Whales. The winds were so strong that i had to duck down and put my head low to keep the wind from knocking me down.Could not hold the camera steady many a times. All the while i was wondering what kind of massive effort would have gone into building this harbor, while I can even just hold a camera steady. The cold was getting to me and realised its better for me to get back to the warmth of my apartments keeping self preservation in mind.