Dublin Rambling

May 27, 2014 by Meghan Johnson

I hope that those of you who celebrate it had a fun and relaxing Memorial Day weekend with your loved ones!  I got my first hint of sunburn and ate far too much potato salad.  I’ll call that a success. I realized that I still had a few photos to share from my trip to Ireland.  We only spent one day in Dublin, but we managed to hit our two main objectives:  The Book of Kells in Trinity College, and […]

Categories: 2014, Dublin, Europe, Ireland, Playtime, Travel • Tags: Dublin, Guinness, Ireland, Travel, Trinity College

My Belfast Love Story

May 13, 2014 by Meghan Johnson

I had one mission in Belfast, aside from getting my little cousin Rosie tipsy.  It was to find Jon Snow and get married and/or pregnant.  If that failed, my next target was Joffrey Baratheon. This may sound strange to those who don’t follow Game of Thrones.  First, I feel bad for you.  Second, it wasn’t really my idea.  I was threatened at proverbial gunpoint by a gaggle of bored female relatives to find a member of the Game of Thrones […]

Categories: 2014, Belfast, Cousins, Europe, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Playtime, Travel • Tags: Belfast, Cousins, Game of Thrones, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Photography, Travel

April in Ireland: My Return to Glenbeigh

May 6, 2014 by Meghan Johnson

I’m no stranger to Ireland.  This trip was not my first nor my last.  But it was my first time in Ireland as an adult, which opens the doors to the magical world of… But that didn’t impede my playtime on the farm.  There were lambs to cuddle and cow pies to dodge. Despite my very Anglo-Saxon surname, I’m more Irish than anything else.  My mother’s parents grew up in rural Ireland and immigrated to the United States in their early twenties, where they met […]

Categories: 2014, Europe, Ireland, Playtime, The Great Outdoors, Travel • Tags: Childhood, County Kerry, Glenbeigh, Ireland, Nature, Photography, Travel

Paris highlights

August 29, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

Paris withdrawal, day 2:  Symptoms are manifesting in expected and unexpected ways.  Currently drinking white wine, eating Camembert cheese, and watching episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 1.  I suspect this has something to do with the Captain. This was my first trip to the City of Light.  I had tempered expectations of Paris, based on the advice of many friends and coworkers: “Parisians are awful to anyone who doesn’t speak perfect French.”  “The Eiffel Tower is nothing […]

Categories: 2013, Europe, France, Friendship, Love, Paris, Playtime, Travel • Tags: France, Paris, Photography, Travel

My Georgian 4th of July

July 6, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

Happy 4th of July to all of my American friends and family! Sadly, I never realized how special this day was to me until I spent my first Independence Day outside of the States.  It’s a day I associate with hotdogs, volleyball, Sandlot, sparklers, fireflies, laughter, swimming, beeritas, red, white, blue, and family.  I missed out on the majority of those delights, but Georgia served as a pretty good substitute. My first pleasant surprise was being greeted at the office […]

Categories: 2013, Eurasia, Europe, Georgia, Playtime, Tbilisi, Travel • Tags: 4th of July, Festive, Georgia, Holiday, Independence, Tbilisi

Shashlik for four, please

June 29, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

All photos by Amy Yu Mao The last leg of the journey with Amy took us south and west.  We set out early on a Friday morning with Khvicha and his young assistant (whose name I do not know, because he was introduced to us as the “master of shashlik”), who was recruited to help with preparation of the meal that awaited us. We made two logistical stops along the way.  The first was in Khashuri, where Khvicha and his […]

Categories: 2013, Driving, Eurasia, Europe, Food, Friendship, Georgia, History, Playtime, The Great Outdoors, Travel • Tags: Driving, Georgia, History, Photography, Roadtrip, Travel

Flower children in Kakheti

June 11, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

I’ve found a cure for a heavy heart and culture shock.  It’s the combination of an old friend, unspoiled landscapes, mountain air, and wine.  Amy was my roommate at what I fondly refer to as “nerd camp” (research internship with NASA) ten years ago.  We hadn’t seen each other in many years before she came to visit this week. Our first destination was Kakheti region, in the east of Georgia.  Think vineyards, blue skies, and green fields rolling on for miles.  Our […]

Categories: 2013, Driving, Eurasia, Europe, Friendship, Georgia, Playtime, Tbilisi, The Great Outdoors, Travel • Tags: Davit Gareji, Flowers, Georgia, Hippies, Hippy, Kakheti, Oenophile, Peace, Photography, SIghnaghi, Travel, Wine

InstaGeorgia

April 13, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

see more by following me on instagram at megjohnson86

Categories: 2013, Eurasia, Europe, Georgia, Playtime, Russia, Tbilisi, The Great Outdoors, Travel • Tags: Culture, Georgia, InstaGeorgia, Instagram, Tbilisi, Travel, Turtle Lake

Vardzia Cave Monasteries

March 22, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

After the opening of a new branch office in Akhalkalaki (and a few glasses of celebratory wine), my coworkers and I paid a visit to the Vardzia cave monasteries. I’d never heard of the caves before that day.  Nor had I received the memo that we’d be hiking up the side of a mountain on a work day.  Hence, I did not select my shoes accordingly.  See photo below of aching-but-smiley woman in four-inch Ann Taylor pumps. The scale of […]

Categories: 2013, Eurasia, Europe, FINCA, Georgia, History, Playtime, Travel • Tags: Byzantine, Eurasia, Georgia, History, Monastery, Photography, Puppies, Travel, Vardzia, Vardzia Cave Monasteries