Ireland - The Main Event

On October 6, we took the train from Dublin to Limerick, which is the town that Adare Manor was located. Ritu, Tim, mom & dad arrived a few days before preparing for the wedding events. We met the group and headed to the castle where the rehearsal dinner was to take place. The venue was a true medieval castle and would not disappoint. After the details were finalized, we headed to the "Cliffs of Moher". The Cliffs are 120 meters above the Atlantic Ocean and on a clear day you can see the Aran Islands. A few of famous films were also taped at the Cliffs, such as "Harry Potter and the Half Blooded Prince" and "The Princess Bride". We luckily had good weather, it was windy, but bearable.

From the Cliffs, we headed to "Papadum", an Indian restaurant in Limerick. We had about 20 guests who had arrived for the wedding so far, who joined us for dinner. The food we had at this restaurant was amazing, one of the best Indian restaurants I have eaten at. After dinner, we headed to the Manor. We had not yet seen it and were so excited after hearing how amazing the compound was, and it did not disappoint. I can't even verbalize how magnificent the manor was. From the minute you stepped in the door, you felt like royalty. There was a piano bar at the manor, where we decided to toast to the beginning of a wonderful wedding weekend before turning in for the night.

October 7 was a relaxing/exploring day. The rest of the guests were arriving, including Abhi and Priti. We started off the day with a magnificent breakfast and then headed to the rehearsal. After understanding the logistics of the ceremony, the bride and bridesmaids headed to town for lunch and manicures at a darling spa. It was a nice and relaxing afternoon, which was much needed for the bride. That evening, we had a "Welcome Reception" at the "Tack Room" in the Manor. We enjoyed a wonderful slide show put together by a dear family friend, toasts, dinner, and cocktails! By this point 90% of the guests had arrived, and the manor was bustling with guests for the Nemani/Reimer wedding.

On October 8, the morning again began with an amazing breakfast and great company. the groomsmen and friends went golfing first thing that morning. The golf course at Adare is world renowed, Tiger Woods played at the course over the summer for the Irish Open. Justin was so excited and after playing the whole course (which took them close to 7-8 hours), he said it was worth every minute but man it was hard! While the guys golfed, a group of us walked around the compound, enjoyed lunch at the Golf Club and then walked through Limerick, which was adorable! They had the cutest little shops, which we enjoyed very much! Soon it was time to get ready for the Rehersal Dinner. After a little bit of a frightening bus ride to the Castle (imagine large bus, small road up and down hills), we arrived, in one piece to singers welcoming us and "mead" (sweet honey wine). After social hour, we headed into the holding area for a welcome from the performers, and then into the dining hall. What an amazing night, with everything from singers, dancers, heckling of Justin, and kind words from family and friends. Per usual, we had a night cap at the Tack Room.

October 9 - THE BIG DAY!
It was finally here! The ladies began the morning in Ritu's suite having our hair and make-up done, enjoying champagne, and breakfast, and in disbelief that the day was finally here! The whole day was magical and went perfectly. Jayson did an amazing job officiating the ceremony. It was such a personal and meaningful ceremony. Following the ceremony, there was a cocktail hour while the bridal party had photos taken. Shortly to follow was the reception, which was like an event which took place on the Titanic, luckily our ending was much better. The reception hall was grand, and beautiful. The couple cut their cake, had their first dance, and the night kicked off! There wasn't a dull moment all night, from the heartfelt toasts, dancing, professional Irish dance performance, fireworks, and a few enjoyed a scotch tasting. All in all, it was perfect.

I can't put into words how amazing of a trip this was, being in Ireland with 80 close family and friends was unlike anything we had ever experienced. I hope that we are able to enjoy this type of event again with such amazing people. Thank you Ritu and Tim for choosing such an amazing venue and thank you to everybody who came to celebrate the two of them. Thank you to mom and dad for arranging the event wiht the couple and making it something nobody will ever forget!

I would post photos, but there are so many, please use the link from the previous post to see photos from the wedding!

Cheers!

Ireland - Part 2

We arrived to Dublin on October 3, bright and early in the morning! Upon arrival we were excited to find that the weather was perfect! We checked into our hotel, The Morrison, and got settled in. Since we didn't get much rest on the flight over, we took a quick nap and then headed out on the town! The location of our hotel was perfect (thanks to H for doing the research and planning for our accommodations in Dublin). Our hotel was just over the bridge (Ha'y Penny Bridge) to the Temple Bar district. On Sunday, we roamed the city to get our bearings, had lunch at "The Quay's Bar", walked through the Dublin Castle, St. Stephen's Green Park and had a few pints at local pubs (which wasn't a challenge since there was one every corner!). That evening, Bob & Karen stayed in to get some rest and H and I ventured out to have some dinner and enjoy a bit of the night life. Much to our surprise, we ran into Jay, Karen and Jayson Schmitt walking down the street at the Temple Bar area! They were also in Ireland for the wedding, Jayson was the officiant for the ceremony. Running into friends in Ireland is quite surreal. We stopped at the "Temple Bar" for dinner and drinks with the Schmitt's. Unfortunately, H and I had to cut our evening short due to the exhaustion which was creeping up on us from our trip.

On October 4, day 2 in Dublin, we woke up well rested and ready to do some sight seeing! Again, we had another beautiful day! We started out our day by taking the train to Dun Laoghaire, a seaside town about 20 miles from Dublin. It was beautiful and had a much different feel from Dublin. We had lunch at a local restaurant and then walked down the pier. It was breathtaking! After our relaxing morning, we headed back to Dublin to see some of the hot spots.

We began our tour through Dublin at Trinity College to see "The Book of Kells". It was amazing how the book had been created, preserved and displayed. Next we headed to St. Patrick's Cathedral. The original St. Patrick's Cathedral was founded in 1191 and then restored in the late 1800's to the building it is today

After a educational day, we decided we needed a Guiness Break (these were needed every few hours). We stumbled upon a bar in the Temple Bar district which had live Irish music and cold beer on tap (and walking distance from our hotel).

On October 5, day 3 in Dublin. Being that this was our last day in Dublin, we saved the best for last - Guinness Storehouse and the Jameson Distillery. Our hotel was centrally located, which allowed us to walk most places. Our first stop was the Guinness Storehouse. The Irish are very proud of Guinness and hold it at a very high regard.

We began with an introduction of Guinness and background about the company, which has been around since 1759, from there we proceeded on a self-guided tour of the Storehouse, at the end of the tour we enjoyed a nice lunch at the 7th floor restaurant and a complimentary pint at the Gravity bar with a view to die for!

A few fun facts about Guinness. In Ireland, Guinness pouring is a process, actually a six part process:
1. Guinness is to be served at 6 degrees c
2. The glass - must be a 20 ounce tulip shaped glass, washed meticulously and dried.
3. The glass must be angled 45 degrees under the tap.
4. The pour the glass 3/4 of the way, set it down and let it settle. The color of the beer will change and it will have the dark body and white top as we have all grown to know.
5. Once this is complete, fill the glass up to where the white top is above the rim of the glass. The proper pouring process takes approximately 119 seconds.
6. Enjoy your perfectly poured Guinness!

Another fun fact, Arthur Guinness signed a 9000-year lease for the St. James Gate Brewery for 45 pounds. That was in 1759, and the lease is still valid and in affect.

Next, we wandered over to the Jameson Distillery. The original distillery, which we visited, is no longer the home of where Jameson is now produced, but it is where it all began. The building was rustic and full of history. Here we went on a guided tour of the distillery and at the end enjoyed a refreshing drink. I enjoyed a Jameson with Ginger, which was surprisingly refreshing! I am not a whiskey drinker by any stretch of my imagination, but this was a drink I wouldn't mind to have every now and then!

For our last night in Dublin, we took a car to the highest point of Dublin to "Johnnie Fox". A few of our neighbors frequent Ireland and this is one place they said we must go! It is one of hte oldest restaurants in Dublin and is located on top of one of Dublin's mountains and is the highest pub in the whole country. Here we enjoyed a wonderful dinner and traditional Irish entertainment. It was the perfect end to our time in Dublin.

Ireland - Part 1

On October 2nd, my in-laws, H and I headed to Lambert airport to begin our journey to Ireland for the Ritu & Tim's wedding celebration! The four of us decided to leave early and spend a few days in Dublin before kicking off the festivities. The whole experience was unlike anything I have ever done before. We had a total of 72 people traveling to Ireland for the wedding! Being that there was so much we did in one week, I am going to break up my posts to capture as much of the experience possible. I hope you enjoy the experience through our view point!

Ritu & Tim's Pre-Destination Wedding Celebration

Being that the happy couple's wedding was a destination wedding, we decided to have a "Pre-Destination Wedding Celebration" as a bridal shower and in lieu of an after wedding reception. We held the party at the Sheraton City Center in St. Louis. We had a great turn out and were able to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of Ritu & Tim with family and friends, those who were traveling to Ireland and those who were unable to make the wedding. In true Nemani style, the event was a whole weekend affair. We had many friends come to St. Louis from areas far adn near. Friday night we went to Lombardo's for dinner, and Saturday, as we welcomed more guests to St. Louis, we prepared for the big event! We had an evening of fun, entertainment and dancing! Here are the photos from the event. Enjoy!

Ritu & Tim's Bachelor/Bachelorette Weekend

With our busy summer and getting ready for Ritu and Tim's wedding events, I have fallen behind on blogging. In August, we had a full month of events leading up to the big event set for October. One fabulous weekend was the bachelor/bachelorette party for the happy couple. The wedding party (most of them) and friends headed to Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, WI for a weekend of fun. It was a relaxing weekend with lots of food, fun and reminiscing. Saturday night we went to "The Baker House" for dinner and entertainment. If you ever go to Lake Geneva, I would highly recommend visiting this venue. The atmosphere was unique, the food was fantastic and the service was amazing. They have a tradition of having "Sun Downers" every weekend when the sun begins to set. It is a very cool concept, at this hour of the evening, you raise your drink to toast the day you were fortunate to have and toast the night, which was upon us. To top it off, they gave you hats to wear! Overall, it was a fun weekend celebrating the last days of single life for the happy couple! We look forward celebrating many years of fun and vacations with the couple once they are married! Here are the rest of the photos!

January

January was a fast month and as I look back, it's hard to even remember what all we did! January usually is a slow month, recovering from the holiday's and getting back into the swing of things. Some of the highlights were:

• I started my new job January 4, which I will update about in another post
• H started classes (for those who don't know, he is taking classes to sit for the CPA exam)
• Erica and I traveled to Springfield for Whitney's baby shower
• Girls' Night at "The New Pi" with GG, Erica, Prity and Jen
• Celebrated Mike's birthday at the "Annual Food and Wine Experience"
• Celebrated Liz's 30th Birthday at her Prince's Purple Party in Mascoutah
• Traveled to C-Town to hang out and spend time with the P's after mom's knee surgery
• H traveled to Evansville, IN to visit Emily and Dan in their new home

First decade of the 21st Century

Who would of thought 10 years ago we were all freaking out over Y2K!?! A few of my friends (thanks Chi-ch) did a list of a decade in review, so I decided to jump on the wagon as well:

2001 - R & J met at SIU-E
2003 - May - R & J Graduated from SIUE
September - R moved to St. Louis for grad school
2004 - J started grad school
Priti graduated and started at U of M
2006 - January - R graduated from one grad program
May - R graduated with another grad program, J graduated from grad program
June - R Moved to Boston for Fellowship
November - J & R got engaged (yay!)
Abhi graduated high school and started at Claremont McKenna
2007 - J was transferred to the downtown Regions Bank
whirlwind wedding planning
May - R moved back to St. Louis and started a new job
September - R decided that the job with Mercy was not the proper move for my career
October - R & J got married and went on honeymoon and moved in together!
Both of our parents celebrated their 30 year wedding anniversary!
2008 - R started job with SIHF
J & R celebrated 1 year wedding anniversary
Karen diagnosed with breast cancer - family came together and started her fight
Emily graduated from grad school and moved to Indiana
Evan graduated high school and started at NIU
2009 - Karen won her fight!
Emily & Dan got married
Ritu & Tim got engaged
Priti graduated and started law school
Ritu graduated from graduate school

It has been a busy decade! Here's to the next one!

The Windy City and The Gem City

Last week, H and I decided to take a week of vacation! We started off our vaca with going to Chicago last Saturday. It had been a while since we had been to visit my sister and Tim, and thought this would be the perfect time. We also try to go to Wrigley once a year for a game for Justin's birthday. We got to Chicago Saturday afternoon, and headed out to dinner at Graham Elliot. Such a fun restaurant. In lieu of bread, they serve sea salt popcorn! They had me at that, I heart popcorn! The food was wonderful and a very nice ambiance. After dinner, we walked around the city, and enjoyed the beautiful evening!

Sunday, H, myself and Ritu headed to Wrigleyville for breakfast with our friend Parool. From there, H and I headed to the Cubs Game. Man it was a hot one! For August 31, it was extremely warm! Unfortunately, the Cubbies lost, H was sad. We were wiped out after the game, so we hung out in Wrigleyville for a while, and then headed back to Ritu's. That night, we stayed in for dinner and then walked down to Old Town for cupcakes from Twisted Sister's Bakery - yum!

Monday was a day for shopping on Michigan Avenue - fabulous! That evening we went out to dinner. It was hard to find a place open due to Labor Day, which was odd. Tuesday, H and I headed to the beach in the morning, what a beautiful day! We had a great time, it didn't even feel like we were in Chicago! We love visiting my sister and Tim, it is always a wonderful time!

Wednesday we headed back to St. Louis, first stopping by Northern Illinois University to visit my brother in law, Evan.

We received some bad news while we were away, my mother in law was diagnosed with breast cancer, so we headed back to Quincy to spend time with the fam. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we head down this road to recovery. She is a strong and amazing woman and will come out of this even stronger. We love you Karen!