It's a cold, rainy, blustery fall day here in Michigan. Immediately, my thoughts turn to warm, comforting Irish recipes. Yes, I remember many cold rainy days in County Kerry, and eating the best Guinness Beef Stew, accompanied by that lovely classic Irish Brown Bread. Here are two recipes that I love to make.

For decades, I had a first day of school. Elementary, middle, high school, university, and then teaching high school; late August meant a ‘close’ of camp, early September meant the ‘unofficial end’ to beach season, and then it was back to school. That new outfit, that new backpack, and the jitters of what’s to come all became rolled into one - a first day of school. Amidst all of the crazy and looking forward to the unknown, there was a new beginning. Does everyone have this? How does this ‘beginning’ foster itself for those who don’t have that ‘back to school’ scenario?

I’m an avid art museum traveler. Wherever we go, we make sure to visit as many art museums as possible (this is the second priority in our travel planning – the first being great food). When we had a child, I wasn’t concerned that she’d love art museums, too.

Detroit doesn’t tend to make headlines as a foodie destination.
 
It should.
 
Before moving to Detroit, Michigan, I had a grocery list of misconceptions about the Motor City, including an expectation it would be a food desert in the Midwest.
 
Instead, what I found was that Detroit holds a diverse mix of different cultures and people. And food.
 

One of the best ways to learn about a country is through experiencing the food and drink. From Pad Thai in Thailand to sushi in Japan, the deliciousness can expand your worldview. But what about the drinks? Beer is an extremely popular and tasty way to learn about a country – and perhaps share a table at a restaurant and meet some new friends.

As cliche as it may sound, some things really do get lost in translation.
 

Unsettling times, times of uncertainty, times of change -- these can bring about fear, and fear's twin, anger. Such times may bring about despair, frustration, discouragement. It is also possible, though, to live in such times with hope, and with courage. The music I offer you in this series of posts is meant to help with that. Careful how you go, indeed. Take heart and take courage, and keep music as your good companion.

Here's the next article in my series on traveling outside of London during your time abroad! If you didn’t get a chance to start at the beginning, make sure you read my first post here.