My Friend Phyllis

Have I talked about my friend Phyllis? I met her on my trip to Ireland in 2001. It was after I arrived in Ireland and had spent 3 miserable days in Limerick. I didn't know anyone and the hostel was very unfriendly. I was afraid they were all going to be like that, as I had never stayed in a hostel before, nor had I travelled like this before, with just a backpack and no plan. But then I met Phyllis. We were both just off the bus, heading for the Barnacles Quay Hostel in Galway, so weeding our way through busy streets, wondering where in the hell we were. We happened to bump into one another after seeing the Canadian Flag and so headed to the hostel together, following a very considerate local who showed us the way. Once we got there and found our room not to be ready, Phyllis and I headed over to the Quays Pub and had a few pints.

For the next 3 days, Phyllis and I toured Galway, and being a Canadian, it was easy communication. There were many foreigners in our hostel, including one Dutch gal named Madeleine, who joined our group as well. We went sightseeing, to the pubs, and out for meals. It was great! Then we parted ways on the fourth day with Phyllis travelling north and Madeleine and I were heading to the Aran Island of Inish Mor together. Its just more fun to travel with someone you just met for a few days. After we returned from the island, Madeleine moved on to her next destination, which was back to her au pair job in England, and I moved on to Cork, then Kilkenny.

Where I was in the kitchen, cooking supper with some folks there, when in walked Phyllis! So we grouped up again, this time with a bunch of other likeminded travellers and toured that city, went to the movies, the pubs, out for supper, etc. Since then, I have lived vicariously through Phyllis. While I only had just three weeks abroad that year, Phyllis kept on travelling. She's in her late 60's and full of energy. Please feel free to visit her blog that I keep for her from all her e-mails she sends out and read of her amazing tales. Just this week while in England again, she met Brian May from Queen and talked to him!!! On another adventure in Australia, she was sitting next to Charlie Watts, the drummer from the Rolling Stones and proceeded to chat him up for a while, and THEN he gave her Big Mouth memorabilia, right there in the restaurant. He was sitting there with a Roadie who was from Toronto. And the most jealous I am of her was when she met Matthew McConaughey in Ireland, at a pub and chatted him up for the longest time, while pulling back a pint. She even danced with him, and saw him play the bongo drums...Now I am severely JEALOUS.

Anyhow, she's a good friend and fellow traveller, who inspires me to keep on travelling until I can't anymore. I hope to bump into her again some day, in some exotic location. Way to go Phyllis!