Welcome to JohnMichaels Pub's Blog
Welcome. I moved to Nashville in 2001, and have be blessed to make some wonderful friends. After moving from a house in Florida, to an apartment in Nashville, I missed being able to entertain groups of friends simply due to lack of space. When I finally decided to make Nashville my home and buy a house here, I wanted a space that friends to gather and socialize in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The basement in my new house, which opens into the back yard made the perfect space, so JohnMichael's Pub was born. I have made a couple of trips to Ireland since moving to Nashville and loved the atmosphere of the pubs there. So I made my pub to resemble an Irish style pub to give the atmosphere of a local community pubs in Ireland, but of course it is not a true "Pub" (Public house) since it private place for my friends to gather. I plan to use this blog to post thoughts, ideas, recipes and a variety of other things related to my pub and the parties held there. If you see anything here that interests you, feel free to email me. I have a great group of friends that is very diverse, but I am always open to making new friends.
So Matthew is determined to make it to the top of the Ben Aurthur this time. Ok. So we start at the base of the mountain right off Lock Lomond at sea level. It is only just under 3,000 feet elevation. How bad could it be?
So here we are. We made it this far... The view is awsome, but it still looks a long way up..
Then we reach a platue just before the big rock formation up ahead, and I think we have made it.
Then Matthew tells me we are not there yet... just look at the look on my face (left) when he tells me where we are going (right).
past the snow and we are there. Just in front of this is a rock formation with a sheer drop off the other side that looks like it goes several hundred feet... with this guy sitting on the top...
So how do I get to the top... Through that hole then up that incline that looks like a staircase with no steps...
No... I think I will call this the top.... - BTW- Matthew did not go up on top of it either. The
image at the bottom is as far as he went.
On St. Paddy's day, we took a drive into Glasgow. I found another of those blue boxes and tried knocking, but alas... No Doctor. I will find that T.A.R.D.I.S. one day. Whe explored the city a bit, walked down to George's Square... note the pigion on Queen Victoria's head. They seem to like it there. I could not get a clear shot without one there. We then found an Irish pub "
Waxy O'conner's" for some Irish Stew and Guinness in honor of St Paddy's day.
On Monday morning, we set out to find acient Scotland (in the rain none the less). These carvings at Achnebrech were made about 6000 years ago by the inhabitants of this area at the time, and are revered to as cup and ring. If you look closely at the image, you can see the circles.
Our next stop was at a stone circle (standing stones). These were at Ballymeanoch in the Kilmartin Glen area of Scotland, but are not all that unlike the most famous stone circle "stone henge." These are estimated to have been constucted between 5000 and 3500 years ago. The mist in the air in the first photo (left) is fog, the spots on the right photo are moisture on the lense. It was raining and very diffucult to keep dry.
The next photo (left) is of a burial carin near by and from the same time period. Further along the road, we encountered a few more standing stones, also from the same period. Then we ran across Carnesserie castle (Below), built in the late 16 th century. It was home to Bishop John Carsewell, who translated the John Knox liturgy into Gaelic in 1567.
From there we drove to the seaside town of Oban for dinner. It is one of the Ferry ports to get out to the islands such as Iona and Mull.
On Sunday morning, we started with mass at St. Michael's and All Angel's Scottish Episcopal Church in Hellensburgh then took a drive out to Drymen to see the countryside. Here is a picture of the landscape there.
I have been in Scotland a week now, and failed to post anything until now, so here it is. On my first day (after my arrival day) we went to
Rosslyn Chapel. I am posting a picture here of me at the door. It is a beutiful and magical place, unfortunatly they do not alow photography inside, because some idiot fell taking an photo and is now has a suite against them.
We also stopped by Edinburgh on the way back to the house and walked around the "Royal Mile" area some. We ran accross the little cafe pictured here on a side street. This is where J.K. Rowling "mulled over a coffee writing her first Harry Potter novel, " hence the sign stating it is the "birthplace" of Harry potter.
So we go a little further... 
So we go a little further... 
