Ireland – February 2012 1

Introductory Email (written February 19)

Febraury 20: Travel from Madison to Chicago to Dublin

Febraury 21: Dublin to New-grange, County Meath, to Adare,

County Limerick

Febraury 22: Starting out slow. Adare and Limerick City, County

Limerick

Febraury 23: The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, and Bunratty

Castle, County Shannon

Febraury 24: Waterford City, County Waterford, and the Rock

of Cashel, County Tipperary

Febraury 25: The Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry

Febraury 26: The Jameson Expe-rience, Midleton, and Blarney

Castle, County Cork

Febraury 27: From Adare to Dub-lin to Chicago to Madison

What started out as an innocent email turned into a fun week with friends.

them ourselves. Once the travel agent and I figured out the dates we could go, they asked if we wanted to book the flights with them. Turned out they had a deal set up with Aer Lingus (the Irish airline) and could save us about $250-300/person. I was amazed. Even af-ter agreeing to trip protection insurance, the final cost of this trip is less than $1000/each.

The first time I went to Ire-land was in 1998—the fall af-ter my dad died. The last thing I wanted to do that year was to be anywhere near a Thanksgiv-ing celebration. When I had gone to Irish Fest in August that year, I saw that Aer Lingus was offering two-for-one fares from Chicago to Dublin direct for $500. Couldn’t really pass it up at the time. I asked my friend Ann if she wanted to go and the plan was started. Even when Ann ended up without a job a month or so before we were supposed to leave, I wasn’t worried. For that price to get us both there, it was a steal. I said that the flight was covered and I’d cover the car rental and the B&Bs if she’d do most of the driving. She just had to cover her food and souveniers. We had one book of driving tours, 10 days, and very little in any other plan before we left. It was an awesome trip. In 2001, Ed and I decided to go to England for a week and found a similar fare deal so we went through Ireland. On our way back, we spent a couple of days in Ireland. I had a chance to show him a few sites that

Ireland with FriendsFebruary 20-27, 2012

Wandering around the Southwest(anchored in Adare, County Limerick)

Those of you who belong to this group have followed my travels before. Well, we’re off again tomorrow—this time, to Ireland.

It was serendipity in many ways. Back in December, our friend Mary sent me an email asking me “Did you see the getaway to Adare Ireland?” I knew she was talking about a groupon but I had deleted it without looking cuz the money was looking a little tighter for the coming year and Ed had said we shouldn’t think on a big trip. But I rescued the email from my trash and found the price was incredible. http://tinyurl.com/7eyejfm is the deal if you want to see what was so tempting. The final cost would be dependent upon finding a decently priced flight. After a bit of back and forth the next day between Mary, her husband Clint, and Ed, we decided that sometime in late February would work for all of us and I was designated to order the groupon and to deal with the travel agency they use. We had investi-gated the cost of flights before I called so I knew the ballpark cost if we booked

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Ann and I had seen 3 years earlier and we found a few more. And now we get to go back for six more days.

Our current plan will be for the four of us to drive to Chicago mid-afternoon tomorrow. I like the fact that the flight times are very reasonable. We fly out around 7:15pm tomorrow night and are due to land around 9:00am on Tuesday. Since we’ll only be about a 3-hour drive from Adare, we figure we’ll head up to New-grange, a Megalithic Passage Tomb built about 3200 BC. http://www.knowth.com/newgrange.htm Ann and I had visited that site back in ‘98 but I’m the only one of the four of us that has been there before. We should be able to explore that site nicely and wander around before heading to County Limerick and our home away from home for the next week.

I will try to write every day as I have done in the past and I promise a travelogue with a link to my photos when I return.

We’ll see how coherent this is since I technically had only about 4 hours of sleep so far but I’m up and I might as well do something useful. Especially since coherency was not something I possessed much after our arrival at our villa last night.

I cannot remember a time when travel went much smoother than it did from 1400hrs CST on Monday until we arrived at the Adare Manor, Adare Village, County Limerick, Ireland about 1800hrs GMT on Tuesday. From the drive between Madison to O’Hare to the finding of the parking lot with no wait time for the shuttle to the international terminal; to the quick

check-in at the Aer Lingus desk and fastest airport secu-rity line I’ve ever encountered; to a flight that not only left on time but arrived at Dublin International Airport almost an hour early; to s quick shot through passport

control and baggage retrieval; to having not too much trouble finding the care hire desk (only marred by a small glitch in using the debit card but nice to find out the credit card was at least working); to the shuttle to pick up said car (much bigger than we expected since we went economy, I’m surprised we got a Ford something-or-other [about the size of a Ford Focus}); to finding

February 20-21: Chicago to Dublin to Adare

Photos for the first two days

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our way out of the airport area, our of Dublin, and on the road to Newgrange; to finding the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre and having the right amount of time to explore the centre as well as watch a short video before the 1115hrs tour of this 5000 year-old passage tomb; to a bit of wandering to find a meal and eventually wind our way down to where we are calling home for the next almost-a-week.

The only technical difficulty besides the small glitch w/the debit card (more on that later) was trying to get

electronically connected upon arrival when we were thoroughly exhausted.

However, it’s all starting to catch up to me again and I’m going to see if I can get another couple of hours be-fore everyone is awake and ready to find breakfast and the start of our second day here. So, details will have to wait until later. At least this much will give my aging brain an outline to use to write more extensively later. (Later note: I’ve decided not to edit too extensively since I kind of like this train-of-thought log.)

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February 22: Adare and Limerick City

I’ve decided that these updates to this list (waving to y’all from our office in our villa) probably won’t get a lot of details fleshed out in them. I’m a bit tired and quite happy after mostly a pint of Bulmer’s this evening and writing a long, detailed account of the day just isn’t in me. This doesn’t mean that more won’t be written later but consider this more notes to help my memory along (and to feed those who wish to travel vicariously with us) rather than a fully completed travelogue.

After waking up, reasonably wide awake, around 0215 this morning, I found myself up and about for a couple of hours. This wasn’t a bad thing. However, it did mean that going back to sleep around 0430 and not setting an alarm meant that we didn’t waken until about 0900. We really want to get our days started early but it turned out to be just as well today. The package that we booked includes 4 breakfasts for each of us at the Adare Cultural Heritage Center (small museum, restaurant, and gift shops) but they do not open until 0900. I think we’ll be eating other places to break our fast most of the rest of our trip.

We stopped at the bank to try to retrieve our ATM card and were told it was possible but would take a bit of

time. So, we went wandering. Ed to the hardware store, Clint & Mary to the grocery store, and me wandering back and forth between the two to keep from losing people. We came back together and walked most of the main part of the village—window shopping and wandering through the park—until around 11:30. Retrieved the bank card and headed back to the villa to regroup before spending the afternoon in Limerick. The weather was gray and misty throughout the day, never really switching to a hard rain so it was quite pleasant.

We toured King John’s Castle, a fortress that Ed and I had toured through in 2001 but more has been excavated since then. A nice museum with the history of the castle and of Limerick along with a couple of short videos made for a nice experience. Enough had been added, and my memory has deteriorated enough, to make it still very worthwhile.

We found a nice restaurant for a late lunch on the recommendation of the docent at the castle and had a great lunch. The Locke Bar overlooks the Abbey River not far from where the Abbey meets the Shannon and

just around the corner from St. Mary’s Cathedral. I had a huge bowl of mussels in what appeared to be a white win/cream sauce, a pint of cider, and talked everyone into sharing a berry/rhubarb crumble with me. Everyone else had fish & chips. We were all quite happy with our choices and pleasingly full when done.

We tried to check out the cathedral, it was about 1700 hours, but never found a way inside. So, we found the car and wound our way through the city to find our way back to the villa for a rest. I napped in the tub for a bit while everyone else did whatever they did to relax. Around 2030 we went into the village to find some music at one of the pubs. The place, unfortunately for us and fortunately for them, was packed . Ed and I shared a plate of boiled bacon, cabbage, and creamed potatoes. Mary & Clint shared a ham & brie panini and we all had

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February 22: Adare and Limerick City (cont.)cider. Couldn’t hear the music very well since it around the corner of the bar at the far end of the space. But the food was quite good so we really aren’t complaining. Just hope we can do better on another night.

We got back to the villa and everyone else went to take a short walk while I logged in to write this update. I did, however, throw the windows open since it’s a lovely night. We all think it’s warmer now than during the day.

So, it’s time to sleep now (2300) and the hope for an earlier start tomorrow. Our hope is to get to the Cliffs of Moher earlish and wander around a bit before going to Bunratty Castle in the afternoon. Yea, I’ve seen the castle twice and Ed’s been there once but Clint & Mary haven’t and I kind of convinced everyone that we want to do the Medieval Banquet that they do there. Turned out that by booking it online, we saved about 10 Euros each. I’ll write more on that tomorrow.

Our Villa

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Thursday started off at a better time than did Wednesday when we were all up, those of us who indulge, coffeed, and out the door a bit after 0730. We definitely wanted to waste less time abed and find interesting places to do and see. If we can keep that pace, we will be better off as well as happier. We were off and away to find the Cliffs of Moher.

I’m glad both Ed and Clint are willing to drive since that is not the kind of adventure I seek. The roads, even some of the so-called highways are much narrower than the average road in the U.S. The motorways are more like our highways (including tolls from time-to-time.) We stayed on these larger roads from Adare to Ennis and then slid along narrower roads, some without pavement lines, until we reached the Cliffs of Moher. The roads are well marked though the roundabouts do take some getting used to. (As does a persnickety gearshift where, I gather, figuring out 1st from 3rd is not easy and reverse is a tad reluctant to engage easily.)

It was misty all the way there and the fog began to slowly engulf us as we got closer and closer to the coast. We stopped along the way in a small village at a Mace (convenience store) where we grabbed a bit of food to break our fast (baguettes with sausage were well spiced and nicely filling and the milk I had was rich and tasty—obviously fresher and with more butterfat than I’m used to back home.)

I’ve always heard that the Cliffs of Moher are a must see when traveling through Ireland and it was something that eluded me on my first two trips here—once for thick fog and the second for lack of time. The Atlantic Edge exhibition and visitor’s center is only about six years old and makes the experience interesting even on the worst of weather days. It was a raw day with chilly winds, mist, a bit of rain, and more winds—both strong and chilly. When we first arrived, we took our time

through the exhibition, housed in a beautifully designed, underground bunker, before venturing out to the cliffs. Even in the fog and dealing with a wind determined to knock us off our feet it was not hard to see why it has been designated as a UNESCO Geo Park as well as Ireland’s attempt to have one of the seven natural wonders of the modern world. After a bit of exploring, I found my way to the cafe for a cuppa tea and was eventually joined by our whole party.

A fun encounter: A young lady asked me where I was from and when I said Wisconsin I didn’t have to explain

where it was geographically. She has been to Irish Fest in Milwaukee and works the tourist booth for County Clare. She now has my contact information so that I can help find other things for her and/or friends to do when they are here this coming August.

It was a tad bit clearer when we finished our tea and we

wandered to the cliffside again before leaving. Clint had seen something that had said St. Bridget’s

Well at Lisconnar and asked the young tourist representative and her colleagues who were meeting at

February 23: Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Castle

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a nearby table if that was the one he had learned about many moons ago. They said it was and so we backtracked to find it. Not only was it interesting to see the many offerings of rosaries, etc., left behind but the view from there was spectacular. There is no way that my photos could capture the landscape.

It’s much more spring here than I expected. Trees are budding out and the flowers are what we expect back home in late March or early April.

We wandered a bit before finding the right highway to take us to Bunratty for some time touring the castle. This site is a place I do not think I could ever tire visiting. This is my third visit to Ireland and my third to the castle. Perhaps someday I might be able to visit when the Folk Park is in full swing though I like exploring when there aren’t too many other tourists. (We’ve run into quite a few who are also here on the groupon as we are. I’ll write more on the castle later. )

This trip, I am happy to say, we decided to book their Medieval Banquet. After touring the castle, we took a little time across the street at a pub named Durty Nelly’s (established in 1620). Ed had a pint of stout (Murphy’s this time), I had a small cider and Clint & Mary pted for tea. We needed a bit of vegging out time and this was a good place to do it. We discovered a whole section above one of the bars that was dedicated with stickers and such commemorating many Irish Fests in Milwaukee.

We were back up at the castle around 1700 to pick up our tickets for the banquet. I’ve been to a few things like this but I have to admit it was better done than most of them. The staff had multiple roles as hosts, entertainers, and servers and pulled it off quite well. Harp & fiddle entertained us in the Great Hall as we started the evening with a small glass of Bunrratty Mead (a very sweet

mead that seems to hit my palate quite well. We were entertained with singers as well after a nice welcome. A young couple were crowned as the Lord & Lady of the manor and we climbed the steep circular stairs back down to the lower hall for the feast.

The food was excellent and the players played their parts well. Consisting of four courses, the meal was grand with a spiced parsnip soup, fresh brown bread, spare ribs in a honey/whiskey sauce (which used a smoked, rather salty, rib for the base), roast chicken served with a vegetable medley of carrots, rutabaga and broccoli, and roasted potatoes, and something called rastin for dessert. Wine flowed freely (all included) and the entertainment, including the butler’s patter. (The butler appeared to all of us as a doppleganger for our friend Toshikage, even down to many of his mannerisms, which amused the four of us quite a bit.) Everything was quite wonderful including our serving “wench” who, when I asked if it was possible to get a bit more mead since I don’t like wine much, obliged and brought all four of us a “wee drop more”. I was a very happy camper, especially since the others appeared to be happy with wine and I was able to imbibe in most of their mead as well as my own. The food was well-prepared, quite tasty, and served at appropriate temperatures. The banquet concluded with about a half-hour’s worth of music and song (unfortunately we were asked for no video during that part of their performance) and coffee and tea at the end. I cannot imagine what it is like to be one of those performers during the height of the tourist season when they do two shows nightly.

We were happy and tired by the time we found our way back to our villa and our beds.

February 23: Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Castle (cont)

Photos of the Day

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We did well this morning making it up and out and on the road by a reasonable hour since we were heading to Waterford. A tour of the Waterford Crystal Factory was one of the inclusions (along with the Cliffs of Moher) that came with the groupon. Other than coffee being made, we didn’t dawdle much in the villa. We have discovered that most of the convenience stores have very good bakery and we are able to get a decent breakfast at a reasonable price. This morning, it was some wonderful ham and cheese croissants, hot from the oven, a couple of apple pastries to split amongst the four of us, and something to drink. I tried some Mixxed Up which turned out to be an energy drink that tasted a bit like sweettarts.

We found our way into Waterford city around 1100 and found parking a few blocks from the factory. It turned out that the next tour would be at 1215 so we got our tickets and headed out to explore the few blocks around that area. The Bishop’s Palace Museum was right across the street with a church right behind it. We didn’t think we had time for a museum and the church wasn’t open at that time so we kept walking. We finally came around to a short, round tower which had been part of

the city’s original city wall and defense. Reginald’s Tower looked to be something that would be interesting to explore but the sign on the door said it would be closed from 1330-1430 and we figured the factory tour would let us out around 1315. I knew Ed would be more interested in the tower than the factory and suggested he do that and meet up with us after he explored the Medieval displays in the tower.

Mary, Clint and I found the factory tour to be very interesting and well worth our time. We were able to see all stages of the creation and manufacturing of the crystal

pieces and learned much of the history of the factory. Although there is some automation in the process now, there is still a lot of handwork and creativity that goes into many of the pieces. The blowing of the basic pieces is done individually and they produce about 200 pieces a day. Some of the cutting can be done by very complicated machines but we still saw many hand cutters working. The apprenticeship of a blower or a cutter is five years and then they are given a rigorous test. If they can’t pass it, they have a couple of more chances to pass and then they have to go through another five years or give it up. They haven’t taken on a new apprentice in 18 years and are just about to get their first new crop started. Currently, there are no women employed as blowers or cutters and in talking to our guide, a woman, they are all looking to see if change will occur. We even got to see a copy of a bowl that will be presented to President Obama with a shamrock in it on St. Patrick’s Day. That was one of the nicest designs that I saw there. In addition to their regular series of pieces in a variety of patterns, Waterford

February 24: Waterford and Cashel

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does many award pieces and creates all of the pieces that go into the New Year’s ball that drops on Times Square.

We wandered a bit more around Waterford after the tour and reconnecting with Ed before heading out on the road again. Our destination would be either Cashel or Cahir. I’ve been to both places on each of my previous trips and knew that I wouldn’t mind visiting either one of them again. We didn’t have time for both and chose to go to Cashel. It’s still one of my favourite sites to visit in the world. St. Patrick’s Rock at Cashel is a limestone escarpment that rises up over the city and has three

separate and very impressive ruins. There is a round tour that dates back to the early 1100s, a chapel that was built about 50-60 years later, and a cathedral that was built about 300 years after that. The chapel is currently being restored but we were still able to see much of it in the hour or so that we had there. The chapel still has an intact roof and one can see the remnants of the fresco work on the walls and ceiling.

We never really bothered to stop for lunch and have taken to grazing a bit through the day. We stop at a petrol station/convenience store for bathroom breaks or a cup of coffee for the driver and pick up some kind

of nosh—a bit of fruit, crisps, biscuits, muffins, candy, or cheese. (Ed and Clint have been sharing the joy of driving an unfamiliar vehicle on what we consider the wrong side of the road whilst sitting on the wrong side of the car. They both seem to be fighting the manual transmission a lot, and Mary and I seem to be working hard to bite our tongues for fear they might hand one of us the keys and tell us to do better.) We decided a nice dinner and some music would be in order for the evening once we freshened up a bit. We stopped by our villa and then found our way out to a pub called Aunty Lena’s early enough to have dinner and find a good seat.

Dinner was wonderful. Ed went for bangers & mash; Clint for the Irish Stew; Mary had a bacon & cheese panini; and I went for a bowl of soup and a *clonakilty pudding spring roll*. The soup was a pureed vegetable soup that was rich, creamy and served piping hot. The spring rolls had both black & white pudding (what we would call sausage) and was served with a spicy tomato

chutney. The tastes were wonderful and quite different that things I’d had before. I couldn’t resist have some bread & butter pudding for dessert and I’m so glad I gave in to temptation. MMmmmmmmm, was that a tasty treat. We all had cider and were quite happy all around.

Around 2130, the music started. A group of six men, playing a variety of instruments sat around one table not far from us. The place was noisy so I couldn’t hear them as well as I’d wished. I was also too well fed, had imbibed a bit in cider, the room was warm and noisy, and I started dozing off. Unfortunately, the day had worn me out quite a bit and everyone else seemed to be droopy by about 2230 so we called it an early night and walked back to the car. (The Manor has it set up nicely, though. There is a back gate, within a few blocks

February 24: Waterford and Cashel (cont.)

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of town, where you can park your car and walk through so as not to have to drive or find parking in town. The Manor’s grounds are quite extensive and I know that my knees wouldn’t let me walk all the way from the village to town so this is a nice alternative.

I was so exhausted when we got back that I fell into bed and really slept through the night. I didn’t have a chance to write of this day when the memories were still clear so I hope I do it justice.

Photos of the Day Ireland – February 2012 11

Ireland – February 2012 13

Again, we were able to get ourselves up and out at a reasonable hour. The day was cool but very little real precipitation other than a fine mist to start the day. We hit the road towards the southwest and finally entered into new territory even for me. We hit patches of fog along the way but as one local had old me the other day, “If you do not like the weather, wait ten minutes.” We came out into bright sun not long before we found our way up to Conor Pass which is at about 1500 meters. Getting out of the fog at this point was a good thing since this road is winds its way up quite a bit and is really only one lane wide. (The car we rented was a lot bigger than we thought it would be — it’s a Ford Mondeo — and far bigger than it should be in this country. Once you get off the motorways, even the highways are narrow, and the other roads are little more than just wide enough for two economy cars to pass one another.) The road up over the pass from Tralee to Dingle is very picturesque and I’m so glad the sun finally came out for us.

I haven’t been updating the weather much in this travelogue because it has been pretty much what one would expect in Ireland in late February. The temperatures have been in the low 50s for highs and mid-40s for the lows. Not much real rain but a lot of mist/drizzle happening—90% humidity seems to be the average. But today turned out to be different. Once we came out of the fog and followed the road into Dingle, the sun stayed with us the rest of the day.

We stopped in Dingle to explore and even did a little shopping. **gasp** One can see why this is one of the prime destinations for tourists with its many shops, restaurants, pubs, and places to stay. Quaint. Picturesque. You come up with a pleasant adjective and Dingle fits it. We spent an hour or so exploring and then continued driving around the Dingle Peninsula.

Our first stop was Dunbeg Fort which is a stone-age fort jutting out on the coast that they’ve dated back to 2000 BC. It was interesting to explore it and marvel at the construction. A bit up the road was the site for some prehistoric Clochán (beehive huts) dating back to the same time period as the fort. The walk up to them was labeled to be two minutes but it took me a bit longer since my knee was still complaining about all the stairs I walked at Bunratty on Thursday. It hurt but I made it up and they’ve been rebuilding these huts from the original stones. We continued driving around the peninsula and I have to admit there’s not a whole to say about it other than it is breathtakingly beautiful and interesting. We didn’t make many more stops until we found ourselves back in Dingle.

It was after 1500 so we decided to get a full meal and we knew that seafood/fish was what we all craved. We found a nice place and ordered. Ed went for the smoked

haddock & chips; Mary had the plaice & Chips; Clint had the whiting and chips; and I went for a bowl of the seafood chowder and a side salad. Everything was very good. If anyone ever tells me the Irish can’t cook, I suspect I will argue vigorously in their defense. We had stopped by this restaurant on our way through Dingle the first time so Clint could get coffee. Mary decided to get a piece of their Irish Whiskey Fruitcake and was kind enough to share with all of us. Mmmmm, that was best fruitcake I’ve ever had.

After our late lunch, or perhaps more appropriately, our early dinner, we got back on the road and continued to enjoy the scenery for a while before cutting back across the peninsula to head back to Adare. Ed and I,

February 25: The Dingle Peninsula

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especially, were hoping that we would hit Newcastle West (a town we’d gone through earlier) to check out the ruins of a Knights Templar castle before we lost the light but that wasn’t to be. However, we do think we can try to stop there on our way tomorrow when we head southeast to Midleton so we can tour the Jameson factory. Perhaps we’ll have time to stop in Cork or Cobh as well. It will be our last full day here and I hope we all have enough energy to do as much in that direction as possible. Somehow I don’t think that there will ever be enough time to see all that I want to see in the I’m given on this planet.

We made it back to the villa around 1900 and without really discussing it, we all settled in here for the night. Me, writing up yesterday and today; Ed doing laundry and reading; Mary & Clint, catching up in their email and reading. I suspect our bed will be welcoming me very soon.

Photos of the Day

February 25: The Dingle Peninsula (cont.)

Well, I was a bit too tired on Sunday night to write anything of that day. We wanted to get everything packed up and ready for us to be able to be up and out of the villa by 7am on Monday so here is a bit of a catch-up.

On Sunday, we decided that we had the time to drive over to County Cork and do the tour of the Jameson’s factory in Midleton (one of Jameson’s two main distilleries.) We left early since it was a couple of hours of driving to get there. On our way there, Ed saw a sign advertising “Full Irish 5 euros” at a place called Corbett Court. We’d been moving so early most mornings that we got into the habit of stopping at some convenience store for a quick way to break our fast. Since most of these places all had fresh baked goods, we did pretty well for ourselves. We just didn’t want to wait until 9am to get moving for the included breakfasts. The “Full Irish” at Corbett Court was definitely everything one expects from a full Irish breakfast: egg, black & white pudding, sausage, rasher bacon, beans, tomato, and brown bread with tea or coffee. It was a great way to start the day. The whole day would be stuff that would be new to me since I hadn’t been to County Cork in either of my previous trips.

We got to the Jameson factory a bit after 10 and had a bit of time before they opened at 11. We wandered a few blocks around the area and had a chance to play a bit with a fully automated public toilet. (And I do mean fully automated. You put 25 cents into the machine and the door whirred open and you stepped inside. There was

a clean stool and sink there. After doing what needed to be done, the sink would dispense the soap, then water, then a jet of air to dry your hands. A sign inside said that the door would open automatically after 20 minutes after flashing a light two minutes before opening. After you opened the door and stepped out, the door shut and the booth washed itself.)

We got back to the factory in time for the 11:30am Jameson Experience. Our tour guide, David, had worked there for two years and knew his way around. They don’t actually tour you through the working distillery but have it set up very nicely next door the active distillery so you can learn about each step. We all learned a great deal and had fun. At the end, they asked for 4 men and 4 women to be taste-testers to test Jameson’s vs Johnny Walker Black Label vs Jack Daniels. Everyone else got just the Jameson’s while we learned about the differences of the three. We all agreed that we liked the Jameson’s best. (Sorry, Dad.) Ed, Mary and I were 3 of the 8 volunteers

and Clint just drank juice to stay as our designated driver. (The roads were rough enough sober for people unfamiliar with them.) The 8 of us testers were then

given a full portion of the Jameson’s plus certificates with our names on them as official Jameson’s taste-testers.

We decided that the next stop of the trip would be Blarney Castle. There might have been a more direct route from Midleton to Blarney but we didn’t find it and we wandered around Cork, seeing more of the country, until finding the site. The weather was kind of misty—

February 26: Midleton and Blarney

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something we’d gotten used to—but not too bad to keep us from wandering through the grounds. Blarney Castle is situated on very beautiful grounds that includes gardens (including a poison garden) and wooded walks. I could see easily losing a half day or more if the weather was nicer and one had brought a picnic along. The Blarney Stone itself is found at the very top of the keep and then can only be reached by someone leaning over backwards. They have added some bars to block someone from falling over the edge (it’s about 6 stories high) but none of chose to try. My knee wouldn’t allow me to climb all the way to the top. I think I’d worn it out by climbing all four towers in Bunratty earlier in the week. Mary, Clint, and Ed all made it to the top but didn’t see the need to kiss the stone. We did spend a good deal of time wandering around the castle and the grounds before piling back into the car for the drive back to the villa. (Ed told me later that it was a good thing I didn’t try since it was more like just cobbled stones instead of

steps for the last floor or so.) The grounds of Blarney Castle are worth the visit (especially the poison and fern gardens.) I wish my photos had come out better but it was such a gray day it was difficult especially in the dim of the fern garden.

We decided to stop at Corbett Court on our way back for dinner. Breakfast had been good enough and the parking lot looked crowded which we took for a good sign. Ed, Mary, and I all chose the seafood bake and Clint went for salmon. The amount of potatoes served with all of our entrees definitely proved true something I’d read before going over this time. “It’s not a meal without potatoes.” (Interesting considering

that they are a new world food that was first brought to Ireland around 1589 by Sir Walter Raleigh.) All of these dishes were served with a side of broccoli, cauliflower, mashed carrots, and mashed potatoes. The portions were generous and we all ate heartily.

We made it back to the villa around 2000 and all set to packing since we knew 0600 would come early.

And it did. We did a sweep of the villa as we packed the car for our trek back to the airport and hit the road by a little after 0700. We only made a couple of wrong turns on our way there and found our way to the place to return the car. BTW—It’s definitely a good idea to pay for the collision waiver insurance especially in a country where you drive on what we believe to be the “wrong” side of the road that has hedgerows and and walls that jump out to grab the car. The scratches/gouges on the left side of the car didn’t even have to be examined and we were quickly on the shuttle back to the airport.

If there is one thing I can say about this whole trip, it is that the logistics were all smooth. Every connection was

Photos of the Day

February 26: Midleton and Blarney

Ireland – February 2012 15

made easily. All the reservations were as they should have been. The planes not only left on time but both of our flights arrived early. Getting through security, customs, and passport control was all flawless. We were even lucky enough to be able to do customs and passport control in Ireland so that when we arrived in Chicago all we had to do was pick up our baggage and find the shuttle back to the car park. The weather held for our drives to and from O’Hare and we made it back to Madison by about 1830. All in all a good trip.

This travelogue created by Sue Gilbert. Photos are by me, used with my permission. Other documents are tourist informational handouts. Contact me via email if you want more information.

Ireland – February 2012 16