Ireland Part 1

I write today from the living room of a lovely Irish family - Maureen & Paudie Donovan.  We've been staying at their B&B which probably accomodates at least 15 people.  The property is just outside of Killarney, right by Killarney National Park, and it's a riding stables, in addition to a B&B.  They have 3 puppies in the barn, 2 pigs, 5 rabbits, 3 goats, a couple ponies, lots of chickens, 1 sheep, and probably a dozen horses.  It's a wonderful place.  Our daughters have so enjoyed visiting the animals.  Each morning, we're served a traditional Irish breakfast - Irish bacon (like Canadian), klonakilty sausage, fried egg, grilled tomato, and toast.  It's a pretty traditional breakfast in England as well, except you might get some baked beans as well, to get your day started off with a bang, I suppose.

We arrived to a great amount of rain, even by Irish standards.  They went nearly a month without much rain, but the last 2 days had made up for it with non-stop heavy rain.  Maureen was rather weary of the rain by the time we arrived.  But in our first outing, the rain stopped for a bit, and there was a beautiful rainbow over the city.  Welcome to Ireland, indeed.  I didn't find a pot of gold or a wee man, but then again, those leprechauns are sneaky, knowing that we're always after their Lucky Charms. And why wouldn't we?  They're magically delicious.  We've seen several rainbows since we arrived - probably more than we'd see in a whole year anywhere else.

That first night, we checked out some of the shops in Killarney, particularly looking at the beautiful sweaters Ireland is known for.  Erik and I spent a night (and a bit of money) on the Aran Islands 11 years ago, a remote location where cars are not allowed.  It's a  region known for its sweaters and for keeping up the traditional Irish way of life, speaking mostly Gaelic and doing a lot of things the old-fashioned way.  We're not going back to the Aran Islands this trip, but I definitely wanted a sweater from there.  After eating a bit of "pub grub", we explored a waterfall not far away from our B&B.  It was simply stunning, and a great uphill hike to burn off some calories.

I'm sure I'll have more Irish adventures to share soon.