Ireland is a beautiful place.

I have traveled to many place’s outside of the United State’s, but Ireland really left her mark on me.
The land of kind people with good manner’s, rolling hills, hedged-in roads, and the Atlantic Sea.

It is interesting to spend time in Ireland. You learn to drive on the opposite side of the car and the opposite side of the road. All of the house’s seem to be on the main drag, and they have natural rock privacy fences built too tall to see their homes from the road and protection from the traffic. I love that! Everything seems so well groomed, and the people we met were very genuine and good natured. I was very fond of Ireland’s kind manners and their way of life.

I had my first glass of whiskey in Ireland. I purposely did not choose Jameson. Why? Because, I have access to Jameson whiskey in my town. I wanted to try something that felt far, far away. I was at a piano bar, listening to the tunes, adoring the fine cognac leather furniture and mahogany walls, acting very sophisticated while drinking a glass of “Writer’s Tears” whiskey. It took me a while to get it down, but I wasn’t in any hurry.

Like many of our vacations, most days are spent hiking in the morning and again, before sunset with napping, reading, journaling, and light site-seeing in between. In this case there were no shortage of pubs and churches for “after beer prayers”. I think we lit a candle and said a prayer in every town we visited. The cathedrals were so old, in pristine condition, and absolutely stunning! It felt very holy, sacred, and special to be inside these historical places.

One evening included a special dinner of the most delicious roasted duck salad at the best table for two in the The Tan Yard Restaurant at the Killarney Plaza. By luck, we arrived just before any other patrons and had the whole place and all the views to ourselves. It was so romantic. I can still taste the food, feel the ambiance, and remember how the county of Killarney looked that night. I savor the yellow glow of the streetlamp lights illuminating the wet rainy roads outside. It looked like a painting that I would like to someday paint.

There were so many beautiful moments on this trip. It was one of the rare times that we did not go about it “backpack on a dime” style. This trip was to celebrate our wedding anniversary and my lover left his frugal ways behind. We stayed at some of the most luxurious, yet unpretentious places. I will remember this trip forever!

I also visited many potteries along the way and added some fine mugs to my growing collection. That may have to be a separate blog post all together.