Well, readers, this is the last posting from the Emerald Isle called Ireland. We return home tomorrow and leave behind wonderful people, places, music and accents. It was wonderful for me to return to my "home" and also show Karl where his ancestors came from. The blog will be silent until July of 2014 when we will be in Austria for a Blue Knight convention and a river cruise. But before I go I thought I would share some things that I have noticed about Ireland and my take on them. So until then, enjoy!
SHEEP - lots and lots and lots of sheep. You see them in the pastures, the front yards, the barn yards and on the road. It's amazing that we didn't see any dead! Somehow they escape and graze on the side of the roads totally oblivious to cars and trucks rushing by they. There are also cows and goats around, but not as plentiful as sheep.
DRIVE ENTRANCES - It seems that 90% of the houses and farms in Ireland have a walled drive entrance. it can be made from rock, brick, cement, wood or hedge. And the entrances are usually ornate to a degree. Some are extremely ornate with gates, stone lions and insignias. Other are just walls and no gates at all. Some have small gates. And usually the houses don't match the entrances. Most are moderate homes/farms and seem to be out of place with the entrances.
WEE and WEE BIT - You have wee - wee man, wee cup, wee car, wee pint. Or you have wee-bit - wee-bit of sun, wee-bit of a walk, wee-bit of rain. And don't EVER ask an Irishman how far something is - it's always just a wee-bit down the road. Or it's only a wee 15 minute walk. Their minute is an Irish minute which really is about 5 minutes for their one minute.
WEATHER - The weather is always changing - not daily, but hourly! You can have rain in the morning, showers in the afternoon and sunny in the evening. Temps can range from cool to very warm in just hours, so you always keep an umbrella and a coat or sweater handy.
POTATOES - Potatoes,of every kind, will be served with everything! Sometimes you have two types of potatoes served with the same meal. When we first got here and ordered a meal it was served with mashed potatoes and a baked type of potato. You get "chips" (fries) with almost everything. You order lasagna and you get a salad and chips. You order a sandwich and you get a salad and chips. You order quiche and you get a salad and chips. Well, you get the idea.
IRISH BREAKFAST - If you are asked if you want a full Irish breakfast, be careful. The breakfast includes bacon (which to us is really a slice of ham), sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, blood pudding (yes, made with blood), black and white pudding and an egg (usually over easy). Then if you don't want that you can have porridge (oatmeal), scrambled eggs, fruit, dry cereal, yogurt, cold cuts and tomatoes.
MENUS - No matter where we went for meals, either lunch or dinner, it seems every place had the same menu. For lunch it was always sandwiches or wraps, fish and chips, paninis, soup of the day (almost always vegetable). For dinner it seemed to be pork belly, Irish sirloin, lamb stew, chicken curry and lasagna. No one seemed to have any different ideas.
SPEED LIMITS - OMG!!!!! They drive like maniacs here. And whoever set the limits should be shot!. Motorways (freeways or expressways) limit is 75, urban roads (ones that you would see going through towns, usually 2-4 lanes) 40, and country roads (usually 2 lane small roads with lots of curves and obstacles) 60. And on these country roads there are buses (two deckers) who travel them and go the 60. And the bridges on these roads make the roads narrower because they have taken the same bridges that have been there hundreds of years ago and just pave it over. So it's very tight for a car and a bus to pass each other without one (usually the car) almost kissing the bridge.
WASHCLOTHS - Facecloths are a unique thing over in Ireland. They will provide a hand towel and a body towel, but face cloths are an unknown thing. You finally get used to washing you body with your hand. Finally Karl borrowed one from another hotel.
TV SIZE - True there isn't much to watch on the TV, but it would be nice to watch a program on a TV screen that is bigger than 12"! I mean my computer screen is 14", for goodness sakes. But they are flat screens so I guess they think that it is progress.
LITTLE MAN - Now this was a unique thing that happened almost as soon as we started driving around Ireland. One of the guys in our motorcycle group made a comment about it and we have since seen it the whole time. It seems that when you come into a town, no matter what town, if you look carefully you will spot a little old man standing by himself. His hands are in his pockets, he's not really near anything like a car or building or another person and he's not doing anything like talking to someone or anything, but he's there when we entered a town. We jokingly said that he is the town's alarm.
CHILDREN IN PUBS - Now this was the strangest thing yet and we couldn't see this is in the US at all. We saw children in pubs whether they served food or not. They would be sitting at the bar with their parents drinking their soda or eating. A couple of time we even saw the bartender pour a pint or two for the adult and let the child take the pint to the table! Could you imagine that happening in the bars in the US. That would cause the bar to close in a heartbeat.
All in all, I love Ireland, but I could never move here. The weather is the biggest drawback for me. There are too few days of sun and a lot of days of rain or overcast skies. I will take sunshine any time.
I hope you have enjoyed this journey with us and I hope that it may make you think about starting to travel if you haven't. Remember, it's better to start now instead of waiting until you retire because the older you get the less you are able to do the things you've always wanted to do.
