If you haven't been to Ireland and don't have a problem with the Irish (How could any self-respecting individual have a problem with the Irish), you should consider planning a trip there. My bride and I went over a few years ago with my little brother and his bride and found everything about Ireland, delightful! The people, buildings, rock fences/walls, old houses, small towns, livestock, pubs and food, were all excellent and welcoming. Of course, the castles were also pretty darn cool to see from the perspective of a 57 year OLD kid who still thinks "The Flintstone's" were one of the 2 greatest Saturday morning cartoons of ALL-TIME!
I took this picture inside a pub that, if I remember correctly, opened it's doors approximately 350 years ago; give or take 30 or 40 years. (I think this is a picture of the place I'm taking about: If not, my apologies to the Irish folks who own the wonderful old place in the picture.) The building has been added on to a few times and has been in continual operation since it first opened it's doors in the mid-to-late 17th century. I should also note that the original proprietors sold the place quite a while back. It's now owned by some much younger people.
Visting Ireland from the U.S. may sound exotic to the non-traveler, but it's actually only about a 6 hour flight from New York City. Considering it takes us only slightly less than that to drive from our home in Arkansas to visit our family in St. Louis, that's not that big of a deal. Also, if you plan far enough ahead of time and look for great travel deals, you won't have to tap your great-uncle Sean O'Brian for a loan. You might, however, consider asking Uncle Sean if he'd mind putting you up at his place for a night or two. That would save you enough Euro that you should be able to afford a few more pints of Guiness or Smithwicks along with an additional early-bird special at that one place in Adair we liked so doggone well! (Can't remember the name.) I guess I should give up on my dream of becoming a world-class travel agent? I'll try to keep you posted as things develop with my travel career.....
P.S. I think I may have the wrong picture with the right story. I noticed that the place in the above picture was called "The Creamery". Don't make a trip to Ireland if your primary reason for going is to see a 300 year old restaurant called "The Creamery"; although I don't think you'd be disappointed with either place. Now that I've better thought this through, you'd save a lot of money if you just stayed home and watched re-runs of "The Flintstones". (Did I mention that it's one of the 2 greatest Saturday morning cartoons of ALL-TIME!"?)
