Well Holly, my Mother and I made it back to the Emerald Isle October 2009 and had a great time.
The weather was perfect except for one day(just some moderate rain).
October in Ireland can go either way but I expected to see more rain.
Ahh a pint on Murphy's Stout to help with the jet lag below. I like Murphy's almost as much as I do Guinness.
I think there is a bit more of a Rye note to it.
My Mom and Holly at The Armada Bar in Kinsale.
Above is Fort Charles at Kinsale. An old Fort that is being restored.
Above is a lovely vista on the road between Innishannon and Kinsale.
Above is the Old English Market in Cork. Very cool place to visit and buy all manner of fresh food.
Made another Irish canine buddy in Kinsale.
Above is on the trail to the Muckross Abbey. Pretty area in the Killarney National Park.
A pretty scene in Killarney National Park.
Once again I always make dog friends in my travels and this one in Kilarney was no exception.
On the road near the the Ring of Kerry through the BallaghBeama Gap.
Yep, Holly found herself another thatched roof cottage to want to move into.
Holly and I in front of Lismore castle.
My Mom and Holly in a pretty nice public garden in Lismore.
Ahhh a pint of Guinness(or three) the end a day. Well why only at the end of a day you say? Well, it would make me sleepy but this is awesome beer(I do have one during the day on vacation sometimes:)). The Irish take their Guinness seriously. They just don't fill it like a glass of lager and give it to you. If fact the only times I've has a Guinness in Ireland and not have it poured properly is when a foreigner does it. Usually a Czech, Polish or a Romanian worker(no offense to all the any of them) who is used to pouring a lager. Believe me they are thought how to do it by the Irish but sometimes seem to fall back to the lager way of pouring a beer.
An Irish man or woman would NEVER do that. It's just not done. I love to see that kind of respect for tradition. Besides it matters. If you just pour it and not let it settle properly, the beer will move over the tongue
with those bubbles undisolved thereby altering that lovely, proper taste of the Guinness. The roasted barley, hints of chocolate and coffee and a great balance of hops.
If you're a homebrewer like me, don't even try to copy it. I have tried for years to get the right balance of roasted barley, chocolate malt and black patent but never have come close. I have made some decent Brown Ales though trying in vain for a Guinness "clone".
If you order a Guinness and sit down, they will track you down to hand it to you proudly with a smile. Even a pint of Murphy's or Beamish Stout gets the same respect from the Irish. Order and give them the time they need to give you that great pint, whatever the brand.:)
The Old Head of Kinsale where the Lusitania was torpedoed in 1915. That's a golf course up above the cliffs.
Above is Roberts Cove Inn in......Roberts Cove!:)
Holly resting in front of the Peat powered fire in the evening.
There I go again. This time in Adare.
We saw Connemara and it was pretty!
Kylemore Abbey above. It's up in Connemara.
The lake in front of the Abbey.
The Gothic church on the grounds of the Abbey.
I think the stone work in these old churches is awesome.
The Abbey also has a pretty garden for the ladies.:)
Yep, another cottage for Holly.
My Mom and Holly and the Sky Drive above Clifden.
Winding up the trip in Oranmore before our last night in Dublin. A great trip.