Four hours later... another bar

So at the last bar I requested to taste a good irish whiskey and was handed one called redbreast by a woman with a fine set of cleavage.  The whiskey was smooth and delicious.

So here at this bar where I came with hannah and her parents I was asked by my father in law what I would like... bushmills? Jameson? and I said "redbreast".  And he said "what?"  "I swear to god that's what it was called."

So off he went, bravely, to order our drinks.  "Can I get a Baileys, two smithwicks and a... red breast? Is that a whiskey? Red breast?" He totally committed loudly to the question, didn't mutter like I would have. The bartender smiled and shook his head and didn't really answer.

So I asked for something smooth - and round - and was given a powers, which was pretty good but it was no redbreast.

While we were listening to the traditional irish music I googled redbreast because I thought well maybe I was just noticing the bartenders boobs and hallucinated the name but no. It was whiskey of the year in 2010.

Almost time to go home

Hi! Well here I am in a bar in a tiny rainy town in ireland, not drinking. I contracted some disease in my belly in turkey from which I am only now recovered. Let this be a lesson to you. Do not travel without antibiotics. I celebrated my recovery today by eating two croissants. Luckily this is not a country of haute cuisine so I don't feel too deprived. especially since I quit eating meat again after too many kebabs, I can't wait to get my hands on some extra firm tofu.

Tomorrow we go to a fair where they crown a goat!

green pastures

This is hannah here writing from an Irish pub drinking a pint, which for some reason feels so natural (ha!). Jo is back at the cottage taking a nap after a 14 kilometer hike along windy roads and people's farms, through bogs and over mountains... Well the last one might not be entirely true, but we saw them for sure. The countryside (which is pretty much all of ireland) is full of sheep grazing and baa-ing in lush green fields. This is what I expected but it doesn't take away from the magnificence of it all.

Jo says Ireland is one big cutesy town. Every place you drive through has lovely sweater shops, pubs, and bright colored buildings. Lace is also everywhere (to jo's delight). And Bakeries are always serving up delicious scones, and of course brown bread is eaten daily. It's not a bad place.

hot to cold

we arrived in sneem, ireland yesterday night after a 19 hour journey from istanbul. our plane stopped in madrid where they made us run around in circles for no apparent reason when all we wanted to do was sleep on the floor since we woke up at 3:30am for the airport cab. then we arrived in dublin and took a cab to the train, then david and kim picked us up and another hour to the little house hannah's family rented.

the worst part of yesterday was that hannah had food poisoning the night before we left and i was even sicker than usual so we were a total mess. both of us felt like we had been beaten up. apparently last night our alarm went off and david had to come in and turn it off because we didn't hear it. he thought about seeing if we were alive but assumed we probably both weren't dead.

so, ireland is beautiful and green and misty and cold in total contrast to turkey. we are going to buy wool sweaters and hats.

hannah is sitting next to me, has approved this message and has nothing to add.

random pictures from round two of istanbul