Our Trip to Ireland - Chapter Two
The bus driver brought our suitcases and placed them outside our hotel room door. Our tour company's various groups must have taken over the hotel! We had a little free time before dinner, so I tried to rest awhile. That didn’t work out so well as we were too wound up with anticipation of adventures to come and traveling so much. Greg went swimming in the hotel pool. Everyone (even the men) had to wear bathing caps on their head. It was funny to see the men wearing bathing caps, too. Afterwards, Greg and I went exploring outside. We grabbed a panini sandwich and a Coke at a little eatery above the Blarney Woollen Shop. We walked around to see Durdy Nellie’s--a popular pub at Bunratty. We just looked around, though, as we knew we would be meeting up with everyone else soon back at the hotel for the "Welcome Drink". I finally figured out how to use our complimentary calling card in a nearby Eirecom telephone booth and gave Bob a call to let him know we had made it there.
We went to a very nice room downstairs and met with our fellow travelers on the same tour (ours was the "Irish Welcome" tour). Greg was allowed to have his first beer as 18 is the legal drinking age in Ireland. Unfortunately, Greg was developing a sore throat like the one his sister had earlier in the week. For a few days during our trip I had to doctor him for the sore throat, coughing, and cold which resulted. His sister had these cold symptoms before we left, and that’s what sisters and brothers are for! Fortunately, we had a very nice lady at one B & B who went out and shopped for night-time cold medicine for Greg which truly helped him to feel much better as time went on. NyQuil is not sold in Ireland under that name. The similar product sold in Ireland is called “Night Nurse”. I laughed at the name but was very grateful to Mrs. Egan for her help! More about her later.
We went on to the Bunratty Castle and walked through it. We went up 42 steps to get upstairs to see huge deer antlers displayed inside this medieval castle. The workers/entertainers inside were all dressed in medieval gowns or male costumes. They explained to us about the history of this castle. They chose one couple from the crowd to be the king and queen for the night. We drank a cup of “mead” which is a drink made of wine and honey. This drink was traditionally drank by wedding couples. Couples married during the evenings of the full moon drank mead. Thus the name, “honeymoon”! Greg found the drink rather strong, so we all laughed about that. We then went back downstairs to the banquet room. We enjoyed a meal of spare ribs, chicken, brown bread, and vegetables followed by dessert. We truly did eat like kings and queens! I felt stuffed afterwards. My penfriend had told me earlier that the food portions in Ireland are smaller than what we are used to in America. She had never come to Bunratty Castle!! We were given knives but no forks or spoons to eat our feast with!
Singers came onstage and sang classical music selections. I was not familiar with the songs. At one point a man was chosen from the crowd. He was thrown into the dungeon room for some silly charge just for fun. When he was allowed to return he was invited to sing a song for all of us. The song could be of his own choosing, so he led all of us in the song, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” which we all sang to our hosts and hostesses. Everyone laughed and had a great time!
A young woman played the harp while an older gentleman played a guitar. Another young man played the violin with great skill. He struck me as someone who is painfully shy! He played with great intensity and total concentration. I could tell he enjoyed playing, though. Whenever we would clap for him after his solo numbers he would smile but hide his face away as if he was truly shy. Someone told me later on that he was educated at Julliard.
We returned to our hotel room for a much needed rest.
We went to a very nice room downstairs and met with our fellow travelers on the same tour (ours was the "Irish Welcome" tour). Greg was allowed to have his first beer as 18 is the legal drinking age in Ireland. Unfortunately, Greg was developing a sore throat like the one his sister had earlier in the week. For a few days during our trip I had to doctor him for the sore throat, coughing, and cold which resulted. His sister had these cold symptoms before we left, and that’s what sisters and brothers are for! Fortunately, we had a very nice lady at one B & B who went out and shopped for night-time cold medicine for Greg which truly helped him to feel much better as time went on. NyQuil is not sold in Ireland under that name. The similar product sold in Ireland is called “Night Nurse”. I laughed at the name but was very grateful to Mrs. Egan for her help! More about her later.
We went on to the Bunratty Castle and walked through it. We went up 42 steps to get upstairs to see huge deer antlers displayed inside this medieval castle. The workers/entertainers inside were all dressed in medieval gowns or male costumes. They explained to us about the history of this castle. They chose one couple from the crowd to be the king and queen for the night. We drank a cup of “mead” which is a drink made of wine and honey. This drink was traditionally drank by wedding couples. Couples married during the evenings of the full moon drank mead. Thus the name, “honeymoon”! Greg found the drink rather strong, so we all laughed about that. We then went back downstairs to the banquet room. We enjoyed a meal of spare ribs, chicken, brown bread, and vegetables followed by dessert. We truly did eat like kings and queens! I felt stuffed afterwards. My penfriend had told me earlier that the food portions in Ireland are smaller than what we are used to in America. She had never come to Bunratty Castle!! We were given knives but no forks or spoons to eat our feast with!
Singers came onstage and sang classical music selections. I was not familiar with the songs. At one point a man was chosen from the crowd. He was thrown into the dungeon room for some silly charge just for fun. When he was allowed to return he was invited to sing a song for all of us. The song could be of his own choosing, so he led all of us in the song, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” which we all sang to our hosts and hostesses. Everyone laughed and had a great time!
A young woman played the harp while an older gentleman played a guitar. Another young man played the violin with great skill. He struck me as someone who is painfully shy! He played with great intensity and total concentration. I could tell he enjoyed playing, though. Whenever we would clap for him after his solo numbers he would smile but hide his face away as if he was truly shy. Someone told me later on that he was educated at Julliard.
We returned to our hotel room for a much needed rest.
posted by The Celtic Contessa at
11:23 AM
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