With Every Passing Day...: Ireland: Kinsale, Cows, and the Southern Coast (Day 2)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Ireland: Kinsale, Cows, and the Southern Coast (Day 2)

It didn’t take long for us to realize that the concept of a “bed and breakfast” in southern Ireland is almost a joke… Just about everybody with a spare bedroom seemed to have signs advertising their “B&B”… We stayed on two adorable little farms during our first and second nights in Ireland which, despite the lack of hot water, internet, or (oddly/annoyingly enough) clocks, did boast some of the sweetest home-grown Irish farmers as hosts. Dad seemed to just love talking shop-talk and farming with the men, and some of those women put even mom to shame with their “gift of gab"… :)

On Wednesday morning, we wandered out to the barnyard after breakfast and got to… *Imagine my mother’s dream morning* Bottle feed baby calves! Haha :) All while we got a hands-on lesson about running a dairy farm! Needless to say we were covered in milk and slober by the end of the morning feeding routine… Which didn’t bode too well because we’d packed light, with only one pair of jeans to last the week (and I know now that the smell of fresh milk sticks to clothing! Haha)… But we had fun and the calves seemed to enjoy themselves… :)

We had originally intended to drive the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula, but made a last minute decision to opt for less time in the car and head for the southern, seaside city of Cork… We settled into our hotel at the Blarney Woolen Mills (in Blarney just outside of Cork, and right across the street from Blarney Castle!), and then the girls all headed down to the seaside port-town of Kinsale, just down the coast.

Irish Traffic Jam ;)

Kinsale was quanit and gorgeous. Definitely a fun, but quiet, touristy stop… We hung out at the docks, walked the town, stopped for some great seafood for dinner, and eventually stopped by Charles Fort (the former strategic stronghold of the British in Ireland).