It's Not 55 Degrees and Cloudy...

So we must not be in Ireland! Kirsty, Sharry, and I went holo holo to Italy for a couple of weeks. We flew into Ciampino airport in Rome, then drove up to Bettona in Umbria. Temperatures in the 80s and not many clouds!
We are staying in a house that was built in the 14th century. Bettona is a walled, medieval city, with large portions of the original Etruscan wall still standing. There is one way in and one way out! Here is a bit of eye candy:

 Sharry's bedroom.

 Our bedroom.

 View of house from reflections in bottles in the garden.

 We are living below ground level, in rooms most likely used for storage of olive oil and wine back in the day.

Sun room.

 Early morning walk.

 Our street.

 Exit from the walled town.

 Interesting chimney tops here!

More to come as we travel about Umbria!

Peace my friends.

Ashford Castle

As we seem to celebrate our anniversary in a different place each year, we thought, well why not (since we are in Ireland), have lunch at Ashford Castle to commemorate the day. Dahlings.

So we did. View from Lough Corrib.

Nice digs.

 View of Lough Corrib from our table in the drawing room.

The gentleman will be having seafood and lobster chowder, smoked, organic Connemara salmon,  lime jam, and cream cheese on soda bread.

Madam will be having the Plate of the West, consisting of smoked Connemara salmon, oyster on half shell, goat's cheese, and assorted dried meats.

Darjeeling Gold tea was served afterwards, with a variety of cakes. Simply amazing! Dahlings.

Peace my friends, especially you, Francis!

4th of July

Nothing says 4th of July like a pint of Guinness and home-made pizza in Ireland!

 Yummy! Best pizza in Westport.

America's newest citizen celebrating the 4th!

Peace my friends!

Downpatrick Head

We went on a little holo holo, er, wait, wrong country; a little jolly to Downpatrick Head, where my namesake, St. Patrick, founded a church many moons ago. Beautiful country indeed!

 Yikes! Unfortunately the winds and seas were not howling today, so no blowhole action.

The remains of St. Patrick's church and a WWII lookout building in the background.

His nibs.

 Looking south.

 Looking east.

 No barriers here!

Kirsty looking out towards the lone sea stack here, called Dun Briste (broken fort). Legend has it that a local chieftain refused to convert to Christianity, so St. Patrick thrust his staff into the ground and the land broke away: with the chieftain still on it.

Kirsty standing in the "R" of "EIRE 64," which was one of approximately 82 signs put in place along the coast of Ireland during WWII to let pilots know where they were flying. Most of the signs are long gone, but this one has been restored.

Peace my friends!

A Drive Down Carrownisky Way

We took a drive to the coast to see some sand and water, but the wind was still howling too much to stay for long. So, we drove around a bit and came upon a clapperbridge and megalithic wedge tomb. As you do...

Here is a bit of eye-candy from the west of Ireland.

 Kirsty walking on the clapperbridge, which is approximately 130 feet long. It was built in 1863 to allow people to walk over the shallow ford that ran between the houses.

 Remains of an old stone house at one end of the bridge.

River flowing into the ford.

 Oy! Who keeps stapling tags to my ears!!

Forget 50 Shades of Grey, Ireland has 50 Shades of Green!

Megalithic Tomb dating back to about 2,000 b.c. This type is called a wedge tomb because it is wider and higher at the entrance, gradually tapering towards the rear. The top slab was also used as an altar in later years, and has a cross inscribed on the slab top (see next).

Our little Skoda!

Peace my friends!

Would Ya Have A Utility Bill?

One does not truly exist in Ireland unless one has a utility bill in his/her name. Without this precious document, it is nigh on impossible to open a bank account, get a mobile phone, register a car, get a driver’s license, and, believe it or not, change your last name at the bank.

At the bank, it went something like this:

Kirsty: I’d like to change my last name on my account. Here is my marriage license and passport in my married name.
Bank: Do you have proof of address?
Kirsty: I don’t want to change my address, only my last name.
Bank: We need proof of address, like a utility bill.
Kirsty: um…

When trying to add me to account:
Me: Here is my passport and letter from the State of Ireland to my address with my immigration card still attached.
Bank: Sorry, that isn’t good enough. Do you have a utility bill?

Banks are a completely different animal here, but I will leave that for another post!

Another fun time was the PPS office (like a ssn for Americans):

1st Visit:
me: I’d like a a pps number.
PPS clerk: Why do you need it?
me: For a health insurance plan. Here is my passport and proof of address.
PPS clerk: Ok. (she takes my passport then looks at me expectantly. I return the expectant look.)
me: um…
PPS clerk: So, do you have proof of why you need it?
me: Um… I need it for health insurance. I don’t have it yet because I need a PPS number to get it.
PPS clerk: Yes, but do you have proof you need it?
me: Proof?
PPS clerk: Yes, like a letter or email from them?

(I said no and left, saying we will return when we get something from the insurance company. Outside in the parking lot, I looked at my old emails and found an email from the insurance company that said I needed a PPS number. AHA! I went back and showed it to the clerk).

PPS clerk: This is grand. I need it printed out and we can start.
me: Can you print it for me?
PPS clerk: No.

2nd Visit:
me: Here is my printed email, proof of address and passport for my PPS.
PPS clerk: You don’t have a stamp in your passport allowing you to stay in the country over 90 days.
me: Um…

3rd Visit:
me: Here is my printed email, proof of address and stamped passport for my PPS application.
PPS Clerk: We don’t issue PPS numbers on Mondays.

(As she said this, both Kirsty and I laughed out loud. She was puzzled by our laughing and after I said this was our third time here, she waddled back to the back to double-check, but it was not to be).

PPS Clerk: Sorry, we don’t issue PPS numbers on Mondays as there isn’t anyone here who can do it. I can set you up with an appointment tomorrow.
me: That’s grand, earliest one please.

(We both look at her calendar, which is blank for the next day).

PPS Clerk: 11:30?

(Things must move slowly in the PPS office in the morning).

me: That’s grand!

And so it goes…

Having A Guinness

Finally settling down for a glass and a pint o'Guinness at Matt Molloy's pub in Westport. Matt is the flute player for The Chieftains, one of Ireland's most celebrated bands.

I have to tell ya, the Guinness is much, much smoother here in Ireland. Must be the water!

Sláinte my friends!