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Published: September 20th 2011
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Leaving Kinsale
Sun! for minute We awake to sunshine followed quickly by rain. Today we are taking a sad farewell from Landfall House and Margo and Donie. However, hilarity again abounds at breakfast and Margo is gloating because a particularly handsome guest has awarded her with a kiss on each cheek. Donie of course is giving her a terrible ribbing about it. and we leave Kinsale, still laughing, but sad that our first B & B stay is over.
Well, since we are a bit sad and it is already eleven on a Sunday morning we really should take the tour of the Jameson Whiskey Distillery in Midleton, right? It is a fabulous tour and the air is permeated with the smell of whiskey, so that by the time we are given a rather healthy glass, we are rather desperate for it. And it is good....
Now we are on our way to New Ross, County Wexford and looking for a place to eat before a visit to the Famine Ship Dunbrody. This is where John begins to feel his history. The three-masted ship is, of course, a reproduction of the original but made to original specifications. We are led below decks to steerage
and the quarters that Irish families would occupy for their 4 to 6 week crossing. They look rather spacious until we are given the details. A double bunking system of 6 foot by 6 foot partitioned quarters could have been occupied by 2 to 4 adults, several teenagers, several children, and babies with only an hour a day to go above decks for fresh air and cooking. Of course if it was rainy there would be no cooking and one would have to eat rations of flour or meal either dry or mixed with water and raw. As I had aboard the Mayflower, John is hit by the conditions his ancestors faced on their Atlantic crossing. “They were hardy folk,” but still to imagine that frightening voyage of your own family hits one in the bottom of the stomach. He has read about the conditions, but to come as close as possible to imagining 300 or more poor souls crammed into the below decks is horrific. John is emotional as we leave the ship.
The day is late and we put of Kilkenny Castle and we continue on to Stoneyford and Lawcus Farm Guesthouse...sort of. We have entered the
Max with Donie and Margo
Right before the picture snapped I told Donie that I was going to grab his butt....hence the silly looks coordinates into Jane our navigator and follow some incredibly windy and beyond incredibly narrow roads-or paths- and arrive at “Lawcus Farm Guesthouse,” to the surprise of the lady who owns the private home who answers the door. “Well, you are welcome to stay the night if you are desperate,” she offers. We retrace our erroneous directions and try to navigate the Ireland Atlas, until we reach Nirvana! An Off License (liquor store) and a pub serving food, just as the rain begins to pour. We are warm, we have food, we have a bottle of Jameson's Whiskey and two bottles of red wine, and most important of all—we have directions'”! Oh, and even more important, we have had our first Guinness in Ireland. They are right, you know, “when Guinness or Irish men cross the water, neither is as sweet” (long story.) Guinness in Ireland is fabulous! Well, almost...we need a few more phone calls, and then, finally, we arrive.
We are at Lawcus Farm Guesthouse, we have Irish Whiskey, some kind of red wine, there is a lovely radiator for drying hand washing, it is warm and dry.....It has been a good day!
Good night,
Max and
Jameson Distillery at Midleton
John and the BIG distillation pot John
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