Kitchen Chat – Page 5 – Rebekah Lyn Books

What Side of the Road?

Friday was our 4th full day in Ireland and it was time to pick-up our rental car. Deciding where to get the car consumed more than a few hours of my pre-trip planning. The idea of learning to drive from the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road inside the city terrified me but the next rental location was Cork. The train to Cork was an option, but there was so much to see along the way. What if we missed something?

After studying Google maps of the area around the car rental office, referencing train schedules, and reading about sites along our potential driving routes, I decided to risk it and get the car in Dublin…as close to the highway out of town as possible.

We got an early start hoping to miss any rush hour traffic. Picking up the car was a breeze and I took the first shift driving. I settled in, learning where all the controls were and taking lots of deep breaths to help calm my anxious nerves. Thankfully I’d been able to reserve an automatic transmission. Learning to shift and clutch with the wrong hand and foot was too much for my brain.

The plan was to get breakfast at the edge of the city, but we found ourselves on the Motorway before we knew it. Tricia used the car’s GPS, which we named Siobhan, to locate a nearby restaurant. I dutifully followed Siobhan’s prompts, exited the Motorway, went in a large loop and ended up back on the Motorway with the restaurant never coming into sight.

By this time we were both desperate for coffee and were overjoyed at the site of a gas station right on the Motorway. We rolled into the parking lot and went inside to find a large selections of pastries and coffee. Ahh, that’s better. Now we were ready to start our adventure, knowing only that our end point for the night would be in Killarney.

We passed a sign for Kilkenny Castle and debated exiting. Tricia went online to see how far away it was and the internet said only 30 minutes. We missed the exit but decided if there was anything else less than an hour off the highway, we would go explore. A few miles down the road there was another exist for the castle so off we went.

The large and comfortable Motorway soon gave way to a TINY, how do two cars drive down this, lane. (videos to come later) When I was learning to drive, my mother always worried I would hit the mailboxes on the side of the road (on the passenger side of the road), while I felt like I was driving down the middle of the road. Well, in Ireland, I also felt like I was driving down the middle of the road, but Tricia assured me I was clinging to the her side of the road and their wasn’t any shoulder, but rather stone walls or thick hedges of bushes.

We made it into Kilkenny without crashing the car or killing each other, then the task of finding a car park sent us around in a bit of a circle. Finally, we parked and I was able to catch my breath. Kilkenny is a charming town, I wish we’d had more time to spend in the shops and just walking around soaking up the atmosphere. The opening lines of the “Belle” song from Beauty & the Beast kept running through both of our minds and this quickly became our theme as we entered another precious village.

The castle was a short walk from the car park and when we entered the courtyard, we were awed by everything, including the snow flurries that were floating around. Staff members were on hand in a couple of the rooms and we learned one of the wall coverings had been recreated from an original scrap that had been found in nearly perfect condition behind one of the baseboards.

Killkeney Castle

After dreaming about living in the castle, we wandered back to the car, stopping at The Sweater Shop, where a huge sale was going on and Tricia purchased more woolen goods than anyone within a hundred mile radius of the Florida border could ever need. The lovely shopkeeper even arranged to have it shipped home, for free! This could make our trip a lot more expensive than anticipated.

Back on the road, Tricia took the wheel, and as a left-hander, she found it more natural to be on the opposite side. Our next stop was the Rock of Cashel, a place I read about years ago in the Lion of Ireland. The sun was sinking toward the western horizon, silhouetting the church in the distance ahead of us. The car park was rather empty when we arrived at 4:25 pm. The website listed 4:30 pm as the closing time, but I held out hope that we could pop in for at least a few minutes.

The walk up to the entrance was steep, but a strong wind sweeping downhill against us made it grueling work. A couple reached the door a minute before us and I saw them try to enter, only to find it locked. My heart sank but we marched on. Upon reaching the top of the hill, we learned the church had closed early due to the high winds. We wandered around the exterior, looking down on the town below and up to the spires rising above the wall surrounding the church yard.

Rock of Cashel

When we returned to the car, Tricia checked her email to get the address for the Bed & Breakfast we were staying in for the next two days, only to learn we had been relocated. The owner of the original B & B, a quaint place we’d been looking forward to, had emailed to say they had a water leak and one of the neighbors had agreed to take us in. The new address was provided and we entered it into the GPS.

We’d hoped to make it to Killarney before dark, but the sun seemed intent on hiding for the night and scattered clouds grew more dense as we pushed south. Shortly after 6:00 pm we rolled into Killarney and began searching for the new B & B. Fortunately, it was located on the outskirts of town so we didn’t have to navigate too much and we found it with less trouble than I’d anticipated. We even managed to get into the tiny parking area without hitting anything. The owner provided some dining recommendations and we set off on foot after we dropped off our bags.

Kayne’s Bar and Brasserie was the first place we reached and with the temperature dropping and a misty rain beginning, we ducked inside. I don’t remember what Tricia ate, but my salmon with orzo was amazing.

We had survived our first day driving and Tricia was feeling pretty confident behind the wheel. I was looking forward to the morning when we would have an experience I’d been looking forward to for months.

The Clouds of History

Reblogged July 8, 2019 from
REBEKAH LYN’S KITCHEN
Come have a cup of coffee

The Clouds Of History July 5, 2019

Filed under: Books,friends,travel — itsrebekahlyn @ 6:59 PM

A gray and weeping sky greeted us Thursday morning, which fit our exhausted spirits. We were thankful to have a slower day planned and dawdled over breakfast in the hotel restaurant before meeting our guide for a taxi tour of Belfast’s iconic murals.

As much as I’ve read about Belfast, it was still startling to see how close together Shankill and Falls Roads are. The physical divide between Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods isn’t much at all. Our guide had a first-hand perspective of the “Troubles” as his grandfather had been a member of the IRA and served time in jail.

Much like we in the U.S. are working to rewrite history by tearing down monuments, some of the historical murals in Belfast have been painted over or modified to alter their meaning. We learned that any mural with a face on it couldn’t be painted over, but could be altered. History should be something that is objective rather than subjective, a statement of facts. If we don’t learn where we come from and the mistakes that were made, how can we learn and avoid repeating those mistakes? I wish now that I’d purchased a book on all the murals.

We had a chance to sign the peace wall that has been signed by presidents and all manner of other folks.

I’m fascinated with the whole Brexit situation, particularly how it will impact the people of Northern Ireland and if this shift will be what leads to the island being reunited. I asked the guide about this and he seemed to agree that reunification was likely, if only for economic reasons. Brexit will likely lead to a hard border with the Republic of Ireland, causing goods being transported from north to south to be subject to border checks. (Some roads cross the border numerous times within a few miles!)

Additionally, the Catholic population is growing; the demographic that has most wanted reunification all along. Where they once were a significant minority, they are forecast to be the majority within the next couple of years. If you live in the UK, particularly Northern Ireland, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Our guide dropped us off at Belfast City Hall so we could do a little more exploring. It’s the most impressive City Hall I’ve ever been in! The rain was only a light sprinkle by this time and we enjoyed our walk back to the hotel. The train ride back to Dublin went quickly and we were greeted by Tricia’s friend, Dan. He guided us to our hotel on the River Liffey to drop off our bags and we walked to Trinity College, just a few minutes away. Trinity is a beautiful campus.

Belfast City Hall

City Hall Lobby

An Astronaut in Belfast?

Trinity College

We had tickets to see the Book of Kells, a 9th century manuscript, created around 800 AD, that documents the four Gospels of the life of Jesus Christ. We reached the exhibit and flowed from one informational wall to another, learning about the art of illumination, until we reached the actual book in a glass case.

When we finally reached the Book, I experienced a feeling of deflation, much like I felt upon seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Both are much smaller than I expected and the colors of the Book weren’t as vibrant as I anticipated. It’s beautiful, for sure, and it’s obvious the work to create it must have been painstaking. I was so deflated I forgot to take a picture of the actual thing, but I did have a photo of a copy housed at the Dublin Writer’s Museum, which is a pretty good replication. Sometimes we build things up in our mind so much we are bound to be let down when we do finally experience them.

Copy of the Book of Kells

Dan was going to take us to a fish & chip shop, but after wandering for close to an hour, stumbling on icons such as Molly Malone, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, and Dublin Castle, we stopped at the Bull & Castle. Dan was brave and ordered an appetizer of bone marrow. It was strange in every way, but the taste wasn’t bad. The steak I ordered was one of the best I’ve ever had.

Molly Malone Statue

Dublin Castle

Architecture

I just love the architecture!

Dublin definitely comes alive at night. The streets were crowded as we walked back to our hotel and music poured out of many pubs we passed. We had a good chuckle at the line of American franchises- Kentucky Fried Chicken, Papa John Pizza, TGIFriday’s, Subway, Burger King, and McDonalds- practically on top of each other. I admit we did enter the McDonalds, but only so Tricia could use the facilities. Don’t worry, I purchased a coffee.

Come back next week as Tricia and I pick up our rental car and hit the road!

4th of July

Who is This John Snow

Since I’ve never seen an episode of Game of Thrones, it might sound strange that a Game of Thrones tour changed the whole route of our itinerary for this trip and yet it did. Tricia really wanted to do a specific tour (there are dozens to chose from in Ireland) and it was only offered on certain days. I had planned to visit Belfast at the end of our trip, allowing us to travel in a loop around the island. However, the only day the tour was offered during our visit forced us to head north on Tuesday night so we could do the tour on Wednesday.

While I’m not a morning person, my job requires me to be in the office very early and I’ve become conditioned to move quickly once the alarm goes off. When my phone began strumming the wake-up music, I popped up to start getting dressed; Tricia did not, She groaned and pulled the blanket tighter.

Once I managed to get her up and dressed we popped into the Starbucks across the street and then made our way to the end of the block where the tour was meeting. Tricia and I made our way to the back of the bus so she could surreptitiously finish eating the muffin she’d been told she couldn’t bring onboard as the company was worried about messes.

We had to drive about an hour out of the city and the countryside was lovely. Unfortunately, Tricia had taken the wrong medication that morning and it put her to sleep so she missed most of the views. I was surprised at how the Mourne Mountains seemed to rise up from nowhere just outside the city. I’m used to the rolling foothills that precede most of the mountains here in the US. Maybe I didn’t notice the land rolling upward because of the city bustle.

We arrived at the ferry stop and I realized we were in the town of Portaferry. Now I was excited to be on this tour. I mentioned in my first post Patrick Taylor’s Irish Country Doctor series of books. Well, Portaferry is mentioned in them from time to time so I felt a connection to the place. I looked around, wondering which pubs Doctor O’Reily may have visited. Yes, I know he’s a fictional character, but as a writer, there’s something exhilarating about seeing a place mentioned in a book. Of course, we were on a tour to visit places of complete fiction anyway so why I am defending myself?

*Portaferry as we departed on the ferry.*

Tricia was still pretty sleepy on the ferry, but I enjoyed the crossing of Strangford Lough, watching as the town of Strangford grew closer. I watched for birds and wondered how far from the town the good doctor would have been when he went fowling.

Soon we arrived at our first stop, Castle Ward, which was used for Winterfell in filming Game of Thrones season one. There isn’t much left standing besides a tower and some courtyard walls, but the tour guide played us video clips that showed how the tower had been replicated and some other computer imagery added to create the castle.

Then we walked around the grounds to several other filming locations. The brisk walk helped wake Tricia up. We passed the Strangford Sailing Club and I thought about young Doctor Barry Laverty’s interest in sailing. We trekked close to three miles, mostly along the shores of Stranford Lough, which, even with gray clouds pressing in, was beautiful.

After our tour of Castle Ward we returned to Strangford for lunch at The Cuan followed by a visit with the “Direwolves”. They are beautiful animals. The story of the owners and how the dogs were cast on the show was interesting. It sounds like the directors/producers of the show took time to invest in the locals, casting many of them as extras rather than bringing in tons of people from Los Angeles or some other film-centric location.

Game of Thrones Tour

From Strangford, we drove to Inch Abbey, a beautiful ruin on the banks of the Quoile River. We were given capes and swords, which we playfully swung around. Those swords weigh a ton! We all did our best to look menacing, but no one could stop grinning with delight. While the rest of the group engaged in mock battle, I wandered around taking pictures. The tour guide provided interesting information about lighting techniques used during filming here to make it look like the scene was taking place indoors as well as how the crew managed the changing light as the sun moved through the sky.

Game of Thrones Tour
Game of Thrones Tour

Our last stop on the tour was Tollymore Forest. A number of scenes were filmed here, I remember something about a dead stag being found in the road and the discovery of the Direwolf pups. Our hike through the park almost made me want to watch the show just for the scenery. If you visit Ireland and love the outdoors, I highly recommend spending a day in Tollymore, exploring the more than 630 hectares of forestland.

It had rained every day for weeks before we arrived, so the Shimna River running through the park was quite high and rushing downhill in a torrent of frothy rapids. One part of the trail crossing the river on large stepping-stones was completely covered and another section had been flooded as well, but there were enough dry patches to pick our way through without getting too wet.

We hiked another 3 miles here and one section was little more than an animal trail. I found it thrilling but Tricia wasn’t very fond of this section.

For more pictures visit my other blog, Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen

We returned to the hotel around 6:00pm, exhausted from both the lack of sleep and the exertion of the day. We debated going across the street to the pub, but ended up ordering room service and collapsing for the night.

I apologize if you were hoping to get more behind-the-scenes insights into Game of Thrones. I think the guide did an excellent job, I just didn’t retain much of what he said since it wasn’t the big draw for me. We used Game of Thrones Tours, Ltd and their guides have all been extras on the show, which allows them to provide first hand experiences.

Next week we face our first truly rainy day and meet up with one of Trica’s Facebook friends. I admit I was a little scared of getting together with a stranger.