Doonbeg at last...

Before I get to Doonbeg, let me tell you a little about yesterday. As was predicted, the weather continues to be cold and damp. I'm hoping I'll get used to it, but it hasn't happened yet. Enough complaining. At least our spirits aren't dampened. After leaving Mullingar, we stopped at a shopping mall in Athlone and made a very important purchase: a GPS. It has already been a huge help, though I think it has taken us on possible short cuts that we would have avoided otherwise. I don't know if that is a good thing or not, as they were the tiny little roads that you read about, where playing "chicken" seems to be routine. But at least we didn't get lost.

From Athlone, we went to Ballinasloe and stumbled upon the largest horse show in Ireland (according to what someone there told us). We didn't go to any of the horse events, but they were having a big street fair and we walked around, since we were incredibly lucky to find a parking space. We found a couple of treasures and saw some fascinating sites. Lots and lots of horse folks, children, people on stilts. I took some photos and will try to attach them here. I hope it works.

We stopped in Gort for the night, as we knew the drive the next morning to Doonbeg would be doable. To me, Gort felt like a very strange town--maybe part of it was the weather, dark and gloomy and wet, but it didn't feel cheery. After we paid for our hotel room, we were told that there was a problem with the water in the whole county -- it was yellow (more brownish IMO). Needless to say, I didn't drink it, didn't bathe in it and didn't brush my teeth with it. I was very anxious to head to Doonbeg, where I had a feeling I would feel more welcome, but I'm jumping ahead of myself.

My friend, Pat, asked me to write about the food. As anyone who knows me and Tom, you know that we are passionate about food and love to experiment and eat at many different kinds of restaurants. And I guess I haven't written much about the food and there is a reason for that. It has, for the most part, been uninteresting. Everyplace serves the same breakfast: eggs, bacon (we would call it ham), baked beans, broiled tomatoes (my favorite part), sausages (even Tom doesn't like them -- I haven't tried them) and black and white pudding (some type of sausage that I did try and won't try again). The coffee tastes like instant coffee so I usually have tea, which is delicious. I haven't been offered oatmeal once yet. We've been having light lunches, often sharing a sandwich and maybe a cup of soup. Dinner menus have been comprised mainly of beef or ham or chicken and everything is served with lots of potatoes. I think the Irish may still be trying to make up for lost time when there were no potatoes during the famine over 100 years ago. My favorite meal was in a pub where we sat at the bar, chatted with the bartender, and I ate a delicious dish that was phylo dough filled with spinach and goats cheese, with a sweet savory tomato sauce on the side. Actually I just remembered that I had sea bass in Carlingford and that was OK, nothing special. But at least it was something besides beef, lamb or ham.

We talked with the chef at our hotel last night, where we had dinner. We asked him what the best thing on the menu was and he said, if you're a vegetarian, you're out of luck. Everyone here eats beef, pork or lamb. That seemed odd to me as Ireland is surrounded by waters that must be filled with many varieties of fish. He told us that most of the fish is exported to Spain or Japan, the two countries that will pay almost anything for fish.

So, Pat, that's about it for the food right now. Oh, I almost forgot about the soda bread. The brown (whole wheat) soda bread is delicious -- hearty and flavorful and my favorite part of Irish cuisine so far.

Now we are in Doonbeg, a small town on the Atlantic Ocean, in County Clare. We are staying at the Lodge at Doonbeg Golf Club, one of the perks of being a travel agent. After the very modest accommodations that we've been staying in (I'm really not complaining, just comparing), this place is heaven. We are staying in a three story, two bedroom, three bathroom lodge, with a full kitchen and living room. I may never leave! Tom is already out golfing and I am relaxing, writing this, and looking out at about five shades of green landscape including rolling hills. We passed part of the golf course on the way in and it looks quite challenging, to say the least. Tom wanted me to walk with him, but I think I'll do that tomorrow. Right now I am going to enjoy the warmth, maybe take a walk, maybe check out the fitness center and definitely check out the bed for a wee nap.