Come On Along: Kinsale, Ireland

The proprietor of the Landfall B & B in Kinsale, Margo, made sure that we started our day with a delicious breakfast.

Her husband, Donie, full of the traditional Irish blarney, made sure that we started the day with a chortle, or two, or three. When he offered to let us keep our hand in with the washing up--for just €5, I hummed a little of "master of the house". He rebutted with a verse of "hear my prayer" in perfect voice! He then let on that he had been in a band for 5 years BM (before Margo).

From one character to another--our next stop was the 90 minute walking tour with Don Herlihy.

He explained to us how nutmeg and cinnamon were more valuable than gold in the 1600's, which led to Kinsale's rise to glory as a major shipping port from the West Indies for the British fleet. Crammed full of fascinating historical facts we grabbed a quick bite while listening to some great music.

And discovered that, British passports aside, we Dalton's must have some Irish relatives somewhere!

Unfortunately it wasn't open so I couldn't get the family discount!

Heading out to Fort Charles, Fritz thought he would take a stab at driving. Twice over the curb in the first block and his navigator, Tom, was in hysterics to the point of being useless. We were stopped by a Police Woman who informed us that the main road was blocked by an oversized load and that we would have to take the lower road instead. Her parting comment was "God Bless" to which I replied "we will need it"! Indeed, the two-way roads here would not qualify as a one-way road at home. Plus, many don't have sidewalks, so not only are you sharing a narrow strip with oncoming traffic, but pedestrians as well. Add to that no shoulders and walls on either side, and often parking, facing both directions, and its no wonder that Ely Lily has a major Prozac-producing plant in the area. I think a free sample should come with every rental car.

At Charles Fort, Megs gave us a delightfully expressive history of the star-shaped fort which is situated perfectly to blast any unwanted ships before they could enter the harbor. Unfortunately it had no protection from the fields located above the fort on the hillside. This is where it was attacked the one time it was engaged in battle --causing an immediate surrender. It was the same commander who was overtaken by the Japanese in Singapore--who also attacked from the hillside. Causing Megs to comment "look behind you"!

After so much culture and history we repaired to the local pub, Bulman's, where we tasted the Bulman's Red and met our new best friends, a couple from Dublin with a second home here in Kinsale. We proceeded, over a pint or two, to solve the world's problems, including: driving in foreign countries, useless governments and mass transit, plus--the best items on the menu! They departed back to Dublin, the band (with rather large speakers) started immediately to our right, and we went upstairs to the delightful dining room, overlooking the channel, to have dinner. The food was all fresh and locally sourced and my dinner was topped off with toffee pudding with warm toffee sauce and ice cream! Life is Good!

We leave you with some beautifully scenic shots of Kinsale.