Day 44: Smitten With Ireland

Wednesday - June 30, 2010:

When my alarm went off this morning at 11:50 (yes, I had to set an alarm for 11:50 -- craziness!), it took me a few minutes to process where I was. I am in some random ladies house in the countryside of Ireland... Is this for real? I was just in Barcelona yesterday. It's really hard to believe! So I woke up to the view of green rolling hills and a dark grey, cloudy sky -- typical Ireland. We went downstairs in our pajamas for breakfast (love staying in the pajamas) and there we were greeted by a bright and cheery Patti! Another couple that is staying in the house with us was at breakfast as well. They were a younger couple originally from DC, but now living in Ireland because of the husband's work. They needed a few days to get out of town and leave work, so Patti's Cullintra House was perfect for them. They even made sure the house wouldn't have WiFi or cell service because they wanted to be that disconnected! So Patti took their breakfast order, and then ours. We all opted for eggs, bacon and sausage with peaches and cornflakes on the side. Delicousness!! I am a total breakfast girl and these dinky, Italian croissants have not been doing it for me thus far this summer, so this meal hit the spot!

{The Cullintra House -- home of Patti and her cats}

{Looking out the front gate of the house}

{Patti's backyard}

{The side of her house -- check out all that greenery}

{So Kasi had to call her dad to diagnose Becca's medical issue and Patti was kind enough to lend her her phone for the morning to phone America -- how hysterical is this? This rivals Saved By The Bell's, Zack Morris' 1990 cell phone!}

When we were done with breakfast and getting ready, we all kind of looked at eachother thinking, " what are we going to do today?". Luckily, the nice couple had rented a car and they offered to drive us to town -- so kind!

We took them up on that offer and two hours later Kasi, Becca and I were piled into their small BMW (they were going to come back and get Anna and Katelyn because we all couldn't fit). Again, the driving over here is interesting! I was holding on for dear life. I distracted myself from the crazy driving by looking at the beautiful scenery--it was exactly how I pictured it! Green, green and more green. I'm really loving Ireland!

They dropped us off in the little town of Inistioge and left us to wander. We were beside ourselves with how cute this town was! It probably had 5 restaurants, 5 stores, a grocery'ish thing and a post office. That's it. But it was so quaint!! We were just smitten with it. So Kasi, Becca and I walked around and took pictures.

{Look at their precious dog!! It reminded of Deuceeeeeeee!!}

{The town of Inistioge, Ireland -- quaint and precious!}

{So Mr. Brantley diagnosed Becca's illness and he recommended her eat yogurt -- so we hit up the grocery store and Becca stocked up}

{Had to take a picture of this sign}

{Bulmers Irish Cider!!!!}

{Isn't this picture-esque?}

{Just 2 horses grazing across the river... I guess horses just run loose over here!}

{Becca and Kasi}

{Kasi and I showing off our sneaks}

{Pretty landscaping}

{Singlet photoshoot begins!}

Out of those 5 shops, one was a jewelry/beauty shop and Kasi and I ended up getting some cute necklaces! I told myself I wasn't going to shop, but I figured I'd never be in Inistioge ever again...!

We worked up an appetite frolicking in the fields (i just like saying frolicking..) so we ate at this cute restaurant - Circle of Friends (precious!!). Kasi had delicious cake called Pavlovah (spelling not so sure about, but the lady gave me directions for how to make it!) and Becca and I got cheese and tomato toastees.

{Kasi's AMAZING Pavlovah dessert!! I am definitely trying to make this at home when I get back!!}

{Our cheese and tomato toastee}

{Another dog poking it's cute little head out of this window -- and it also reminds me of Deuceee!!! They must love his kind over here!!}

{Even the houses are green!!}

Katelyn and Anna showed up right after we ordered, so they ordered some food as well and we sat there on the Circle of Friends sidewalk of Inistioge enjoying Ireland!

After we paid and made friends with the restaurant owner, the 5 of us walked up to Woodstock (a really pretty scenic area that had been suggested for us to do). It was breathtaking! We took pictures and I swear to you, the background could have been a fake backdrop it was so pretty. It didn't look real! It was everything I imagined Ireland to look like, and more!

Before leaving on the bus, we got cans of cider ans Diet Coke to take back to Pattis (necessities). While waiting on the benches for the bus, we actually contemplated hitchiking (Patti reccommended it to us). But our thumbs could never get out there quick enough, so we just ended up waiting on the bus! The bus drops us off at a small side road near the house, so we had about a 12 minute walk back to Pattis.

{Walking through the gates into Patti's house}

{Patti's awards from the 1990s -- she was rockin' it in the 90s}

Here's a little tour of the house:

{The painting room, as Patti likes to call it}

{Check out that carpet}

{Cats, cats, cats everywhere!!}

{Everywhere. Seriously.}

{Seriously.}

{One bed room}

{Every room had it's own little sink like this}

{One bathroom with a lovely statue right next to the potty}

{Cats are in the bathroom}

{On the bathroom walls}

{Another bathroom}

{She must really like the color green}

{Mine and Becca's bedroom}

Once back at Pattis, we took short nap and then the other 5 girls showed up (Meg, Caitlyn, Shellie, Katherine and Katie). It was like our long lost friends were back!! We had us a big reunion and all sat in one room sharing stories from our Midterm Break places. I couldn't believe it'd only been 5 days since I'd seen them - felt like months!

{Chatting about our breaks so far!}

{Solo shot Katherineee}

Patti rang us for dinner at 10 (really late) and none of us knew what to expect, meal wise, but Patti hit it it out of the park! The tables were lit by candlelight and she had a nice fire burning. Right when we sat down she had this yummy bread ready for us. And then it wasn't too long before she brought out our main course. She sat a huge plate of roast beef and gravy infront of us, and it smelled wonderful! But I thought to myself, "this would be ideal if I had 2 sides on my plate to go with the meat", and before I knew it Patti was bringing out steamed veggies and scalloped Irish potatoes! Are you serious? This is the meal we've been wanting for some time -- home cooked meat and veggies. I told you Patti hit a homerun! We enjoyed our family-style dinner with everyone, we had all missed each other!

{All of us waiting on dinner like little kids}

{Finally at dinner!}

{Candle light dinner, and Patti had some sweet elevator music in the background}

{Coffee, anyone?}

{Curl and Shellie loving the candlelight}

We were all pretty satisfied after our main course, and then Patti came by taking dessert orders. Well we have already paid for this meal, so we figure we might as well get our moneys worth! Her first option was a blackberry and apple crumble with locally made ice cream. Need she say more? Most of us ordered that (Shellie went with the strawberries and merenigue) and it didn't let us down. Actually, that's an understatement. It was the absolute best cobbler and ice cream I've ever tasted!! It was so good!! We all practically licked our plates (it's ok though because Patti says it's all about the company we keep and she lives with cats!) We were all miserably stuffed after dinner so I stayed up reading and then said goodnight at 12:30!

{The. Best. Crumble. Ever.}

I am loving my first B&B experience -- it's one for the books. Everything from our dollhouse-like rooms to the crazy cat lady house-mom to the delicious meals... it's hysterical and I love Ireland!

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