The Events of Saturday, May 14, 2011

                In the United States, toll roads are rare. Almost all of the freeways are free. In Europe, we discovered that all their freeways are not so free. But in Ireland we haven’t used toll roads at all. Sometimes, getting lost is the way to see the country – especially when most of the toll roads go to or from Dublin. So, on these back roads, we headed from our beautiful stone cottage by the sea to the unexplored beyond.

                Hearing that the place to have lunch in southern Ireland is the Fishy Fishy Café, located in the port town of Kinsale, we took a short detour just for that experience. We parked and walked along the harbor to the café, where we were seated upstairs. Since it was quite expensive, we shared five dishes, which we all loved. In the end, none of us could decide on a favorite. The Seafood Chowder was one of the favorites, with a tomato base and cream on top. Daddy wanted to try the Warm Chili Seafood Salad, filled with more fish than veggies, but with a spicy sauce on the bottom. The café’s specialty, the Fishy Fish Pie, was one of the yummiest, with salmon, and tons of other types of fish and seafood that I couldn’t name, but were heavenly in this pie. Then we ordered the traditional Haddock (a type of fish) and chips (fries, of course). Of the four types I’ve tried, this was the best. Last, but definitely not least, was fresh salmon with salad, crispy potatoes, and mashed potatoes on the side.

                Cheered with this traditional Irish seafood, we continued on the back roads to Killarney. Upon arrival, we shopped at Tesco and stopped at Tourist Information for a map and information on churches. We arrived at our new home about four, giving us time to move into this nice cottage surrounded, not by the sea, but by mountains. Still quite full from our Fishy Fishy Café experience, we settled down to a simple linner (combination of lunch and dinner) of PB&J. However, dessert was definitely one of my personal favorites, vanilla ice cream with strawberries – YUM! Satisfied with what we had accomplished, we headed off to bed.