Our Trip Blog

The Events of Tuesday, May 17, 2011

                I peeked over the fluffy comforter into a sunny bedroom flooded with morning light. How I miss little luxuries like darkening shades! Maybe the next place will have darkening shades on their windows! It was time to get up and get moving! Today, that meant traveling from Killarney to Fanore. Following breakfast and showers, today’s adventures began with our now typical routine of packing up to move on to our new location. While I put away our toiletries in the “bathroom suitcase”, Mom and Lindsey collaborated in packing up the food and other kitchen supplies. Ben cleaned up the technology, such as cords, converters, and chargers. Abby filled water bottles, and Dad followed our landlord’s instructions on how to leave the house’s electronic appliances, heaters and such.

                Soon, it was time to depart. Bidding a not-so-tearful farewell to our mediocre accommodations, we drove towards Fanore, following the route that both Gypsies agreed we should take. Before long, however, we came upon an obstacle in the road. A bright orange sign screamed, “Road closed. Local traffic only.” No matter. Dad sped past it. Staying in a rental home in the area made us locals, right? After a bit, we pulled over and parked, and crossed the supposedly closed road. Here, we took in a fantastic view of the area’s mountains, hills, lakes, and villages from an overlook, conveniently furnished with comfortable wooden benches.

                Back on the road again, we drove on to the city of Limerick, where we hoped to find groceries and maybe even internet access. As you may know, the word “limerick” refers not only to this town in Ireland, but also to a form of poetry, one that consists of five lines with an A-A-B-B-A rhyme scheme. The first two lines have eight syllables, the next two lines have five syllables, and the last line has eight syllables again. Now, I suppose it would be appropriate to write a limerick about our time in the town of Limerick. Here goes: The Taylors drove to Limerick. Hmmmm, what rhymes with ‘limerick’? Brick, chick, click, crick, flick, hick, kick, lick, mimic, nick, pick, quick, rick, sick, stick, tick, Vick, wick! This rhyme scheme is too much work!

                So how about a different rhyme scheme?

In Limerick, we made a quick stop,

Just wanting to eat lunch and shop.

No free parking in sight,

So instead we took flight,

As the price to park made our jaws drop.

                Now, allow me to expand on our unpleasant experiences in the town of Limerick. We drove into the city, following our Gypsy to Tesco, a chain grocery store much like we have at home. However, according to Gypsy, this Tesco was actually halfway around the block from its actual location. We learned this the hard way, driving around the block twice to find it. To further our dilemma, there was no free parking available in Tesco’s vicinity, so we decided to skedaddle out of the city center and its skinny streets and crazy traffic before grocery shopping.

                Doing just that, we came to a SuperValu, another chain grocery store, with free parking for fifty-five minutes. Pulling in and parking, Dad, Abby and I shopped for groceries, while Mom tried to use the store’s public restrooms. She found it locked, so she followed the directions of the sign on the door by asking the nearest employee for the key to unlock the bathrooms. This staff member replied, “It’s back there, and it’s unlocked.” This, of course, contradicted reality, so Mom told her so, and she replied helpfully, “Well, I don’t have the key!” So much for that!

                We finished grocery shopping and crammed all our new purchases into the already-packed trunk of the car, hurrying to make it out of the parking lot before our time ran out. If we had dawdled or dallied at all, we would have had to pay three Euros, just to park for grocery shopping! They sure know how to make their money in Limerick.

                Continuing to drive out of Limerick, we realized it was time for lunch and began to look at parks nearby that might have benches. This surely would have redeemed Limerick in our eyes, but it was not to be. Instead, we parked in an abandoned lot near a concrete curb that had grass behind it. Perching on the curb, we enjoyed an odd picnic, before continuing on our merry way out of the city of Limerick to Fanore.

                We arrived in Fanore at around 3:30 pm and retrieved our new house’s key from its hiding place. Abby yelled, not at all inconspicuously, “The lady said that the key would be under the mat!” My youngest sister is a silly girl.

                So, we let ourselves in to our humble abode for the next two nights. Moving in, we settled into our new surroundings, tending to the same jobs as this morning, but in reverse. While I moved our toiletries into the bathroom, Mom and Lindsey worked together to unpack the food and other kitchen supplies. Ben set up the technology, seeking, but not finding, any Internet access. Abby unpacked water bottles, and Dad followed our new proprietor’s instructions regarding electronic appliances, heaters and such, before budgeting the day’s expenses.

                Dinner came next on the agenda, but tonight’s dinner was a special celebration, really of nothing in particular. These extraordinary circumstances developed from several separate elements, combining into one complete, wonderful, relaxing atmosphere.

                To start, since we have to feed a meter for our electricity and heat, we instead tried out the old-fashioned-looking wood stove. Peat, our fuel for the fire, is free. Soon, we had a cozy (cosy, if you’re a Brit) fire going, giving the air a delicious homey smell. In addition, we lit a few tiny tea candles we found on the fireplace mantle, really to add to the atmosphere, but saying that we could use the itty bitty little things to warm our fingers.

                Also, discovering a massive stack of enticing CDs and a stereo system in which to play them, Dad found among them a delightful CD of Spanish guitarists playing Handel and Bach. Soon, we sat down to a piping hot dinner of spaghetti topped with red sauce and ground beef. We also dined on thick slices of “yesterday’s bread”. At SuperValu, earlier today, we bought a loaf of the bakery’s leftovers – decent bread at a discounted price. While the meal itself was nothing special (although it was tasty), the delicious atmosphere made our dinner spectacular. As a grand finale, for dessert, we had a truly special treat of vanilla ice cream, drizzled liberally with American-made Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Mmmmmm.

                After dinner, we finished cleaning up and sat down to continue our individual tasks, when we remembered that we had wanted to walk to the beach near our house. To prepare, we all dressed very warmly, because the sky was gray, and the air was misty and cool. Imagine what it’s like to be inside a cloud: not much visibility, cool, and wet. Setting out, some of us more bundled up than others, we trotted along grassy paths, guessing at which would lead us quickest to the ocean. Soon, we arrived at the water’s rocky edge. The sky was a light, misty gray, the water a dark, mysterious gray, and the rocks a foreboding, charcoal gray. The air smelled terrifically of salt. We found ourselves once again standing beside the Atlantic Ocean! We scrambled among the slippery stones and took in the view. Dad noticed that, besides the regular waves coming in towards us, another wave went perpendicular to the beach, sweeping away from us. We had no idea what would make the water behave in such a fashion.

                Next, Dad led the way, scrambling up the rocks until we reached a sort of plateau. Nearby, white and reddish-brown cows grazed quietly, suspiciously looking up at us every once in a while. I began to notice some snails clinging to the rocks beneath my feet. Soon, I saw so many that I had to go to great lengths not to step on any of them. These were different snails than I had ever seen in the States. They ranged in size from tinier than my pinky’s fingernail to bigger than my entire thumb. Some had dark gray bodies, while others had cream-colored or yellow bodies. However, their shells really stole the show. We crouched down to admire them, closely scrutinizing some with bright yellow shells, and others with multi-colored spiral shells of red, black, white, burgundy, and brown. They exhibited such fabulous colors that I began to wonder if it was perhaps a warning for their poisonous vapors or something! It was definitely not your typical beach experience!