8th April 2011: Barcelona/Ireland Day Twenty-Two.

Before I get started, we have made some changes to the Blog site and it should be easier to leave comments.

Our last day here!!

We had a quiet day getting ready for our flight to Ireland and I’m now ready to move on. It’s fair to say that Barcelona didn’t offer up her best week to me during our stay nor did Barcelona see me at my best. Lets just say that I will be back to give her a second chance some day.

Managed to get on the Internet at the airport and discovered the Pies have beaten the archenemy Carlton. That’s 3 straight wins from 3 outings, not a bad way to kick off the season.

Unfortunately, Michelle’s camera has died on us and I don’t have any photo’s to put in the blog for the moment so you will just have to rely on my writing to get the picture.

The flight to Cork is about two and a half hours and we have got our woollies out ready…..just in case (or as they say here, to be sure, to be sure). “Stephen James Rhynehart…” said the man at the border booth at Cork airport, “and what would yer be visiting Ireland for Stephen?” I told him it was a lifetime ambition and I was here on a holiday. “Well, welcome to Ireland” he said “and I hope yer stay is a most enjoyable and relaxing one….”

They really are friendly people and that’s evident from the moment you step off the plane. We have decided to hire a car and do the trip around Ireland by driving ourselves. The first place we head for is Michelle’s friends Tina and Jim who have very kindly offered to put us up for a few nights before we head off on our drive up the west coast.

Tina and Jim live in a little village called Clonmel, which is to the south and is about a two-hour drive from Cork airport. Its late afternoon and the main thing Michelle and I noticed is the greenness of Ireland, after a few years of drought in Australia it’s a welcoming sight.

We don’t have complete directions to Tina and Jim’s place so we have to stop off in the town centre of Clonmel to ring them and get specifics. Hmmmm, I spied a pub not far from where we have parked the car and I’m keen to try a pint of their Guinness as everyone I’ve ever met has said, “you haven’t had a real pint of Guinness until you’ve had one in Ireland…” Let me tell you, they have all been right.

With directions in hand, it’s a 15-minute drive to Tina and Jim’s and we receive a right royal welcome from them. Their place is the last property in a quiet narrow lane and is basically farmland all around with uninterrupted views to the hills behind them. It’s late and we are tired but its hard not to marvel at their beautiful garden and the back drop of the hills.

I have decided that I will get up in the morning and go into the town centre alone so I can get a feel for the place.