Outside Cork

We just left a pub where we watched the news in Gaelic with English sub titles while also listening to 60's rock and roll in the background.  Sue had a burger that was served with bacon, mushrooms and cheese. It came with "chips" aka fries.  There also was a side salad that was topped, in lieu of dressing, with both cole slaw and potato salad.  I ordered lasagna with a salad.  It too came with the obligatory chips.  We have bacon served with almost every breakfast as it appears to be a staple.  I'm sure that by the time we leave Ireland will be short three whole pigs, five if you count the two overweight Americans on the British Air jet bound for Miami.

We had arrived at our dinner pub from the pub next door.  We entered this pub hoping for food (pub-grub) and a beverage.  We were informed that this was a REAL pub so we could forget the food.  We forgot the food and had a couple of drinks.  We struck up a conversation with a local that we could understand.   Most of the others spoke mostly Gaelic amongst themselves.  When we left for the eating pub next door they all did wish us farewell.  Sue promised them we would be back.

Earlier this day we woke to Billy's whinny.  Billy is the front yard horse who peers at us through our bay window from this active horse farm.  Our B&B is also a breeding farm for high end jumpers.  Two are destined for Spain this week and the vet was by today for their final checkup.

After our full Irish breakfast we departed for Mizen Head at the southwestern tip of Ireland.  After a two hour drive on the three major Irish roadways we came to the craggy tip.  For the uninitiated, the three major roadways are regular highways with 120km per hour speeds, narrow secondary roads with 100 km per hour speeds and the country roads with 80 km per hour speeds.  None of these roadways is capable of supporting these speeds.  The country roads barely fit my sub mini compact roller skate size car with the wheels that ride on both shoulders of the road at the same time.  These roads are supposed to serve two way traffic and are to be shared by  cars, trucks and a few very mad tour bus drivers.  My left side mirror has been folded back to avoid the side brush and the occasional unwary walking pub patron.

Mizen Head Lighthouse

Most pub patrons drink with their left hands and arms so they will walk with traffic.  This way they will only sustain car side swipes on the non important right arm.

One nice thing about driving through sheep and cattle country is that the funny smell in the car can't be blamed on me.   There are hundreds of other suspects.