June 5^th, 2012

Day 16: Ahiohill, Co. Cork, Ireland

Happy happy birthday Kelseyyyy! I miss youuu

Today we woke up to a bleak landscape (but luckily It didn’t stay that way!) After a big breakfast of fried eggs and toast, Zoe and I headed outside to do some weeding/planting.

Step one was to weed Jurassic Park. Essentially, Jurassic park is a mini greenhouse/tent thing that is set up in the back garden where rocket is grown. It’s been slowly taken over by nettles and ants, so we needed to purge the area of all things inedible. After I finished with this, I planted some baby leeks in the open area. In a few weeks they’ll be big enough to transplant into permanent areas!

We also weeded around some lettuce and rhubarb, clearing space for other thins to be planted. It was wet outside and there were midges (little, annoying biting flies that are terrible) everywhere, so as soon as we were done Zoe and I came inside to assess the damage they had done and clean up.

Tina, John, Zoë and I then all drove into Clonakilty just as the weather was getting nice. We took the scenic route through Ahiohill and stopped up at the top of a hill to look at the landscape.  A real bummer I didn’t have my camera wth me- it was absolutely gorgeous! The sun was out at this point too, so you could see all the way to the ocean and partially make out the Kerry Mountains on the other side.

In Clon, we grabbed some delicious lunch at one of Tina’s favorite bakery/stores, Lettercollum. Zoe and I split a quinoa burger with goat cheese and a spinach & feta quiche type thing- yum yum yum! We wandered around Clon for a while after that, stocking up on chocolate and window-shopping at a few places. We actually went into a little thrift store and got a couple things.. not that I can fit much more in my suitcase/backpack, but I couldn’t resist.

We met back up with John and Tina for a pint in O’Scanaill’s where we tried a new cider- Stonewall- that’s actually brewed in Cork. Pretty good- sweeter than Bulmers, but still refreshing! When we got back to the house, since the weather had gotten a bit better, we did some strimming and raking outside.

Tina made a delicious dinner of paella (with fish and chicken) and Jacques came over to eat.  A l great meal, followed by coffee, Estonia liqueur, tea and good times

Favorite part of the day: Definitely dinner. It's nice to not rush through it and enjoy the company of those around the table with you.