June 28, 2001
A special hello to Alan Bratton, a friend at the University. I thought of him
Thursday afternoon in Limerick when I talked to a butcher took his picture and
asked directions. He was a small, handsome man with curly gray hair who was busy
sawing a bone with a large handsaw. He couldn't have been friendlier and had a
wonderful wit and smile. His customer also had an opinion on where I could find
a good bakery and was most expressive as he described its merits. I can see why
Alan likes Ireland so much (he's been here several times) and think that he
would fit in just fine if he ever decides to make the move.
We had landed in Shannon Thursday morning at 8 a.m., as did all the other
flights from America in this small rural airport. There were long lines
everywhere but we persevered and passed customs with flying colors. We walked
through a special hoof and mouth cleansing area as we left the airport. I
noticed several expensively dressed men waiting for ground transportation with
special golf carrying cases (probably every golfer's dream).
Our tour driver is David, a 40ish Irishman with an interesting way of describing
things. In just one day I learned a lot of Irish history. You can ask me about
it when I return (but I'll probably hand you off to my favorite history teacher,
Edith). There are 18 persons in our tour group, and our bus is somewhat smaller
than the other busses one normally sees. It has no bathroom, but David said he
would stop about every 90 minutes and almost immediately in case of emergencies
(good man).
We spent a couple of hours in Limerick on our own. Yes, we found the bakery. Éclairs,
jelly buns, and fruited scones really hit the spot (notice how older people talk
about food a lot). We found an Internet Café and sent our first email. Street
signs are in English and Gaelic (about 90,000 persons speak Gaelic as their
primary language).
Tonight we went to Bunratty castle for a Medieval banquet. It gave us a chance
to meet the other people in the tour, and the mead (made from honey) really
warmed our spirits. We had only a knife and ate much of the food with our
fingers (reminds me of certain relatives when we get together at the holidays).
It was actually very nice, especially the performances of the singers and
musicians. I observed Anne and Edith and thought they fit perfectly as a pair of
wenches (I, of course, have always been a Prince).
Plumbing certainly acts differently in other countries. I'd have to say that the
toilets compare favorably to any I've seen, certainly better than the German
models and I believe better that our congressionally approved 1.6 gallon models.
The showers, however, still baffle me. The blood-curdling screams in our hotel
weren’t from someone being tortured in the dungeon; it's from the rush of
ice-cold water unexpectedly dousing this unsuspecting tourist.