Happy in Howth

We awoke this morning for our last day in Ireland and my heart felt a wee bit heavy.  I realized that I have become captivated with the loveliness of the landscapes and the authenticity of the people. 

GAHS: We've only had a taste of what these lush lands have to offer ... and for me ... I just didn't get a big enough bite of it! I could surely have stayed longer to sample more of her offerings ... but then again ... we never had any days when it was wet and dark and dreary.  Perhaps I would be less enamoured with it all if the weather had been less beautiful!

GRINS:  I am delighted to report that I won the photo competition yesterday! Picture #2 claimed the most votes ... followed by #4. And ... I took both of them! Photos #7, #6 and #1 also placed! Thanks for your votes ... not that I'm competitive! 😁

GROANS: We hustled to the train station after taking the LUAS tram as far as we could go ... before making our connection with the DART (the train) north to Howth today.  We had another lovely Irish breakfast with both an americano AND a cappuccino ... because they were so good! I expected I could relieve my bladder before boarding ... BUT ... there were NO toilets in Tara train station!  Oh Ireland ... how can you build a train station with no loos? I don't understand. 🤨

GRATITUDES: Despite the full bladder we arrived in Howth in time for lunch!! Howth is a fishing harbour village. And the life style looks so different from that on the prairies. The day's catch determines the menu to some degree! And so .. we sampled some fresh fruits of the Atlantic at Crabby Joe's. When John asked if they were fresh ... we were told were "they were still breathing 5 minutes ago"!  😄

I had the fish and chips and John ordered oysters and crab cakes!!  No fish smell ...and ... no fish taste! Just delicious!!! We took a stroll around the harbor before we embarked on a 6 km hike around the cliffs of Howth!  The rugged beauty was nothing short of stunning in its display.  Every step we took was another invation to capture the exceptional essence of the experience with our cameras! Once again ... we have far too many pictures than we have space to display them.

John stated it was the most beautiful walk/hike he had ever been on!  At one point I even got a bit dizzy!  I looked down to admire the landscape on the the cliff and realized how close we were to the edge! I guess it was a bit much for my anxious mind!

And once again, the weather was unseasonably warm, bright and sunny.  We met some lovely locals along the way ... who chatted it up with us as if we were kin! In fact, an older fellow passed us enthusiastically encouraging us to keep climbing because it was a fabulous hike! We later met him nearer the top of the trail ... he was already coming back. And, we've learned the Irish hold nothing back. And so he cheekily says " Is this as f#*king far as you've got?" And then winked at me and added "It's nice that you took the elderly for a walk". It was so unexpected that we burst out laughing! 😁

Honestly ... I am lost for words. Ireland is a diamond in the rough ... brightening my spirit as it casts light into all the corners of my heart.

And so ... what's a weary hiker to do at the end of the trail?  Recharge with some refreshments ... an olive tray ... some bread ... and ... a Grilled Whole John Dory!  Yes ... somehow this fish is related to the infamous Dory on Finding Nemo! And yep ... we got the whole darn delicious dory!! 😲

GRIPES: We were sitting ever so comfortably outside in the sun until John got splatted by an overhead bird! Although they say its lucky ... we opted to move under the awning after that! And ... my hubby will be doing laundry again tonight! 😉

GRINS: Oh ... we also realized that we hadn't yet had an Irish coffee! So, we stopped at the pub on the way home ... and ... much to the expressed chagrin of the bartender ... we got one 'to go'. It actually wasn't too bad. 😋

All in all, our last day here gifted us with a fabulous finish to an extraordinary introduction to Ireland! I know we only scraped the surface ... but ... we adored all the minutes of it!! 💚💚💚Read more