Fresh off my second Garth Brooks concert for the year, these song lyrics were the only thoughts I had as I landed this morning... I think that was just this morning!
After landing, and while waiting for a gate to open up, I stared out the window watching as the world seemed to come to life early in the morning. The greens in between the lanes were littered with small rabbits who seemed to have no care in the world, not at all worried by the presence of the huge metal beasts moving about around them.
The airport was not crowded before 7am, so I quickly got through customs, found my luggage and did my best to freshen up for a day of adventures. Time went by quickly and before I knew it, Jessica had arrived and we were off!
We spent several minutes just sitting in the rental car, trying to formulate a plan, find directions and become accustomed to the car. Three years ago, when Kelly and I had swapped lives for the year, that included cars, and I was forced to face a fear: learning how to drive a manual car. It was stressful, but a skill I was thankful to have learned. When making plans to come back here, looking at rental cars, we discovered that manuals were about half the cost as most cars on these islands are manual. So, I volunteered to again conquer my fear and Jessica agreed to be a patient navigator.
Getting back in the car, I was thrilled that the skill did seem to come back like second nature, and although it wasn't terribly smooth nor did I feel extremely comfortable, all went well. Or at least it did until I had to park in a tight spot on a slight incline... I stalled three or four times in the process, but hey, I did it and no one, including the car, was hurt.
Our first stop was the quaint little town of Trim, complete with small brightly colored homes, hanging baskets, busy small businesses and oh yes, a castle smack dab in the middle. This island is full of castles thanks to the history of the land that goes back centuries and is quite complicated with the variety of rulers and ruling parties. Our tour guide at Trim Castle was an older Irish man with a love for the land and its history. He took us throughout the interior of the castle which was completed in 1206, giving us history lessons along the way. I must admit that my understanding of Irish history is practically nonexistent, and he gave us so much that, well, I really am not sure I could tell you much besides the people of Ireland really didn't have control over their own land until relatively recently. Now, it is peaceful and the people are proud and happy.
Trim Castle is famous for another reason: it was the filming site for many scenes in Braveheart (yes, that movie is about Scotland, not Ireland). No wonder it was chosen: an ancient castle still standing with large open fields and a river on one side. Perfect movie scene to take us back hundreds of years.
We had trouble finding a pub to eat in (yes, that is shocking), but took some advice from my excellent guide, Rick Steves and ate at a small local hotel where I was able to enjoy a dish I'd been missing: mince beef pie with potatoes.
Jessica's aunt lives just outside a wee village nearly in the middle of the country. We headed on her way, driving cautiously down roads seemingly meant for one way traffic but actually meant for two while locals sped past me.
Her aunt, Marilyn, lives in the country in a perfect little Irish home surrounded by fields and cows.
Exhaustion hit this afternoon as we sat around just talking, the two of them catching up on family and all of us discussing plans of what we should see here. But, we powered through, knowing that it would make the rest of our time here better if we could stay up until a reasonable hour to get onto the right schedule. We made it through a trip to a local pick up place where I got a batter sausage (meaning a sausage cooked in batter just as the fish and chips are made), and it was delicious.
It won't take our eyes long to close tonight and dream sweet Irish dreams of a beautiful country and the adventures that await us here.
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