[Written by mary, edited and published by brian]
Wow, 15 days, feels like……more than 15 days. NOT.
As the driver said, last night we spent the night at a place we had been to on a earlier sojourn. Love the Irish, the moment I mentioned this was our second time here, we got upgraded to a much nicer room, and he didn’t ask for a credit card, money any kind of payment, just what was our name. Small villages, LOVE THEM. Same guy (half owner) that found us a seat in the pub later in the midst of the insanity of bulging walls due to the two parties in full-swing. Also, when Brian took his pet camera for a morning walk he saw said man walking through the village picking up trash, said he does it daily, “must take pride in our village”. Can I move here now?????
So, as some of you might know, Cong is the village where much of The Quiet Man was filmed. This is one of my all time fav’s (precursor to the contemporary Rom-Com, even I care muchly for this film) so we hit the local Quiet Man museum and walked around the village following the film sights. Unfortunately, some of the sights are not in the village but the pub where Sean and Will interrupt their legendary fight is there, ready to serve pints! The town is very proud, and it is one of the most lovely villages ever (all 124 people! So while there’s more ducks than humans it is truly one of my favorite places in Ireland).
On that topic, here’s a sample of what Cong looks like at ~7:30 AM for a crisp October morning. These are samples; between two visits I’ve taken more pictures in Cong than any other place in the world.
And, a short video…
Next stop, Blarney, Ireland. Home to the Blarney Castle, Blarney Stone and most importantly, THE Blarney Woolen Mills Store – a true extravaganza shopping experience.
The drive was (when isn’t it) scenic.
For Blarney, Brian and I have both kissed the stone before, we’re here in Blarney for the store. It is a three story tall store that has everything and can handle many (30? 40?….50? There’s parking for at least that many) tour busses at one time. And what to our surprise, as we checked into the hotel in the shade of the castle (PS, we got upgraded in rooms, again, must pay to be nice), the desk boss tells us, tonight at 6, the once yearly sale at the store starts, with savings at 20 percent, then an additional 17 percent off and then a final (tonight only) 10 percent off. PLEASE JUST SHOOT ME, (it’s a) I’M IN HEAVEN, SALE.
So we previewed our purchases and returned at 6:01, and in 45 minutes, we were done (all done. Done-done). Waterford, Belleek, Aran sweaters, jewelry, and nick knacks bought. Then off to the Muskerry Arms for dinner (and Pints).
My life is complete.
Jamesons at the hotel bar (wi-fi) so we can make this page for you.
Brian here : Hi folks. We’re here for two nights and with all the shopping prematurely completed, it’ll be work, blog catch-up and planning for the next two days. Stay tuned, deferred visuals (pictures and videos) coming to this site soon.
Welcome to 10 Angels 
Lord have mercy I wish I could have gone to that SALE!!! The waterfall was pretty good too though!
Ok here’s my shot at speaking Irish to you two with the pronunciations following in parenthesis (I looked the words up online. I know, DUH!)
Obviously the Irish people are experiencing BEOCHAOINEADH (“bay-oh-keen-yu”) because Brian was separated at birth from all the other quintuplets. The only way to rectify this situation is to DÉLÁMHACH (“TEE-lay-wah”) (uh, this pronunciation does NOT look right!!) your BÉALÁISTE(s) (“bay-al-ASH-tuh”) and BOTHÁNTAÍOCHT (“BOCH-an-TI-ucht”). This however can lead to BACHRAM (“BOCH-rum”) and you could all be arrested!! Better to ASCLÁN (“ash-KLAWN”) as much Jameson’s and Tulamore Dew as possible and AIRNEÁNACH (“ARR-nen-ech”) without doing any driving.
Whew! And they say English is a hard language. 😦
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Thanks for that Norma Jeanne
For those (like me) overwhelmed by Norma’s linguistic prowess I offer the following translation –
The Irish folk are suffering “a sad lament for someone who has gone away, but who has not died” – they miss me. The only remedy is “join together with loved ones” to “raise a drink” with “both my hands”. Wisely, she cautions against too much merriment whilst here in Ireland, lest it turn into “boisterous and troublesome” behavior resulting in incarceration .
The best approach then is too “carry home” as much whiskey as possible and make “merriment into the late night” at Castle Brusnahan with any and all who come.
I hope I’m close…or perhaps I’m simply reading what I fully intend to do!
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