I have concluded the morning after a great party where one has enjoyed wine, exceptional food, laughter with friends and family, and live music ranging from the slow and serene to the quick and lively, appears to be the same in any country, at least for me. Complete contentment, satisfaction, and perhaps a well-earned, thankfully mild headache with an easy rising to the day, as thoughts relive the experiences from the night before. As I am snuggled up cozy, perfectly content, listening to the rain make its music, not even the thoughts of all too soon, returning home from this amazing journey to Ireland, disrupt my mood. I am content, happy, and filled with gratefulness. The girls are still asleep and may sleep awhile more and Kevin, who rose at half past five, has curled back up to pull on the last remaining threads of slumber to hopefully catch a bit more sleep.

For Kevin, yesterday began with a trip to Youghal as we had forgotten to stop for breakfast fixings the night before, returning with still warm, freshly baked bread that had just been put on the shelf. I am extraordinarily grateful for his grocery run as it was perhaps the best bread I have ever tasted. Around noon we made the two-hour drive to experience Bunratty Castle, a 15^th Century restored castle, just east of Shannon, surrounded by a “living” village set in the early 19^th Century. The castle itself stands where a Viking trading camp originally stood in 970. The present 15^th Century structure is the last of four castles to be built on the site and is surrounded by views of the Clare countryside along with gorgeous views of the river. The castle was restored in 1956 by the 7^th Viscount Gort and was opened to the public in 1960.

We explored the great banquet hall, peeked into kitchens and bedrooms and wound our way up narrow, circular stairways to the top of the castle to admire the stunning views. We then toured the “living” village to see how the Irish lived in times gone by and walked the village streets where we were greeted by the beautiful sounds of a musician playing the fiddle outside a small shop. We did not have a lot of time to explore as we started out later than anticipated and were hampered by the rain, but we did make a quick stop into a village store selling products from Kerry Woollen Mills and then, Cahills Family Grocer where Kevin and I picked up Irish fudge, Guinness flavored fudge, and shortbread cookies. The girls, each a very American candy that I do not even know the crazy name for. When it comes to candy, they apparently like to stick with what they know; although, they did both try an old fashioned bon-bon and found them to be delicious. We ended this portion of the day at the gift shop, a quick stop back to the car to unload our goodies and returned to the castle to begin phase two of the day’s events.

Our time at the castle was not complete as we had yet to experience the Bunratty Medieval Banquet. We were greeted at the door by the elegantly dressed Earl’s butler, where he immediately deemed Ellery and Audra princesses and much to their delight, Kevin and I, their humble servants for the night. We walked into the original banquet hall, where Kevin was given honey mead, me, honey wine and the girls sparkling juice and listened to the harpist and fiddler play welcoming music during the meet and greet. We entered the upstairs banquet hall and took our seats at long wooden tables filled with candles and the show began. We experienced a menu of spiced parsnip soup with Irish soda bread, spare ribs with honey and whiskey sauce, pan fried chicken, fresh garden vegetables, baby roast potatoes and Rastin, a Bramley apple and cinnamon crunch served with Chantilly cream; all but the dessert to be eaten with fingers by aid of a small dagger knife. In between each course, we watched the show, visited with new friends at our table and listened to beautiful music. Great fun was had by all of us. The evening concluded with about 25 minutes of music which brought me to tears perhaps from the wine or the extraordinary rendition of “Danny Boy”. Regardless, it was absorbingly beautiful, and the girls thoroughly enjoyed the entire show from start to finish. We were supposed to congregate for coffee and tea but as we had a long drive home, opted to give our thanks to the performers and be on our way.

Kevin, back up after his short nap, is fixing breakfast and Audra has begun a load of laundry and the pleasant sounds of morning, all around. I have yet to see Ellery, but I suspect she is curled up under a blanket somewhere playing a game or reading a book. It is going to be a great day, but only after I finish my cup of tea.