The big blue couch that sits atop an old red and blue patterned rug, has beckoned me again this morning to watch the sunlight dance and spread across the clear blue sky. The leaves that adorn the giant tree sitting inside the rectangular walled garden just beyond the cottage windows, are brushed with a golden hue. Across the street, in the middle the large green field stands a singular brown cow seemingly illuminated, as if by a spotlight, with his face tipped up, welcoming the sun. I would like to go join him in the warmth of the sunlight however, it is a chilly morning and currently warmer in the cottage than out, so I will stay tucked inside the white and blue patterned wool Afghan, surrounding me like a cocoon, and admire the scene from afar.

Yesterday was a wonderful mix of activities shared between new adventures and old. Our early morning began with a two hour drive into Limerick where we spent the morning on ‘King’s Island’, the heart of medieval Limerick City, and explored King John’s Castle. We spent some time in the visitor’s center soaking up centuries of history through a multitude of exhibits and interactive displays and concluded the self-guided tour of the center taking turns jumping across the hopscotch board, colorfully drawn into the cement, before entering the courtyard of the castle. I tried to convince the girls to dress up in period garb for a photo opportunity but surprisingly, even Ellery declined. The giant courtyard welcomed us with character guides, dressed in period costume to explain life at the castle, and with a variety of period games to play. Audra and Ellery had a go on a wooden see-saw and the four of us took a turn at horseshoes. We then entered the remains of the castle, worked our way through the furnished rooms, and made the winding climb upward to the very top of the castle to see out across the city of Limerick. The views were incredible and many photos were taken.

Once finished at the gift shop, as is our custom everywhere we go, we walked across Limerick’s Medieval Quarter, to have lunch at Katie Dalys Heritage Pub and Kitchen, Limerick’s oldest pub house. We ate a light meal at one of the many picnic tables set up outdoors to tide us over until our much anticipated evening feast and I researched the backstory of the pub’s name. Katie Daly was born in California in 1872 to Irish-born parents and whose family manufactured moonshine. Katie played an important role in helping her family evade the authorities in their search to discover the family’s illicit stills. Katie’s father was killed in a shootout and she moved the moonshine business to Chicago where it thrived for the next three decades until her greed for expansion drew the attention of the FBI. According to Irish legend Katie was sentenced to a fifteen year stretch at Alcatraz and did not survive her incarceration as the only female inmate of the San Francisco island prison; however, according the the records from Alcatraz, there were no female inmates incarcerated there, so no one really knows what happened to her. It is an interesting story all the same.

We enjoyed the fifteen minute drive to Bunratty Castle, a favored destination from last year, to visit the portions of the medieval park that we did not have time to explore previously. After we finished our village tour, cut short by rain on our previous journey, we visited with the pigs, George and Peppa, as well as a wide variety of other animals, took a spin on the newly added vintage carousel, explored the old church, and took a short train ride to rest our weary legs. We wandered through the fairy garden and watched the girls play at the playground before ending our exploration with a jaunty ride through the park; absorbing as much history of the buildings and land as we could, through the storytelling of our driver. After the predictable stop at the gift shop, we loaded our goodies into our car and took a small rest before we reentered the castle grounds to, once again, enjoy the fun and excitement that is the Bunratty Medieval Dinner.

This is a favorite activity for all four of us and we had the pleasure of a, quite lively, crowd which helped bring the show to life. Along with excellent food to be eaten only with a dagger and beautiful music throughout the show, we met new friends to keep us company on our journey into the past. Kevin struck up conversation with a Canadian couple, who have rented a sprinter van and are traveling around Ireland’s coastline and Audra made friends with a boy her age who is visiting with his family from the Netherlands. Of course, I cried during the performers rendition of ‘Danny Boy’, no surprise to anyone in my clan and Ellery was, once again, enthralled by the music, and the spiced turnip soup; I do believe food factors into all of her favorite memories. We ended the evening at Bunratty wishing our new friends well on their upcoming journeys and a quick photo with our favorite performer named Emma.

We took a new and exciting route back to the cottage filled with much laughter at the abrupt twists and turns along the road and took in the new sites, taking pictures as best we could out the windows of a moving car. Upon arriving home we were greeting with the delightful sounds of cows from across the road and immediately detoured to the field to see it filled with cows. Much to the delight of everyone, it was rotation day for our cows friends and we have some of our neighbors back. It has provided some hope that our ‘kitchen window cows’ will soon make an appearance. There are many activities on our list of things to see and do while we are here; today, we will assuredly cross more of them off the list, but only after I finish my cup of tea.