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Joby
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  • 2 weeks later...

We're back. I can't even put into words how beautiful Ireland was and what a great time we had! I took soooo many photos. I'm going to do a book on Ireland similar to what I did for our 2nd trip to Africa. It will take me a while to do the book but, the photos will come sooner.

 

 

 

I thought of all of you, especially all of us FIRE ladies with the coloring in Ireland both people and clothes. I actually felt so at home there--I wasn't the only strawberry blonde with ultra white skin that glows in the dark :loudcry:

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

I always think of all the FIRE and EARTH girls on trips. I look at things and think "so and so would look so good in that top or piece of jewelry...." There isn't any real pictodiary in these photos. But, suffice it to say that I felt COMPLETELY at home looks wise in Ireland. It was like I was one of many instead of being the odd ball strawberry blonde with ultra white skin!!!!

 

Here is a link to my Ireland photos--there are 600+ ( I don't have them labeled yet). That's a LOT but I did cull it down from 2400 :-0

 

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7dhwfKDviTRbeUTZ9

 

This is my trip report:

 

I had dreamed of going to Ireland for so long. My husband is a willing traveler with me and so 1 ½ years ago we decided to go.

 

 

Here we go 🙂

 

 

This was our itinerary:

 

 

AUGUST 25 - SATURDAY

 

-FLIGHT DAY-DUB 5:00 PM

 

 

 

AUGUST 26 - SUNDAY

 

-ARRIVE DUB 8:55 AM

 

-GET RENTAL CAR

 

-DRIVE TO BELFAST

 

-PREMIERE INN ALFRED ST. BELFAST

 

 

 

AUGUST 27- MONDAY

 

--PREMIERE INN ALFRED ST. BELFAST

 

 

 

AUGUST 28 - TUESDAY

 

-ANTRIM COASTAL DRIVE

 

-SMITHY B&B BUSHMILLS

 

 

 

AUGUST 29 - WEDNESDAY

 

-AMORE B&B DERRY/LONDONDERRY

 

 

 

AUGUST 30 - THURSDAY

 

-AMORE B&B DERRY/LONDONDERRY

 

 

 

AUGUST 31 - FRIDAY

 

-BAYVIEW B&B ARDARA-- SWITCHED TO AUNTIE B’S B&B

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 1 - SATURDAY

 

-BAYVIEW B&B ARDARA-- SWITCHED TO AUNTIE B’S B&B

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 2 - SUNDAY

 

-EDEN VILLA B&B TUBBERCURRY

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 3 - MONDAY

 

-KINGSTON HOUSE B&B CLIFDEN

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 4 - TUESDAY

 

-KINGSTON HOUSE B&B CLIFDEN

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 5 - WEDNESDAY

 

-BEACH B&B INISHBOFIN ISLAND

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 6 - THURSDAY

 

-PRAGUE HOUSE B&B GALWAY

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 7 - FRIDAY

 

-PRAGUE HOUSE B&B GALWAY

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 8 - SATURDAY

 

-TIRCONAILL B&B SWORDS

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 9 - SUNDAY

 

-FLIGHT HOME DUB-DAY 11:20 AM

 

 

 

Sunday August 26 -We arrived to Dublin just as the Pope was leaving to go to Knock. It didn’t appear to bother our arrival at all. We landed about 45 minutes late due to a late departure from the US. Off we went to pick up our VW Golf car rental from Hertz that we rented through Conn’s Car Rental. A few snafu’s (not due to Conn’s at all) but by 11:30 AM off we went. We would certainly use Conn’s again for a car rental. He made it very easy to understand everything involved and included everything except tire and glass insurance which we purchased upon arrival to Hertz.

 

 

 

We drove straight to Belfast to the Premiere Inn on Alfred St. It was a great place to stay—very well located for our purposes, clean and well-priced. Check in was great, very helpful staff. Our timing was off a little due to our late arrival and car rental snafus so we decided to change up our plans and go straight to St. George’s Sunday Market. It was great fun! We bought a couple of handmade items and ate a really long sausage that was wrapped in curly cut potatoes. It was delicious!

 

 

 

Back to the Premiere Inn and arranged our luggage and then off to Mass at St. Malachy’s across the street. Beautiful church and had a lovely violinist playing during Mass. Next we were off to eat dinner. We ended up at Wetherspoon’s not far from the hotel. We split fish and chips and had our very first Guinness. I’m not a beer drinker at all but really really found that I liked Guinness, as did my husband!

 

 

 

The bed was calling our names at an early hour, so we heeded the calling for a good night’s sleep after a long travel day.

 

 

 

Monday morning August 27 we got up and had scones from St. George’s and tea in our room, got ready to head off to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. No real problems getting there—the GPS we had in the car worked well for us most of the time.

 

 

 

We had such a wonderful time at the museum! I love museums, my husband not so much BUT, he does love cars. So this museum was a win-win for us. The recreated Northern Ireland 1800’s village was well done. We got to try some cheeses, elderberry drink, and had our old timey photo done at the Photographer’s. Harry, the photographer, and his assistant were so funny, and made the whole thing so much fun. He told us all about the history and customs of the time period and about photography in general. Our photo turned out great! A unique souvenir.

 

 

 

The transportation side of the museum was really interesting too, many cars, buses and different forms of transportation. They also had a Titanic exhibit which was nice to see. We spent about 4 hours there before heading back to Belfast to get on the Hop-on-Hop-off bus. We could have spent longer.

 

 

 

We loved the HoHo bus; it toured all around Belfast and hit many of the highlights. You could get off at any point but, our time was limited and so we just rode it all the way through. A nice way to see some of the city on a tight time frame.

 

 

 

Tonight we went to Fibber McGee’s for music and some Guinness. We had trouble finding a recommended dinner spot without reservations so this is what we did and it was a blast! We got a pizza from “Little Italy” a couple of doors down from the small back bar of Fibber McGee’s, ordered 2 pints and ate our DELICIOUS pizza outside the back bar on barrel seats and table. We were briefly joined by 4 very inebriated Belfast girls out on the town. They thought we were the most romantic couple they had seen—eating pizza and drinking Guinness out on the barrel seats. After a few pictures they staggered on and we finished our pizza and went inside the pub. The music was great and a friendly German couple asked to join us at our table. It was such a fun first full day in Northern Ireland!

 

 

 

The people of Belfast were very friendly and never hesitated to stop and answer any questions we had. We loved Belfast!

 

 

 

Tuesday morning August 28 we checked out of the Premiere Inn and started our drive along the A2 Antrim Coast. What a fabulous drive. The weather wasn’t great and deteriorated as the day went on but, we didn’t melt 🙂 We did drive the Torr Head road too. It was so picturesque with the rolling green hills, living fences, and sheep. Aaahhh, the beauty of it all!

 

 

 

Along the way we stopped at various villages and took photos. When we got to the Carrick-a-Rede Bridge it was windy, cold and very cloudy. We decided to skip the bridge walk. I did take some photos of the bridge and surrounding viewpoints. We were going to stop at the Giant’s Causeway no matter the weather. We paid 6 Pounds to park in the train car lot and walked up to the Causeway. Despite the weather there were still lots of people there. I was glad we had timed it for low tide 🙂 It was cool to see but, if in the area again, I think we would skip it. Glad we did it once, but that was enough.

 

 

 

Causeway Smithy B&B was our stop for the night. It was a fine place for a one night stay. Our meal tonight was less than stellar. We tried to get into Tartine but no luck. We ended up at Cod’s Way for tasteless fish and chips. Oh, well. We had had a great day and delightful drive.

 

Wednesday August 29 we had our first full Ulster Fry…soooo good! Dunluce Castle was our destination this morning on our way to Derry/Londonderry. We were the first people at the castle. It was sunny but cold and windy; we had a quick passing pop up shower and then nice weather the rest of the time there. It was a hauntingly beautiful ruin and setting. I loved all the photos I took.

 

 

 

We tried to stop at Mussenden Temple but, it was closed due to a wedding being held there. We arrived to Amore B&B in Derry/Londonderry around 1 pm. A warm welcome from Joan at the B&B and off we went to explore. We were busy this afternoon! We visited St. Columba’s, St. Augustine’s, and St. Columb’s churches and cemeteries, walked along the 400 year old walls of the city, photographed most of the Troubles murals and ended the day with dinner at the River Inn for the 16.48 pounds special. We shared nachos, and had lasagna and a burger and then shared chocolate-coconut cheesecake. Good food at a reasonable price.

 

 

 

Back to Amore, what a delightful B&B and hosts!

 

 

 

Thursday August 30 was going to be another busy day. We had a marvelous breakfast at the B&B. Tried black pudding for the first time—liked it but, the thought of what it was made of kind of gave me the willies. My husband liked it.

 

 

 

We took the Martin McCrossan’s city tour—a great way to get some history. After the city tour we walked across the beautiful Peace Bridge to the Londonderry side of Derry/Londonderry. We walked around the Ebrington Square area, walked through St. Columb’s Park and explored that side of the city for a while.

 

 

 

It was nice to see both sides of the Peace Bridge. Derry/Londonderry is a lovely city and the people were so friendly. We really enjoyed our time exploring both sides.

 

 

 

The Exchange was our dinner spot tonight. A fantastic Early Bird dinner. It turned out to be one of our best dinners of the trip. I had the lamb rump with champ; my husband had the Blackened Salmon. Service was great and so was the food!

 

 

 

More Guinness and music tonight—Peader O’Donnell’s. Got a small table by the door—great spot to listen to the wonderful music and people watch while having a couple of Guinness. LOVED it!

 

Friday August 31 another filling Ulster Fry for breakfast—Joan and Barry’s breakfasts were among our favorites of the trip. We loved our stay at Amore B&B. It was just perfect for us—well located, clean, wonderful hosts and great breakfasts. We also just loved Derry/Londonderry—so much history, a beautiful city with lovely people. But, we have more of Ireland to explore.

 

 

 

Destination—Glenveagh National Park. Got an early start for Glenveagh today but, took us 30 minutes to find our way out of Derry/Londonderry 😞 finally got to Glenveagh around noon. We hiked the “Point View” trail—what beautiful views we had and the view of the castle from atop the hills was fantastic. We loved this hike. The gardens at the castle are so varied and well taken care of. Today we had beautiful sunny blue skies with barely a cloud. 3 hours at Glenveagh were not enough but we made the most of them.

 

 

 

We had gotten an email the day before that our next lodging , Bayview Country House, in Ardara had to be changed. They had had a death in the family. They arranged for us to stay next door at Auntie B’s B&B. I was a bit nervous—I don’t like changes. We drove onto Ardara and Auntie B’s and were heartily greeted by Fran at Auntie B’s. She showed us around and made us feel very welcome. The owner of Auntie B’s, Barbara, was gone to London to visit family. We were the only guests other than a single older gentleman. Our room was lovely and large and had a nice view out the front of the B&B. We settled in and decided to go into Ardara and look around. I love churches and cemeteries. We found both just on the outskirts of town. Ardara is a lovely small town, so clean and colorful. I loved all the shops with flowers and window baskets.

 

 

 

We decided on dinner at Nancy’s tonight, it’s kind of a local institution. The food was great—my husband had a Mackerel salad and I had the Charlie—shrimp and salmon in a garlic sweet chili sauce. Cute little place, enjoyed it.

 

 

 

Today, Saturday September 1 , was dark and misty. Our weather has been typical I think—mostly cloudy with some misty rain and occasionally a little stronger rain. We have had some sun though. We were off anyway rain or shine. Slieve League was our main destination today but along the way we had lots of stops. Our first stop was to purchase a scarf from Eddie Dougherty’s for our daughter. We got to meet and talk to Eddie a bit—lovely man.

 

 

 

Next stop Assaranca Waterfall. We loved it. The water had a brownish tinge to it—I wondered if it could be from tannin? The rain had let up some and we got out and looked around and of course I took photos. By the end of our trip I had 2400 photos. I need that many to get a bookful of keepers 🙂

 

 

 

We found a sign for St. Colmicilles Holy Well, it was located in an area called Glencolumkille. We decided to try to find it. Didn’t work out but the climb up the hill was nice as were the views. We saw so many sheep on the hill. I love all the sheep in Ireland, they’re everywhere. I also love the paint markings on them.

 

 

 

We finally made it to Slieve League. We were smart and drove the car up as far as we could—no need to walk more than we had already. The cliffs were covered in clouds. I was disappointed by the cloud cover but, appreciated the fact that my photos were very dramatic looking. We had originally planned to drive back via the Glengesh Pass but, changed our plans last minute and drove back to Ardara via Killybegs. It was a nice little seaside town. We had a late lunch at Ahoy Café—wonderful fish and chips and crab cake sandwich. We walked along the seawall and harbor and saw some boats unloading their catch of the day—lobsters and stone crab.

 

Back to Ardara and off to Mass at Church of the Holy Family and then music at the Corner Pub. The music was ok and the Guinness good but, we were tired from a long day and had another early start the next morning.

 

 

 

Sunday September 2 my husband woke up with a toothache. Darn..the trip had gone so well so far. Ibuprofen and toothache gel and a big breakfast from Fran and we were good to go. We said our goodbyes to Fran, we’ll miss her and we drove off for Island View Stables in Grange, County Sligo.

 

 

 

The weather was back to dark and misty. We arrived to Island View for our 2 hour ride. It’s a nice place; the horses appear to be well taken care of. A poster on TA suggested it to me as a good place and she was right. I rode Todd and my husband rode Jippy, a couple of Irish Cobbs. Our ride took us over fields, along the beach, dunes, crossed a small creek, through a village and down back roads. A beautiful ride with varied landscapes. It was just our guide and the 2 of us. A great time although it did rain steadily for about the last half hour.

 

 

 

Eagles Flying was next. Loved it—I’m a birder. It rained/misted most of the time there but the exhibition was still held outside. It was fun donning a glove and having a large Raptor land on our hand. It was a small group so lots of opportunities for those willing.

 

 

 

We were tired and dirty now, bottom sides paying the price of not horseback riding for years, rainy weather and my husband’s tooth. Our night’s stay was at Eden Villa in Tobbercurry. It was like heaven on earth. Mary was the perfect hostess and her home was so beautiful. We didn’t want to dirty up her lovely sitting room so we just trudged our luggage upstairs and took her recommendation to eat at the Cawley Hotel. Perfect! We had a lovely comfort food dinner of turkey and ham, mashed potatoes and vegetables. Service was great and price reasonable. Back to Eden Villa to shower and relax in the comfortable bed with lovely linens to rest our weary bodies. Heaven!

 

 

 

Monday, September 3 we woke after a great night’s rest to Mary’s wonderful hospitality and breakfast. I think the pounds are piling on from these big breakfasts. Have I mentioned how much we loved the brown bread in Ireland? Well, if not, let me state it emphatically now 

 

My husband woke up this morning and his tooth didn’t hurt—what??? Must have been the prayers to St. Apollonia, the patron saint of toothaches. Regardless, it wasn’t causing him discomfort right now. We’re excited for our drive to Clifden today and our visit to Kylemore Abbey. We followed Damon from TA advice and drove Tobbercurry to Louisburgh to Lenane via the Doolough Valley. Our favorite drive of the trip. Spectacular scenery and we included a stop at the Famine Memorial and Assleagh waterfall too.

 

 

 

 

Luckily, my husband is very patient with all my stops for photos! It wasn’t raining at all today but was partly cloudy. We had a couple of sheep jams—which are great photo ops. We also unexpectedly stopped at the Sheep and Wool Museum. I splurged and purchased a soft and lovely 75% Mohair/25% wool throw from Foxford Mills just like the one we covered up with at Eden Villa. A big splurge for me but it will remind me of Ireland every time I use it.

 

By the time we reached Kylemore Abbey it had turned into a bright, blue skied, warm, perfect day. My photos of the Abbey are fantastic with the clear blue sky. A beautiful place and grounds—the gardens are just picture perfect.

 

 

 

By around 3:30 we rolled into Clifden to the Kingston House B&B hosted by Jim and

 

Regina. We gave Jim a big hug upon meeting him because he had gone above and beyond giving us the names and hours of trusted Dentists in the area for my husband to see the day before we arrived. So far so good on the toothache but it was comforting knowing we had personal recommendations by Jim of Dentists if we should need them—a big relief!

 

Dinner at Guy’s Snug of salmon salad and lamb stew. We were a little disappointed here, not as good as we had expected. Not bad just not exceptional. Mannion’s pub was where we went after dinner for music and Guinness. Met a lovely English family and laughed and talked with them. We especially enjoyed the 85 year old patriarch of the family—he took a liking to me 🙂

 

 

 

Tuesday September 4 was going to be a busy day—we were driving all around Connemara. The weather was BEAUTIFUL—hallelujah. We ended up driving the: Upper Sky Loop, the Old Bog Road, the complete Bog route and stopped at Roundstone and Dog Bay Beach. It doesn’t get any better than this-clear blue skies, stunning scenery and lunch out of a cooler. I even did a little driving today. Mostly, I just wanted to say I had driven in Ireland and on the right side of a car. Thanks again to Damian for his recommendations on Connemara driving. Just fantastic.

 

 

 

Back to the Kingston House, my husband took a nap and I went browsing around town. I had mentioned that I like churches and old cemeteries and Jim suggested I look for the old St. Mary’s cemetery just up the hill. I found it and it was a hauntingly beautiful place with vine covered trees, old headstones and even had an owl hooting the whole time I was walking around. Glad I was there in the daylight!

 

 

 

We followed one of Jim’s recommendations for dinner and it was in the top 4 dinners of the trip. We ate at On the Square—quaint, a window seat, a new to us beer—Murphy’s Stout, Fish n’ Chips and fresh scallops that were the best that I’ve EVER had.

 

 

 

For dessert back at the B&B we had a Banofee tartlet from Walsh’s bakery-delish. Tomorrow morning we go to Inishbofin for 1 night.

 

 

 

Wednesday September 5—drove to Cleggan to catch the 11:30 am ferry to Inishbofin. It was heavy clouds and steady light rain 😞 The ride over was pretty choppy but we had taken our meclizine the night before so we were good to go, no seasickness for us. We debarked from the ferry, took our bag to Day’s Beach Bar B&B, rented our bikes and took off for the West Quarter Loop. The rain stopped and the ride was so fun. We saw some spectacular scenery and the sea and sky were dark with heavy clouds and made some dramatic photos. We rode part way on a paved road, lots of the way on bog paths and then ended on paved road again.

 

 

 

It was raining again when we finished around 4 pm so we stopped in at the little museum and looked around. By the time we were finished, it was pouring and did so until the next morning. We hunkered down for a while in the bar at Days Beach Bar, had a beautiful dinner of salmon/crab cakes and Guinness and then walked up to our room.

 

 

 

Thursday September 6—still raining, ate breakfast at the B&B and then caught the 9 am ferry back to Cleggan. Days Beach Bar had a perfect location and the food was great. It was a little disorganized with breakfast and payment but we managed. Stopped back by the Kingston House B&B to pick up our bags they had held for us and drove onto Galway raining all the way. Stopped at the lovely little town of Spidaal on the way and photographed some cute thatched roof houses.

 

 

 

We arrived to the Prague House B&B for our 2 nights in Galway around 1 pm. Mary welcomed us and we parked our bags and set off to see Galway. We saw Greene’s Pottery, Kirwin Lane, and Lynch’s Castle, had a snack at Griffin’s bakery, saw the JFK memorial, Eyre Square, St. Nicholas church, had a sample of Murphy’s ice cream and ended with dinner at Hooked. Best Fish n’ Chips of the whole trip! Loved Hooked.

 

 

 

After dinner we went to Tig Coile for music and Guinness. A great time there. Back to our lovely room at Prague House and a chat with Mary. Slept well.

 

 

 

Friday September 7 was a full and fun day in Galway! I’m in love with Mary’s brown bread and cheese she serves at breakfast. Couldn’t get enough. Chatted with very nice people at breakfast and set out to walk to Forthill and Bohermore cemeteries. Loved both, photographed some interesting headstones at both places and had a nice chat with a young man/caretaker at Forthill who was the grandson of the original caretaker at the cemetery. He said it was done on a voluntary basis!

 

 

 

We walked on around to the Galway Cathedral. What a magnificent church—lots of photos. We had booked a walking tour of Galway with Brian Nolan for 2 pm. He called and said to make it 2:30 and then he called and said to make it 3:00. At 3 we did meet him along with 2 other couples. He knows his history and is interesting but, he took several phone calls while on our tour and then suddenly said after maybe 50 minutes of the tour that he had to go meet a large bus tour and we were done. What???? He did offer to not charge us but we paid him half of the cost and went on our way. Disappointing to say the least, but, we did get a nice 50 minute partial tour.

 

 

 

6:30 reservation at John Keogh’s for dinner. We had tried for 2 days to make a reservation at Ard Bia with no luck—they never returned our calls or emails. We had read online that John Keogh’s had a 3 course special for 27 Euros. We got there and the waiter looked at us like we had 3 heads when we asked for the special set menu. He said they hadn’t had that in months even though it was still on the website. So, we ordered off the menu with a promise of a comped dessert. My husband had an 8 oz. sirloin medium rare and I had lamb shoulder with champ. Mine was very good and my husband’s not so much. His was not tender and a bit dry even though he ordered it medium rare. It wasn’t bad enough to send back, just not what he expected. Our brownie dessert was very good. You win some and you lose some.

 

 

 

We parked ourselves early (8:15 pm) at the Crane Bar for music and Guinness. Neither disappointed. The music was phenomenal and the Guinness was great! Easily tied as our favorite pub along with the back bar at Fibber McGees. A late night for us—11:30. Pubs are great spots to slow down and just people watch. We loved the pubs of Ireland!!!

 

 

 

Saturday September 8—our alarm was set for 8 am. It was drizzling. Rain wasn’t going to stop us from enjoying our trip! We had a great breakfast and off to visit the Saturday Market at St. Nicholas Church. Local markets are wonderful places to buy handmade items, foods and just people watch. There were vendors of: fruits, vegetables, a fishmonger, bakery, cheeses, meats, oysters, olives, hot foods, and crafts of: leather, pottery/ceramics, jewelry, soap, hats……I bought a few things, took lots of interesting photos and we also bought some coconut/almond/orange bread for breakfast tomorrow morning before the airport.

 

 

 

Walked back to the Prague House to leave for our overnight in Swords. Said goodbye to Mary, got her recipe for brown bread, and sadly left to finish our trip.

 

 

 

It rained most of the way to Swords so we didn’t stop at anything along the way. Arrived to Tirconaill B&B around 3:00 pm. We repacked everything for the airport tomorrow, rested for a little bit and then walked to St. Colombcille’s for 6:30 pm Mass. After Mass we tried to get into a couple of well-known places for dinner but no luck. I pulled up TA and found a small Lebanese place called The Grill House and got a quick reservation there. We had never had Lebanese before, so we asked the helpful server and settled on a sampler plate and a schwarma. Both were DELICIOUS. So glad we tried this place. It only seated about 25 people and it was full the entire time we were there. A great find for our last meal in Ireland.

 

 

 

Sunday September 9 our last day 😞 We had an 11:20 am flight back home. We buzzed through the airport/security/per-clearance in about 1 hour and had plenty of time before our flight. I sampled some Irish whiskeys. Neither of us are whiskey drinkers but did find Tullamore Dew and Green Spot were ok to us, a fun way to end the trip. Flights were fine and on-time.

 

 

 

Oh, how we LOVED both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Our trip was everything we had hoped for and more! The iconic scenery we saw, the people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were all just lovely and oh, so friendly, the history we learned, the brown bread I’m still craving as well as the sausages, the new found love for Guinness, the pubs, the multitudes of sheep, the places we visited, the lodgings we stayed at, the people we met, even driving on the left side of the road and right side of the car!

 

 

 

It was wonderful to be able to visit both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Both fascinating places with so much to offer.

 

 

A fulfillment of a long held dream trip to Ireland.

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Wow Kim! Sounds like a fabulous trip. Your photos are wonderful. Ireland and UK are on my to do list. 

 

Did you notice what happened in your trip report? Every place you mentioned is hyperlinked to TA. Thinking that is a result of this new software. Or did you do that?

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16 hours ago, Anita Latte said:

Wow Kim! Sounds like a fabulous trip. Your photos are wonderful. Ireland and UK are on my to do list. 

 

Did you notice what happened in your trip report? Every place you mentioned is hyperlinked to TA. Thinking that is a result of this new software. Or did you do that?

Nope, I didn't put the hyperlinks in. I just copied and pasted my report from TA :classic_blink:

 

Glad you all enjoyed the report and photos. It was a fantastic trip!

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21 hours ago, awhfy said:

Kim, a trip of a lifetime!  Your pictures are wonderful. I had to read your trip report in sections tho as I just can’t handle the new white background. 

 

Love Irish brown bread

 

Thanks, Melody. Ooohhh, I miss the brown bread. I have the recipe from our B&B in Galway but, have read that with the differences in ingredients between the US and Ireland, it won't taste the same 😞

 

I severely dislike this new forum look! Who thinks of this stuff?????

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I'll be glad to share the recipe---when I find it. I've looked for 2 days for it. I have no idea where it is! I don't know why I can't find it--it's driving me crazy! :classic_angry:!!! I've emailed Mary for another copy, as soon as she sends it I'll pass it along.

 

Debbie and I are meeting up for a girl"s weekend this weekend. I'm excited! We'll see if we can get some photos 🤣

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Hi, Melody and Ladies!  I’ll answer for Kim since I was the reason we didn’t meet. Short story—my back went out. Longer story—I’d just come home from a 5-day to NC Smokies preceded by a 4-day in WV with DH’s family. My ache and pain issues are my mid-back—never my low back. So, maybe, that’s why when my low back acted up from so much inactivity, I knew I couldn’t make a 3+ hours solo trip. I visited my favorite chiro master and diffused a mess of essentials oils while in a long hot bath (Love my claw footed tub!!) I’m back to normal now. Well, as normal as I can expect. LOL

 

Kim and I plan to try to get together after the holidays. I’ll be sure to get my back in good shape the week before this time!  

 

I’ve read a little here and there trying to keep up with the convo but feel like I have little to add most of the time. Glad to read though. Retired life seems to take more of my time than working life ever did.  —Debbie

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Ow Debbie!  Hope that back gets better. I agree a 3 hour drive is no way to pamper an aching back. I can’t wait to be able to take a bath again!

 

My girls have the day off & are using it to push me around some stores & craft fairs. I hope to get the (over 100) stitches out on Tuesday & look forward to more mobility. Hopefully we’ll remember to take a picture or two!  Melody

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Soooo disappointed about having to cancel our girl's weekend, but backs being backs can rear their ugly side and cause things like that 😢 Hopefully in the spring things work out!

 

Melody hope you have fun in your "ride". We used to go to craft shows all the time but, I never go anymore. I guess I don't have the need for new decorations and/or gifts.

 

I finally found the brown bread recipe today--right UNDER the recipe box!

 

Mary's Brown Bread

 

2 mugs brown flour

1 mug bran

1 t bicarbonate of soda

1 T Treacle or molasses

1 T olive oil

1 T dried apricots cut small

1 egg

1 litre buttermilk

 

Mix all dry ingredients together, add bicarbonate of soda, add Treacle.

Add olive oil.

Add buttermilk and egg into mixture.

 

Put into loaf tin (25 cm X 12 cm), bake in electric oven 170 C (or 160 C if in a fan oven).

 

Mary gave no baking time! I'm guessing a "mug" is a coffee cup size measure?

 

I haven't tried this yet. I hope the American type brown flour works out--many have said American brown flour is quite different than Irish brown flour??? If any of you try it before I do, will you let me know if it works?

 

I loved the texture of Mary's bread and the Irish bread in general. Have I said how much I miss the brown bread 🤣

 

I'm enjoying the conversation on cooking on the EARTH thread. I HATE to cook but, LOVE to eat. We eat low fat all the time and I get so bored with it but, not to the point that I want to put anymore effort into it.

 

Will some of you come over and cook for me????? Purty please 😋

 

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So I've been reading all about the items in this recipe for the better part of the afternoon...because I can, I guess.

 

Here's what I will consider to be the source regarding the flour issue. Odium's is a brand of flour produced in Ireland. It was one of the first things I found and have since found many Irish that live in America talk about it.

 

https://www.odlums.ie/at-school/know-your-flours/

 

According to the website...the wholemeal flour is what is commonly called brown flour. Researching wholemeal flour, I get conflicting information about what it is and how it compares to wholegrain flour. According to Odium's the wholemeal is a coarse ground nothing added or subtracted kind of flour...but I have found descriptions of the opposite here in the states, where they say that wholemeal is sifted and only 85% of the bran is added back to the flour later. Weird.

 

You can actually buy Odiums flour on Amazon. There may be other sources. I've read that some local grocery stores in New York and New Jersey carry it. So Margaret and Laurie may be our best source to verify that. Check out your stores for us Margaret and Laurie!

 

Anyway...what we want is a coarsely ground whole grain wheat flour. Some say to look for stoneground wholewheat. I've read that King's Arthur sells an Irish style flour.

 

Now treacle is another matter. There are many different types of treacle just like there are actually different types of molasses. There is a thing called black treacle that is more similar to the dark thick stuff we all thick of as molasses, but I'm reading that if you use black strap molasses, that flavor will overpower the bread. There's a different kind of lighter molasses that is a better substitute than the black strap...but I've also read that treacle can be called "golden syrup?" Treacle is more commonly from the early pressing of the sugar while molasses is more commonly from the last pressings.

 

I've seen recipes that use brown sugar for the sweetener. I've been reading about using corn syrup too.

 

The buttermilk is super important. It is the thing that activates the baking soda. Procedure could be important here. I think I recall something about mixing it all together and waiting for the something to happen in the dough that rises to the crust. THEN you bake it and that thing that happens is what helps to make that crunch on the crust that seems to be a signature of the bread.

 

As for the use of mug in measuring. This indicates a very old recipe. It probably means that the cook has a mug that they use all the time for measuring out this recipe. It is a non-standard measurement. Generally speaking, since a lot of baking in non-American countries uses weight for measurement and not some sort of device to hold a measure, it likely refers to a personal measuring device that short cuts weighing the ingredients. Since it uses the word mug...I'm guessing that it is a drinking vessel with a handle on it...again, using something not necessarily used for measuring as most non-American cooking is done with weight measurements.

 

Irish Soda Bread is a fast and easy bread though...so the idea that you would just scoop out the ingredients makes total sense. I read someone guessing that a "mug" measurement on a recipe they had been given was equal to 10 ounces.

 

I did read a reference to a thing called a quart mug which was an alternative to ordering a full pint. A pint in the UK is 20 ounces...not our US 16 ounces...so it is a fair guess to say that a mug is about 10 ounces...which would be more like 1.25 cups.

 

Kim, if you are friendly with Mary? maybe you could just ask her about the mug measurement?

Edited by Anita Latte
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I’ve used King Arthur whole grain flour with great success for many things. Interesting this recipe calls for diced apricots. My grandmother’s recipe (exactly same but apricot jam). Hers used 1_1/4 cups of flour & golden molasses

 

my Mom hated to cook, had 3 dinners she made; tuna casserole, beef stew (that was good) & Hamburg rice & tomato casserole. I took over all of the cooking before I was 9 (Mom cleaned up behind me...I still look for her 😢). My Dad liked to cook, but he had long work hours as a chemist. I’m considering getting an Instant Pot, don’t need another device, but it’s intriguing; do any of you use one?   Melody 

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On 11/9/2018 at 8:29 PM, Anita Latte said:

Kim, if you are friendly with Mary? maybe you could just ask her about the mug measurement?

Anita,

 

When Mary gave me the recipe at the B&B, I looked it over and immediately asked her how much a mug was. I told her I was a Biologist and a non-cooker and couldn't deal with such ambiguous measurements! By the time she had given me the recipe, she  had gotten used to my humor 🤣 Mary said a mug was about the average size of a US coffee mug. She travels to the US frequently and said she felt that would be a good substitution. She has a mug at home that she's used for years for the recipe.

 

Mary also felt the treacle or regular dark molasses would work equally???

 

As to the flour, we visit a large international grocery store a couple of times a year. when I looked there, they had nothing like the Irish flour Mary uses.mary said she had made it for so long, that she doesn't really even measure any of the ingredients anymore. 

 

I ended up buying "Bob's Red Mill, 100% stone-ground Whole Wheat Flour" because I felt it was as close as I could get to the Irish brown flour.

 

There is a website called www.foodireland.com where you can order many food products from Ireland. I have made brown bread many times and I got the flour from this website which is out of New York I think. The flour is Odlum’s Extra Coarse Wholemeal. Seems to work the best so far.

 

The above is what a lady told me on another forum that I participate in. So, it looks like your thoughts are correct about Odlum's, Anita. The same lady also mentioned that Irish buttermilk was sooo different from US buttermilk as are many of the Irish dairy products.

 

I guess the choice is to make it that best I can here at home or just go back to Ireland🤣 I vote for the latter!!!!

 

Please let us know if anyone tries the recipe.

 

 

 

 

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On 11/10/2018 at 10:04 AM, awhfy said:

. I’m considering getting an Instant Pot, don’t need another device, but it’s intriguing; do any of you use one?   Melody 

I bought one for my daughter and she loves it . If I lived up North I would get one . Florida cooking is all about grilling .

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