Irish Hospitality
Trip Start
Jun 24, 2012
1
8
11
Trip End
Jul 07, 2012
Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland
Monday, July 2, 2012
We woke up early to make the two and a half hour drive from Kenmare to the Limerick train station where we were to bid farewell to Michael and Denise :-( We had our final breakfast at the Blue Merles and loaded up the car. There was a steady rain falling, but the drive went smoothly—thank goodness for GPS. When we got to the station, Michael printed their tickets at a kiosk without a hitch, and then we got tea and waited for the train. We bid goodbye with much hugging, kissing, and a few tears and promised each other we'd find a way to get together again soon.
Rich and I headed out to the Carlton Castletroy Park Hotel, a four-star place close to the University of Limerick where we are scheduled to give a workshop on Tuesday. The room was ready, so we lugged in all our bags (stuffed since we’ve made a few purchases and have a new South African giraffe to find places for) and ate lunch in the cozy bar. We were really tired, so a nap was in order.
At about 5:15, one of our colleagues at the University of Limerick, Declan Phillips, came to get us along with his two youngest daughters from his family of six children and gave us a tour of the campus and a little taste of the city of Limerick. Then we went to his home where we met his wife Sarah who made a fantastic meal of mixed greens with fried haloumi, creamy chicken, and potatoes. (The Irish really do seem to serve potatoes at every meal.) She did us in with a homemade apple tart with the flakiest crust I ever tasted. Rich raved about it and said he had been trying to learn how to make a crust like that at which point Sarah said she needed to whip up another tart for guests that were coming tomorrow morning and wouldn’t he like to make it with her. Of course, he said yes and got a lesson in making not only the crust but the whole tart. Sarah is a wonderful cook, a former fashion designer in New York City, and somehow manages to organize a house full of children. We went out in the backyard and were introduced to chickens being raised by their 16-year-old son and watched the youngest daughter demonstrate her skill at the trampoline. In short, it was a fun, fun evening! Then it was back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep to ready us for the workshop.
Comments
Never a dull moment for you two! I am pretty sure when you made the itinerary for this trip you never dreamed you'd get a lesson in making fabulous pastry for a tart! You always manage to squeeze in more than you planned and it sounds like a fun and practical lesson was learned!
Enjoy the rest of your trip. Hope your workshop went well today. Looking forward to your next blog post!
Mart
I think we'll definitely expect a fresh apple tart at our next family gathering :) It sounds like you two are having a wonderful time. I think the best part is how you get to meet new people and enjoy a peek into their family life. So interesting!
In Limerick where cooking's an art,
Potatoes are served a la carte;
They come with each dish,
From bangers to fish,
But Rich fell in love with a tart.