WWQP Bulletin Board Chat

Jane in NC . . . and a brief travelogue

JANE IN NC - Wow, I never knew a cat bite could be so dangerous. It is a good thing you got that hand looked at. I have always heard a tetanus shot is needed after a dog bite but I don't know why. We once had a dog that could not be trusted with others. It got really old, telling visitors "Don't touch the dog." When she finally showed aggression toward our son, we'd had enough and found another home for her before she bit someone. Life is too short.
BTW, dogs rule, cats drool.

BACK FROM IRELAND - The DH and I returned home on Friday from our two week vacation to Ireland. This time we traveled the eastern half and, my-oh-my, it is quite different from the south west corner five years ago.

The east is more heavily populated and the traffic was pretty bad in all the major towns. Their economy is booming and population is growing, and out-growing their roads at the same pace. It was a bit of a culture shock to run across all the immigrants from Eastern Europe (e.g., Poland, Latvia, Rumania, etc.) that live there because they can find well-paying jobs. This, in a country that used to lose thousands of emigrants every year (including my own grandparents approx. 100 years ago) to other countries because there wasn't much work. How times change! I'm glad for Ireland, though. They've been due this economic boom for ages.

Our other culture shock was the number of ethnic restaurants, Italian and Chinese being the most popular, everywhere. Finding a good old-fashioned pub that served food in the evening was like finding gold. I think Ireland is so over that and ready to move into the new millenium. Can't blame them. I suppose it would be like someone visiting us down here in The South and hoping to find good old southern cooking at a mall area or food court? Right. LOL We like our ethnic foods here, too. So, like I said, that was a bit of culture shock because we weren't expecting it. Thank heavens the good old Full Irish Breakfast is still revered and served everywhere. (more hoorays!) We saw lots of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Subway restaurants. :-o

They really pile on the food in their servings, too. We had forgotten that they're worse than here in the U.S. Much as I hate to leave good food on a plate, I had to after the first week. I'm afraid I gained 5 pounds (drat!) so here I go again . . .

Housing prices were interesting, too. Average price of 300 Euro per square foot for homes . . . and these are not mansions, just everyday normal homes. With today's USD conversion that comes to $400/sq. ft.! DH and I decided that even if we wanted to, we could not afford to retire in Ireland, we'd have to live in a tent, and would never buy fabric or play golf again.

We saw lots of abbey ruins, old castles, and neolithic, etc. burial mound sites. We did visit Trinity College and see The Book of Kells exhibit and the book display. That was a *must see* on my list. We also visited the NewGrange (Bru-na-boinne) DH and I are amazed at how much we packed into the trip, along with his rounds of golf, yet we took our time and paced ourselves. The weather cooperated (hooray!) too. We're glad to be back home and driving on the right-hand side of the roads again. (grin)

If this post doesn't make sense, it is because I have not figured out how to "preview" and then edit the thing for changes. Oh well, I guess I've not made it too far into the new millenium. ;-)

Hugs to everyone!

posted by Doris W. in TN @ 11:50 AM