No Regrets!

The last day of our Ireland adventure…

Woke up this morning and had a chat with Eddie, one of the proprietors at 4 Seasons, over breakfast. Instead of the regular concentrate that everyone else had, I was delighted to find that Eddie served freshly squeezed orange juice. So good that I had three glasses.

Eddie is an interesting, funny guy. He taught us a bit about Irish history and attitudes and discussed Ireland’s affection for Obama. Like a lot of the Irish, he had a quick way with words. “If America sneezes,” he said, “we all catch a cold.” He also told us funny stories about rude Americans that have stayed with him in the past. To him, most Americans, especially the ones from New York City, are rude and a little slow-witted. He told us the story of how one woman was so impressed with his scrambled eggs that she asked him for the recipe. He recounted the conversation quickly and articulately, which served to make it even funnier:

“I make scrambled eggs at home, but they don’t taste as good. How do you do it?”

“Well, you got a pan and you add the eggs, butter, a little salt, and a bit of milk. Then you take your whisk and mix it up a bit to get some air in there, but not too much.”

“Well that’s what I do, but it doesn’t taste as good as yours.”

“How were you stirring? Clockwise?”

“Yes.”

“Well you have to turn it anti-clockwise.”

“Ahhhhh, OK.”

Eddie also mentioned that he goes to America quite often to go shopping and gloated how economically he was able to shop over there. With his $7 sweater and his $10 jeans, his whole outfit cost him less than $50. Eddie was also a part of Ireland’s clean-up operation in Iraq after Desert Storm. He showed us the empty shall casings he kept and now uses to decorate his fireplace and hold umbrellas.

While we were eating, an Irish guy in socks slipped down the stairs in a very Kramer-ish way and popped into the dining room. We struck up a conversation with him and learned that his name was Liam. He was an 18-year-old student living at the B&B for several months while he studied for an exam to get into university. Liam wants to be a teacher. Even from our brief conversation, we could tell that Liam was friendly, charming, mature, confident, respectful, and well-spoken, like most Irish people we’ve met and unlike just about any 18-year-old or 28-year-old or 38-year-old would be in America. Stef and I really respect the people of Ireland.

We asked about Irish dancing, the last thing on our list of things to do and see in Ireland, and Eddie said we probably wouldn’t find it in Galway, especially since it was a Monday and a Bank Holiday. Slightly discouraged, we headed into Galway anyway for a quick look around, going at a leisurely pace due to Stef’s bum Achilles. She could hardly walk.

At lunch, we had our first Bulmer’s pear cider. Delicious.

We didn’t find much else of interest in Galway, so we’ve decided to pack up the car and spend our last night in Ennis, a town near Shannon. We figure it’s a good idea to stay down there since we have to wake up at the crack of dawn to catch our flight home out of nearby Shannon Airport.