I highly recommend it. Brogan had excellent taste in travel destinations. Hey, you never know! I've had to acquire SOME useful skills from traveling with handsome pants Brogie for 8 years. If nothing else, I can teach a seminar on how to fit all your and your dog's stuff into a backpack and carryon and 101 uses for poo bags!
So today was a wonderful sunny day and I took lots of scenery pics that are fun to take but kind of boring to look at. But I'm going to post them anyway. First of all, however, let me say that I'm developing a real love/hate relationship with this little cottage. I finally got a fire going well enough to get the downstairs pretty comfortable. The Aga is going, the fireplace is going...yay! Then the fire alarm goes off. Wouaaaaaaooo! Wouaaaaaooo! Wouaaaaaoo! Right into the depths of my brain. Argh! My reaction is to run around the cottage, opening windows wide open and waving a dishtowel at the offending fire alarm. Stop, stop, please stooooooooop! After what seemed like 10 minutes, but was probably only three, it stopped. Whew! So I close the windows to the now slightly less cozy cottage, plunk myself once again on the sofa, and start looking at the day's photos. And then...wouaaaaoooo! Wouaaaaooo!!! Wouaaaoooo! No, no, no!!!! I run around the cottage again opening windows and this time the back door too. Wouaaaooo! No, no, my poor brain, no. I'm flapping pillows at the stupid thing now, the 5 degree sea breeze is rushing through the cabin, but still wouaaaoooooo!!!!??? Finally I can take it no more. I grab a stool, reach up to grab the fire alarm from the ceiling, twist the darn thing off, and rip the battery out. Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Blessed silence. I close the windows. I close the doors. I plunk myself back onto the couch. Here I am. The fire alarm is going to stay where it is, on the mantle and gutted of its little battery. If this is my last post, you know the carbon monoxide from the peat fire got me. All because I wanted warm feet and silence. OK, back to the day. Unexpected and glorious sun meant that instead of working on my German tax returns (and apologies to my German accountant), I instead went to the beach. Then I did a very little hike on the grassy cliffs. Cliff walks in Ireland are my favourite, because the turf is so very bouncy. It's like walking on a mattress. I don't even have to worry about my balance issues because if I fall, it's like falling on a big green furry pillow. So without further ado - and before I pass out from smoke inhalation - here are the day's photos. Sunrise from bed... A pair of swans in a cove near Glandore.. A lone farmhouse near the cliffs... Cliff walking with little pillows under your feet... Really...all soft and bouncy. Except for the big rock there at the top. Another gratuitous coastal shot... Lone footsteps on the beach. What this place really needs is a Labrador... Wait! What's that in the distance? He's here to save the day! And this post! It's Super Lab!!!!!
Typical lab. I'll bet his people were way off in the distance somewhere? The cottage sunrise is just idyllic. Pity that the cottage is so blimming cold!
I think the day you chose to do was 100% better than you had planned. Fab photos as always. How far away was the lab's humans?
Ah, now I understand. So, when Pongo b*****s off and disappears into the distance, leaving me forlornly shouting Pongopongopongo like an idiot, he is not being a bad boy, he has heard the distant call of someone who needs him and he is being SUPERLAB! It all makes sense now. Of course.
Super photos and super lab! He looks like a happy boy! I do admit to being slightly concerned about this odd, cushiony grass....especially so close to the cliff edge. Emily bouncing around in open-armed "Julie Christie" style is worrying...
Gosh it’s so gorgeous!! Thanks for taking us along with you, Emily! Glad you played hookey from the numbers SuperLab is a metaphor for your Labratour...your special dog is out there, and will appear when least expected but most needed!
Now you've given me an idea. Today if I hit the turf, maybe I'll try spinning around Sound of Music style. I promise to stay away from the edge.
Today started out bright and shiny but ended up sort of grey and dull. But no matter, as long as it's not horizontal rain, in Ireland that's reason to rejoice. And to (again) avoid doing your taxes. On my way out of the cottage, I ran into the host (she lives directly next door) and we had a really good chat. Sometimes the whole "hosted by locals" thing of a certain holiday rental website can get a little tedious. I've had hosts come into my place and tell me they don't like how I've folded their towels, or one particularly creepy guy assure me that if I had any problems at all not to worry as he had a spare key and "could get in without me even knowing about it". Ick. But then there are times when you meet the most interesting and kind people... like today. By the time I got on my way, the sun had disappeared, but a good hour of it had been enjoyed sandwiched between a white washed cottage and the sparkling ocean, having a long chat about deciding what you want to do with your life no matter what your age. Definitely a good use of the sun. I headed out to the Beacon in Baltimore and should have known by the lack of cars in the parking area what to expect. Mud, mud and more shoe-eating mud. There was no way to get up to the actual Beacon, so I snapped a quick photo and decided to head to the beach instead. The beach was pretty desolate, too, but there was one dog having an absolute blast. Not quite SuperLab, but he still made me smile. Tonight is my last night in the cottage and even though I've struggled with the heating and the lack of shower, it's definitely one of those special places that will stick in my memory. It's the kind of place Brogan would have loved, and for that alone it gets a four-paw dog-friendly rating. Tomorrow I'm off to Kinsale to spend one more night visiting Curly and his human, then very early on Sunday begins my odyssey back to the UK via Scotland, then France, then Spain. I've got five full days of 10 hour drives before I hit home in Spain and it's more than a little daunting. Turns out that in fact Ireland is not REALLY on the way to Spain from Germany. I guess it's time to pay the piper! But as Scarlett says, "I'll think of that tomorrow" and for now I'm still hoping there may be yet another SuperLab sighting before Labratour Part III officially draws to a close. Another beautiful sunrise... The Beacon in Baltimore... A lone cottage facing the Beacon across the bay... A beach that reminded me of my favourite dog beach in California... Not quite SuperLab, but a pretty good substitute...
Sorry it's been a couple slow days for posting in Labratour land. I left my little cottage yesterday, had a lovely last afternoon/evening with Curly and his human in Kinsale and then today drove from Kinsale to the UK. Yes, that's two different islands in one day! And I think about 25 different accents. It also meant going over the Dales after sundown with snow/rain/mist blowing and a lot of dark nothingness. I'm not easily creeped out, but that did it to me. No wonder people talk about the haunted moors and all that. I just kept thinking, "Little Tardis, don't fail me now!". Thankfully the Tardis is made of sturdy stuff and I'm now tucked into a really cute cottage in some village somewhere. It's warm and toasty and there's a nice ready-meal and comfy bed waiting for me. It's good to stop moving!
Safe travels home, Emily! Will you stick exclusively to the toll roads in France, or do you mix it up a bit?
Thanks! It's a comfy little house where I've temporarily landed, so my rest today should set me up for a good drive back home. It will be mainly the toll roads for me as I think I'm finally a bit tired of driving and just want to get to Spain and settle in. Someday I'll get to the French nooks and crannies, but this time fast and easy sounds awfully attractive. I never discount the beauty of a well-appointed rest area on the toll road.
