Ireland: Pudding, country roads, and mounds

Day 2: Sunday morning we slept in to well past 9. Refreshed and hungry we made our way downstairs for the breakfast portion of our B&B. Mother and I ordered the traditional Irish breakfast comprised of poached eggs, 4 varieties of ham (bacon, sausage links, sausage patty, and pudding), tomatoes, toast, scones, brown bread, orange juice and tea or coffee. The eggs were perfectly poached and I was able to dip my toast points into the runny yolk. The bacon was very different from american bacon, it was from the back of a pig and had a sizable portion of ham attached. We both tried small samples of the sausages, but left most on our plates. Allison chickened out and opted for just poached eggs with toast. It was a lovely and filling breakfast, perfect for a day of adventure.

We loaded into our Renault, this time with mom as navigator and me driving. After a few mishaps, including cutting out at a red light mid hill, possibly sideswiping a side mirror on a parked car, and getting lost on country roads, we made it to Newgrange. The guide informed us the morning tours were all booked, but we were able to secure tickets for afternoon tours of Knowth and Newgrange ( megalithic passage tombs within huge dirt mounds). It was absolutely wonderful.

Our bus driver to the mound sites could only be described as Robin Williams' inspiration for Mrs Doubtfire. Her quips were entertaining even when she drove the bus the wrong way and took us down the wrong country road. The guide at Knowth was similarly entertaining and as nana would say "easy on the eyes". He was full of historical information and dry Irish humor. The guide at Newgrange was more earthmother but the entire afternoon was extremely enjoyable. I urge you to Google the mounds and have a quick look for yourself.

Just as we returned to the visitor center, the heavens opened up and we experienced our first downpour of the trip. We followed the advice from our guidebooks and quickly took out our "brellies". Originally we planned to visit the Monastery Monsasterboice, but Allison said the downpour was a sign from God to head back to Trim and enjoy supper. This time mom drove and I navigated, we returned safely without incident.

For dinner our hostess recommended Khan Spice or Franzini's. Leary of Irish interpretation of Indian food, we chose Franzini's the Irish interpretation of italian food. We had the highly recommended Rack JR as a starter, 3 huge braised beef ribs smothered in "Mexican bbq sauce". The ribs were out of this world delicious, but we never figured out what was Mexican about the sauce. We shared two entrees, cod and chips with delicious mushy peas and Chicken Ruskini aka chicken Kiev with two types of potatoes, vege, and a side salad. The food was tasty but we missed the charm of the waitstaff from the previous evening. For dessert we walked across the street to the Judge & Jury pub where we split a Guinness and Bulmers. We like the Bulmers better. On the walk home we ducked into the local "pizza parlor" for a milkshake. By this point it was 10 pm and still light out! Tired from our day we returned to the B&B, had a cup of tea and turned in for the night.