Ireland -Day 2

Our smile for the day features none other than our very own photographer, Noelle Johnson.  She's pictured here as we sip down some hot chocolate, the very thing that is generating the lovely smile!  It's quite amazing how holiday changes diet, and how ok with that I am.  :)   It's also amazing how much better the general chocolate population is over here.  And the milk.  It's as though everything dairy is...well it's just way more dairy-ish.  Our friend Maggie suggests that this is because their products are much less pasturized.  I believe it.

Noelle at the Lazy Bean smiling over a wondrous glass of hot chocolate

Sometimes it takes leaving home to realize how very blessed we are and just how much luxury and excess we really have.  Sometimes it also takes realizing that even though you've left your first world country for another first world country, there are levels of first-world-ed-ness...

Master at work

It really does make me feel like an entitled American tourist when upon entering an Irish supermarket, I catch a frown forming at the corners of my lips at how comparatively small the selection of Irish food goods and produce is, especially when considering any one single west coast Trader Joe's, or PCC.  It brings me to realize just how much I've come to expect exactly what I want when I want it...it's a humbling realization and one that travel is great for.  That being said, I do believe that no matter the location, culture, or level of socioeconomic complexity or development, every person alive should have access to naturally grown, highly nutritious food sources.  And It's not the easiest to find good greens and vibrant fresh veggies in general here.  We'd kill for a trip to sunny farms right now...

Clonmel Architecture

We went walking, shopping, and shooting in Clonmel today.  It was a blast.  It's most definitely a shopping center of this county and the fashions are very European.  Clonmel feels as though it's about twice the size of Cahir and it's very interesting how much colder the population seems.  Imaging, if you can, the difference in feel between Sequim and Silverdale (no offense if you're from Silverdale...you've a lovely town...).   But the shooting was wonderful and we got some fun pictures!  The architecture here is an interesting mixture of the old and the new Ireland.  Imaging if you can, taking an 18th century Victorian hamlet and pouring about 100 million Euro of corporate UK into it over the course of 10 years.  This place holds an antiquated beauty and beats with a very 21st century urban rhythm at the same time.  I suppose this urbanization is the trend all over the world.  To me, there is some kind of sadness in this.  Nevertheless, we've still captured some fun images.

A dry white at Tracy's

 Jet lag kills.  I don't think it really started to hit us until today, nearly 3 days after we traveled, but we ended up crashing for 3 hours, and we had planned on ended the day listening to music in a pub somewhere nearby, but instead we took up an invitation from our host Tracy, drank a dry white wine in her well warmed living room, and talked Irish history, politics, and castles.  all in all a very successful, very lovely day.











And now, pictures from Clonmel!  Noelle was shooting, so the pictures are of Braden, and they're good...

Braden in front of a red door

Flavored Greek yogurt.  Yum!

The streets of Clonmel

Beautiful Clark wedge

We don't know this person...he was just performing tricks on the street for money and we pitied him...

Ireland -Day 1

Hey friends, Braden here. Welcome to day one of Noelle Johnson's Smileblog. We are titling this assignment "Ireland", naturally. Since I'm accompanying Noelle on this assignment and since she's the prime picturist, much of the writing for this trek will be left to me.  On a similar note, I am in fact the first smile cataloged on this smile blog.  You can expect at least one smile (and it's story) every day, along with pictures from the story.  Enjoy!

A very happy Braden arrives at our holiday cottage, located in the middle of an Irish fairytale landscape...

This is both my and Noelle's first trip to Ireland and we are amazed at how green the ground is everywhere.  Thick-bladed grasses mix with peat moss, painting the ground from spindly hedge to spindly hedge. Ferns sprout themselves thickly along the length of deeply inset, ancient seeming stone walls. Driving around county Tipperary on roads barely wide enough for our red compact, I'm reminded of an earlier time, when horse and cart were the main source of transportation. Even in the heart of winter, one can't help but be amazed at the antiquated, natural beauty of this countryside. To me, it's astounding how many giant stone buildings still stand here, practically littering the countryside with centuries old architecture. It seems as though stone-built, moss-covered churches are as prevalent as 1970's era double-wides are back in the states...that may be an exaggeration, but you get the point.

I...I'm simply amazed.  So much meat...

We set out on our way to the town of Cahir  after a very steep left-side-of-the-road learning curve out of the Dublin airport, Noelle having nicknamed me "left-lane Braden" as a constant reminder. Along the way we stop to ask for directions, and snag the most peculiar breakfast sandwich I've ever eaten.  This was my first experience with "black pudding".  I'm a big fan.

 Old farm/barn ruins

About and hour and a half later we find ourselves walking drearily into "The Lazy Bean", a wondrous landing place for road-weary travelers needing that early morning diner/coffee shop.  Located in the center of Cahir's town square, we get into some much needed coffee, an almost surreal but pleasant conversation with a local Irish photographer, and then hit the all-too-arrow road once again to find our cottage and get some much needed sleep.  A few hours of willy-nilly driving and a run in with an abandoned Stone barn later, we find ourselves within the gates of the dream-like Irish farm-estate of the Shine family located deep within the landscape of South Tipperary county.  Being a densely agricultural region of Ireland, it should have been no surprise that our rental, named "The Granary" after it's previous function as a grain house, sits surrounded by lush green fields, a large hay barn, I think around 30+ (at my glancing count) head of milk and beef cows (presumably) , 2 chickens, a sweet black mutt, and a very friendly golden lab mix, who's name I can't currently recall.

The Granary

Our host, the very kind and hospitable Mrs. Tracy Shine greets us with fresh scones, coffee, and literally the best cup of tea I've ever tasted (Barry's Irish tea, or some such.  MUST bring some home).  After a run down on the Granary, and a short chat about her amazing scones, we finally crawl into our sleeping bags and hit the couch and bed (luckily this couch is crazy comfortable.  My back applauds you couch).  There's nothing like a warm sleeping bag and a crackling fire after 24+ hours of travel.


That's it for day 1 gang.  Hope you've enjoyed, and stay tuned day by day for more of our wonderful Smileblog adventures!

A very friendly, very cute farm dog partially responsible for saving the surviving 2 chickens from the local fox

Tracy's Scones!!

A light within the Granary

The Shine residence and our sweet Eurocar rental