Smileblog: 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!