EAST COAST, Ireland and can I just say.......

The Ardulain was a good night.  Except for the bed which was like a marble tabletop but I took a half an Ambien anticipating problems and had a decent nights sleep.  This morning, Sunday, we drove into town to have a look around.  In Southern Ireland, the Republic (very Catholic), everything is closed on a Sunday.  All we could do is a little sightseeing by car and buy gas which we needed.  So we went back up to the hotel and walked the neighborhood for a little stretch of the legs before we headed off to the East Coast.  The breakfasts here in Ireland are all, well, Irish breakfasts.  Meaning, eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding, white pudding, mushrooms, half grilled tomato, beans, toast etc.  HEAVY.  So after my bowl of fruit and yogurt and an egg and one sausage and one half piece of toast.....shower.....and then we're off to the east coast!

A beautifully set dining room table at the Ardulain

The grounds of the hotel

 Can I just pause a  moment and just say a word about coins.  Each day I made sure I have my reading glasses, sun glasses, camera, wallet, lipstick and pill box in my purse.  That's it.  Nothing too heavy.  So why is it day after day my handbag seems to be getting heavier and heavier?  The answer.....

Tons of coins.

 Now in the states I might have a dozen coins but usually not even that many.  Here I have 40ish and they are all different shapes and sizes and thicknesses.  In the states I reach in and pick out what I need.  Here I have to put my glasses on and read each coin to figure out what it is!  Except for pound coins - they are the thickest and heaviest.  The other thing is, I've thrown British coins in with the Euro's which are used here in the Republic of Ireland so that just further confuses things for me.

Each of these coins is different in valuation.  How's anyone supposed to remember that???

 Okay, now that I've gotten that off my chest, just before leaving the Ardulain I snapped off another couple of pics.  Here's the gatehouse entry.

Apparently children here have short legs and long torsos.

I don't even know what to say about this sign.

The drive from the hotel

 It was a straight shot to our next village of Collon on the M6 which cuts across Ireland from East to West.  It took us about 2 hours and 45 minutes only stopping to switch driving duties.  We were greeted by a very nice gentleman, Michal McMahon, at the entry of Collon House which was built in the 1700's.

And led to our "bedchamber"!

Obviously our bedroom

And our sitting room!

Too bad we don't have any friends here so we could have a party!

This place is huge!

Above the mantle in our sitting room

There's a courtyard into another building that has a huge kitchen, dining room and other bedrooms

Courtyard with Virginia Creeper

Looking back at our house

Part of the gardens.

 We had a cup of tea and slice of lemon cake with Michael before heading out to dinner in Drogheda.  By the way I was pronouncing Drogheda like you would in the Thorn Birds.  Wrong.  I was told it was droga-da...emphasis being on the droga.  But Michael pronounces is Droda.  Everything in the middle is silent.
Anyway, I had researched places to eat and found this restaurant that appealed to me by name only.  The Eastern Seaboard Bar and Grill.  No wonder right?  Turns out this restaurant is owned by an American and serves FANTASTIC food!!!

We sat at the bar and ordered crab cakes and mussels and a lamb shank, splitting it all. 

Bison and American flag....just like home!

 As we headed off back to the bed and breakfast we made a stop at an old Abbey not far from Collon village.

And I checked to make sure I had our room key!  They love their skeleton keys over here!

Back at the B&B we met the other residents of the B&B, Michael's business partner, John and Eddie and Jane from NY who had also just arrived.  Michael opened a nice red wine and we sipped and visited.

Today we are off to Newgrange to see burial mounds dating from 5000 BC and to the land of the Battle of the Boyne.  It's another beautiful blue sky day and dry and clear.  What luck!  Is it the luck of the Irish?