Wednesday, May 27, 2009

11 Miles to Kinsale

Two days ago I talked about our drive to Kinsale, but one of the things I didn't mention was how many times we saw a sign that said "Kinsale 11."

Seriously.

We'd drive a few miles, kilometers, units, whatever, we'd drive. Sign - Kinsale 11

We'd drive half a mile - Kinsale 8

We'd drive another mile or so - Kinsale 11

It was maddening.

It was like there really was no unit of measure. At one corner there was a sign that said Kinsale 11 and on the other corner Kinsale was 9 LOL

Well, we did arrive with very little trouble and I have no idea how far it was to Kinsale.


photo by Alison Alfredson

When we pulled into town and parked, I immediately saw my family -- Alison was taking a picture of this stairway. I never got a chance to take a picture of them myself - good thing my sister did - aren't they cool looking?!


Once again, the Gallery B&B photos - Alison took both of these photos.

Kinsale is a part of the Tidy Towns Ireland contest. They've been first, they've been last, they've been everywhere in between. This year they are doing a lot of road improvements so they decided not to enter, but next year they plan on winning the entire thing - the person in charge of the Kinsale committee owns the paint store :)

Ahhh, but Tidy Towns isn't just about paint, it's about the litter control, landscaping, improvements to streets, roads, shop fronts, rural areas, neighborhoods, wildlife areas and so many other things. But I have to say - those places that have been a part of the Tidy Town campaign for many years, tended to be a lot like Kinsale...full of vibrant colors.

I wrote two blog posts while I was in Kinsale - you can read them here - I'm in Ireland & Day 2 Kinsale

After getting settled into our rooms, we set off for dinner. Our hosts at the Gallery B&B Carol, told us about this tapas place down by the harbor. Vista.

I didn't take any photos of the food because we had so many dishes, but I did write down a few of the dishes. We had a seafood plate, piquillos, a cheese board with Irish cheeses - one was called Marchego cheese...I really liked that one - Antipasti plate, seafood chowder, fish cake, Thai chicken and a pizza Margherita. These were all small plates of food - usually we just got a few bites. Some of the plates were loved by all and some by just a few. We managed to eat every bite.

The wind was just howling on the harbor, but the boats were relatively still. I'm not a huge fan of boats, but it was just fascinating to see them all.

Photo by Alison Alfredson

I liked the way the sun was hitting the colorful homes in the background.

After our meal we wandered back to our Kinsale home - we took a look at a few of the pubs and restaurants that we passed, but pretty much we just went back to our room and fell sound asleep.

Another day in Ireland. It's been a blast.

Kristin

5 comments:

Keetha Broyles said...

That "tidy town" is ADORABLE!!!

Sharinskishe said...

How colorful! I am not sure I could live with such vibrant colors surrounding me, but it does well in tidying up, I think. I am glad they are taking pride in their town(s) and working to keep them clean and tidy. A lesson some of our places here could do with!

Thanks for sharing!!

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

Beautiful! I wonder if Allison would mind if I saved the copy ot the stairs? I t is lovely, I love it as much as the yellow sign (close up). Great eye! I love seeing it through you all. THX!

Terri said...

cool! sorry I've been away so long, didn't even know you were going to Ireland. Can't wait to hear and see all about it!

j said...

AWESOME photographs. You make me feel like I'm there!!