Orange you greeen with envy? (for my "Ireland" friends)

So far, a gray/brown December... diminishing the holiday sparkle. Staying inside on this rainy afternoon, I sat by the window and looked through some photographs I took while touring southern Ireland this past summer. Although discovering similar nostalgia gray skies in the photos, they spoke differently...soft and transparent, sheathing through retired dwellings found along the luminous green countryside. I felt green with envy to travel again...

         With a little imagination (and maybe a bike)... I'll peddle back to Ireland for a few wistful glimpses...

Ahhh, a splash of color bonding the old with modern Dublin. The River Liffey (meaning "a life" in Irish) runs through the heart of Ireland.

A quick stop for a coffee at Red Rose Cafe (in honor of me mom, Rose)... Irish Coffee was created in 1942 by chef Joe Sheridan to warm-up travelers that disembarked in Foynes, a port-town in southwest Ireland, from an 18 hour trip across the Atlantic on a flying boat (that's another story).

Ingredients Coffee Brown sugar : 2 teaspoons Whipped cream Irish whiskey : 2 or 3 full big spoons

Anyone that knows me knows I can't pass by an art gallery without stopping... in the window a whimsical painting of two roosters... very similar to a design on a wine label (a bottle of La Vieille Ferme) I just bought...  inexpensive but lovely.  Deja vu, it's amazing how small reminders of a place turn-up unexpectedly.

"Top o' the mornin' to ya, Lassie", and the correct response to this Irish greeting, "And the balance of the day to yourself."

Too early for a Bulmers (Irish Cider)... maybe later, you don't have to be tall to order a tall one... the Smurfs will drink to that! :)
 

Although I may prefer a Guinness... the milk of Ireland (according to our taxi driver).

A view from the top of the Guinness Storehouse rooftop bar serving creamy pints of stout.  Ingredients (since 1759) of barley, water, hop and yeast... the secret that distinguishes Guinness Beer from others is in the brewing and the Irish have Arthur Guinness to thank for that, the original Brew Master, but shhh, it's a secret!

Old Jameson Distillery...
Ladies and Gentleman... not once, not twice but three time distilled, follow me into the other room to find out why (so many secrets in Ireland)! 

 Jameson combines malted barley with unmalted or "green" barley. The most famous component within Jameson is the "Pure Pot Still" distilling tradition.




 

Theater or a good book...so many renown writers lived in Dublin.  The script of "Hay Fever" was written by Noel Coward... which leads us to the Dublin Writer's Museum haunted by such writers as Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Ernest, James Joyce, Ulysses, and my favorite C.S. Lewis, Narnia chronicles... a wild sensation to be among the spirits of these great authors.

Getting late... ready to leave busy Dublin for the quiet lush green countryside...

                                                              Shlahn lyaht (Goodbye for now...)     

                                    To be continued...

                                                                  Guess I'll have to wait...      

    Orange you happy there's always something to look forward to?