Notes from a land of green

Back in town. Here’s the final Irish travelog.

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First world problems (an American in Ireland)

Hung out in Roundwood, County Wicklow for 4 days, in a newly-built stone cottage set in beautiful meadows with grazing sheep on one side and cows around the corner.

Our host made no mention in the AirBnb listing about the animals. No one who reviewed this place mentioned them either.

If they had, we would have considered it a positive.

This is an agrarian culture – there are stone walls and fences and animals everywhere. Even on the motorway they mow and bale the grass.

Tractors towing wagons share the impossibly narrow roads and park as cars in the villages.

The kitchen was nicely equipped. It might be code, but everywhere we stayed had electric switches next to the plug. You don’t unplug the toaster but flip the switch.

Jailed for Catholicism

We drove to Wicklow to check out the Gaol (jail) on a rainy Tuesday morning.

Mary Morse, dressed as the matron told, about the horrors of the place. It was inhumane, with cold, damp cells and horrible conditions. There were no toilets, just straw on the floors. A bit of porridge was the only ration.

Peasants could be sentenced for failing to pay taxes or hiding a priest. Catholics could be sentenced for being Catholic or harboring a Priest.

A sadistic Brit served as hangman and also administered whippings.

The escape to New Zealand or Australia only came for some and the journey included transport for 6-months in the hold of an ocean ship. Many of the females, if they survived, arrived in their new homeland pregnant. It was easy for sailors to manipulate inmates for sex in exchange for a bit of extra rations.

Mary told us many visitors descending from Ireland in New Zealand and Australia have retained more heritage than people in Ireland today.

Cliffwalking

Two days ago we went to the Glen Beach Cliffwalk near Wicklow Township adjacent to a Jack Nicklaus Golf Course. We kept hopscotching with an older couple moving slowly because of age. We move slowly because of photos and a need to take everything in. They do so because of age and a need to take everything in.

Eventually, we came together on an overlook with about a dozen seals below. After stalking each other for half an hour, conversation was imminent. Stan and Claire were very pleasant.

Claire was friendly but had a bit of a stutter and a heavy Irish dialect.

Stan and I bonded immediately over Keen sandals. because he was the 2nd person I saw here wearing them in almost 2 weeks.

He said he wears them all the time. They used to run a religious retreat in Ireland but live in England today.

My Keen sandals never made it out of my suitcase during our travels.

I asked him about the food scene here because it seemed easy to be a “locavore”. He said it was his first time back in about 10 or 12 years and things had changed for the better, at least as far as food.

Stan said he is a citizen of the world, a “John Lennonist” who focuses on listening to everyone and never getting worked up over politics. It’s always better to get lost listening to someone’s hard opinions and seeking to understand than to wallow in your own prejudices without ever listening.

He was born in Barbados and has traveled much. We talked a bit about what is broken with the world with young people finding their way more slowly, not buying homes and making babies the way they once did.

It was interesting to see his observations parallel my own from the United States.

He also discussed a common theme, whether in England or Germany where there seems to be a major influx of Africans or Ireland which has welcomed lots of Brazilians. They might be well-intentioned and hard working but it is a strain to help newcomers find a way forward and newcomers seem scorned by the common people.

I watched a brief video of a foreman in Springfield, Ohio talking about how reliable, hardworking and grateful his Haitian workers are. I hear the same thing from @bobconfer about his workforce.

Stan said he and Claire traveled to Germany and helped his daughter with volunteer work to benefit some new arrivals there.

We spoke briefly about politics, not sharing allegiances but admitting we both planned to watch the debate.

I woke at 2 a.m. and watched. I am now convinced Kamala Harris will vanquish the ex-President and, if the Republicans don’t start embracing more populist policies, they will be looking at losing the next four cycles because they have no young, likable, qualified voices in prominence. JD Vance is already a joke.

The embrace of an unqualified candidate by the Republican Party will result in our nation being forever changed. We are likely to see 8 years of Harris, 8 years of Buttigiej and a new second party formed on the left side of the status quo.

Roundwood Stores

When we came into Roundwood several days ago, we were attracted by a round stone gate and yellow fence at Round Wood Stores, an artisan grocery offering fresh vegetables, baked goods and local produce.

On our first visit, we looked around, bought pasta, imported parmesan and housemade mushroom truffle cream sauce.

We went back for breakfast. I had porridge with fresh berries, granola, almonds and jam. Beth had a berry scone.

Our food was so good we went back again. This time, I ordered salad, a Thai peanut cabbage salad and an intriguing fresh veggie salad with feta cheese, two ample servings of salad and a large service of greens on the side. The greens, undressed, included arugula, romaine and leaf lettuce. There was enough flavor on the plate and in the lettuce it didn't need improvement.

Our meal, an Americano and a Cappuccino, cost 27 Euros, about $30 US. As we rose to leave, the owner, Simon approached us. He knew who we were but we had never noticed him.

We chatted a spot about how good the food was and how awesome it was to find his place. He invited us next door and showed us the bar he recently opened which was not open on a Wednesday.

Upstairs he offers guest rooms. He loved that we appreciated his businesses and chose to spend time and money. Next door he owns a full-service restaurant which I am sure is just as excellent.

I don’t think a similar business could survive in Niagara Falls but the closest we have might be Power City Eatery.

A final pub stop

On the road to Wicklow, we passed Devil’s Glen. Beth made a note and found our way back there Wednesday.

We hiked about 5K to a waterfall in a lovely wooded valley filled with trees, sculptures and some poetry. It reminded us of the Finger Lakes.

We headed back to town for one final meal. Restaurant choices were sparse for a Wednesday in Roundwood. We made it to Byrne & Woods Gastropub.

We walked in.

"Is the kitchen open?" I asked. "For you, no, for her definitely" came the response. Beth had the seafood chowder. I ordered chicken wings, crispy hot. They were not. And they came with ranch not bleu.

I try to order wings in obscure places when we travel. They never are good. Hey call it a quirk.

One other thing: Contrary to rumor, the beer was not server warm but pleasantly cool.

A land of green

No tale of Ireland would be completed without discussion of environmental regulations.

Every container is compostable, from plastic in packaging to coffee cups. Kinvarra Market has an ongoing drive to eliminate plastic from the market.

You can buy a bag in the grocery store, but it is going to cost you 1 Euro and it is thicker plastic, designed for reuses.

Public garbage, say at the airport, has 3 bins. Compostable, recyclable and general waste.

If you order a takeout meal, it comes with wooden tableware. Want to stir sugar in your coffee? Use a wooden knife.

Heating controls in two places we stayed were computerized on timers.

Plugs all have on/off switches. Hence, the phantom electricity drained from the kitchen appliance you never unplug or anything else doesn’t matter.

Every bit of land is used. They even let the motor way roadside grow so it can be mowed and baled for hay.

The Dacia Jogger

The stylized D on the logo makes it hard to read but Dacia is a Renault-owned Romanian car company.

Our rental car, from Sixt through Flivver, was a small, hybrid SUV.

After I took a bus to the airport to pick it up, Emma from Sixt reviewed the agreement and then hit me with the final question: “Have you ever driven on the left before?”
She gave me a sheet listing hints and common mistakes and including a diagram about roundabouts.

Logic is the same as here. The driver in the circle has the right-of-way. Keep left. Travel clockwise.

Think of it as an upgraded and up-sized Prius. In the US it would be roughly the size of a Subaru Impreza wagon. If it about were sold here, there would be a waiting list. The version we drove cost about $31,000 US dollars new. A Corolla hybrid from Toyota would be comparably priced.

The Jogger comes with a keyless remote. Walk within 5-feet and it unlocks. Walk more than 5-feet away and it locks.

The dash was all digital. It made a noise when locking. A different noise when unlocking. A musical tone when you hit the ignition button and of course was replete with annoying proximity censors.

It also would not move if your seatbelt was unbuckled and it beeped if the rear passengers did not buckle up.

On the touch screen was a sound button to silence every instance. However going down the 80 kph (50 mph) road, when oncoming traffic happens, you will squeeze left toward the stone wall and get an annoying warning beep. The same beeps will sound everytime you enter or leave the driveway through the narrow gate framed with bushes.

Surprisingly, the car was not underpowered. It was, however, very small by our standards. Bicycles, and public transportation are everywhere.

While we live in a car-centric society, Ireland no longer does. I think it is a matter of economics. Cars, gas, and insurance are expensive. We filled once. It cost $79 US and gets about 49 mph.

Thank God for Beth planning this trip. I could never.