Country Decor Blog

I’m combining my last two days due to a lack of internet access - again! Although Ireland isn’t a particularly large country, it does take a while to get from point A to point B. A combination of winding roads and frequent stops to take photographs can add hours to a drive! Such has been my experience in the past two days… 

Wednesday: A walk through the pretty town of Enniskillen revealed a number of fabulous small restaurants, including Taste (which is run by Belle Isle cookery school’s Liz Moore), and Scott’s. My ever-expanding waistline (don’t come to Ireland if you want to diet!) felt quite comfortable among the comfort food selections at Scott’s. Where I may have gone slightly astray was when I ordered a side-dish of champ (it arrived in a large serving bowl)!! A side of baby boiled potatoes actually contained a quantity of 18 potatoes (I counted), and the side dish of chips (also known as fries), was an equally large amount. I have never eaten so many potatoes in my life! Fortunately, I had my colleagues to share my meal with… I’ve found that a lot of the potatoes that we consume here is a variety called “Rooster.” For more about growing Irish potatoes, there’s a great website for Irish Potato Marketing: www.ipm.ie

We also had a fascinating visit to the Marble Arch caves geopark in Fermanagh county. This is truly an incredible experience. I’ve taken a paragraph from their visitors guide to describe it: 

The Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark is host to one of Europe’s finest showcaves allowing visitors to explore a fascinating, natural underworld of rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers. Lively and informative guides conduct tours past a bewildering variety of cave formations – stalactites glisten above stream ways and chambers while fragile mineral veils and cascades of creamy calcite coat walls and spread as shimmering terraces across rock strewn floors. Spectacular walkways allow easy access while powerful lighting reveals the stunning beauty and grandeur of the caves. Electrically powered boats glide through huge caverns carrying visitors along a subterranean river.

As much as I loved the caves and their history, nothing prepared me for the shocking beauty of the Donegal hills. I truly don’t think you can experience Ireland until you visit the Northwest. Stacey Haines and I spent the day travelling with our guide, Tim Conway, who drove us through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. (Kudos to Tim and his patience with our constant clamour of “Stop the car!!!! We have to take a photograph!!”) I have yet to download my photos - which I will do upon my return to Canada this Sunday - but here are some stunning shots supplied by the Irish Tourism Board to give you a sense of what we saw. From peat bogs to cliffs to hedgerows of fuchsia to views of the sea… It is truly heavenly…Such scenes are common in the Northwest of Ireland. The light is beautiful here, as Stacey will attest to. 

 

I simply love Ireland! We were also thrilled to discover a craft village in Donegal which is host to numerous artisans. In particular, I fell for the creative charms of weaver Clare O’Presco. Interestingly enough, her father is French Canadian! At any rate, she weaves with 100% wool Donegal tweed. Her work is intensely pretty and focuses on innovative use of colour. We also visited Triona Design in Ardara (30 winding minutes further up the road from Donegal), and were able to witness a weaver creating traditional Irish tweed. It felt like we’d stepped back in time…

For more information about traveling to Ireland, log on to www.discoverireland.com

Tags: Belle Isle Cookery School, champ, Clare O'Presco, Donegal, Donegal Craft Village, Donegal hills, Ireland, Irish potatoes, Irish tweed, Irish wool, mackeral, Marble Arch caves, peat, rooster potato, Stacey Haines, The Mill restaurant, Tourism Ireland, Triona tweed