Thank you for the coffee

January 5, 2024January 5, 2024 | Mairead

And we’re back in Osaka. We arrived by bullet train but I slept through most of it. I’m coming down with something. (If you’re waiting for pictures of the toilets on the bulletin board train, sorry, we’ll be travelling again at the end of the week and hopefully I’ll be awake enough to go check them out!)

We arrived in Shin-Osaka station again and took the metro 9 stops to our hotel. When we got out at the station we realised we were somewhere very different. Our first hotel near the bridge to the airport was in a very modern area but here we have gone back in time. The streets are full of people, shops, food stalls, lights, casinos, and a train the crosses the footpath and runs between the buildings.

Walking along the footpath and the train comes out between two buildings… this is different but it works

There are also plenty of combinis. The combini is a convenience store. A corner shop would be similar except the combini provides so much. You want to get tickets printed? Go to the combini. You want a cold snack, a microwave snack and you don’t have a microwave, go to the combine. You want to post within Japan, get groceries or hot coffee, cold coffee, toothpaste?Combini is for you. They are literally on every street, maybe twice or three times. There’s two names we keep seeing, 7Eleven and Lawsons but there’s plenty more.

Here’s some – HOT – coffee at the combini. There is heat coming from the shelves keeping the drinks hot. There’s also a coffee machine if you want your coffee old school

We were looking for a throat gargle and realise there something the combini doesn’t do – medicines. We looked up and down the streets for the blue cross international symbol for chemist or medical centre but there was nothing. Passing a small doorway, which looked like the entrance to a storeroom I could see an old counter. Further in some basic shelves with what looked like boxes of medicine. I don’t know what made them look like medicine, are all medicines a particular colour or hue? Maybe. Anyway I was willing to walk into this tardis and find out.

We approached the counter. A woman in a white mask appeared and using a combination of phone translate and miming to gargle, she understood and brought us something and even explained how to use it. Easy. Even easier was when we got back to the hotel we saw there were instructions in English on the box too. Easy.

We have stayed at three different hotels on this trip so far and we will stay at two more before we leave and each has been different and great in their own way. The first one had a great view, a deep bath and hot water all the time, there was also loads of space for charging our phones, watches and laptop. The second one was smaller but adorable for that with so much squeezed into the space. The powerful shower in your room and an onsen on the 14th floor.

An onsen is a public bath where everyone is comfortable being naked. Yes, what a great opportunity to try something different and so handy in our hotel (which by the way was a fraction of the cost of a hotel in Dublin). But alas no, we did not take the opportunity. It sounded lovely and warm and relaxing (maybe not relaxing now that I think of it) you shower first before you go in and the main rule is you can’t wear anything in there, not even a towel. I’m not sure but I think there’s separate male and female areas? Probably.

Now this hotel, closer to the centre of Osaka, is more like an apartment with part time reception. We have a large fridge, bins, hob, microwave, bath, shower and balcony – with our very own emergency ladder… We have to work out how to heat the water though. There are instructions but I tried last night and each time a Japanese voice told me something but I don’t know what. I’ll try again. I’d love a bath, the Japanese baths are so deep. But just on my own…

Sunset by the tracks… of the train, that crosses the footpath

We had a plan this morning to go for breakfast at a traditional cafe just around the corner. It was hard to find because it didn’t stand out but inside it was like we’d gone back in time. There was a sign saying no photos, so I’m sorry to say there are no photos instead I’ll try to paint a picture.

Here’s the outside of our breakfast cafe. A secret doorway to deliciousness

Everything is in dark wood, there’s a counter to the right with seats and behind the counter an older lady is making coffee with very strange implements. On the right are a number of tables, maybe five filled with customers. The coffee making implement is like a large glass with a test tube coming out of the base. Where the glass and tube meet there’s a paper filter squished and layered in place. The older lady is putting ground coffee into the glass and adding water. She swirls the water. And the coffee drips out from the tube. She is doing this continuously making coffee for all the people here. Her assistant is younger, maybe a daughter? They have a very familiar relationship and it seems like the older lady is the boss.

Lunch was takeaway, less subtle but equally delicious

The very friendly assistant brings us a menu (with English names) and we order coffee and toast, normal for Denis and cinnamon for me. The toast is what we used to call a doorstep – really thick cut, maybe two inches thick (5cm). It’s very lightly toasted so that the bread in the middle is still soft and it’s also slightly gooey. When you pull it apart it separates in layers. It is divine. Definitely worth the calories. Our coffee comes in white china cups on saucers. As we eat and drink I notice behind the counter there are shelves with more old china cups and saucers and tea pots. And a small drawing of the coffee apparatus with some Japanese writing, I imagine someone who enjoyed this experience drew it and wrote, Thank you for the coffee.

There’s the train on the footpath again!

Leaving, the old lady and her assistant say, goodbye and we say, Arigatō (thank you) and smile, she gets back to her coffee and we get back to wandering. I suppose it goes to show you can’t be judging the inside by the outside, be it chemist or cafe… or your body in the onsen?

Family Time

January 4, 2024January 4, 2024 | Mairead

There’s a big tower in Central Park, Nagoya

We’ve been spending time with the son and daughter-in-law getting a tour of Nagoya and having a meal with Shiori’s family.

Yesterday morning we walked through a lovely area of Nagoya called Central Park. But first we had breakfast at Komeda’s. This is where you get free toast and boiled egg with your coffee! Very economical. All the expensive shops are in Central Park but there was only one shop I wanted to visit – the stationery shop! The Japanese are legendary for their cute stationery items and Shiori had promised me lots of opportunities for browsing. If paper crafting isn’t your thing (and why isn’t it?) you may not know what you’re missing. I have some photos to show you.

The shopping baskets are tiny with my tiny post -its

If we didn’t travel so light I might have more… might be a little overkill to buy checked in bag space for stationery?

Muji is a Japanese shop where you can buy household stuff and clothes and food and where I got the tiny spatula and Darragh got some t-shirts.

And then there’s a whole warren of shopping under the streets of Nagoya. We visited a second hand clothes shop, a chemist (we have a need for paracetamol which is Tylenol here) a sock shop and a restaurant (where we had Udon noodles – yummy) but we could have easily browsed for hours visiting shop after shop. We didn’t have the energy so we went back to the hotel and the young ones shopped some more.

When we were back up on streets level I heard what sounded like a politician with a loudspeaker telling us to vote for him but it wasn’t , it was an ambulance… yes. Shiori explained later that the ambulance has to ask people to get out of the way because it’s not a given that they will! So they say, “going through a red light, please stop”, “going through a pedestrian crossing, please wait”. Humans are very confusing… everyone here seems to pay attention to the rules and are very polite and friendly but for some reason they ignore ambulances…

Below ground under the streets is full of shops and restaurants

Last night we went to a Korean restaurant in Shiori’s home town. It’s called a Yakiniku restaurant and you get to grill your own food. We had a room to ourselves and we sat at a big table with two grills set into it. The table was lower than the floor but there was space for our legs underneath, making it easy for us westerners to sit without embarrassment. Although getting back up was a little messy, I don’t think anyone noticed…

When we arrived at the restaurant we were welcomed by the staff and we each took off our shoes and put them in a cupboard just outside our private room door. There were a couple of pairs of flip flops nearby and I inquired if I needed to wear them but no they were to use if any of us wanted to go to the bathroom. Then the ordering began. Shiori’s sister ordered using her phone and soon there were drinks and platters of vegetables and meats and bowls of rice arriving on the table.

And when we’d finished those platters there were more. The vegetables were familiar but the meats were very different. There was wagu beef also and pork and chicken, so much variety. First of all – delicious. You know when people say it just melts in your mouth ? Most of these meats did just that!

Second meat platter. Thats the intestine on the far right -yum!

And there was the memories of childhood – did you have ox tongue as a child? I had but it was in thicker chunks cut across the tongue and I’ve no idea how it was cooked. This tongue was cut lengthwise and paper thin. Then there was beef guts, possibly intestine? Well, I was seriously full by then but I just had to try it. And it was remarkably tasty. Very fatty which of course gives it taste but the way they flavour the dishes also makes a difference.

We got back late after the dinner each of us (except Darragh) falling asleep on the train. They would be going to a Japanese theme park in the morning while we were going back to Osaka on the Shinkansen.

Just in case you’re in a restaurant and there’s two soap dispensers… the green one on the right is mouthwash. (Shiori told me)

It was so lovely to meet our Japanese in-laws. And you know it’s funny, language isn’t as crucial as you would think. Yes Shiori was busy translating but when there was silence we didn’t fill it, filling it would have been unhelpful anyways. In fact filling silence is always unhelpful so we were lucky not to be able to chuck in some easy small talk if we felt uncomfortable. But for some reason it didn’t feel uncomfortable and that might have been because we were all cooking together. (To be honest Shiori’s Mum did most of the cooking for Denis and I and we were very happy with that!) And in the silence you communicate with your eyes, your hands your smiles and your nodding head. There’s a lot more going on besides language.

Of course they are not our in-laws but I don’t know a word that describes this relationship between two families drawn together accidentally through their offspring and lasting generations. It should have a name so we can talk about it.

Oh and do you remember my palms together bow? Well, right at the end of the meal, each member of Shiori’s family put their palms together and said thank you to the food! That’s what the palm together bow is for here, like grace after meals but not to god, to the food, for sustaining us maybe, for dying so that we might be nourished. Of course I shared my experiences of bowing like that. I don’t mean to brag but I seem to have a back for making the Japanese laugh. Oh and one more thing, do you remember my picture of Mt Fuji from the bullet train? Yes well it seems I may have taken a picture of a completely different mountain. But after a bit of discussion and Shiori’s translation (Me:but I told everyone it was Mt. Fuji) everyone agreed, yes it was Mt. Fuji.

It’s probably not.

I Love Tapas!

May 14, 2023May 13, 2023 | Mairead

And then we were back in Vila Nova de Cerveira (you’ll be needing my map for this one…) for the night. Travelling the way we do means we often have ~~problems~~ challenges to work out. Our attitude when one of these challenges arises is key to getting through it without ~~killing each other~~ life changing consequences. So whenever we solve something like the lack of strong data we celebrate with a high five or an extra coffee or even a meal out.

My Aubergine gratin and behind it Denis’ mushrooms in lemon with a little cheese grated on top

We found (thank you google maps) a great tapas restaurant called Curt’isso in Vila Nova de Cerveira. Tapas is a Spanish thing and it means a small snack but they are so much more. They are usually small but small is a relative measure so you can end up very easily ordering too much. I suppose it’s like getting lots of starters instead of one big meal. They can be cold or hot, simple or exotic. I love it. It’s difficult but I always try to start with one and order a second if I’m still hungry. Denis does something else…

Denis’ fried potatoes with two different dips, one tomato the other possibly red pepper

Anyway we decided to celebrate and go to Curt’isso and we were not disappointed. Every dish was different and my mouth is watering just thinking about them now. Denis was a little disappointed because he couldn’t finish… he ordered 4, hmmm.

My sardine on pesto bruschetta. Look at me eating fish!

Next day we head for Spain and the city of Pontevedra (see map below) and would you believe we have a problem again with data. So off we go along the inlet to what turns out to be a beautiful place called Poio. The data there was great and at the end of the day we returned to the city.

Unfortunately, there was a new problem when we arrived back – no space at the motorhome parking. Made worse by the fact that we had received a recommendation for a tapas place from a local and we had been imagining all day rushing off to dinner the moment we arrived back. But no… we had to drive on. And on. Two hours later we arrived at a car park in the Camino city of Santiago de Compostela! (Hello Helena!)

This is the only picture we took in Santiago de Compostela at Cafe Bar 13. Denis had scallops and I had a potato, chorizo and fried egg dish

Fortunately for us the Spanish eat late. We were sitting down to our celebratory tapas dinner at 10pm. The following night we had breakfast cereal for dinner. Living the dream.

My map is suffering from lack of advance planning. I may have to move to Map Edition 2. Also, I seem to have hugely underestimated the size of north west Spain. Plus, there’s a very attractive and large inlet missing at Vila Nova de Cerveira and another at Pontevedra… map making is not without its own challenges

Porto 2023 Part 2

May 10, 2023May 10, 2023 | Mairead

We were off and the first thing we learned was Clara knows Ireland! She once visited her brother who works in Dublin. Both she and he love Dublin. I was chatting with a friend on emails about how we Irish always think we’re going to meet a neighbour (or cousin or someone who knows someone) who just happens to be in the same county on holidays at the same time as us… And here we were in almost that situation… no, not exactly but you know we are going to look up her brother.

Our tour was off to a great start, we were now discussing how very alike the Irish and Portuguese are, something I have believed for a while. We’re very friendly, curious, interested, maybe even a bit nosey? We’re a bit, sure it’ll be grand, no rush, have another cup of tea – the Portuguese love tea too. But Clara insisted we really had to get on with the tour so we did. First stop was an old fashioned grocery store. It was a small exquisitely cared for space. There was fruit, nuts, sweets, wine, port, tins of sardines and chocolate. All Portuguese products.

Clara explained that these shops have had approaches from big food companies interested in buying their property in order to put in a fast food (or other) outlet. We felt very grateful that this hadn’t happened and we could stand in a place that had served generations in Porto. But I can imagine these shops and others like them in cities all over the world won’t be here forever, especially if we’re not buying from them, supporting them.

Marriage… I think that’s what the shop owner said this was called

Then we were off to the Bolhão market. This farmers and producers market has been closed for renovations for three years but now it’s back in business and it’s busy. Everyone seems very happy to be back. The market building itself is open to the air but the market stalls are covered. This makes for a very pleasant visit, no fishy smells and protection if it rains. One thing we noticed was plenty of people sitting around eating and soaking up the atmosphere.

From upstairs looking down into the Bolhão market

This is the market where I wanted to ask lots of questions about how I should behave in general at markets. Like, Can I take pictures? How will I cook unfamiliar foods? Will they gut the fish? The big answer is, Don’t be afraid to make mistakes! That’s actually the answer to most of my questions about behaviour… but maybe that’s not just me. The gist of what Clara said was, Just open your heart, trust your voice and ask. Most people will speak English or the other shoppers will help. And yes, it’s ok to take pictures. The stall holders are so passionate about their produce that they are happy to help in ways that allow you to support them. They won’t be here either if we don’t buy from them, support them.

Minerva have been canning sardines (and other fish) in a Portugal since 1942. I had to admit I thought all the tins of sardines were just for decoration. Well, they are very attractive, but no, they are also for eating. We tasted tuna in olive oil and it was very good. The lady who was giving the tasting loved her product and that made the visit very enjoyable. Clara’s other job is in advertising or maybe it was marketing… anyway, we had a very interesting conversation about packaging. Packaging helps us buy and support producers. I love Minerva’s packaging.

We also visited the Portuguese chocolate shop, Casa do Chocolate, where I had a caramel chocolate (yum!) and the Pastel de Nata bakery where I had another lovely nata… cannot get enough of the natas.

What do you get when you cross a chemist with a painter? Meia Dúzia! Here we tasted the food created by a chemist who was a painter in his spare time. His creation looks like paint. This tasting was the most fun and really appealed to me because I never feel creative when it’s time to make dinner but… ingredients that look like I’m about to play with paint? I can enjoy that! You are probably familiar with a crushed garlic product that you get in a plastic tube? Well this is much more interesting. There were over 30 different tubes of things like olive paste or chocolate orange or fig. We tasted most of them! There wasn’t one I didn’t like. And all made with Portuguese produce.

Paint? No! And it’s okay to play with your food!

Our last visit was to a tiny restaurant where we chatted about writing, poets in Portugal, history including the dictatorship that lasted for 50 years in Portugal and ended in 1974, when the dictator died, followed by a peaceful revolution. And while we chatted we ate threes different types of ham, three different types of bread and olive oil. And then it was all over. We were sad to say goodbye to Clara, she had made our visit to Porto so enjoyable and we won’t forget her… and we’ll definitely be looking up her brother.

Two types of bread, Bacalhau (cod fish cake) and olive oil. The brown bread tasted like fudge to me. Lots of villages in Portugal seems to have their own version of bread

Clara pointed us in the direction of São Bento and we rambled down the steep hill. We were tired and ready for bed but it was only 3.30pm and we had a train journey to take first.

Clara’s route to São Bento had the best view

At the station we saw a photo exhibition with photos from journalists taken in 1974 on the day of the peaceful revolution. One showed two soldiers with rifles and in the muzzle of each gun was a carnation. Clara had told us earlier that the people wanted democracy and the army were fed up fighting with their own so when someone put flowers in their guns, they didn’t stop them. Freedom Day is celebrated on the 25 of April each year.

Photograph in the station. Can you see the carnation?

The train driver got off the train again on the way home but this time we knew what to do – wait, soon you will be going in a different direction. We loved our tour with Clara in Porto. I know what to do in the markets and on the trains and I know flowers can be powerful.

Into the Ibis

June 14, 2019June 21, 2019 | Mairead

(Our new home…)

We are in our room at the Ibis hotel in Niort. The room is bigger than Ruby and the toilet doesn’t need to be emptied. There is hot water, a shower and the high point: a bath! I am cleaner than I’ve been for 72 days. This is the life. Although we do miss a kitchen.

(Not McDonald’s breakfast…)

We’ve had breakfast and lunch in McDonalds and we went to a restaurant in the French chain, Au Coutelle for a snack. Which turned out to be a bit more complicated than we imagined. We spotted a lovely sounding platter of meats and patês.

(These wildflowers are everywhere)

They take the drinks orders first and Denis ordered a glass of wine while I had a mint juice drink. Then the very young food waiter arrived and we told him we would just have the platter, between us. He was a little taken back and asked hadn’t Denis ordered a drink? We agreed yes he indeed had.

(Can’t get enough of the blue)

Fortunately he spoke the next bit in English because it was getting a little complicated. “Oh you must have a main course meal if you have alcohol” Denis looked at me and I looked back, well that’s interesting, we were saying, in silence. More food? Less alcohol? Denis picked the second. I said, Stop the alcohol order and he (literally) ran to the kitchen.

(Old mile marker)

Very soon he arrived back and said he had talked to his supervisor and it was ok but… (looking at Denis and holding up one finger) you can only have one! Denis promised he would only have one. One small glass of wine was produced. The platter was indeed very good.

(There was a bread machine in Benet too)

It’s funny what you miss when you’re just visiting… there may be a particular alcohol license that requires a full meal? Or this chain is concerned about food intake versus alcohol intake? Or… well, I don’t know what else…

Learning the customs, Mairead.

Yum, Yum, Yum!

April 1, 2018 | Mairead

2018 2

(The restaurant was closed this morning when I went to take a photo so you won’t see how lovely it looked when the lights were shining, but remember the Portuguese Cafe God? The architecture is Art Deco)

We had a lovely restaurant experience last night. I forgot to bring my camera and I forgot to take pictures of the food with my phone. It was just lovely and now there’s no proof. I found the restaurant on the internet and even though it had a strange name I got a good feeling from the reviews. It’s called Art Deco Cafe and the reason became clear when I went back to the a picture of it today. But back to the reviews, they weren’t all good in fact one was very critical but the owner replied to the reviewer in English and in a quirky way. So I was in.

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(This is a different cafe celebrating 125 years in business!)

I’m reading another book called Getting Messy: A Guide to Taking Risks and Opening the Imagination for Teachers, Trainers, Coaches and Mentors (long name!) by Kim Hermanson. It’s really interesting and it talks about becoming more aware of how you feel when you’re reading something or talking to someone because that’s feedback of your experience and that’s where your wisdom lies. So for instance, when I was reading the review for the restaurant, I could be wondering if the critical reviewer was a better judge of food than me. But what’s more useful is to notice what I’m feeling as I read the review (and the reply). I was feeling even more curious about the restaurant than I had been. I felt it might be worth visiting.

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(Spring is here)

It was worth visiting. It was a tapas restaurant and as we can’t read Portuguese and we didn’t recognise any of the options we asked for suggestions and they were great suggestions. We started with a sheep’s cheese from northern Portugal that was melted with olive oil and some herbs and the top of it was crusty – yum. Then we had a baked sausage that was soft like a pie with toasted flaked almonds on top served with an apple sauce – yum, yum. And finally we had brochette with sardines and tomatoes on top – yum, yum, yum. I hope I’m getting across that I loved it and Denis did too.

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(Love the streets)

It wasn’t just a food experience there was music too. One wall was covered with LP covers and there was a mixture of jazz and Leonard Cohen playing in the background. The furniture was also interesting, I’m guessing it was from whenever Art Deco is from but it could have been from the 70’s. There was also a little entertainment. The only other diners, a young couple were having a heated discussion and as luck would have it their language in common was English. The music volume was little too high and Denis was talking non stop about a Mars expedition so the details of their discussion escaped me. They did leave hand in hand, though.

I will definitely trust my feelings when I read a review from now on. Mairead.

Beware – food pictures!

March 14, 2018March 14, 2018 | Mairead

2018 3

(Denis can hardly wait to get inside the door of TimeOut Market, Mercado de Ribeira)

Forgot to tell you – yesterday was a beautiful day! A little bit of sunshine and no rain! We woke this morning, surprisingly surprised to hear rain on the roof. We had forgotten that we chose yesterday to go to Lisbon because the Weather app promised cloudy with sun! It promised rain today.

2018 1 1

(My favourite stall)

We have moved to a beautiful place but it’s way too windy and wet to have a look so we are parked in a free aire, five minutes drive from the town and two minutes from a nice supermarket. I really want to bring you pictures of the town tomorrow because it looked amazing through the windscreen. Maybe I should check the weather app. Ok I checked the weather app… might have to take pictures through the windscreen.

(I choose steak in a cream sauce and spinach in a cream sauce… It was very good but I wish I’d chosen Denis’ meal)

Fortunately I do have some food pictures from yesterday in Lisboa. Denis knew almost immediately what he wanted to eat and he even had a suggestion for me. But I wanted to look for myself so I wandered round and round and got more and more confused. Eventually I saw a picture of the meal I thought looked good and choose that.. without noticing the price.

(Denis choose pork crackling with special pickle sandwich – it was amazing, he shared. Those crisps were hot and tasted like potatoes…)

When we compared receipts mine was double the price of his… so top tip if you go here (and I recommend you do) check out the prices as well as the nice pictures.

My mouth is watering, Mairead.

Bright lights, big city, sleepy time.

September 17, 2013September 17, 2013 | Mairead

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(The street full of restaurants in La Rochelle)

Not a lot happening here today, working away on my crafting. Forgot to mention that we went to the big city on Friday. After our first weekend and becoming accustomed to how things work in France – opening times, closed days, etc. – we came to a decision that weekends would consist heretofore of a Friday and a Sunday. The Friday could include shopping expeditions, trips to the big city and general touristy things. The Sunday would be for long walks and lunch out while remembering to be at a lunch establishment within the golden hour of 12.30pm to 1.30pm… just in case. Just in case they closed!

1609b

(Pretty boats)

So, we got up early on Friday as excited as children on Christmas morning (well I was, Denis was just complaining about the time.) We let the hens out with enough food and water to last until Monday and we were driving down the road by 10am. By 10.10am we were driving past our back gate for the second time. It did look familiar. We had driven off before the sat nav had connected with the satellites (seemingly that’s how it works – there isn’t someone in there) and by the time connection happened we were facing the wrong direction. Usually the nice lady says “Take the next U-turn” but around here there are so many road options she decided to take us around in a circle back to the start. Off we went again.

1609f

(While Denis was taking pictures of the slipway (above) he heard some shouts of “Monsieur, s’il vous plait?” He had got in the way of the photographers taking pictures of (possibly) famous people?)

The big city was La Rochelle and it was an hour away. Living in the country, tuning into the wild life and my creative impulses and communing with the hens seems to have had an effect already. As we got closer to the city I was becoming more and more restless. There was a lot of traffic and a lot of people and the nice lady in the sat nav was giving lots of instructions and did I mention the traffic? By the time we got to Decathlon (for the runners and the rucksack) I was ready to go home to the nice peaceful place, yes peace, hmmmmm. But as there was promise of lunch I put on a brave face and struggled on.

1609d

(Here’s a good look at the (potentially) famous people…. any ideas?)

By the time we left Decathlon it was dangerously close to the start of the golden hour (yes, 90 minutes in a sports supermarket!) Twenty minutes later we were moving through the pretty port of La Rochelle very slowly in heavy traffic looking for a place to park. There were plenty of places and we managed to park very close to a street full of restaurants. We picked one and either they were all really good or we were incredible lucky (again.) It was great. I had Sea Bream on a bed of risotto on top of a little fat crepe – yum. No idea what Denis had I hardly lifted my head to breathe – yum,yum. Sorry, no pictures 😦

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(One of the towers protecting the port of La Rochelle)

After lunch we walked around the streets remembering the last time we were here but soon I had enough and we headed back to the car. We had more shopping to do – grocery shopping. We had spotted a huge supermarket on the way in that morning and decided we go back there and get everything under one roof. The normal sized supermarket for this particular chain is called Super U and this one was called Hyper U. I know where it gets its name. It made me feel very hyper. It was ginormous. The sales assistants wore roller blades to get around! An hour passed like a flash. Less than an hour after that we finally found the car (note to self: write down the car park section number, you never remember it) and promised each other we would never, never do that again. Fridays next time would consist of either hyper shopping or little shopping or tourist-ing but never all three.

I’m tired just thinking about it, Mairead.

Killruddery Farm Market is on again this Saturday.

August 2, 2012August 2, 2012 | Mairead

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(This way…)

Last month we went to the Killruddery Farm Market again and it was lovely again. As it happens only once a month (for the moment) I decided to keep the pictures until just before this month’s one, so that anyone who is inspired to visit can do so. It will take place this Saturday 4th August and starts at ten am, (http://www.killruddery.com/whats-on/july-farm-market/)

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(Margaret and a small selection of her creations)

You might remember I met Fiona from Treasurepalace designs (http://www.treasurepalacedesigns.com) well, she’s encouraged her neighbour Margaret to come along and set up a stall. Margaret has been making and sewing for “years and years” and she does it for different charities. People give her material all the time and she turns it into something beautiful. The result of these gifts of material is that no two finished items are the same. Margaret makes whatever she can with whatever she has – creativity.

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(Treasurepalace’s stall – notice the dried Hydrangea? Margaret showed Fiona how to do that!)

After our chat we went off for some coffee and I had a blueberry scone. We were sitting at the long table in the middle of the market and we got talking to some other market goers (they were eating the crepes, yum!) It’s a very friendly atmosphere, the stall holders are delighted to chat about their products (we got some lovely pesto and amazing teas and new potatoes) and their’s a constant stream of people happily munching and chatting. We had a great time and felt the benefit of the outing for the whole weekend.

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(Kingfisher Teas from Enniscorthy, Wexford also have a stall at the Dun Laoghaire market on Sundays)

We’re off to Belfast this weekend to visit friends and we can’t go to the market…. so, if you get a chance do go along to Killruddery Estate (it’s off the Southern Cross road in Bray) and tell Fiona and Margaret that Mairead sent you!