There is nothing exotic about being American

Hello all,
 Well after a very disappointing start to our trip- a cancelled Philly flight, a lost bag and Jill missing her farmers markets, we are finally beginning to enjoy ourselves. Like Jill said in her blog, our Philly flight got cancelled due to weather and we were stuck in NYC. Kudos to Bryan and Obie (our cousins) for taking us in out of the rain and showing us a pretty awesome day despite the circumstances. After a good nights sleep, an awesome breakfast (if you ever go to Pastis try the chocolate bread- Im not kidding), we walked the Highline. Ive read about it and thought it was very interesting. It has become my new favorite thing to do in NYC. If I lived in NYC, id be there all the time, esp if the weather was as nice as it was. We even got to see the Statue of Liberty (in the distance) the Empire State building, the Chrysler Building, Jersey, and Chelsea Market. Chelsea Market was a pretty neat place and my sister the chef truly found her heaven. Although i have to admit the peach balsamic vinegar is pretty scrumptious. On to DC, then finally Philly and then taking the same flight we were supposed to take Friday...DUBLIN. Neither Jillian nor I got much sleep (any one who has flown a red-eye should know). Its not easy to find a comfortable position in an airplane. So we were both groggy and tired and really couldnt enjoy the nostalgia of being in Ireland. Of course there is the lost bag issue. Jillian finally broke down today and wore a shirt of mine.
   After a very long drive and a short cat-nap on my part, we finally arrived in Schull in County Cork. We arrived at Grove House and met our Hostess Katarina, who along with her staff , is very nice and very helpful. Our room is very spacious and cozy (and honestly its kinda nice not having to share a bed with Jill- shes a heat mooche! ) We did not do much due to exhaustion and ...well thats it. We had fish and chips (or as we called it in Crescent City, CA) yummy fried goodness and boy it ever was! Very tasty and delicious. Then we stopped in the chocolate shop and tried some pieces of their homemade chocolate. Including dark with chilly powder, mint, elderflower, plain and (we have yet to taste it ) Irish whiskey truffle. We went into Hackets and both of us (yes me too) tried Guiness and Murphy's. I personally wont try either again. Although Guiness is easier to drink and doesnt taste like (as jill puts it) burnt coffee. We returned to Grove House and sat in the dinning room, playing double solitaire (I won) , drinking tea and writing postcards. A perfect end to a very long day.
   Today, after almost oversleeping, we got some breakfast (yum) and went into town to find Jillian some clothes. We at least got good news on that front, keep your fingers crossed that the bag will be in Kerry.Then we headed to Mizen Head Light. Jillian is doing a marvelous job of driving on the left side of the road and has not managed to kill or maim us- Good job sis! She also humored me and stopped once or twice at picturesque spots. The first was right outside of Schull, where there was a path down to the rocks on the water. Jillian got a little excited and went off exploring. We both are practically fearless to climbing down on rocks to the water due to all the times we spent in Maine. The whole area made my little Marine Scientist heart just ...melt. The ocean was sooo blue, the water was so clear, the air cool and the crashing waves let out that smell that to me just says "the sea". (What can I say- Im a nerd.) Ive missed all those things since Ive been back in the Midwest! The rock formations (my geology professors would have LOVED) are something ive never seen before. I honestly cannot describe it and you will just have to wait for the pictures. Mizen Head was just as undescribeable and Jillian has posted a few of the millions of pics I took from our 2 hr walk. We returned to Schull after a few more stops for pictures and had some dinner. The Gubbeen cheese was very tasty and Im sorry that Jill missed her markets. We returned to Grove House to sit outside and enjoy the sunset. Jill looked at all my pics I took today  and she realized that i took one or two of her when she wasnt paying attention...hehehe. I did NOT fall asleep no matter what she says. Anyways, we are writing postcards and drinking tea, winding down after our day. Cannot wait to see what the Irish seal center is all about! Next stop: Tralee, County Kerry.
  Slainte Kaitie                         Picture count : 340