Gunternation

For dessert Sharon had the Vanilla Crème Brûlée Profiteroles with vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce while I opted for the Baked Blackberry, Almond and Kirsch Clafoutis with crème anglaise. We had to wait a bit for my clafoutis which was fine. Profiteroles are a common dessert on Irish menus, so Sharon wanted to sample an excellent version–the pastry was tender and the sauce as rich and chocolatey as it looks. My clafoutis was light, creamy and almondy, and who doesn’t like a little crème anglaise on their clafoutis?

The total including wine and coffee was a steal at £110. Now, more about that table next to us. We got to know them pretty well with some eavesdropping (a foot away, remember?). One of them went on and on about her exercise regime which included yoga and pole-dancing class. Yes, that kind of pole-dancing. Apparently she can hold herself upside down on the pole which requires very strong abs. We were quite happy not knowing that.

On Monday, September 14 Bill and I were in County Donegal with my Aunt Gay and Uncle Larry. After breakfast at our hotel, Coxtown Manor, we wandered through some shops in Donegal Town.

We then drove along the N56 and then the R263, stopping at this lovely spot near Kilcar before making our way to Slieve League on the West coast.

Slieve League are Ireland’s second-highest sea cliffs. At 601 meters they are almost three times as high as the Cliffs of Moher. Our host at Frewin House had expressed a little consternation that Moher gets so much more attention. I did enjoy Slieve League, but they don’t eclipse Moher’s sheer outcroppings for grandeur. Ah well, surely we have room on our island and in our hearts for all the wonderful cliffs.

After the cliffs we had a bite of lunch and started our journey back to Dublin.

Two botanical sights worth mentioning: I’d never seen fuchsia grow so large; it formed 10 foot hedges along the roads. And the hydrangeas reach dark hues of maroon and burgundy. I didn’t get a great photo, but this shot shows a bit of the darker colors.

Bill and I took a Monday off while Aunt Gay and Uncle Larry were here in mid-September for a 3-day road trip. We were able to hit two places on their list: Newgrange and Donegal.

We set out at an impressive 9:20 on Saturday morning, arriving at Newgrange an hour later. On our third visit we still find this neolithic structure impressive. After a bit in the cafeteria (not part of the original Newgrange site) we set out for Donegal. We were welcomed back to the Frewin House in Ramelton and found everything as delightful as our first visit, plus an amazing mushroom.

Gay and Larry had been enticed by pics from our previous trip to Donegal, so on Sunday we retraced our steps to Fanad Head–officially one of my favorite places on earth.

As we continued West we encountered more stunning views.

Much of County Donegal is Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking region, complete with Irish road signs.

We stayed near Donegal Town on Sunday night and had dinner at The Olde Castle Bar–some of the best pub grub ever! I’m still thinking about the fish pie, and the Guinness brown bread ice cream was pretty tasty as well.

Monday we would head farther West.

We were thrilled to have Aunt Gay and Uncle Larry visit in September. Here’s a note from Aunt Gay:

Our ten days in Ireland were, without a doubt, one of the loveliest trips we have ever taken. The weather cooperated with us. We never saw a drop of rain! It was all wonderful, but surely the highlight was the three day road trip Bill and Sharon took us on to County Donegal.

We had a wonderful stay at Frewin, a charming B&B in Ramelton. Our hostess, Regina, was delightful . The scenery was breathtaking. The lighthouse at Fanad Head was a favorite for Larry, lighthouse devotee that he is, and the dramatic coastal scenery was indescribable.

Then on to Sleive League through gorgeous mountain passes. These gigantic sea cliffs surely make one feel small!

Those are only a few of the highlights of our trip with Bill and Sharon. Give Bill a map and he will drive down the wrong side of the road to anywhere! We went WAY “beyond the sheep”!! The rest of our visit was also wonderful, as we took several fun day trips and also got to spend the evenings with the Gunters. Thanks, guys, we had a great time!!

On Friday after breakfast at Skerlj we chatted with a couple from Wales. Like many visitors to Slovenia, they were heading to the Alps for some hiking and camping. We talked about various places to visit in the area, one of which was nearby caves. Bill and I decided that a cave visit would be our activity for the day, so after a snack of leftover pizza we hit the road for Divača. Unlike Idrija, Divača really was only 30 minutes away. We stopped for lunch at Gostilna Malovec. Bill had some gnocchi and a salad, I had some spinach pastry, and for dessert we had a regional specialty–pastry layered with nuts and cottage cheese called gibanica. Wonderful.

We arrived at Å kocjanske jame, the Å kocjan caves, in time for the 3:00 tour. Even though the Å kocjanske jame tour takes about an hour, we saw only a few of the cave’s chambers. The size of the cave system, its excellent examples of karst topography resulting from dissolved limestone, and the cave’s beauty have earned Å kocjanske jame distinction as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We enjoyed our visit underground in the cool, moist, otherworldly surroundings (where no pictures were allowed). We descended a couple hundred meters and then had to climb our way back up many steps. The tour ends at the opening of the cave where the Reka-Velka river begins its underground path. The river valley and surrounding mountains are breathtaking.

Friday night as we went to dinner, the courtyard was full of people, and a brass band was unpacking its instruments. We learned that Skerlj was hosting a 70th birthday. The party was taking place inside, but as we dined in the courtyard we were able to enjoy the festive music.

Unfortunately I fell ill during the night, and spent all of Saturday in our room. Bill made a few forays out–to bring me chamomile tea and bread, to drive to the next town to find some lunch and buy me bananas, to walk through the village, and to eat another amazing dinner at Skerlj.

By Sunday I was thankfully upright again, and we left mid-morning for our drive to Marco Polo airport outside Venice. We stopped to visit Å tanjel, a walled village perched on the side of a mountain that we had sped past during our driving fest the day before. We sat in the garden by the Villa Ferrari and gazed out at the spectacular scenery. We watched a hawk gliding on the air currents. For minutes at a time he appeared motionless before suddenly diving straight down into the valley. After lunch we continued our drive back into Italy.

Our flight wasn’t until 9PM, so we still had several hours to fill. After crossing into Italy we picked a random exit and drove into the walled town of Palmanova. 16th century Palmanova was an innovative fortress town, built in the shape of a nine-pointed star. We wandered around the square for a while, stopped into an “internet cafe”–actually a restaurant with a computer in the corner (which the hostess had to convince some kids to relinquish)–and enjoyed some kind of alcoholic lemon ice.

Then it was back on the road to Marco Polo. Hopefully the airport is not as close to Venice as we’ll ever get.