TURN YOU INSIDE OUT

Day 2 - Tea and Poetry

If I was forced to choose a favorite day from our trip, it would be this day. And if I was forced, then I would take the liberty of redefining that "day" to start at approximately mid-morning and then continue to mid-morning the day next. But, nobody's forcing me to do anything and so I'll simply tell you about a day that was beautiful and calming. A day that opened my mind to so many choices and opportunites not previously considered. A day that I will always remember and that I will forever allow to bring me comfort when it's needed.

A telling and auspicious start to the day arrived with our morning coffee. It was actually good. Previously, I'd entertained a feeling of superiority over a country and its people that seemed so set on making such bad coffee. Intellectually I understood that coffee wasn't really their first choice in a morning caffeine vessel and that this may have affected their execution. Emotionally? Smug superiority. But, I must now admit, Bridie of Berkley Lodge B&B can make a pretty fine cup of coffee. And so, a remarkable day began.

We drove into County Kerry with the intent of exploring Killarney National Park. We drove through the town of Muckross, the location WB Yeats was reported to have written his poem Sailing to Byzantium. I'd never really been a fan of Yeats prior to our visit to Ireland. Have since realized that perhaps this was the result of never having actually read any of his work! The Yeats poem in question begins "That is no country for old men" and was the inspiration for the title of Cormac McCarthy's novel recently made into what many people consider the best movie of 2007. I just love little bits of trivia like this:)

Once in the park, we stopped at the Torc Waterfall. We took a great hike around the area and just soaked up the feel of Ireland. I don't know how else to describe it. I have been to a large majority of our own country's national parks and they are, in a word, amazing. Some even have similar topography and vegetation. But, never for one single second that I was in this spot did I forget that I was in Ireland. Spending time in Kerry you can understand the Irish people's fascination with faeries and the mystic world in general. It just seems, I don't know, possible there. I've since that day read one of Yeats' poems called "The Stolen Child." It has a chorus of sorts that transports me back to a particular place in the park by a little creek where you want to believe anything can happen.

Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

We drove along the Ring of Kerry a bit until we reached Kenmare. Kenmare is a super sweet and quaint little Irish town that I fell a little in love with. We stopped in at the Kenmare Book Shop and my heart or my soul or something just said, Home. The store was about the combined size of my kitchen and living room and it was perfect. It had a shelf of native wildlife books to satisfy Gigi's bird obscession. A shelf dedicated to Irish authors where I discovered my new favorite novelist. A shelf for poetry. And, yes, of course I picked up a collection of poems by WB Yeats. Another shelf full of cookbooks - I'll be doing a little Irish baking this weekend! I'm currently in the middle of reading another find from that shopping experience: Jaywalking with the Irish.

I guess it was this last book that really started the little tickle/trickle in my brain that would later, over a latte in a cafe down the street, turn into a Torc-esque waterfall of revelation: I could live here. I could pack up my apartment in Dallas, TX and move to a little cottage along the coast in Co Kerry, Ireland. I really could.

Feeling a little tired from the both the physical exploration of Killarney National Park and the mental exploration of self, our next stop was to check into our B&B for the night. It was called Shaminir and boasted "probably the best view in all of Ireland." Our hostess immediately offered us "tea for two" upon our arrival and kept us company in her very comfortable and homey lounge. There is something so calming and comforting about drinking tea from an actual tea pot while using actual tea cups in the early evening as you watch the sun set over a spectacular view of the Kenmare Bay. *Note* If you ever find yourself planning a trip to the country of Ireland, I truly feel you would be remiss in not including a visit to Kerry. You would be even more remiss once there not to take advantage of the beautiful and warm hospitality of Jim and Joyce Hughes and their home, Shaminir.

Once tucked in for the night, I found that although my body was calmed by the charming tradition of an Irish tea my mind continued to stream from one thought to the next. I didn't know how to get a handle on all the ideas and emotions this country was eliciting from me. And as I sit here and write this I realize the truth is, I still don't. But, eventually I fell asleep that night. And I dreamt of Ireland.