I’m in Fermoy! Of course I totally forgot to download the postcard images, and I haven’t seen an internet café yet.. There must be one somewhere though; I’ll ask Bridie, my landlady, at breakfast.

This morning at Slaney Manor, I woke up shortly before my alarm clock, and opened the top half of my stable door to a brilliant streak of pinky orange underneath grey clouds. After showering and dressing, I was off exploring the gorgeous grounds. I’m sure when the flowers are in bloom and the trees are leafed out it’s even more beautiful. Big huge oaks shade large areas of well kept lawn. Large hedges of brambles? edge some of the lawn. Walking under the branches of one tree, I found a tiny, round bird’s nest. Going further down and then getting on the road, I found the back entrance to the manor. I turned around and walked back up the hill, with a pasture to my right and the lawns to my left. Just past the manor house, one huge oak had a very decorative pattern in its bark.

The castle, up above the manor house, is new. The owner built it over the last four years, and it houses the English school now. There is also a large reception area for weddings. Margaret, my landlady, explained that in Ireland you can only get married in the church, or in the registry, which is generally a bare, ugly office. If you’ve been divorced, you can’t get married in the church, only in the registry office-Catholic country, ya know. So they registered the dining room and parlor, and the reception area in the castle, so folks could get married at Slaney Manor. Oh, and you can’t get married outside either!

The stables, where I stayed, has been totally renovated and houses a number of rooms. There are 42 rooms altogether; some in the manor house, and most in the stables. My room (and 4 others) have the typical stable half door. In the summer it’s a wonderful way to ventilate the room. It also provides the only light in the room as the back wall is against a hill. There’s a lovely stained glass window with opaque glass, in the top half of the door, and two panels to either side of the door.

After a very filling breakfast of fresh homemade scones, eggs, sausage, bacon, cereal, yogurt, fruit, juice, toast, and tea, I spent a good 45 minutes chatting with Margaret. She gave me the key to the sod cabin her father and brother built, an example of the house many Irish lived in during the era of the manor house (18th and 19th centuries). It’s about the same size as my cabin in Alaska, and outfitted much as my room in the stable. There is a small loft, just a little larger than mine, which can be reached by a ladder (which wasn’t there during my visit). It also has running water, so there’s a shower and a miniscule sink, which I’m sure the Irish of that era did not have. The thatch roof is authentic, and is lined with burlap on the inside, laid over the rafters made of approximately 5 inch diameter logs. Whitewashed inside and out, the cabin is very neat and tidy. Back then there was a tax on windows, so the only source of light is the door, and like the stable door, is two pieces. The top would be left open for light in the summer. Of course this cabin has been modernized with electric lights too.

The cabin isn’t heated, and right at the moment needs some repairs, so I wasn’t able to stay there. But wouldn’t that have been fun? It’s in a delightful location, just a five minute walk from the manor house. It looks out over a pasture, which will have cattle or horses grazing in it this summer. The cabin is sprayed for insects each spring; apparently the thatch will harbor spiders, which some guests don’t appreciate. I say, get over it! It’s a sod hut, not the Ritz! If I get back to Slaney Manor, I’d love to stay here.

I left Wexford about 11 a.m., after my usual tootling around lost. My first objective was to find the Tesco, and get plastic bags for my seashells, and a few odds ‘n ends-paper towels, water, some sweets. On the way out of town I found the craft shop I’d seen the night before, but by that time I just wanted to get on the road. It didn’t look like it would have much of interest to me anyway. I also skipped the shortcut, and my ferry ride. I am just frustrated with, and tired of getting lost every two minutes. Just trying to find the Tesco in Wexford took me two trips around town. I did find the statue my landlady mentioned last night though! I didn’t walk far enough down the quay last night, when I was looking for somewhere to eat. Probably would have been a much better dinner than the chips and sausage I did get.

Driving up the N25 to Cork was simple, except for the odd round about. A couple of stops for construction delays were nice little breaks to twiddle with the radio station. I also stopped at a very fancy gardening shop with lots of trendy fun junk to buy. There was a rack of seeds; too pricey for me, but there was a line of mixed seeds-salad greens, herbs, veggies-that I might get before I go home, if I see it again. I did buy a cloth bag for my mushrooms, also very pricey, but worth it if it’ll do a better job of keeping my mushrooms fresh.

I ignored the tempting signs leading to the seashore, and focused on getting to Cork, skating into town and parking just before running out of gas. To my amazement I was just blocks away from my objective, the Cork Button Company! Yippee! I spent a good two hours there, choosing buttons with help from Liz, who kept pointing out this fun button, and that colorful one. She had as much fun as I did choosing buttons. And my oh my! There were literally thousands of buttons! As I was winding up my shopping spree, another lady came in needing a couple of buttons for a new jumper. Liz pointed out a number of buttons to her, until another customer came in and needed some help. Then I took over and made some other suggestions. Then Liz wanted me to show the other customer my hat. It was a Sister from the church just down the quay! She was quite impressed, as was Liz, with the embroidery and embellishment. We spent several minutes chattering away, while purchases were paid for, and then each of us went on our way.

Getting out of Cork was very easy; a straight shot to the gas station, which I got to before running out of gas and tying up traffic, and the road to Fermoy. It’s actually a very popular route to Dublin, although now there’s a bypass that goes around Fermoy. The M8 is a toll road, and I could just catch a glimpse of the toll booths from the two lane road to Fermoy. I drove through town without recognizing anything from my postcards and quickly found the Blackwater B&B where I’m staying. It’s the least expensive of all the places I’ve stayed so far, but also the noisiest. I could hear the other guests at various times, and Bridie’s telephone. But I slept very well, so apparently the neighbors weren’t all that noisy after all.

Well, it’s time to get going. I woke up at 3:30 a.m., so I guess I’m not quite on Irish time yet. Off to shower and dress, a quick walk, and then one more “full Irish breakfast”. I’ve got to investigate those sausages…