Day 9 - "No!"

It's no surprise that the day did not get off to the earliest of starts. My parents, Libby, and I were staying at a hotel near Helen's house, and Grandma was staying with Helen. Breakfast was included with our stay, so we ate at our hotel, while Grandma ate with Helen. We didn't really have much of a plan to the day, so it took us awhile to coordinate things. The most specific our plans had been was to "go shopping in Mullingar." Particular time and place were mere details that had previously seemed too burdensome to establish in advance.

It worked out for the best, though, as it gave Grandma an opportunity to spend more time with Helen's family. She went to a few relatives' houses while the rest of us lollygagged around. We ate our breakfast and then relaxed around the hotel for a little bit. I worked on the blog for some time, and my parents took turns checking their email. We tried getting a hold of Grandma (via Helen) without success, and eventually we decided that probably meant they were up to no good, and we probably shouldn't get involved. So, we headed to town without Grandma. We had lunch in a nice little bakery.

Wandering the streets of Mullingar

Where to go? Nobody knows!

And then Helen called and we arranged a little rondezvous. Helen dropped Grandma off downtown, and she joined us on our little shopping adventure. We didn't know exactly where we wanted to go, but we had seen Mullingar Pewter items being sold at several tourist shops in other parts of the country, so we decided we had to check it out. It just so happened that its shop was attached to a shop where Helen had gotten a picture frame she really liked, so we thought we were especially pleased with the possibilities.

It ended up being a long shopping trip... of course, you must remember at this point that I am, indeed, male, and so any shopping trip likely would have seemed like an eternity. But in my defense, I just so happen to know that I wasn't the only one who thought it was a long trip.

Browsing the selection

Do you see anything good?

Anyway, people made their purchases from the Pewter shop. They also let people wander into their little factory there to see how the pewter things were made. It was neat seeing all their machinery. It was hard to tell what it all did, but they had a few little signs explaining some of it. It wasn't the most organized set-up in the world in terms of a tour, but it was still interesting. It was fun to see one gentleman polishing or smoothing or doing something to make the handle of a cake server look nice, and then we went out into the shop and saw an identical cake server... the finished product.

Casting the hot metal... I think. Or maybe he's heating up maple syrup for his pancakes

Not quite finished products

Grandma was immediately hired on as a supervisor

The attached store was decent. It was full of really expensive decorations for the house. We ended up finding a few gifts for Helen's family that we thought they'd like. (That was part of our purpose in going out shopping.) Grandma picked out a nice holy water receptacle, and the rest of us got them a horse statue (they're very much horse people... they have lots of horses, and one of their daughters, Andrea, is very fond of riding).

Tough decisions...

Opening a gift

Gifter posing with giftees

After shopping, we headed back to Helen's neck of the woods. We dropped Grandma off so she could have dinner with them, and the rest of us headed back to the hotel. Part of our package included dinner at the hotel. It was actually a really fancy three-course meal. The food wasn't bad. It was... gourmet, though. My father, when presented with the pork that he had ordered, responded by saying

What is THAT?

Shortly thereafter, he said, "I can't wait to see the dessert tray."

Libby and my mother ordered the seared tuna. For anyone who's never ordered that before, it's supposed to be very very very slightly cooked, and very pink in the middle. The waitress had warned us that the chef prepares it medium rare. When it came, though, it was very thoroughly cooked, and quite tough.

The very dead, very well cooked tuna. At least it looked pretty

Aside from that, though, the service was sensational. We were seated in such a way that the sun was shining right in my eyes about halfway through dinner. I asked the waiter if he could close the curtains beside the unoccupied table where the light was coming in. He reluctantly agreed but warned me that there was a pair of people about to take that table, and if they wanted the curtains open, there was nothing he could do about it. I'm glad that he made it subtle who his preferred customers were.

Am I leaning to pose with dessert? Or just get out of the sun?

What started as a potentially great meal ended up being mediocre, but it seemed more acceptable since it was included in our package... made it feel like we weren't paying for it. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

After dinner, though, we left the pleasurable company of the waitstaff at the hotel restaurant and headed to Helen's. Of course, I was asked to jump on the trampoline, and who am I to say no? A little later in the evening, though, it was Timmy's turn to organize an activity. He (along with Helen's father) were of the firm opinion that it wasn't a true visit to Ireland without a visit to a pub with some locals to "sample the local brew."

My father was the only one to take him up on the offer, though. Libby and I stayed behind and house hunted online, while Grandma, my mother, Helen, and Helen's mother all chit-chatted about Barack Obama and other random subjects. Among the random subjects was our trip. Since it's more than half-over, we asked Grandma if she was ready to go back. Her response was quick, emphatic, and not very subtle: "NO!"

It wasn't until my father came home (in quite a happy mood, let me tell you), that we found out how well Irish men can hold their alcohol. My father didn't try too hard to keep up, and it's probably for the best. He did well, though.

The ambiance of a pub

Locals with the "local brew"

How many of these empty pints do you think my father was responsible for?

They were out until about midnight (even though the pub "closed" at 11:30), so it was a... productive evening. And once again, wouldn't you know it? We got to bed late. What impact do you think that might have on when we get going the next day?