Borris House and The Tea Rooms

Yesterday was the nicest day we've had in Ireland in a few weeks, at least along the Eastern side.  We decided to go exploring around Carlow and went off to Borris, a lovely, historic and picturesque town on the Kilkenny/Carlow border.

Our first stop was Borris House, the home since the middle ages of the McMurrough Kavanagh family whose ancestors were High Kings of Ireland.  Their lineage is extraordinary and if you'd like to know more, check it out here. 


We took the house tour given by Morgan McMurrough Kavanagh who was very informative about the house and its history. His most famous and interesting ancestor was Arthur McMurrough Kavanagh, who was born with stumps for arms and legs yet, due to his mother's insistence that he have a normal life, went on to do extraordinary things with his life. He spent a lot of time on his horse, in a specially designed saddle, as this was how he started getting around as a child.  Here's an article about him by the wonderful local historian and genealogist, Turtle Bunbury of Lisnavagh House (and Bunbury Board fame). If you don't know what Bunbury Boards are I highly recommend you check out that link.

Borris House is beautiful and well worth visiting. We spent quite a bit of time in the private chapel which is currently Church of Ireland but was Catholic to begin with. Apparently, the eldest son of the family would be brought up Protestant, so he could participate in all the rights of the British Crown, but the rest of the family were Catholic. Quite a complex history there.

The only thing we were disappointed by was that we did not get to go upstairs and see a bedroom and bathroom or two.  I really think they ought to add this to the tour as it seems to end abruptly and not as satisfactorily as I would have liked. For the €10 fee, I think they really ought to show a little more, although what they did show was really interesting. 

Borris House also hosts weddings and events.

Afterwards, we headed over to the new Tea Rooms, which are located beside The Step House, the most well known hotel and restaurant in the area and well worth going to.  The Tea Rooms opened at Easter and seem to be doing a bustling trade.  Run by a husband and wife from their home, they serve afternoon tea as well as other lunch and snacks items.  We ordered the afternoon tea and were served with beautifully made sandwiches, cut into fingers and with a wide variety of fillings like ham and mustard, egg salad and home made brown bread with delicious smoked trout pate sourced from the nearby Goatsbridge Trout Farm.

  

 There were homemade coffee and lemon cakes and delicious scones.  Each table is set with a different tea set, collected from markets and antique shops.  We got two large porcelain teapots with Assam tea (leaves of course!).  All in all we were delighted with it and at €24 for two people, we thought it was also good value. You don't need to eat again after that.  The only down side was one of the owners regaled us with disparaging tales of some of the people in the village. For all he knew, we could have been related to some of those people. It left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

They don't take Laser or Credit cards so bring cash.  It's a lovely place, very clean and well presented and the food is excellent. 

What a Surprise Carlow Turned Out to Be - The VISUAL

I moved to Carlow in August last year mostly because it was handy for Dublin with the new M9 nearby and not as expensive as Dublin. Little did I know what treasures there were to find here. And I'm only beginning the great discoveries.

The VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Arts & G B Shaw Theatre

To make friends and meet new people I decided to check out The VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Arts as a friend of mine had told me about it.  I was enchanted the first time I went there for lunch in Lennons @VISUAL, the wonderful restaurant that is part of the building.  Not only is The VISUAL a remarkable space for art (being able to house the largest art works in Ireland because of the main gallery), there is also the 300 seat George Bernard Shaw Theatre, where I have since managed to see some of the best productions I've seen anywhere. More on that later.  At the time that I first went to The VISUAL they had an exhibit by the artist Sonja Landweer, a retrospective of her work over 50 years.  After the viewing, I asked if they needed volunteers and it turned out that they had a new volunteer meeting that following Monday.  I went along and signed up as an invigilator in the galleries and then got to spend many happy hours amongst all the beautiful art.

Glendalough - There's Magic in Every Leaf and Lake

As some of you may know, I grew up near Glendalough, just outside a village called Roundwood in Co.Wicklow. Glendalough was, in a sense, our back yard. We used to go there with our mother and set up a camp beside the river, build a fire in which we would put tinfoil wrapped potatoes so they cooked in the embers and Mum would set up a kettle over it to make lovely smoky tea. We would splash about in the river, explore the woods, sing songs and gambol about. Of course, nowadays you can't light a fire and you even have to pay exorbitant fees just to park near the lake. It makes me furious in a way. I went there recently and was so incensed that I had to pay some ridiculous amount of money to only stay one hour (you can't pay by the hour!!) and felt it was like having to pay to get into my own garden.  I left in a huff.  

World Wide Wed - A Moroccan Marriage

Originally posted on Tripping.com on March 29, 2011

Most non-Moroccans don't ever get to experience a Moroccan wedding so it was a real privilege to attend one and see what it's like. To be fair, this particular Moroccan wedding was not exactly typical because the bride was European so a lot of her friends and family attended, making the events slightly different than they might have been otherwise.

For the bride, one of the most fun parts is being able to wear multiple wedding gowns, or takshitas, and what gowns they are! They are made of silk and lace and come in layers of two or three parts. The dresses are made to order and each one is created using the traditional Moroccan sfifa, the braiding that is used on the edges and complements the colours in the fabrics. The more money you have to spend, the more dresses you get to wear. Aside from being very glamorous, it can be exhausting changing every hour or so.

The Temptation of a Swedish Christmas

First published on Tripping.com, a US website dedicated to all things travel related.

THE TEMPTATION OF A SWEDISH CHRISTMAS

I lived in Sweden for 5 years and still miss it now that I am no longer there. It's a country that everyone should visit. The summers are glorious, filled with light and greenery and the coastal areas are wonderful to explore. Bohuslän, which is the coast area around Göteborg, on the west coast, is stunningly beautiful with an archipelago of large and small islands. You might take your boat out to a small island; just big enough to have a small cabin with steps down to the boat and picnic there, swimming off the rock and relaxing.  People spend most of the time outdoors in the summer as the winters are so long and dark but, even so; winter is also a gorgeous time. With bright blue skies and deep snow, the outdoors in winter can be exciting and, if you like skiing and skating, it is a wonderful place to be.

Transported by Food - A Brief Culinary Journey in Andalucia

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Tripping

This is another delicious guest post from Maya Hanley. She has recently returned from a tumultuous Spanish journey. See how she made it through with the help the local cuisine. 

Our Christmas was off to an icy start with unexpected arctic weather and closed airports. Needless to say we were delayed in our arrival at Albuñuelas, only to find that the house we had rented was cold, damp and unliveable. Despite the late start (and later, my sister’s broken foot which ended the trip prematurely) we are very grateful for the new friendship we forged with the wonderful couple who rescued us, put us up and fed us.

David Crockett and his lovely wife Lorna own a B&B, a beautifully converted house in the middle of the village of Albuñuelas (phone: +34 6 3604 3596). David is an avid cook and thrilled us with his culinary delights, like paella with pork and spinach and Moroccan fish tajine. Oh, and lots of local wines!

The next day, we headed into Granada and searched out a place that looked appetising. Eventually, on the main street off Plaza Nueva, we found SECO, a restaurant featuring mainly seafood. It was lunch time so the place was crowded. One thing I have noticed in Spain is that most people eat lunch out, usually very quickly and efficiently. A lot of them will stand at a counter, have a beer and some tapas and head back to work.

Magic Carpets in Morocco

I know very little about Berber carpets. Do you? Well, I know a bit more now that I have been in a very rural part of Morocco (referred to as the 'Bled') and spent a day with an amazing Berber family, related to our family friend, Mohammed.  Mohammed has been a friend for 7 years and my sister, Luarena, has been up to his country family before, about 4 years ago.  Then, they had no electricity or running water.

They got electricity about a year ago and, of course, the first thing they did was buy a television! The running water is still not there but they have a lovely well with fresh water.  They also cook on open fires and made us some delicious pancakes served up with honey and butter. 

The drive up was long and arduous.  We stopped along the way for lunch in a small, clean cafe and then headed up higher and higher, round twisting and turning bends with long drops on one side. It was beautiful but you wouldn't want to be afraid of heights.  Along the way, we saw more and more Argane trees, which produce the wonderful,  health giving Argane Oil, now becoming more widely known outside of Morocco.  On several occasions, we saw goats in the Argane trees, munching on the spiny branches. They also use the tree as shade in the hot afternoon.