We work up relatively early and were downstairs by 8:30 am. I enjoyed a good cup of Irish tea with Alison and Lucy in the living room while Santo and Maurice went into Holywood to shop. Santo has raved about the wonderful shops here for the past two years. He loves going to the green grocer, baker, and butcher, all within a few blocks of each other, to select what’d we need for the day. The boys brought back amazing croissants and pastries for breakfast. There is nowhere I have found in the U.S. that has the luxurious croissants we enjoy here. Lucy made some excellent pressed coffee, strong and delicious. Such a relief after the dishwater that passed for coffee on the Queen Mary.

Since they had just gotten back from a week in Donegal shortly before we arrived, the dining room table was still filled with stuff that needed to be sorted out and put away. So we enjoyed our pastries and coffee in the living room.

About 10:30, we loaded up in Alison’s Peugot van and drove about 20 minutes to the town of Bangor where we visited the Walled Park. Behind an 8 foot high brick wall were beautiful gardens laid out in a Victorian pattern from about the 1840s. We meandered around for more than an hour, sometimes together, sometimes singly, admiring the flowers and vegetables, including a refreshing wildflower section. Even I enjoyed these gardens and of course Santo was in his element.

From Bangor, we drove to the beautiful coastal village of Donaghadee. The curving roadway running right along the seashore was lined with colorful houses and shops. We parked at the end of the beach to walk out on the stone pier that jutted into the ocean. In the distance was a small lighthouse. The air was filled with the nautical sounds of seagulls and buoy bells. The sky was overcast with just a hint of clearing to the east. The moment brought back so many memories of the adventures of my youth, when I had explored various Irish seaside towns on my weekend getaways from Trinity. Before we headed back to the van, we stopped in at a new distillery that makes gin, vodka, and whiskey. There was a small showroom which offered a view into the actual distillery with its large shiny vats and a powerful smell of liquor.

On the way home, we made a stop at McKee’s Farm Market, a wonderful vegetable stand and grocery with delicious looking premade food, including steak, chicken and shepherd’s pies, a great variety of  breads, pastries, and desserts, and a full butcher shop. Alison and Maurice bought some cured meats, cheeses and crackers for lunch as well as stuff for tea (dinner); Santo and I picked up some bread and crackers. Our final stop was at a liquor store and post office located in the same small plaza. Santo got some Guiness Zero for himself, then went back and got some Pironi Zero for me.  

Back home, we spread out on the kitchen table a tantalizing array of meats, cheeses,  breads, crackers, chutney, dates, and fruit. We each made up plates for ourselves to eat in the living room. I fell in love with a new cheese: Camazola, a combination of Camembert and Gorgonzola, creamy and delicious, which I enjoyed with a cold Pironi.

After lunch, Santo went up for nap while I got caught up on computer and got some writing done. Alison spent the afternoon clearing out the overflowing dining room so we could eat at the dining room table for tea. There were Halloween decorations, including napkins, candles, strings of lights, and more (they are nuts for Halloween over here!), a partly-completed Agatha Christie jigsaw puzzle on a small table, papers of all sorts, serving dishes, vases, glasses, a bag full of games and another of old books, and more. I asked if I could help, but Alison really needed to make decisions about stuff and where to put it herself. Most items wound up in their one car garage which is used completely for storage.

The house is small and relatively cluttered, but homey and comfortable. The living room seated the six of us comfortably and the newly cleared dining room could accommodate all of us for a sit-down dinner. The kitchen is long and narrow, without a lot of counter space, but it is amazing how they manage. The fridge and freezer are small and there is not a lot of cupboard storage. But since they shop almost daily, they don’t need to store a ton of food so it all works. In the front entrance hall are the banistered stairs; under the stairs is a wall of large hooks for hanging up all manner of coats and jackets. Upstairs there are four bedrooms and a newly remodeled bathroom with painted floor tiles in blues and browns that give the room a real continental feel. A wonderful home away from home.

For dinner, Alison cooks a dinner of roasted pork chops with bleu cheese and applesauce, boiled potatoes, and asparagus. Since the dining room table is so narrow, they plate their meals on warmed dishes in the kitchen and Lucy serves us each at the table. There is a tall green glass water bottle and four small blue glasses that stack up into the shape of a fish! Maurice has a rather large wine collection and brings out a bottle of red to share. After we finish eating, no one moves from the table. We just keep talking. The conversation is lively and everyone participates. I love that they are not in a rush to clear the table and do the dishes and realize that I jump up too soon to do this at home, cutting off after-dinner conversation. I’ll have to work on that.