Home again, Ireland

When we first moved to Europe in early 2019, we anticipated making multiple trips to Ireland so that we could spend some quality time with family as well as visiting the sights of the country itself. Covid wiped those plans right off the books as Ireland locked down along with the rest of the world.

If things on the continent had really gone south during Covid, we could have repatriated to Ireland at any time, just like we could have returned to the U.S. But as we were loath to leave Bijou for fear of not being able to return to her, we just spent our lockdowns wherever we were at the time they were enacted. As a result, this would be only our second trip to Ireland since our move to Europe and we were really looking forward to being there.

Aside from family visits and touristy stuff, another thing driving us north during the summer is climate change. You may recall hearing about the European heatwaves on the news. They are really horrendous and difficult for us to manage, living as we do in a tin box with no air conditioning. There are few places in Europe where we can spend the summer and not get caught up in the massive heatwaves, but thankfully Ireland is one of them. It’s not that Ireland is untouched by climate change, it definitely is, just to a lesser, more manageable degree. At least for now.

Moneylands Farm in Arklow, County Wicklow is our favorite place to park up for a while to catch our breath and get caught up on life’s chores. I got signed up for Medicare back in Budapest, but I still had to navigate the add ons. It is amazing just what a chore that can be when starting from scratch! Steven got some time for his art, as well as visiting his best friend, Kieran, who lives nearby in Gorey.

We actually experienced very little rain during our stay, but we could always count on dramatic skies during our walks.

We spent most mornings walking. We settled on a route through town that we followed almost every day that, depending on whether or not we added in a spin around the mall, totalled 10-13k steps. On our last trip to Ireland we had begun a series of pilgrimages that, when completed, would earn us a Teastas, the completion certificate for the Irish Pilgrim Journey. There are five official hikes in total, three of which we completed in 2019. On this trip we planned to complete only one, St. Finbarr’s Way, said to be the most difficult of them all. Thus, we trudged along on our morning walks in Arklow to try and keep up the stamina we earned while walking the via Francigena. Unfortunately, our walk took us right by a pastry shop and let’s just say we did not deny ourselves a daily treat. That’s right, not a typo, I said daily.

The Avoca river runs through Arklow and out into the Irish Sea. Arklow is a coastal town, but try as we might, we can’t find any nice beaches or coastal life in this town.
This is the mall we would walk to nearly every day. Its best features are a Costa Coffee, Dunnes Stores, and a bathroom.
If a pastry didn’t call out to us on our walk, this ice cream cone did. Known as a 99, every other store offers them. We learned which proprietors offered a generous cone and avoided the others.
Friends Brad and Oksana also spent part of the summer in Ireland and made their way to Moneylands farm to spend a couple of days with us.

I managed to curtail my obsession with scones and clotted cream by replacing it with a new obsession of Coronation Chicken. This came about because it is on the menu at the Broken Chair cafe at Moneylands and I loved it. Coronation Chicken is essentially curried chicken salad, but with a secret ingredient that elevates it beyond belief. That’s my opinion, anyway. The recipe was developed for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation banquet in 1953 and has been a popular dish ever since.

After three weeks at Moneylands Farm we moved north to Camac Valley Camping Park in Dublin. This would be our base for visiting family and friends as well as a few trips to sights around Dublin. We kept up with our walks too, as the campground was adjacent to a lovely and well-kept park. Steven’s parents came out to have lunch with us one day and, of course, I had to make Coronation Chicken. It was a big hit.

Bijou enjoyed a nice shade tree in this site, but we eventually moved because the sun, and the heatwave, were relentless. We needed to get into even more shade!

We took every opportunity to meet up with the family. Steven’s sister Deirdre and her husband Maurice hosted a lovely family gathering at their beautiful home, which we enjoyed immensely. Guess what dish I showed up with?

L to R: Steven, brother Philip, sister Deirdre, Philip’s wife Jackie and me.
Philip, no doubt trying to convince Steven that Ireland is the best country in the world in which to live.
Steven’s parents, Paddy and Elizabeth.
The Family Gathering at Deirdre and Maurice’s home.
Steven took time to visit long-time friends, like Laura, who used to be the singer in one of his bands way back when.
And as fate would have it, the Motoroamers (Karen and Myles) rolled into town and stopped by for an afternoon of food (Coronation Chicken!!) and chit chat. It was great to catch up with these guys, who we have not seen since we all made a beeline out of Morocco to get somewhere safe before lockdowns went into effect. We had no idea it would be over two years before we would meet up again!

As if to let us know Ireland is not immune to the effects of climate change, we experienced a heatwave while we were in Dublin as temperatures reached over 80 degrees fahrenheit. That may not sound high, but with brilliant sunshine it was certainly uncomfortable. Thankfully it didn’t last long.

Dublin, along the River Liffey.
We finally made time to visit the Book of Kells at Trinity College in Dublin. Steven’s Mom, Elizabeth, joined us for this visit which we all enjoyed. The Book of Kells is a gospel book, containing the four accounts of Christ’s life that form the New Testament of the Bible. It is one of the few precious survivals of an influential tradition of book production that flourished in the Irish Church in the eighth and ninth centuries. (Wiki.)
The Trinity library was an amazing space with thousands of books and multiple alcoves and staircases.
The harp is one of the most well-known symbols of Ireland. This one is from the 14th or 15th century and is the oldest known surviving harp. It is on display in the library at Trinity College.
Trinity College, Dublin
No trip to Dublin would be complete without a trip to Temple Bar, home of the extortionately priced pint of Guinness.

We had been keeping an eye on the weather around the area of St. Finbarr’s walk in west Cork and when we saw a couple of days in the upcoming forecast without rain, we headed in that direction. We had a few days to mosey around before those days would arrive, so we managed a visit to the Rock of Cashel before making our way to Cobh to check out the camping situation.

From Bijou we had a fantastic view of the Rock of Cashel, which was lit at night and quite beautiful. The view from the top looked out across the lands, as well as our campground.
The Rock of Cashel, an ancient royal site.
Across the street from our campground is the Hore Abbey, a Cistercian monastery near the Rock of Cashel.
Hore Abbey in the foreground and the Rock of Cashel in the distance.
The town of Cashel, County Tipperary.
In Ireland, sheep outnumber people, so it is not unusual to find them grazing right in town.

Cobh was an important reconnaissance, as this is the place where we planned to meet up with our U.S. RVing buddies, Bill and Kelly at the end of August. It’s also where we would kick off our month-long tour of Ireland and Scotland! We had been planning this trip for almost a year and were super excited that it was finally happening!

The marina aire in Cobh, where in just a few days we would return to meet up with Bill and Kelly!!!
Colorful Cobh.
St. Finbarr’s Way is just under 40 kilometers. Our plan was to park at an aire in Kealkill, the halfway mark, then taxi to the start and walk back to Bijou. She was parked in the shadow of the Carriganass Castle, built in the 1500s. The following morning, we just took off right from Bijou and continued our walk to the end, where we were picked up by a taxi service and returned to Bijou.
Wildlife along St. Finbarr’s Way.
Our trail also made up parts of other walks, so at times it got a little confusing as to which way we should take. If there was boggy goodness and sheep shite, that was our trail. Always.
Snack time. You cannot beat the views on this walk, and we crossed over a few significant hills and through four different valleys. It was truly one of the most difficult hikes we have ever done, but it was quite rewarding.
Always with the dramatic skies and lands that stretched out seemingly forever. It was quite easy to get taken in by the views and just stand there for long periods of time.
This is at the beginning of day two, which we thought might be easier than day one. We were sorely mistaken.
Where there are glacial lands, there are erratics to be found. Who knows how long this one has stayed in its place.
Because of all the grazing sheep, we had to cross from one field to another by way of a stair fence. Since there was nowhere to sit most of the time other than in the long, wet grass, or bog, we would use these stairs as resting places and eat our snacks and lunch while sitting on them. Quite convenient, actually.
I arrived at this gate, which I had to climb over, and was met with this Highland Coo and all of his buddies. Fortunately, they were friendly and moooooved out of my way. Steven, who I had left behind to do his foot stretches, came up behind and safely crossed as well.
Finally, the end!! My gosh that was a tough walk! This is St. Finbarr’s Oratory in Gougane Barra. We visited the little church, then made our way over to the cafe for a nice cup of tea. Sitting never felt so good!
After a good night’s sleep, we made our way to the aire along the River Lee in Cork City. Our friends, Mark and Ingrid, who we met in Croatia, had a lovely hot meal waiting for us at their nearby home. Of course having just walked 40k, we were starving and ate just about everything they put before us! So good to see them again!
Our view across the River Lee.
Mark picked us up and we promptly got caught up in a naked bike rally. Look closely, all those riders are nekkid!
The downside of the lovely treed aire, as we soon learned, is the berry bird poop that pummels Bijou. We moved to a campground for one night before meeting up with Bill and Kelly so that we could get all this cleaned up and get our laundry finished up.

The next morning we had planned a route back to the aire in Cobh that included stops for diesel, propane and groceries. We wanted to have all those chores done and be ready to chill and travel with our friends. With all that done, we made our way back to the marina, where Bill and Kelly were awaiting our arrival.

One more thing, you didn’t think I was going to let you go without giving you the recipe for Coronation Chicken, did you? I would not do that to you. So here it is.

6 skinless chicken breasts

2-3 tsp. mild curry powder, such as Madras

150 g (5oz) mayonnaise

125 g (4 oz) sour cream (or Greek yogurt, if you like)

3 TBSP mango chutney (Secret ingredient alert!!)

2 celery sticks, finely chopped

Big, fat, juicy grapes, halved, as many as you like (definitely a touch of Southern Junior League here…)

50 g (2oz) sultanas (golden raisins)

I use my Instant Pot to cook the chicken breasts. Salt chicken, place in IP, on the rack, add one cup of water, pressure cook for five minutes, then natural release for 10 minutes. Take chicken out of the pot and let cool. Meanwhile, add all the other ingredients except the grapes together. When the chicken is cool, chop or shred (I like chopped, bite-sized pieces) and add to the sauce. Gently fold in the grapes. Serve as a sandwich filling (croissants are perfect, although in Ireland brown bread was on the plate and it was delicious!) or in lettuce cups. Either way, it’s tasty! If you make it, leave a comment and let me know if you enjoyed it! If you didn’t enjoy it, tell me why! 🙂

OPTIONS: Here are some other things you can add that I do not: dried apricots instead of grapes (I prefer grapes), 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (I didn’t have any, but many versions call for this); sliced almonds or pecans. I leave the pecans or almonds out most of the time because they are expensive and honestly just get lost in the other bold flavors. I like the crunch from the celery, so make sure you use fresh and crispy! Salt & Pepper. If I’ve salted the chicken properly, I find I don’t need any more. I never, ever cook with pepper, but use it if you must!

And, as always, here is one of Steven’s latest artworks. This is Doyle’s Lane in Arklow. He couldn’t resist painting the character of this little street. You can read about his Ireland art series in his latest blog post here. Also, if you would like to see more, you can keep up with what he’s doing by following his Visual Art page here.


Up next: Traveling with Bill and Kelly!


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42 Comments

    1. 2chouters

      YAY, welcome home! I’m sure you are so glad to be back in your European home and resume your travels! We might see you next summer as we will be heading north once again!

    1. 2chouters

      Oooh, ask for site number 8! That’s ours, the one with the view. 🙂 I want to know when you make that Coronation Chicken. Or, you can try it first at The Broken Chair Cafe at Moneylands Farm if it is still on the menu! Either way, enjoy! Good to hear from you!

  3. Rita from Phoenix

    Wow!! I always thought Ireland was just flat and green. I really don’t blame you for not blogging all summer. What, with getting up early to walk daily and doing a 40K walk, time with family, and gorgeous places to see, I see is beautiful. Your catch up blog is worth the wait!! Thank you for the recipe. I’ll try it soon.

    1. 2chouters

      Ireland is anything but flat! It offers amazing hikes with gorgeous views in every direction! I’ve enjoyed my time off from blogging, but man, it is so hard to get back into the swing of things and get caught up! Thank you for your encouragement. 🙂

  4. A James

    What a continuing great adventure ,thanks for sharing. The pics & your commentary show so much of the diverse culture & awesome countryside plus the upclose terrain encountered on your “hikes” Just great,all the best.

    1. 2chouters

      You inspired me to get going since you’ve already written so many! I am so glad our amazing trip will be so well documented! We love and miss you guys, too See you next month!! 🙂

  6. Seamus Dooley

    Great seeing Stevens family, I remember them all as kids when I use to visit their home. Lovely seeing his parents, they were so nice and please send my regards if you are still in Dublin. Say hello to them all was in the band also with Steven and Laura as the bass player, she had a great voice and our song that Steven wrote (Suicide) was always a big hit with fans. Ask him does he still have a recording of it. Tell Steven that Iam still in contact with our guitarist from back then, Brian Mc Nulty. Maybe a reunion is in the future.

    Seamus Dooley

    1. 2chouters

      Hey, thanks for taking time to comment, Seamus! Sounds like it might be time to get the band back together, if for no other reason than to share a pint! Steven informs me that he does not have a recording of the song. With so many moves made over the years, those things seem to go missing! We will pass on your kind regards to the Dempsey family!

  7. Cynthia Hollenbeck

    Excellent post! And, THANK YOU for the recipe! I would have been quite disappointed if you hadn’t!❤

    After all of the walking you’ve done, why was this one hard? Distance? Elevation?

    1. 2chouters

      I want to know immediately when you have made the Coronation Chicken! I hope you love it as much as we do! As for the hike, what made it so difficult was the elevation and descents, as well as the terrain, which was at times boggy, then boulder-y. It was just a very physical walk. But really, anything challenging is my favorite kind. 🙂 One more to go!!

  8. Liz

    Always glad when I see the alert that you have a new blog. Wonderful description and photos of such magical places in Ireland! So nice to see Steven’s family! Being “home” has to feel good. His painting from Arklow is so good. What a talented guy.

    1. 2chouters

      I am trying hard to get caught up, thank you for your words of encouragement! Steven says he has come to appreciate Ireland even more as an adult, so he is really enjoying traveling around there.

    1. 2chouters

      Oh, please let me know the minute you make it and tell me if you like it! I have stocked up on mango chutney and of course have no room for it all in Bijou. When will I learn? Sigh.

    1. 2chouters

      If you’ve been reading Kelly’s blog then you know there are plenty more castles coming up! Being in Ireland is always wonderful, but visiting family there is the icing on the beautiful cake!

  11. Dave

    Great story and pics. Our dream Ireland and Scotland.! So funny, when I was grinding up the hill to Orisson I bumped into two blokes and a lady having a chat and rest but I couldn’t figure out which language they were speaking. I ignorantly asked them if they were speaking Gaelic🤦🏼‍♂️ They laughed and said they were speaking English…I couldn’t understand a word they were very saying. Solid Irish. 🙄. We had a very nice visit.
    Just finished reading ‘The Wonder’. Movie coming to NFLX later this month. Mid 1890s story about ‘miracle’ child in poor Irish village who claimed to live without eating. Waiting for ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
    Safe travels.

    1. 2chouters

      I am getting pretty good at understanding most accents! Over the past few months we have been watching only British, Irish and Scottish television series (Line of Duty and Shetland are must see TV!!) so we’ve gotten lots of exposure to all kinds of dialects. Sometimes I look to Steven for translation and find he is just as confused as I am, so we “rewind” until we get it right. 🙂 When are you planning a trip to Ireland and Scotland? Let us know if we can be of help!

    1. 2chouters

      Awww, thanks, Kathryn. The hikes are challenging and the logistics are not easy, but in the end we find that it is well worth the effort! I’m so glad you are enjoying following along, and as always, we appreciate you taking time to comment and let us know. We love the encouragement. 🙂

  13. Laurel

    I had to go look up Coronation Chicken as soon as you mentioned it because I needed to know that secret ingredient (I figured it was mango chutney) 😀. Thanks for supplying your tried and true recipe! We like curried chicken salad and this looks delicious.

    As always, reading your blog is a delight and makes me want to travel wherever you’ve been. So fun to get a glimpse of life in Ireland, and so glad you were able to spend time with Steven’s family. It’s wild to think that you’ve been in Europe for more than three years now! You’ve certainly had many fabulous adventures.

    1. 2chouters

      LOL, did you think I was going to let you down and not share the recipe?? But yeah, that mango chutney seals the deal for me. And I found out there is a difference between good chutney and cheap chutney, so do with that info nugget what you will.

      It will shock you even further to know that we will soon be celebrating FOUR years in Europe! In fact, when summer rolls around, we will equal and then surpass the amount of time we spent full timing in Scoopy! That blows my own mind!! 🙂

  14. Jeanne Sevaaetasi

    I absolutely love coronation curry salad, had it in Ireland as well, instead of grapes I put cran raisins. Kana would like to move to Ireland he said it was the best vacation we’ve had, I’m hooked on the lamb shanks. Love your stories, are you still here in Washington?

    1. 2chouters

      I wonder why it is so popular in Ireland when it is actually a British dish? No matter, I am so glad they had it on the menu at Moneylands Farm and that I ordered it! We are not in Washington, just passed through the airport on our way to San Diego! I sure do miss it, though.

    1. 2chouters

      Ireland is a stunning country! The friends and family are a bonus! 🙂 Safe travels to you guys, too. I see you are finally back in the Southwest, and with big plans on the horizon. Hope it all works out!

  16. Laura

    I kept reading and reading wondering if you were gonna hide the “secret ingredient that elevates it beyond belief.”

    Phew! I’m glad you shared.

    But I will not be adding raisins. Because they are the work of the devil.

    Ok, I’m being a bit dramatic. But I’m not wrong. 🙂

    Ireland is ridiculously beautiful and I can’t wait to see it myself. Thank you for the gorgeous photos.

    1. 2chouters

      Well, after the great pizza vending machine debacle of 2022, I was not going to let you down again! And I am 100 percent with you on raisins, little wrinkled turds. I hate them, too. And I’ll go you one better, I don’t like dried fruit of any kind, thus the grapes instead of the apricots. All that said, though, I do for some inexplicable reason enjoy sultanas in a very, very limited number of dishes, this being on of them. Hope all is well in Portugal and that you are getting settled in!

    1. 2chouters

      Thanks, guys! What Brit Mum would not love a good Coronation Chicken? I think it is required that if you are British, you have to like it, right? Some law, or something to that effect? 🙂

  19. Debbie McCormack

    Do much awesomeness! Love the ice cream, campgrounds and beautiful family. Steven and just brother found be twins! The “Rock, walk and colorful town. Love the green tunnel of trees!!! The recipe sounds intriguing. If one doesn’t like curry would one still enjoy it? I just might try it anyway!

    1. 2chouters

      Actually, I am not a big fan of most curries, either. But there are a million different kinds, and I urge you to try the mild Madras curry powder. I know it’s a pain to buy if you don’t like it, but it might be worth it. Just try half, then see if you like it enough to try more. It is very mild. But to answer your question, yes, I think will still be really delicious, because the mango chutney will give it delicious flavor! I hope you try it one way or the other and let me know what you think!

  20. Jodee Gravel

    Wonderful header! So glad you got back to Ireland and away from the worst of the heat waves. The photos are glorious of the cities and another leg of the pilgrimage. Those long views really are incredible as is that tree tunnel. Love the Rock and the Abby and how uniquely beautiful the ancient ruins are.
    Yes, I’m way behind in blog reading 🙁

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