Quoile Castle

No matter how many castles I see, I always love to see more. Is this a symptom of being born in America? On my recent trip to N. Ireland, my cousins took me to Quoile Castle. They've recently started restoring it, and soon you'll be able to actually go inside the tower. This thought really excited my 13 year old cousin Aaron who dreams of being a castle tour guide.

So maybe it's not my Americanness that makes me long for a good castle. Perhaps it's just something that runs in the family. We love us a good castle. Even half a castle:

(Quoile Castle, Downpatrick, County Down)

(My cousin Leah inspecting the garden) 

A lovely thing about this wee castle-ette is that they've dedicated the visitor center to teaching wee ones about the local wildlife and insect-life. It's done really well and is super interactive. You can watch the local fish in a wee tank, and there's a camera on a nest of birds (complete with a log of how they have grown). They even keep bees and have stuffed versions of the larger, potentially dangerous animals that live in the area. It was sweet to see the kids learning in such a hands on way.

(Looking out upon the gardens)

(In the river Quoile nearby...sadly there was no moat)

And I have to add a gratuitous photo of my wee cousin Lucas because he is adorable:

(Lucas!)

"B-e-e-r Spells Whiskey"

One of the fun things about being old is finding different things to do when you're on vacation. I recently realized that whenever I go to a new place, a brewery or distillery tour is usually on the itinerary. Even last week, when I was looking up things to do in Glasgow, Scotland, I found myself trying to decide which scotch distillery to visit (you know, just in case I can't get to both).

On my 2009 trip to N. Ireland, my cousins took me to the Bushmills whiskey distillery in County Antrim. We did the tour and got to sample some very nice whiskey. If you ever do go, I recommend taking my cousin Paul; he doesn't drink whiskey too often, so he'll let you have his share.

(The Bushmills Distillery, N. Ireland)

(This distillery is older than my country)

(Enjoying a 10-year old single malt at about 11am)

I was also going to add a few photos from my trip to the Dogfishhead Brewery in Milton, Delaware, but my computer and Facebook deleted them. This is one of those times when digital is not best.

In any case, brewery and pub tours are a lot of fun. Sometimes the tour groups are so small that you can really chat with the tour guides. At Bushmills, our tour guide Seamus thought it was great that 1.) I was an American and 2.) that we brought an 11 year old on the tour (my cousin Aaron). To demonstrate his appreciation for the Harris-Irvine party, Seamus let me pose with an 80-year old bottle of whiskey. Similarly, at the Dogfishhead pub, we befriended Jameson who happened to have the same watch as my brother; as a result, he let us hang out and have a bit more beer than we were entitled to.

(Trip to Bushmills)

(antique bottle of whiskey)

Will there be a possible brewery tour this weekend in St. Louis? Only time will tell....


*quote in subject line taken from Superfudge by Judy Blume; one of my favourite children's books ever.