May 15—Sightseeing in Kinsale, and We Occupy Midleton

Realizing that we weren't getting around the country of Ireland very quickly, we decided to boogie eastward and put on some miles. Just as well, since it was raining Monday morning anyway. This put us in the seaside resort town of Kinsale in time for lunch and the first pint. Doug and I both had the Mediteranian [sic] Tomato Soup, which we later realized should have been named the Mediteranian Sick Tomato Soup. We'll leave it at that.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger view, and then on the enlarged image to return.)

	Much as we loved our Guinness and Murphy's, a pint of something different sounded appealing, and we looked forward to trying one of Kinsale Brewing Co's offerings. Naturally, they're closed on Mondays.
	Never without a keen desire to seek out culture, we visited the old Kinsale Jail. (Well, okay—it's because the brewery wasn't open.) Wasn't much of an attraction, but we got a chance to make some new friends.
	Driving out of town, we encountered a charming little village with a terrific view of Kinsale Harbor. And the sun was out!
	This happened a lot.
	On the coast just outside Kinsale was some big fort—Fort Kinsale, maybe. It was a great location and an impressive structure, which would have had an interesting history had anybody tried to invade Kinsale, which never happened.
	Here's another shot of the fort, a 1MB panoramic video clip, and a shot by Mike of two snails mating on the fort's grounds. (Do you think maybe that, at five days, we've been away from the women back home too long?)
	We made several unsuccessful attempts to find lodging in Crosshaven, a seaside resort town that was too hoity-toity due to its proximity to Cork. Doug and I showed our disdain by indecorously leaving the remnants of our Mediteranian Sick Tomato Soup in the restroom of  a Crosshaven pub, and we then motored inland and eastward to the town of Midleton. Here, we found excellent accommodations, quickly followed by a visit to a pub that, thanks to its stained-glass windows and the sun low in the sky, rendered these artsy portraits, this one of Doug...
	...and this one of Mike (a.k.a. the Philandering Buzzard).
	Did those half pints cause this, or did Sheila just take too much out of him last night? He's not saying...
	GOT GUINNESS???
	This pub in downtown Midleton utilizes a unique marketing concept: They'll serve you the potion of your choice for as long as you're standing, but when you finally keel over they've got that covered too!