The Deacon's Back from the Emerald Isle!

Hey Peckers!

I was going to write this posting earlier, since we returned from Ireland more than a month ago, but had to wait until now to fully gather my thoughts so I could let you all know that you missed out on a Once In A Lifetime trip.You simply do not have the schema to conceive of how incredible it all was, from Chef Patti's flawless and gorgeous meals,

to the mist over the green fields and the moon over Lisheen Castle; our home for 7 glorious nights of feasting, laughter, music, drinking and camaraderie.

And we did it all...Cork Market; lunch on the cliffs overlooking the Irish Sea; eating Cashel Blue cheese with the cheesemaker; Guinness and more Guinness; local pubs and traditional musicians; Jameson's Distillery; fabulous breakfasts; comfortable coach rides through the Irish countryside, with our driver, Tony; endless wine and wine tastings, a phenomenal Awards Banquet, seeing Mary Coughan live in Cashel; winning at the dog races (the best day of Chef Patti's life); Limerick contests;

Your Deacon reciting pseudo Shakespeare from the battlements above his 4 star suite; peat fires; hurling;

soccer on our 15 acres of castle lawn; late-night dance party; fashion contest with The Deaconess winning the Colleen Award; Alice and I victorious in the 2011 Lisheen Castle Turf Bocce Tournament;

laughing like lunatics with Ken and Nicky; cooking lessons with our Chef; Tipperary scarves; drinking Kilkenny in Kilkenny; cheese and bread and butter beyond belief; the recitation of The Bastard Poem; afternoon tea and then opera sung by gorgeous Emily from the balcony of the St. Anne mansion; gallons of cider; enormous dinners, wonderful conversations by the fire; nightly King and Queen events; endless battles with the ghost, who insisted on opening our doors when we were downstairs; the Knighting ceremony complete with sword, etc., etc., etc.

Here's a picture of Kato, Billy and Chef Patti:

 It's astounding that the very trip that some of you said we wouldn't like, turned out to be not just a phenomenal vacation, but the very best week of our lives.

Thanks Billy and Kato! You are the consummate tour guides! Put us at the front of the line for the next one. Tell me when you need the deposit and I'll drop it on down to you...

Nobody does it better.

Deacon Dr. Fresh
Born English - Now Irish