A Plantation Mansion and First Perspective Stories from a Small House: Western Ireland Adventures

Today was another one of those days that makes me realize this one of the greatest chances I’ve ever taken. It was full of rich cultural experiences, starting with an old English mansion and plantation. The plantation was incredible, exactly as it was years before, and described the weatlh lifestyle, and the celebrities in the family that would have lived there. It also detailed the style, where the outside was made to look bigger than nit actually was. The kitchen had a wrap around balcony so the woman of the home could control what was going on in the kitchen and send down orders to the workers. The place had been renovated, and the old walls were removed to demonstrate a room exactly as it had been including stoves and pots behind the modernized shrunken portion to suit the age of the owner. The dining room was incredible, 10 person table, fireplaces, leading into various other rooms. Only the rooms accessible to the “gentry” were done up well and made to look bigger than they actually were. The men women and children all slept in different rooms in fear of robbers or protests against their wealth, and the man of the home usually slept with a large dog.

Following with a tour of a small house, where we all gathered in one of the three tiny rooms where 9 people lived, during this man’s life who was about 60 years old. He told of life in the home growing up, without electricity until the 60’s and his perspective on the greed and wealth influx of the Celtic Tiger, along with the process that would have ensued to get to school. He stopped schooling at 13 to work the fields and help support his family. He was outraged by water usage, and described making one bath pan of hot water last for all 9 family members, and described how six children would share 2 beds, but the sense of community was extreme, and everyone bonded. He described how government shaped architecture, through taxation systems, and how we could date homes as a result of this. In earlier times, it was based on the fireplace, so people began to build homes with open fire pits in the middle of the home to avoid the tax. After they caught on, the policy was changed to a "light tax", based on the size of windows and doors, which caused the advent of the half door! His dad was a migrant worker to england, and we later enjoyed tea before traveling through the museum.

We ended at the hotel where we had an incredible three course dinner at the 4.5 star restaurant in the hotel, wandered around the city and then watched Marley and Me on the way to bed. I got a cesare salad with bacon, chicken carbonara, and raspberry cheesecake, chocolate brownie fudge cake, and a miniature apple tart. The waiter thought my tea was coffee, and took it away to bring a new coffee. I was slightly annoyed, but we laughed about cultural misunderstandings with one of our group leaders. Eventually, I headed back to the hotel, where I hung out with everyone and then crashed after a long conversation with John.