You’ll be glad to know that Finn McSpool has made it safely home after over two weeks of traipsing around the land of his birth. I was ready to jump into all the adventures this wooly monster had in Kilkenny, Cork, the Aran Islands, and Dublin, but Finn insisted on a post to highlight his favorite parts of his Irish homecoming: the beers, the breakfasts, and some very special (and very monstrous) friends he made in between breakfast time and beer time.
The Most Important Meal of the Day: The Irish Breakfast
Also known in more honest terms as the Irish Fry, this is a meat-and-calorie laden meal that will keep beasties and humans full until late in the afternoon. On his first morning in Kilkenny, Finn was eager to fuel his day out with one of these hearty breakfasts.
“Wait a minute. What in the world is this? Fruit? Yogurt? Is it at least fried yogurt?”
“Sorry, Finn, but those of us not made of wool and stuffing need to eat a few healthy items.”
Soon enough though, “real” breakfast was dropped in front of him. He was too busy gnashing his way through the scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh-baked scone to notice I hadn’t ordered him the full Irish.
As if all this wasn’t enough, on our final day in Kilkenny, our wonderful host Josephine of Carriglea B&B filled our bags with some fresh-out-of-the-oven apple muffins for our onward journey. You know, just in case the 10,000-calorie breakfast didn’t see us through.
There were no home baked treats in Cork, but once we made our way to the Aran Islands, Finn was in hog heaven once again. Not sure how the hogs feel about this pork-filled breakfast, but…
And just as my arteries were starting to flow freely, on our final day in Dublin, Finn managed to cram in one more massive plate of cholesterol…
Irish Beastie Meets Irish Beer
Longtime followers of Finn will know that this Beastie loves his beer. And since alcohol is a solvent for lipids, it only makes sense that once the stomach starts to rumble, you should fill it with beer to wash away any lingering fat from breakfast. Science!
However, a beer that’s nearly twice as tall as yourself, might be overdoing it.
“You doing okay, Finn?”
“Perfectly shhplendid. Why do you ashk?”
“No reason.”
And then there was this. Luckily Finn doesn’t weigh much so he’s easy to carry home, if needed.
Still, Beasties must have amazing abilities to metabolize alcohol because by the time Mr Husband and I were done with our dinners, Finn was ready for more drinking. A lot more drinking!
Let’s just be glad Finn doesn’t have the skill (or muscles) to tap kegs!
By the time we made it to Dublin, this little monster was getting bored with his usual pint of the black stuff. Luckily, his maker, Helen of Crawcrafts Beasties, had the perfect cure for stout-overload and booked us in at Open Gate Brewery, the more experimental side of the Guinness World. The three humans each got a sampler of four craft beers, but it didn’t take long for Finn to claim them as his own.
“So, what are you guys having?”
Most of these beers are a bit stronger than your usual Guinness, and it took even less time for the results of his hoppy gluttony to become apparent.
But that Beastie metabolism kicked in and he managed one more glass of a super tasty IPA.
Loads of New Friends Including Some Wonderfully Wooly Ones
As you know, Finn loves making friends on his travels. Whether it’s cats in Italy, surfers in Hawaii, or giant pickles in Portland, he’s always ready to meet the locals. In Kilkenny, he had chat with this representative of the Kilkenny Cats hurling team.
Also in Kilkenny, at the castle, Finn met up with this fellow who, if I remember right, represents the River Suir. Regardless of who he is, he looks like he’s already downed a pint or two himself despite it only being about 10am!
I’ll save all the friends Finn met on the Aran Islands for a later post, but when he got to Dublin, he was eager to get his photo taken with a couple celebrities. He got a bit too friendly with Molly Malone one morning, and I really hope there isn’t a sexual harassment suit in Finn’s future.
Although I always though he’d be fun and witty, Oscar Wilde didn’t even glance at Finn. Guess fame has gone to his head and he no longer has time for the little people monsters.
Luckily, there were better friends to be made in Dublin including Finn’s maker. On our very first day in the big city, it was group photo time. That’s the world famous Explorer Beastie there on the right and, as you can see, from his work at Crawcrafts Beasties he’s a natural in front of the camera. The other three Beasties, just don’t seem to know where to look.
But wait, who are those other two Beasties? Well, strange things happen on an island that is so full of mysterious creatures and legends. Sometimes, you may find yourself Beastie-fied. That’s right, let me introduce you to Tammie and Mr Husband Beastie (aka “my birthday present from Mr Husband”).
As you can see, Helen really had her work cut out for her not only with two different outfits for these monsters (see dress and Hawaiian shirt in the first photo versus the Aran Island sweaters above), but also with loads of accessories, including a couple Hop Monster IPAs, a sandwich, cookie, satchel, backpack, sketchbook, Ireland guide book, and even a copy of every Beasties’ favorite book The Trials of Herc-Woolies!
Finn was a little jealous of the new Beasties at first, but he soon warmed up to Tammie Beastie. Wait, no, I think he just wanted to steal her cookie. Ah well, it’s a start.
Finn will be back in a couple weeks to begin his official Trip Report to show off all the sites he saw in between the breakfasting, beering, and befriending. And be sure to stop by Wednesday for a super exciting announcement from my writing world!!!
See you then!
