Rosslare, Ireland: what did we really expect?
Surprise 1: bus[y]ness
We are in Rosslare mainly because it is on route to Dublin. The three hour ferry ride from Pembroke Dock, Wales, drops us at Europort. We find the port very busy as it has ferries plying to Spain and France as well! As soon as we get our bearings we discover that the railway station is literally only a few minutes walk from the dock.
Surprise 2: Views
Our stay is at a building just across the railway line but on a hill. It being late in the evening we think, we should try a shortcut instead of following the windy road which meant walking a lot further from the starting point. We negotiate a slope and a rickety wooden staircase to reach the road on which our accommodation sits. In the balmy twilight we have great views of Europort. Further away is the strand!
Surprise 3: climate and flora
There are actually tropical plants and trees! We could have been anywhere in the Mediterranean! No surprise that Rosslare has been a tourist spot for more than a century!
Surprise 4: dazzling modern Victorian
As we enter our host greets us with such a huge heart warming smile. We are dazed. When the daze wears off a little we have reason to be even more charmed. There are two lounges with dainty rose print wallpaper and comfiest of sofas and Victorian lampshades. A dining room conjures up promises of a comforting highly proper breakfast served on elegant crockery with appropriate cutlery
Our rooms? By far the best
A highly polished set of stairs leads us to a large bedroom with similar rose patterned wall paper and linen. The bathrooms are clean and very modern. The WiFi is incredibly fast.
Surprise 5 : We are in a popular holiday destination
It has a lot to do with history and geography
We are actually in a building that was once a courthouse. What an incredible makeover the owners have made.
The Irish Ros Lair means ‘the middle peninsula’: not middling but a go between!
The weather has lent to its epithet: the sunniest spot in Ireland.
It has a long beach.
In the early 20th century the harbour was beginning to silt and therefore would reduce traditional movement of goods and people which is why the Rosslare Harbour also became Rosslare Europort with the added railway. 5 trains a day run to Dublin.
No wonder then that it remains an easily accessible vacation spot.
Is it all a dream?
As we are to take the train to Dublin soon after breakfast our host has arranged an early breakfast for us. It is what I had expected. A full Irish breakfast is presented to us with such cordiality and elegance that makes me want to pinch myself to wake up from a dream!
Is the proof really in the pudding?
We are served two unique puddings in slab form – one pale and the other a Reddish black. Now the revelation. They are not the familiar sweet dairy based desserts. They are concocted from meat scraps, offal, and blood so butchers need not throw these items out! They are called puddings because they are boiled or steamed inside a cloth. The ‘white’ does not contain blood. The ‘black’ does. Do they generally make them at home? No, they come in sausage form from the deli. They are sliced into discs for serving.
When it is time to leave, our host for the day offers to drive us to the station. We should have hugged her.
We are quite reluctant to leave on our 3 hour train ride to Dublin, but we must go on.
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