Visiting Ireland ancestor hunting with my son was marvellous and also disappointing. The marvellous part (after foggy and cold days) was leaving grimy Dublin - and speeding across Ireland on a Galway-bound train.
We were being served a Bacon, Egg and Black Pudding breakfast by a redhead colleen when an aroma of burning turf (from nearby farm cottages) wafted me back to my youth as the fog lifted. And there it was; The sun-lit green land of my ancestors as the colleen smiled warmly at me.
I must have died and gone to Heaven, (g!)
The disappointing part was checking out Irish Pubs in Galway. What I expected (from Irish videos) was respectful silence as a pub band played lyrical Irish folk music.
What I got was noisy and smoky pubs with a band (nobody took notice of) being drowned out by bright chatter. My eyes stung from cigarette smoke.
