Anna's Awesome Adventures!!!: Ireland -- Day 5

Today was so wonderful! First of all, I got a much better night's sleep than any previous nights on this trip (although I still need more sleep, I'll take any improvement!) and was up by 8:00. Breakfast was some toast with jam, a really juicy pear, and milk. Then we walked down to our lecture building for a (relatively brief compared to yesterday) talk by Colin on meat, meat alternatives, animal ethics, and advantages and disadvantages (from a financial, sustainable, and health perspective) of various meat- versus vegetable- versus mixture-centered diets. By 11:15, we had boarded a bus and were heading into the absolute best part of Ireland -- the country! My heart soared with joy when I began to see the beautiful rolling green hills, lush foliage, sheep, dairy & beef cattle, quaint small towns, and even horses (and a cute little brown foal!). Our itinerary involved a visit to Gort na Nain Farms, owned by Ultan Walsh & Lucy Stewart, which is an organic vegetable garden that supplies to all-vegetarian Cafe Paradiso in Cork. Over approximately three acres (one in open land, two under greenhouse cover due to Ireland's weather), they are growing a variety of apples, greens, squash, artichokes, onions, tubers, sweet corn, broccoli, tomatoes, asparagus, peppers, herbs, and so much more. We all got to taste impossibly-sweet cherry tomatoes and breathe in the blissful aroma of lemon basil. And once the tour was complete, we were treated to a scrumptious lunch in the Walsh's lovely farmhouse kitchen of creamy potatoes, broad bean hummus, mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, roasted beets, thinly shaved cucumber, dessert (a date-nut-chocolate bar), coffee or tea, water, and a heaping dose of hospitality. Ultan even played a short tune on his bouzouki (a stringed instrument originating from Greece). All thoughts, concerns, worries, and frustrations were easily forgotten as soon as I entered the country, especially when we enjoyed the feast and friendship with these lovely Irish farmers. It was sad to have to leave such a peaceful haven to come back to Cork.

Once we got back, a few of us quickly freshened up before heading into downtown Cork for more exploring, a bit of shopping, picture-taking, and eventually dinner with the whole group at Cafe Paradiso. It was so cool to literally have the entire farm-to-table experience in the same day, just a handful of hours apart! For the starter, I had grilled peaches, cucumber, radish, sheep's milk yogurt, mint, watercress, and macadamia nuts. Main course was eggplant (called aubergine here) rolled up with a spinach and Knockalara sheep's cheese filling, accessorized by miso gravy, beluga lentils, broad beans, and purple lentils, and dusted with walnut crumbs. Dessert of dark chocolate mousse with cherries, sesame seeds, and chili powder finished off an absolutely-perfect meal. The elegant plating and deliciousness of each bite was unparalleled to hardly any other meal I've ever had, meat-containing or otherwise!