Ireland is not a “pretty” place! It’s not a “nice” place where you decide to make your next holiday! Ireland is an adventure, and more than that, it’s a challenge! It has two sides, the physical one, with the savage and breathtaking views, the almost constant rain, the green that is like no other green on Earth, the roughness of landscapes and the freezing water on any beach, anytime of the year. 
And then, there is the Irish
people who are the exact opposite of all that cold and roughness. I’ve met many different nationalities over the years, many of them nice and accommodating, but Irish have a special way about them, and a respect for nature that I’ve never seen before.
Off course, none of this means
anything to those who can’t imagine a holiday without blistering sun and hot sandy beaches. Those are nice too, but to me they are common, they are many and you find them anywhere where there is a tropical climate. I am passionate for history, uniqueness and old stuff: old books and old wine and old music and just generally things that hold history and value. And for those like me, Ireland really hits the spot. I love it when I have to explore a bit before discovering something great, and there, for every incredible view, you challenge yourself, it’s like trying to tame somebody who plays hard to get.
All the beauty is slightly hidden, like following secret clues into nature’s map, narrow roads, difficult and dangerous trails, rapids, trees that don’t give in when you want to pass through. There is a silence that tells you for sure there are living creatures hiding behind those trees, it’s not a stroll you can take lightly, it’s serious and almost ceremonial.
And all that centuries old stone in all the buildings, the cemeteries, the towers and churches, it was all built for defense and retreat, the nature allows you to admire, it does not invite you.
The respect that I was telling you about, it’s in the attitude, people there, locals, are so careful, even in the touristic areas, as to not disturb the balance, they seem to be very aware that they are guests in all that natural beauty, they don’t paint their houses in flashy colors, they blend in with the nature, the focus is not on opulence or show-off, but in comfort and living. The weather… well, everybody knows that Ireland means rain, rain and more rain… every few years you get the off year, slightly warmer and with less rain, but it’s an exception and everybody takes it as it is: a huge treat. Normally, at any giving time, it can just start to rain, but in no way like the normal rain you find in other parts of the world, it’s like thousands little cold needles falling from the sky. No umbrella can put up a fight in THAT rain, you need the Niagara Falls covers because the feeling is exactly like that, like walking on the deck of those little boats that go close to Niagara Falls.
In all that Druidic landscape, there are the Irish, with warm hearts, good whiskey and great sense of humor. The scones with marmalade and tea seem weird for an outsider, but once you walk in after a battle with that rain, you realize that their tea is exactly what you need. And oh, the freshly baked BROWN BREAD with Irish butter, that on it’s own is an experience! I love how everybody cherishes the present and the past, like a place you want to go to when you want to revisit your childhood, even if you were not born there. 
The land of grandfathers, of home-made treats, of history and legends, unaltered for centuries and that somehow, even in this age of speed and technology, remain original and real… (to be continued ).
