A visit

We visited Renate, a close friend of Carl's mum, in her place in the depths of Wicklow in the afternoon. She's a real character, full of stories and endless chatter. She lives in an isolated spot near Kilbride/Brittas, in a house perched on a hillside overlooking a dramatic view of rolling countryside.

The weather was kind, though far from the scorching temperatures that had been forecast. Still, the scenery as we made our way along narrow and winding country roads was wonderful and definitely deserved a photo stop before we got there. We were greeted enthusiastically by Renate's dog Charlie and sat outside gorging ourselves on strawberries and cream and a homemade gooseberry and almond carrot cake (also with cream).

We moved inside for a while when the sun deserted the patio and a bit of a chill set in. The room we were in has a large window which makes the most of the view and takes in a bird feeder which attracted lots of attention, most dramatically by a woodpecker which we understand is a regular visitor.

The story-telling went on for several hours before we made our farewells and headed back to the mundane contrast of suburbia.