Greece to Ireland transition, June 20

Greetings from Killarney.  Last time I wrote you was from Arrival Hall 2 at Heathrow.  After that missive, I went to an organic food restaurant in the food court and had hummus with pita bread and a great yogurt (what else?) with blueberries and granola, as I was starving after coffee and a stale muffin at the hotel at 3:00 a.m.   Soon after, as I was checking the posting of my flight gate, Nancy spotted me and we proceeded to the gate.  Our flight left at close to 2:00 p.m. for Cork, and lasted about an hour.  Upon arrival at Cork Airport, all of us passengers actually got to walk a gangplank rather than be ferreted out by tunnel/chute.  I haven't walked a gangplank for years, and still cherish a photograph of myself (in raincoat with hood, carrying my stuffed toy deer and shod in saddle oxfords, at about 3 years of age) and my mother (dressed in tweed suit and wearing a hat, chic high heels, and gloves) walking the gangplank of a BOAC in those days when flying was de rigueur and carried some panache and the "aroma of the great wide world."  

From the airport we took a taxi to the train station, bought our tickets, and waited on Platform 5 for a train to Cork at 4:55.  For the longest no one came, and, as the station reeked of benign neglect, we weren't sure we were going to see any action.  Eventually, passengers arrived and the train showed up, albeit late, which preyed on my mind (bent on efficiency) and made me wonder if we would miss our connection to Killarney at Mallow.  However, I didn't stay with that thought too long--"let it go for once" I kept saying to myself--hard work for someone like me who gets bent out of shape when things don't proceed logically and on time!  Of course there was also the question of getting my big piece of luggage and and off each train, and the gap between train and platform each time was substantial.  As my right arm is not very strong at this point, I asked for assistance and got it readily, which made for a much smoother transition.  Arrived in Killarney and took another taxi, this time to Harmony Inn/Glenna House, where our arrival had been tagged as June 21 and not June 20.  I had, however, the paperwork to prove my point, and so the proprietor found us a room at a neighboring hotel, paid for the difference, and brought us to our hotel for one night.  As a bonus, she will even do a small load of my clothes tomorrow, which is really good news.  As they were busy when we came, we filled in the time gap before proceeding to the next hotel by having a bite of dinner at a pub/restaurant across the street from the hotel.  I had the most delicious potato/leek soup with soda bread, and Nancy had Irish stew which was also scrumptious.  After arriving at the hotel, exhausted, we took care of a few logistics packing-wise before collapsing and enjoying a good night's sleep.  Off tomorrow to explore Killarney and its surroundings!