Journal entry from, the rental car on the M18 & Our first B&B in Quin, South of Ennis. Stepped outside of the airport and was awestruck. The skies are so different here. The clouds hang low and heavy but the sun peeks in through small patches. Everything is so green and lush and gorgeous. I instantly caught a whif of the 'turf' scent my aunt Pat had been telling me about. A deep earthy green smell that the country has about it. John, Patrick and I have been smiling ear to ear since we landed, anxious to find what the next ten days have in store for us. We can all feel it in our souls that this trip will be life changing. So, after the flight and managing our way through customs (patrick and john had their brand new passports stamped for the first time) we made our way to the car rental counter. We were given keys to a manual diesel Toyota. Patrick said before we left for the trip that he wanted to be in charge of driving which put me at ease. Once we got out of the airport, the sight of cars on the opposite side of the road were such a bizarre sight! We went through about 50 round-a bouts, drove 15 miles in the wrong direction and got off an exit to turn around. Cars were flying down the road on the opposite side towards us, down a road that seemed to fit only one and a half cars. In more than one instance we were only given that 'half' causing patrick to swerve into marshes, and rocks and puddles. We decided to drive directly to our first B&B. Getting out of the car was a relief. We stretched our legs, calmed our nerves and made our way into a huge neon blue house. Once inside we were greeted by a lovely blonde irish women, carrying around a bottle of windex and seemingly exhausted. We asked if it was too early to check in, but she said absolutely not and showed us to our room. We are staying in a modest sized room with a queen size bed and a twin. We have our own bathroom and shower. The lovely host made us some hot black tea and turned on the heat. Did I mention that we are very chilly? I was surprised at the temperature, it must be only about 60 degrees here today. We are now settled into our room ready for a quick nap. Its around 4am back home and we didn't get much sleep on the plane. We plan to rest for an hour or two, take showers and explore the towns around the B&B. Goodnight!