A zippy three-hour drive from coast to coast landed us in Westport, Ireland, to met our photographer friend.  The many stoney building faces make Westport a beaux of a city.  The businesses here have a decidedly international flair.  Before meeting Glen, Dave and I lunched at a highly acclaimed restaurant downtown named “sol rio.”

Glen stays a few miles outside town, at the Seapoint House, when he’s in this area.  His work is hanging in rooms all over this B&B.  That (and the fact that he’s here) makes it feel like home to us.  Dave and I have one of Glen’s photos from this very county (County Mayo) hanging in our dining room in Portsmouth.

When we arrived today, Glen was out somewhere with his camera so we wandered a bit. It was overcast across Ireland most of the day, but the colors of the moss here are always so vibrant as you can see below.

Glen’s enthusiasm for this place is contagious.  For dinner, he took us out to one of his favorite pubs, Sheebeen.  In the photos below, you see how animated he and Dave were–until the food arrived!

At this pub, once again, I found delicious vegetarian choices on the menu.  Although I’m not vegetarian, I am trying to cut back on eating meat… we’ve had luck ordering one vegetarian and one fish or meat entree and splitting.  (Incidentally, Torinos Italian Restaurant in Westport also has delicious food and vegetarian options.)

See my half-sized “lady Guinness” in the foreground above?  It’s as much alcohol as I can handle (I’m actually quite the teetotaler).  In any case, I’ve no idea what to make of the sandwich board we saw while walking downtown before dinner… it must be a joke?

I’m really not sure what to make of this sign.