Day 92: Galway - Tinahely

Today the day started with what my humans call "minimal cleaning" of the apartment. Translated into dog language: hiding crumbs, wet towels, and a suspicious sock to make it look like we've always been super tidy. At 10 o'clock we were already in the car, ready for the next stage.

After more than an hour of driving, we arrived in Birr. Here there's not only a beautiful castle with gardens that look like they've come straight off a postcard, and a giant telescope that was once the largest in the world… there's also a story that pricked up my ears: it turns out that the first person to die in a car accident lived right in that castle. Lady Mary, a high-society lady and, apparently, quite intrepid, got into a car in 1869… and let's just say the brakes of the time weren't up to her ambitions. I suppose if I'd been there, I would have barked three times for her to slow down.

We strolled through the entire Birr Estate: gardens, paths, green corners where you can smell centuries of history… and a telescope so enormous I wondered if I could see all the way to my bed in the apartment.

Then it was time to recharge our batteries. We found Kelly's Bar, a place so dog-friendly that, as soon as we sat down, the waitress appeared with a bowl of water for me and, get this, some treats! Not from my humans, of course, they never give in to temptation, but from the waitress, who clearly understood canine protocol. Meanwhile, my humans devoured their food and I acted as a crumb inspector.

On the way out, we took another walk through the town to see the famous sign that tells the story of the first car accident (Lady Mary's). I stared at it intently, in case there were any traces of the original wheel… nothing, just history and letters.

We went back to the car and, after another hour, we stopped at a beautiful place next to a bridge over a canal. The coffee flew down, the waitress was one of those who makes you feel at home, and I took the opportunity to stretch my legs and sniff everything I could before the last stretch.

That last stretch was long, but upon arrival… wow! The house, just south of the Wicklow National Park, is a thousand times better than the previous apartment: clean, impeccable, with views of the countryside and sheep in the background singing their "baa-aa-aa" as if it were a local choir. The owner greeted us with a friendliness that even put me at ease.

They had dinner with the shopping from Aldi (yes, we stopped there too) and now I'm writing this half-lying down, listening to sheep and feeling that today, at last, I've been treated as a guest of honour… thanks to that waitress who knows how to win over a dog.