Another beautiful day

Ireland has been having record-setting weather.  This time of year, mid-July, average daytime high temperatures should be in the low 60s.  After all, we leave most of our winter clothes here in storage when we return to Florida - corduroy and moleskin pants, several different weights of sweaters (known as "jumpers" here), almost exclusively long sleeve shirts, several of them various thicknesses of flannel.  Truly, they have gotten more use here than in our typical Florida winter.

Today, the thermometer actually hit 85 (therefore, I stand corrected.  The video below says that it would not make it into the eighties today).  This, and the high two days ago, have set all-time records.  The previous record for today, set in 2013, was 68.  In truth, however, a few years ago temperatures hit similar highs, with an accompanying drought.  The combination of these two phenomena caused the ground to "sink" a bit and drone footage revealed the outlines of passage tombs and old military fortifications from thousands of years ago.  During that hot, but relatively brief, stretch of time we were amused to listen to the announcers on TV and radio as they exhorted their listeners to "wear sun cream and, for godsakes, stay hydrated!"  At the time, I think temperatures were creeping up into the mid- to high seventies.  Beaches were crowded, sunburns were all about, and (truly) roads were melting.  I gained additional amusement when listening to an embattled government official explaining on the radio that it was impossible to produce a blacktop/macadam product that could stand up to such a seasonal change in temperature.  A typical Irish winter will produce lows between 40/46 degrees F.  Certainly there are occasions when the temperature dips to below freezing, but no one's complaining about the roads cracking.  I was thinking of my experiences growing up on Long Island, where temperatures could dip into the teens in the winter and soar to the 90s in the summer.  Melting roads?  Not so much...  Another sign of the times here - both of the major supermarkets were out of ice by the mid-morning.  The Irish were swamping the local beaches and taking advantage of this unusual weather.  We certainly saw some exposed skin yesterday that would have done a boiled lobster proud.

So, we thought the beautiful weather provided a good opportunity to show you around the town a bit (our section of town, at least) and show you around the apartment and the changes we have made - lots of sweat equity.  Click on the videos for a brief tour.

Click here to take a tour of the town center

Click here to tour our apartment