Final Thoughts

Ireland is a lovely country with lovely people and an interesting history. I want to return to try to determine if Thomas was indeed one of the first Orangemen, but until then, I will continue to wear orange and love the experience we had.

The Spitjack

I had made reservations at the Spitjack, a highly recommended restaurant in Cork. It was hard to leave the Hayfield Manor for any restaurant, but we did, and it was worth it. I had the Porschetta pork belly, and oh my, was there a lot of it! It is a specialty that takes 48 hours to cook, and they frequently run out . . . and with the portions they serve, I see why. It could have fed two people, and Don had to eat some of mine. The apple and sage puree underneath it added a very rich taste to the meat - something I could not have predicted. Don had the pithivier, which is chicken enclosed in a puff pastry. He thought it was good, but he was glad he got to taste my pork. Do you know what a spithjack is? It is a historical mechanism, used before electricity, that uses weight (similar to a cuckoo clock) to turn a piece of meat over a fire. And now you have learned something today!