The good life, part 3
I went for a longer walk this morning while mom slept.
I find the morning light mesmerizing. And constantly changing.
I wanted to walk to Murlough Bay but it was too far. We are on a tight schedule this morning--down for breakfast in time to get to the spa by 9:30 for a massage! It's a tough life.
Murlough Bay beach is in the distance, with high dunes on my left and Royal County Down on the other side of the dunes.
The massage was lovely – I'd never had a bowl with essential oils put on the ground under my face while I lay on my stomach – that was nice. Mom enjoyed her massage as well – we both picked the same essential oil, which had more of a citrus scent, rather than the rose-scented alternative. Then we lay on loungers in a sunny sunroom overlooking the sea, then we tried out the steamroom, which we didn't stick for long. Then back to our room to change then we collected Aelish on the other side of Newcastle and headed down the coast, first to Annalong then Kilkeel. Below is Annalong harbour with a cornmill in the background.
Aelish took this photo:
The idea in Kilkeel was to visit Made in Mournes, an artists collective, then a chocolate factory. We made it as far as Made in Mournes, when I ran out of fuel – figuratively. So we had lunch at the local inn and then headed back. Made in Mournes sold the chocolate, so we didn't need another stop. The drive along the coast was gorgeous. Unfortunately no easy place to stop for a photo. The sea was like platinum – blindingly bright. And lots of bright green fields hemmed in by stone walls in the foreground.
Kilkeel has a very large fishing fleet. This photo doesn't do it justice as it is from the wrong angle but I'm always wary of parking in a busy commercial area like this.
After our coastal tour, we relaxed for a bit then had dinner at the Slieve Donard Hotel. The excitement of the afternoon was the new owners – a U.S.-based group that owns golf hotels – arrived by helicopter. They were at the Percy French restaurant next door to the Slieve Donard Hotel. As for us, we had salmon (mom) and a filo pastry basket of celeriac and mushrooms. Compliments to Chef Hazel. Mom remarked that in addition to salman she ordered at the Slieve Donard and Arnold's Hotel in Dunfanaghy, she'd been served salmon on crackers or wheaten at Fay's next door on Cherryvalley, at Peggy O'Dwyer's in Derry, and at Valerie and Jonathan's in Newcastle. I'll have to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't grow a tail and gills.
We watched an episode of Graham Norton (the cast from the Bond film) then called it a night.
Oct 12