Ireland

We had a bit of a change in plans for our latest country. Like I said in my last country blog, we are trying to make sure we can get some countries done even when we're out and about on trips. We were at Disney the last couple of days, and had planned on going to the Canada pavilion, but  confusion with fastpasses, and crowds, and timing- we ended up doing Ireland instead. 

Walt Disney really loved to travel, so a lot of the Disney hotels and restaurants are themed very authentically from his travels. (Of course, you also have the pavilions in the World Showcase at Epcot). One of those restaurants is Raglan Road at Disney Springs. We'd been talking about going there forever, and with the ease of access from our hotel, and easy to get reservations, we decided to have lunch there, and make it Ireland day. 

The place itself is very authentic, complete with servers from Ireland. Much of what you saw in the restaurant also came from Ireland, including the two bars and the stained glass windows. We missed the entertainment (I think that's only for dinner), but we hear that's awesome as well. And Hayden rather enjoyed his Irish themed crossword puzzle and wordsearch on his kids place mat. 

Plus, look how cute the plates are! And we got ketchup AND vinegar for our 'chips'. 

We were served soda bread, and while we all tried it, Asa was pretty much the only one who liked it. Which, was odd, since usually we all like bread, and Asa is unimpressed. 

Asa got the Dublin Donkey to drink. It had lime juice, candied ginger, whiskey and ginger beer in it. He enjoyed it, but then Asa's never really met a drink he didn't like. 

Peyton and Asa both got the Pancetta & Chicken Sanger, a chicken sandwich with crispy pancetta, Dubliner cheese, lettuce, tomato, and herb aioli, served, of course, with chips. They were both pleased with their choice. I meanwhile, got a pork sandwich with apple chutney. The boys all picked what they wanted and we ordered super fast. I panicked a bit, since i hadn't decided, and landed on that. But, really, it was a good choice. I would maybe get it again, but I also might like to go outside the box a little. 

Calib, on the other hand went way out of the box with the 'Three Times a Boxy.'  It was sliced gammon topped with Dubliner cheddar, sandwiched between two pan seared boxty potato cakes, with a fried egg on top. He wins the award for trying the craziest thing out of all of us. He ate every last bit of it, with the exceptions of the bite he gave to all of us to try. (Peyton really threw a fit about the gammon, but eventually took the smallest of bites, and then made a face). 

Hayden went with a kids meal, but he embraced the Irish with a gigantic bowl of mashed potatoes (this picture does not adequately show how big it was!) 

 Everyone gave their meal a spoon up, and we'd all like to visit again- maybe during dinner so we can see the Irish dancers. 

When we came home today, we had our Irish lesson. Some countries, I just don't feel like I'm telling the boys too much they don't already know. I mean we talked sheep, green landscapes, shamrocks, and jugs of Guinness. But, some things you might not know: the White House was designed by an Irishman, and that  the very first telegraph cables went from Ireland to Newfoundland. One of the first messages sent was from Queen Victoria to our own James Buchanan! 

No dinner tonight, since we ate at Raglan Road yesterday, but we did still scratch off the map, and color in the table. 

And the boys made some nice postcards. 

I do want to note a little change in programming. We're going to finish up the last few countries we had scheduled for January, since we've already gone shopping for them. But, then we've decided to move a whole slew of them up. To be exact: The six countries whose citizens have been banned from entering our country. 

12 Down, 181 to Go! 

Next Up: Bahrain