07 April 2009

Baile Áytha Troim



The market town of Trim is the perfect scale for an introduction to a stay in Ireland. It's got everything you could possibly want in a town--a castle, a ruin, a river, an Indian takeaway, a library and a bookstore. Trim Castle, which is in fact also a ruin, is a twelfth-century castle. It is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe, but it's main claim to fame is being the site of Mel Gibson's film Braveheart, a factoid I doubt I'll ever verify by watching the film.
On Friday, my first full day here, I visited the castle grounds, investigated Ready  to Go mobile phones, and walked all over the town. I was amazed that every cafe was stuffed with diners at lunchtime until I realized that Friday was also the start of the school holidays, a two-week break that always happens at Easter. On Monday, when I went back to Watson's, already my favorite lunch spot, there were about three customers in the place. I suspect word is going around that there is an American in town with actual money to spend, seeing as I have had two lunches at Watson's and a takeaway sag paneer from Khan Spices, just up the road from Watson's and also largely empty in the evening now that the Celtic Tiger has lost its roar.

1 comment:

  1. What kind of food do they serve at Watson's? How is the food at Khan Spices? Loving the blog- it's so much fun to read about your life in Ireland. wonderful writing, too, needless to say.

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