Waking up and looking out at the sea should not be under estimated for it goodness to the soul ... the same could be said for a walk along the coast where you can hear that gentle (or not so gentle) beating of the sea against the rocks below 😘

Today in Ballycotton they were holding their Seafood and Shanty festival ... and the weather decided to come out to play 😄

A nice brunch in Pier 26 set the tone for the day ... nice and chilled 😄

After brunch ... 2 p.m. we headed down to the pier to see the festival get under way ... and no better way than to see Rachel Allen giving a cooking demonstration! That was followed by Arun Kapil (ex Ballymaloe student) who owns and runs the Green Saffron spice company giving his own demo, the last man up was “Chris” a Japanese trained sushi chef ... who catches his own fish every day for his sushi 🍣 😱

We chilled out on the harbour wall for most of the afternoon chatting with all my fellow students and teachers who passed by! We were anxiously waiting for the ultimate race ... the crab derby 🦀  

In hindsight an anti-climax but some nice funds raised for charity ... and I can now say I have been to a crab derby !!! 😘

Everyone seemed to be congregating afterward at the Blackbird so we joined them for a couple before heading back to Pier 26 for dinner ... 

I had heard mixed reviews about Pier 26 (there are ex Ballymaloe chefs in the kitchen) but I have to say our meal (both) was excellent ... the fish was super fresh and excellently cooked and of course they had a chocolate fondant ... cooked properly 😍 A lovely meal all in all! 😊

A stroll around the harbour and a cheeky little night cap at the Bayview hotel finished a fantastic day off nicely! 

Monday I send the little Greek back home after spending a fantastic weekend together but firstly I’ll try and show her around the bubble that is ... Ballymaloe 😇