Lunch under palm trees

I have received many messages saying that you would love to find for yourself a warm and cosy place where you could make up your own chrysalid and survive the winter. Well, your wish is my command - I will take you to palm house.

But this particular palm house is a bit special. Of course, you will find here palm trees and feel a bit as if you were in a jungle.

They even grow on two levels.

But as we look down from the upper storey, you will quickly notice something.

Yes, tables! The palm house has been turned into a restaurant. 

You can simply sit at the bar.

But since this post comes a bit later in the day than usual, I propose that we sit at one of those nice tables and take a proper lunch.

You probably wonder what type of cuisine goes well with palm trees. Just look around, at the big picture ...

 ... and the small details.

So grab your sticks and get ready for the best Japanese food.

We will start with the wonton soup. Wonton is a type of dumpling that actually comes from China.

Then I would suggest eel as a main course.

And finally cake with green matcha tea.

Do not forget the jasmine tea!

I hope that you have enjoyed this visit to the palm tree and the food and that you are ready for new adventures!

Butterfly nursery

As the weather gets colder and colder, you surely noticed that fewer insects can be spotted around. The reason is that they do not cope well with changing temperatures - scientists call them poikilotherm, meaning that their body temperature is adapting to the temperature of the air. In winter they either hibernate or they die. For those who miss some of the prettiest insects, I have a special trip today.

What you see here are not dry leaves, though they would like you to believe it. At least if you are a predator (which you are most probably, but I do not think that you pray on those little fellows).

Take a closer look.

These are chrysalides so the pupal stage of a butterfly. This is where those disgusting caterpillars transform into the ultimate beauty.

This little miracle is still fighting to remove its wing from the remaining of its chrysalis.

Her sister was more successful.

So was her cousin.

When the young butterflies are ready, they can leave the greenhouse and check on those beautiful orchids.

The humans were kind enough to leave some lunch.

But who would not like to dine such a beauty?

Fly spot

Today we will do something completely crazy. I will take you to a fly spot. It looks like some kind of weird chimney.

Inside, the chimney has glass walls. And yes, someone is flying inside.

How is it possible? The floor is made of a metal net, through which the air is blown upwards.

The speed of the fan is managed by a professional operator so you should be safe.

But to be even safer, remember the ground rule - no loose ends, nothing that could fly on its own and hit you or break the glass.

Remember to put on your helmet!

Now you can get inside and wait for your turn.

The instructor will teach you how to take off.

Then you will go up.

And up.

And up to the ceiling!

I hope that you will not mind that I will stay with my four horseshoes strongly on the ground. I am not a Pegasus after all.

Slane

Just 7 kilometers to the West from Newgrange, on the same side of Boinne river, there is a beautiful castle. It has been the family seat of the Conyngham family since it was built in the late 18th century, on land first purchased in 1703 by Brig.-Gen. Henry Conyngham, after it was confiscated from the Flemings, Anglo-Norman Catholics who had aligned themselves with the Jacobites in the War of the Grand Alliance, and thus after the Williamite victory lost their property.

Obviously every castle has its stable.

With my great ancestor monument I feel here like at home.

But since there are less horses now than earlier, part of the stables were converted in the Slane Irish Whiskey Distillery.

Ladies, gentlemen, horses, let's go inside and see how something better than Guiness is created.

On the picture below you can see the first stage of the process - the barley malting.

To start the process you need the best barley, like the one growing on the castle fields just around.

After harvesting we need to collect all the grain.

Add the water and wait a bit.

After pouring out the water ...

we will see the rootlets meaning the seeds started to produce sugar.

Now we can start "kilning" which means drying in a special oven.

Next stage is milling, that allows to separate external part of seeds from its content that we need to use in further process.

Here comes the mill.

And its output.

Unfortunately taking photos is forbidden in the places where next stages of the process happens, so you can only analyze the below scheme to understand the brewing, fermentation and distillation. The product of all the stages on the scheme is the spirit consisting in over 90% of alcohol, so way too strong to be drunk.

You can just admire the distillery from outside.The metal pipes are used to cool down the alcohol during the destillation.

Up to this stage, the manufacturing process for vodka and whiskey is in fact very similar, maybe except that vodka is rather not produced from barley. But what make the great difference in the flavor is what happens further and is called casking.

Casking means allowing the whiskey to spend time in casks (which means barrels). Irish whisky requires at least 3 years and one day to be certified, one day more than Scottish.

What makes Slane Whiskey special is that it is triple casked, what means the whiskey spends time in 3 types of barrels: Virgin (not used previously) and Seasoned casks raised by hand at the venerated Brown-Forman Cooperages, and Oloroso sherry casks by way of Jerez in Spain.

Once the liquid has been aged to perfection, it is masterfully blended to create an exceptional Irish whiskey. Virgin casks contribute flavours of toasted Oak and vanilla. Seasoned barrels of Tennessee whiskey and Bourbon contributes flavours of caramel, plum, banana and butterscotch. Sherry casks contribute flavours of raisin and spice.

Let's now sit and try it.

Have you noticed the colour of a warm, golden topaz with hues of rich toffee ? If you smell it you will find a complex fruit aroma with drizzles of caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, brown spice and toasted oak. When you take your first sip, you will first find it spicy, but quickly sweetened with rich caramel, vanilla and butterscotch atop a deep layer of dried fruit. Even after you leave the bar you will still find the lingering hints of dry fruit and caramelised wood sugar.

Now the biggest challenge, try to go straight through the gate :)