Attack of the Midges

All of the traveling was finally taking it’s toll; and we were all pretty exhausted. As it turns out, we were pretty hungry too, and of course those feelings outweighed our need for sleep. On Kathleen’s suggestion, we decided to make the trek back into town and eat at Antonio’s.

I know, don’t say it. Italian food in Ireland. In our defense, it’s where the locals eat. Just as Kathleen said, the restaurant was extremely busy & there wasn’t a single available table, so we ordered our food to-go. As we waited for our order, we walked up & down the street in Ballydehob. Most shops & restaurants were already closed, but we heard lively music coming from a pub just across the street from Antonio’s. By then it was time to pick up our food, so we vowed to check it out another night.

Dinner was okay; it wasn’t the best Italian food I’ve ever had but it filled me up just the same.  Despite being tired, I don’t think any of us were ready to call it a night just yet, so we headed to the deck for a nightcap with our blankets in tow.

Wine. Music. Candles. The mood was set. All that was left to do was relax.

As you can imagine, relaxing was easy to do in such a beautiful setting. We looked out on Roaring Water Bay as the sun set behind us. It was so beautiful & serene. And then…*smack*smack*. At first Olga, Gaby, and I just looked on as Joana furiously smacked herself. It was funny for a split second, but before long we were all being attacked. We frantically ripped off the chair covers, killed the candles, grabbed our stuff, and ran cursing and slapping all the way into the house. Girls.

It wasn’t until I recounted this little tale of ours to Kathleen that we learned the “mosquitoes” that attacked us were actually midges. Apparently, they’re quite common in Ireland when the weather is warm. Not gonna lie, I had never heard of midges before then. Mosquitoes. Midges. Whatever. I should have brought bug repellent. I’ll just add that to the ‘What to Bring to Ireland Next Time‘ list.