Season 1, Episode 30

Ireland Coast

You don't have to be Irish to enjoy a trip to Ireland. In this episode of Passport to Europe, Samantha Brown takes off into the countryside of the Emerald Isle to explore the counties of Kerry and Cork! Her first stop, the picture postcard harbor town of Cobh (Cove) - it's here where 2.5 million Irish emigrants set sail across the Atlantic Ocean in pursuit of a better life in America. Today, 43 million Americans can trace their ancestry back to Ireland - so its not doubt they travel back here to find their roots. The city of Cork may get a bad wrap because it simply isn't Dublin, but it still treasures its historical significance and once place to experience that pride is The English Market.Sam is surrounded by the bounty of the countryside and gets the inside scoop on Ireland's cuisine by ordering up a traditional Irish breakfast - what's really inside brown & white pudding? It's said that the Irish are always quick with a story, and the gift of blarney - but where did that come from? Samantha visits the one and only Blarney Castle to see just how difficult it is to kiss that Blarney Stone? Images of Ireland conjure up rolling hillsides, lakes and woodlands, sheep grazing in the meadows, and crystal clear streams and rivers. Just two hours outside of Cork in the town of Kenmare these images come true - Samantha chooses the idyllic setting of Sheen Falls Lodge as her countryside hotel. The colorful town of Kenmare is where Sam will do a little shopping for Irish sweaters, and then she's off by car to explore the Ring of Beara - where the only other traffic she encounters are cows! There's no denying the effect a visit to the Irish countryside will have on those who travel here. But it's the people you will remember the most. To say that they are friendly just doesn't do them justice. Ireland is a country where even if you are not here in search of your ancestry, you will no doubt find a part of yourself.

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