Ramblings in Ireland by Kerry Dwyer

It is BookWormWednesday and although Ramblings in Ireland may look an odd title for a blog that reviews books with a French theme, fear not, I have not lost my way.

Ramblings in Ireland

This book follows Kerry and her French husband Bertrand on a walking holiday in Ireland, but just as they wander off their original routes, in the book Kerry wanders between Ireland and their life in France. It is an entertaining, easy read that brought back some very happy memories for me. I have relatives in County Cork, so have holidayed there many times, but none so special as the time Ade and I got engaged in Cork, then spent a lovely few days driving the ring of Kerry (in a Mini). I am a country girl by heart, even if I was born in London, and we could so easily have found ourselves living in rural Cork if only it had a better climate. Miraculously wet weather wasn't an issue for Kerry and Bertrand once they had survived the fog and damp socks on the first day.

Bertrand sounds lovely, and even seems to enjoy it when Kerry gets them lost either map reading and navigating in the car, or when out walking. Kerry, you are one lucky lady, Ade expects me to know our exact location, and be able to pin point it for him on the map, at any given point when we are out and about. Thankfully we rarely get lost, as rather than laugh, as the lovely Bertrand does,  Ade would be more likely to strop. Not surprisingly, as Bertrand is French, food gets a good mention in the book, especially the hearty Irish breakfasts that couldn't be more different from a coffee and a croissant.

There are some very funny bits, especially about travel from Bordeaux via the lovely Easyjet and Kerry's search for the correct attire for a serious walking holiday, which surprisingly enough included an in depth look at her new underwear. I also laughed out loud at the description of her Mother's use of Facebook, sorry Kerry's Mum. 

This is Kerry's first book, but I hope it is not her last as I enjoyed her writing style and humour which often led to me sharing sections aloud with Ade as I was reading it. If you would like to buy Ramblings in Ireland (a perfect Christmas gift for an armchair traveller) here is a link to Amazon.co.uk.