The difference between one friend and another is in their reaction to Grianan.

Friend no 1: "Where could you get as fabulous a view as this anywhere in the world"; "It's the air up here -- it's so clean."

Friend no 2: "Grianan gives me the creeps."


But then, she's the sort of person who prefers designer shoes to the open air.

One of the advantages of living half-way to the wilds of Donegal is that, well, Donegal is so close. Twenty minutes from my suburban doorstep are half a dozen beaches, each more beautiful than the other. On the other hand, each of those beaches is also twenty minutes from all the other suburbanites. Ah, well, a girl can't have everything. And when the scenery so short a distance away is this drop-dead-gorgeous, who can complain?