On the way from Bantry to Cork City we stopped by a leprechaun village, and I think a few fairies and gnomes lived there too. It was a magical place, a surprise stop courtesy of our amazing tour guide, Dermott.

As soon as we disembarked the bus, Ann observed that we were, in fact, at a gardening store. But this wasn’t just any gardening store. The proprietors – ingenious, clearly – had built a small tourist attraction into their landscape. Amidst the pots, hose extensions, and bags of fertilizer and potting mix, was a little fairy sized wonderland. The store was conveniently – strategically, perhaps – located adjacent a vacant strip of property that contained a small waterfall that flowed into a 30-foot ravine, the bottom of which contained a Fairy Village complete with houses, fairy and leprechaun footpaths, and little fairy stores burrowed into hollowed out tree trunks. Only in Ireland, I think, could you have a gardening store with a waterfall next to it…you can’t make this stuff up.

The kids loved it – the older ones thought it was cute and enjoyed the scenery, while Arjun alternately swung between calling it all make believe but then also knocking on the door to the leprechaun house to see if anyone was home.

He never did get an answer, but I told him I could’ve sworn I saw one of the curtains move