Click on this link for all our Ireland photos!
So far, the flight to Baltimore is nice and smooth, lots of sun and 20 minutes ahead of schedule. The day in Baltimore went quickly, and we had no problems waiting to board the flight to Ireland. We took off on time on Aer Lingus and arrived 1½ hours ahead of schedule – about 5 ½ hours in the air. Dinner on the plane was very good – beef stew.
Driving a car in Ireland has proven to be a challenge for Hank for two reasons. The steering wheel is on the right side of the car, and of course you drive on the left side of the road. The first day Hank found it difficult staying in the middle of the road. He kept veering to the left. He said that it is a scary feeling seeing cars coming at you from where he was sitting in the driver’s seat. And of course everyone drives very fast, regardless of road type or condition. If there are no posted speed limits then it’s a given that you can drive 60 miles per hour.
Most of the roads in Ireland are very narrow and curvy. What we would consider a secondary road is a major highway here. This country is also the “mother of the roundabout”. They are everywhere.
On the way down to Killarney we stopped in a little town called Adare. There we got our first look at houses with thatched roofs that were 300 years old. We also visited a Catholic Church built in the 12th century still being used today. When we got to Killarney, before going on to our B&B, we stopped in a neat bar called Murphy’s to get a pint (the first of many good pints). We liked the place so well that we decided to come back later in the evening for dinner. Most of our meals, except breakfast were eaten at the Pubs.
We had our first and only car mishap on the way to our B&B, River Valley Farmhouse, where we would be staying for the first two nights. The unfamiliar driving pattern and the narrow country roads proved to be too much of a challenge for Hank after being up for 24 hours with no sleep. To avoid hitting a car coming the other way on the Farmhouse road, Hank ran off the left side of the road and into some rocks, which did a nice slice number on the left front tire. The tire was ruined and we temporarily lost the hubcap. A few hundred meters down the road we pulled into the B&B where we were greeted by Princess, our hostess, Alice’s dog. Princess helped me find the hubcap while Hank put on the spare tire.
After a trip
to the car place to buy a new tire, which Hank called the “American Special” for
60 EUROs (about $75) we dropped into bed for a much needed nap. I felt like a
semi-new person when I awoke. We went back to Murphy’s for supper. Hank had
smoked salmon and capers (he ate salmon almost every day of our trip) and I had
Irish Stew – yummy!
We walked around town and found a couple of places where we enjoyed good Irish company, a good pint, and a bit of good Irish music.
Saturday, April 24, 2004
Neither Hank or I moved at all once we hit the bed, and this morning we both had a wonderful Irish breakfast that included Irish brown bread and Irish bacon. Hank really enjoyed his “poached kippers”. Of course my breakfast also included Irish tea.
Today we explored the Dingle Peninsula and also the town of Dingle, a little fishing village, where we both had fresh fish for lunch, which is brought in right at the dock in Dingle. On our tour today we went through several small towns that also included the town of Dunquin, where “Ryan’s Daughter” was filmed. We walked on the beach where several of the movie shots were filmed, and I can still remember some of the beach scenes. The entire Peninsula is a place of breathtaking beauty. We took a bunch of photos of this spectacular place. Many of the roads were even more narrow than their everyday narrow roads – something that Hank would say was “like your driveway”. The driving got even more hairy on the way to Connors Pass, which was over 1200 feet above sea level. We saw quite a few mountain sheep up this high. They seemed to be quite skilled at walking vertical. I wonder how the farmers keep track of them scattered all over the mountain. The goats had very long hair, which was blown about every which way by the ever-constant wind, and they were marked with either green or red dye.
We also visited the remains of an Iron Age Hill Fort called Dunbeg Promontory Fort. The approximate timeframe was from 500 BC to 500 AD (about 1,000 years). It was set right on the edge of the cliff overlooking Dingle Bay at the base of Mount Eagle. The wind whipping around the fort at almost every angle made it a very cold place to be, so we didn’t stay too long.
On the way back to Killarney we stopped at Tomasins Wayside Tavern to get a warming drink – I had Irish coffee. In fact, I drank a lot of Irish coffee while I was in Ireland. The place was full of Saturday afternoon golfers from the nearby golf course who regularly stop by this tavern for a pint after their golf game.
This evening we went to church at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Killarney, which was a huge, beautiful church. The congregation said the Our Father in Gaelic, and they did communion like we use to before Mass changed. That is, everyone lined up at the communion rail and the priest or Eucharist minister went down the line giving out communion.
Did the town again and met a very nice Irish couple in one of the Pubs who came up to spend the weekend in Killarney. They were really nice, but the husband, God Bless him, was almost impossible to understand. He talked very fast, and his Irish Brogue was so thick that I think he spoke more Irish than English. Thank goodness his wife spoke very good English and was able to translate for us.
Hank is doing better driving on the left side of the road, but his instincts still have him veering more to the left instead of trying to find the middle of his driving space.
Left Alice, our hostess of Riverview Farm and headed into town to visit Ross Castle before heading down to Blarney. A word about Alice. She was the most gracious hostess, and made us feel very much at home. She had tea and cookies ready for us when we arrived on Friday. When we had car trouble, she helped us find a car repair place, and even posted a letter for us. Her daughter, Jillian Sullivan is a fast-walker athlete, and will be in the 2004 Olympic Games this summer. We will look for her in the games.
On to Ross Castle, which was a 15th century Tower Home, and that is exactly what it looks like, rather than your traditional idea of an Irish Castle.
On the way to
Blarney we took the scenic route. We stopped in the town of
Glengariff for lunch. Glengariff is a small town set at the base of a
mountain. Today was a beautiful, warm, sunny day, and looking up at the
mountains from the picnic table where we sat eating our lunch was the most
impressive, peaceful view you could have while enjoying a meal. They say that
Maureen O’Hara lives here during the summer months – probably somewhere up in an
isolated part of this area. We saw some houses perched high up on the mountain
nestled in the trees on our way into town. Perhaps she lives in one of those
houses.
When we got
into Blarney, the first place we visited was
Blarney Castle. Blarney Castle itself is a battlemented keep standing on a
rock outcrop overlooking the
River Martin not too far from Cork city. It was built in 1446 on the site
of an earlier 13th century fortified tower. They say that bloody
history and feisty legend cling to Blarney Castle. As for the
Blarney Stone itself, it is located at the top of the keep, so you have to
climb all the way up to the top of the Castle in order to kiss the Stone. The
Stone is sort of hidden under one of the upper stones at the top of the Castle.
Supposedly if you kiss the Stone you will be given the “Gift of Gab”. Although
neither
Hank or I really need more gabbiness, we both kissed the Stone just in case
we need a gab reserve one day. We got our extra shot of eloquence in an upside
down position with the help of a man who is there just for that purpose. It was
sort of like doing the limbo rock to get into proper kissing position. The
stone felt warm and smooth, and I think that it kissed me back. Maybe its
reserve was running low. A word about the Stone’s Legend, which are several:
One says that it was brought to Ireland by the Prophet Jeremiah and claims it as
the stone pillow on which Jacob slept in the desert when he had his dream of
Angels on a Ladder. Another says that the Stone was brought to Ireland by a
crusader who had acquired it in the Holy Land as a memento that was surrounded
by many legends like the one I just mentioned.
From Blarney Castle we went to the Gables B&B where we stayed for the night. The Gables is a beautiful 200-year-old home that use to be a Catholic Rectory. It was furnished with many lovely Victorian antiques. Anne, our hostess greeted us with tea and homemade scones with homemade preserves. The gardens at the Gables are gorgeous, and especially so this time of year with all of the Spring flowers in bloom. There is a huge old tree at the back of the property that looks like it has been there for at least 300 years or more. Anne and her husband, who is retired from the Irish Army, keep the gardens and grounds in immaculate condition. We went into town and had dinner at the Muskerry Arms Pub. The food was very good. After dinner we looked around town and turned in early. As I sit here working on my journal, I’m looking out the window in our bedroom. My view is of the beautiful garden and grounds. I can hear the birds singing their last songs before snuggling in their nests for the night. It is lovely and peaceful here in our B&B. Anne turned on the electric blanket for us, so the bed was nice and warm when we got in it. The shower was an interesting affair. Anne had to give us directions on how to use it. You get instant hot water, but you have to pull a string to turn on the heating element, and then set the dials to your desired heat. The water comes out in a very, very fine spray, more like a mist than a regular shower... We enjoyed our stay at the Gables, and our host and hostess were a lovely couple and made us feel very much at home. Breakfast was excellent. Hank had scrambled eggs and mushrooms and I had porridge and a beautiful variety of sliced fruit.
Monday, April 26, 2004
Today we bid our host and hostess of The Gables goodbye and set off for new adventures. Our first stop was in Cashel where we visited the Rock of Cashel. This was actually an original medieval fortress that was given to the Church by the original owner, Muircheartach Ua Briain (Irish pronunciation) King of Cashel. This was in 1101 AD. All really old stuff here. It was turned into a large cathedral of Gothic style soon after this date. Today it is mostly in ruins, but the outer shell of the buildings are still standing. Like most old churches, graves surround the cathedral. Looking down from the top of the building is a beautiful view of the Irish countryside with its stonewall separations and green, green grass.
Next we set off for Kilkenny. We took the back roads,
scenic route, and really got to see what you picture in your mind when you think
of Ireland with all of the rolling, green hills and so many winding roads that
seem to go off on a new adventure at every turn of the corner. Once we got into
Kilkenny, we checked into our B&B, the
Schilloger House, which would be our home for that night. It is a modern
facility, but set up very nicely. It is also
near enough to town that we could walk instead of driving. The number one
place we visited was
Kilkenny Castle. This castle was more like my idea of what a castle should
look like. It was a
massive structure, going back to the 14th century, but was
eventually purchased by the Butler family whose descendents restored it to a
Victorian style, which was a modern style at that time. But as with all
families, as it got to the present day, about the 1930s, they decided that it
was not a practical place to live because of the high maintenance cost.
They auctioned off almost everything except a huge marble table in the large foyer. The table was too heavy to be moved, and among other functions, it was also used for laying out the family dead for viewing. All that was left in the castle was the family collection of paintings and the tapestries. In 1967, Arthur Butler, the last of the family Earls handed over the castle to the Castle Restoration Committee for 50 pounds. The castle has been lovingly restored to its former glory, and the committee was able to buy back some of the furniture. I certainly could live in the Kilkenny Castle with no problem.
Tonight after dinner, Hank and I got our first taste of real Irish music in a very traditional Pub. The place was called Kytlers, and we spent about 3 hours there drinking beer and singing with the rest of the people and the Irish musicians. We met a young American couple that just graduated from U of Maryland. We really had a great time at Kytlers.
Tomorrow we plan to stop at St. Canice’s Cathedral in Kilkenny before leaving for Dublin. Incidentally, Kilkenny is supposed to be the Medieval Capital of Ireland. Just walking around the town, I can see how it is set up in a very medieval way.
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Today we visited
St. Canice’s Cathedral, which is a part of the Church of Ireland, and not a
Catholic Cathedral. We had a hard time finding the Cathedral; there are so many
large churches in Kilkenny. When we did finally find it, we entered through a
maze of medieval, narrow, twisting, high-walled roads that magically ended at
the back of the church grounds. St. Canice’s has been around for about 700
years, and they still have Sunday services there today. It is a very beautiful
church.
There was a man in the Cathedral who was kind enough to point out many of the interesting features that would have gone unnoticed by us if it were not for him. He would give us a little history behind each feature. One such feature was a large stone chair that he said was a “healing” chair. I don’t remember the story behind the chair, but I think it had to do with it originally belonging to a Saint with healing powers. He said that many people down through the ages have come there to sit in it and many have been cured of their illnesses. He let me sit in it, and you know, I felt like I had been touched by a blessing. It was odd, because I wasn’t expecting that to happen.
When we left Kilkenny, we actually got on to a major
highway – the first since we’ve been driving around in Ireland. Major means
that it was two lanes going the same way. We got into Dublin OK, but Hank had
to call the B&B owner to get directions to the house. As it turned out, we were
only about 5 minutes from the B&B when Hank called. This home was a true
Victorian House with its high ceilings, shuttered, long windows, and
wainscoting. There were three problems with the place that would keep us from
staying there again: the room had 3 single beds in it, and the host (I guess
you can call him that) told us not to “disturb” the one single bed; the bathroom
was down the hall, although “private bath” was marked on the door, and Hank with
no robe. It’s no fun stumbling down an unfamiliar hallway in the middle of the
night to go to the bathroom, either. We noticed there were no washcloths, and
when we asked “host” he said he didn’t have any, and the thread-bare towels we
were given felt like they had been starched. To solve the washcloth problem, we
bought some cheap dishrags to use in a pinch.
There were some interesting “room rules” posted in our room. You would have thought you were in a boarding school. Some included: don’t make noise after 11 p.m. so the other guests are not disturbed, of course no smoking in the rooms – host asked us if we smoked as soon as we met him and also while he was telling us not to disturb the third bed. But the most interesting one was: for hygiene purposes please sleep between the sheets. I don’t know, maybe it’s a Dublin thing or something. About our “host”: before our arrival, our instructions were to send him our first night’s voucher as soon as we landed in Ireland so he got it before our arrival at his B&B, and we had to be at the B&B between 1-2 p.m. because he was going out at 3 p.m. on our arrival day. We should have seen the handwriting on the wall and chosen another place to stay, but, as usual, we ignored it. Well, you live and learn.
After our warm welcome, we dropped our bags and walked into Dublin to get lunch and explore the town. We had delicious prime rib with cabbage and carrots for 7.25 Euros each at a place called Rody Bolands. After lunch, we visited the tourist bureau and stopped at the famous Temple Bar of Dublin. I had a great coffee with Baileys. Actually, that whole area was called Temple Bar. You just had to figure out which one was the famous Temple Bar. We walked around some more, and over Hay Penny Bridge, but decided to call it a night, being very tired after our long drive to Dublin from Kilkenny – about 3 hours. We decided to pick up something to eat on the way home to the B&B. We stopped at a little grocery store, and Hank got some smoked salmon and I got some ham and cheese and a nice fresh roll. We snuck it into our room to eat, even though we were probably breaking some house rule, but we enjoyed our dinner.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Today after breakfast we walked down the street from our B&B and got the Number 14A double decker bus that took us into the center of Dublin. It was quite windy and chilly today, so I was pretty bundled up. The first place we went to was Trinity College where the Book of Kells is kept in the College Library building. The Book of Kells may be the oldest set of the four gospels set down on paper in existence today, being about 800 years old. After leaving Trinity College, we set off for the Jameson Distillery. It was so cold out that Hank let me stop at a few places looking for a pair of gloves with the right color at the right price. I finally found a pair I liked – olive green, of course.
The Distillery was quite enjoyable. At the beginning of
the tour,
the guide asked for four volunteers to help with a taste test at the end of
the tour. Later we found out it was a taste test to see which was our favorite
whiskey. I want to note here that when the guide asked for volunteers, Hank
very quickly raised my hand, but I didn’t mind. The test was really a lot of
fun. We were given
little shot glasses with samples of:
Bushmills, Paddy, Powers (never heard of that one) and really good Jameson.
Hank and I both chose the Jameson, while the other lady choose the Paddys
and the young man choose Powers. Then we had to compare our favorite whiskey to
a Johnny Walker Scotch and an American Bourbon. All four of us liked our
whiskeys better. At the end we were all given a taste tester diploma,
Hank's,
Carolyn's. Now I
can get a good job in Ireland tasting whiskey and don’t have to settle for
selling
cockles, mussels and a live a live oh, like Molly Malone
After the Jameson Distillery we made our way to the Guinness Brewery and did a self-tour of the place. It was about four floors of stuff to see, and when we worked our way to the top there was a huge round sky bar that was very impressive. It had glass all the way around it so you could see out all over Dublin. You had a bird’s eye view of the entire city from every angle, including the Irish Sea. We made another stop at the Dublin Tourism Building, which use to be a Presbyterian Church at one time, to pick up a few souvenirs.
We walked around in the downtown area, all the time the wind was whipping around us making us very cold, so we stopped in a little French café for coffee and walked some more. We happened upon a Pub where three Irish musicians were doing a session in the upstairs bar. The music was very good, so we decided to stay and listen and have some dinner too. At one point the musicians played a Woody Guthrie song. We got to talk to them when they were finished playing, and they told us that they were going to be playing at a place called Brazen Head later that evening. Note: most of the Irish music doesn’t start until about 9:30 p.m. and will go until about 12 a.m. This is every night. Brazen Head was built on the oldest Pub site in Ireland, dating back to about 1160 AD. So Hank and I wondered around and finally found the place. As soon as you walked into the courtyard, you could see that it had a medieval look about it. We would have liked to stay to listen to more Irish music, but after walking around all day from about 10 a.m. in the cold wind, we were both really beat, and still had a long walk back to the bus stop. So we called it a day and made our way back to our B&B to get ready for another full day of new adventures.
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Today is the 15th anniversary of the day that Hank and I got married. We were glad to get started for Galway. Hank and I both agree that we wouldn’t stay at St. Judes B&B in Dublin again. We were also glad to leave Dublin. It was OK, but we both seem to prefer the Irish countryside to the Irish big city. Today is very chilly and (agus in Gaelic) cloudy with a few drops of rain here and there. Galway is about 206 Kilometers from Dublin. Our B&B, Mandalay by the Sea, is a beautiful Georgian Home located at the mouth of Galway Bay. It is very comfortable, with every room done in beautiful detailed wood and paneling. It is run by an American woman from Rhode Island, and we noticed that this is the warmest place that we have stayed in so far. Most of the homes were chilly, but had heavy blankets on the beds. Georgina, our hostess told us that her floors, which were granite, painted black, were heated by radiant heat, hence the nice warm rooms. We plan to stay at Mandalay for three nights.
The first thing that we did upon arrival was drop off our
laundry to be washed and folded. For washing all of our clothes, they charged
us 18 Euros. Not too bad, considering they did it all and gave it back to you
nice and clean and folded. In celebration of our
15 year wedding anniversary, we had dinner at a great seafood restaurant
right on the water called
O’Gradys. The place is right in front of
Galway Bay, with a breathtaking view of the
sea and the surrounding islands. It was a lovely and rare way to celebrate
our 15 years of marriage. Dinner for both of us was crab salad, very tasty.
After dinner we stopped at the 12 Pins Hotel for a drink and listened to some really good, Traditional Irish music. I even danced an Irish jig with some man, and Hank got it all on tape (Oh dear). I wanted to see some Irish dancers, but I didn’t expect to be one of them. Well, that was a first. We met a very nice Irish couple and talked to them until we left, which was what the Irish call “after hours”, about 1 a.m. They lock the bar about 12 a.m. or so, and we are told that the police, or Guarda as they are called in Ireland, can come in and tell you that you are “illegal”. That means that they write your name down in a notebook. Now when you ask me what happens after that, well, your name is in the book, but you don’t have to leave (unless they would ask you, I guess).
Speaking of the Irish couple, the man, Jim works for CSC, my old company (small world) and has spent about a year with his family in Boston. It was another good day. Tomorrow we do Cong and the Quiet Man Country.
Friday, April 30, 2003
Today we set out for Cong in cold weather and an overcast sky. When we arrived in Cong, we went to the Tourism Bureau to find out the best way to follow the Quiet Man Trail filming of the various scenes. At the Tourism place we bought a walking tour map and started out on our trail. The first stop was the White O’ Morn Cottage replica that was right in the town. This is the thatched cottage where Shawn and Mary Kate lived. The furniture replicas were placed exactly as in the movie, as well as reproductions of the clothes and hats worn by the stars. The guide in the cottage said that the same company who made the original clothes in 1951 made the clothes and hats. There was an authentic 200-year-old Galway brown shaw just like the one that Maureen O’Hare wore in the film.
We stopped at the Cohan Bar, which is really a small shop to buy souvenirs, and met the owner, who was the chauffer for Victor McGloughlin during the making of the movie. This man was also an extra in the movie. When we entered the shop, the owner, who looked to be about 75, was sitting behind the counter trying to warm himself by a peat fire, the only warm place in the entire little store. The counter was strewn with hundreds of photos of the film shootings of the Quiet Man. I asked the man what he enjoyed most about the making of the movie, and he said getting paid every night. Then I asked him the second best thing, and he said spending the money. He said they had a lot of fun that summer, and all the stars were very nice. We bought a few photos to take home.
The walking tour was enjoyable; we saw most of the main places where filming was done, such as, Michaleen’s horse always stopping in front of Cohan’s Pub, Cattle Fair Day, the dying man’s house, the widow Tulane’s house but is now gone, Rev Playfair’s house, Danaher’s house and farm, the hill where the fight started, and also the stream that Danaher was knocked into by Shawn, and the fishing stream where Mary Kate talked to the priest. We also walked around Ashford Castle where the main stars stayed during the filming.
After we saw everything in town, we started out to find
the spots where filming took place offsite. We found the
ruins of the original cottage, which was a very
sad sight to see. There was some roadwork being done nearby, and Hank and I
stopped to talk to the workers. They were really nice, and even opened up the
gate to the farmer’s land for us where the ruins were. We had to walk down a
path that was somewhat muddy and well-worn by many cows trampling over it – a
real “tip toe through the tulips”.
We saw the little stream in front of the path to the cottage, and went around to the side. In the front of the cottage was total mud and a bunch of cows – along with a bull – chewing on hay, so we really couldn’t inspect the ruins like we wanted to. But I was happy to get as close as we did. We saw the little bridge right near the cottage ruins, and I, of course, had to run up on the bridge for a first-hand look. After we left this site, we found the stone bridge where Shawn sat his first evening in Ireland thinking about his Irish roots.
It was another great touring day, and I was very happy that we got to see the Quiet Man sites up close and personal. If you haven’t seen the movie, please rent it – you will love it! On the way back to the B&B we picked up our cleaned and folded laundry, so now we have nice clean clothes to wear again.
Saturday, May 01, 2004
Today is beautiful and sunny. This weekend is a Bank
Holiday in Ireland, so the working folks will all be off on Monday. We started
out this morning after breakfast toward
Connemara to see the
desolate beauty of a mostly Irish speaking part of Ireland. Many, many rock
walls in this part of the country, and I’m amazed at all of the new house
construction located in this rocky, hilly area. Some of the new homes being
built are quite modest, while others are much larger and more expensive
looking. We drove through small towns named Castlelae, and Carraroe on Chaethru,
which is located on Cashla Bay. The roads in this area, in addition to being
bumpy, twisty and turny, only seem to
be wide enough for one car to pass. These little towns are connected by a
series of causeways, which are made of rocks, of course!
The next town we passed through was Lettermore. Going through this little town we met a bus on the causeway going the other way. To say it was a tight squeeze would have been a very generous statement. It was more like inching our way past the bus while holding our breath. The next towns were Lettermullen and Gorienma. Riding down the road, it’s difficult not to notice the smoky smell of peat wafting past your nose. Peat is the main source of fuel used in most of the fireplaces around most of Ireland.
On the way to Clifden in Connemara, we passed the Maumtruk Mountains on one side on the road, and the Twelve Pins Mountains on the other side of the road. We went through the town of Roundtree where Malachy Keans lives. He makes the Irish drums called bodrans used by musicians playing traditional Irish music. In Clifden we had lunch in an outdoor French café overlooking the tiny harbor. The seafood chowder I had was excellent, with chunks of fish, shrimp and oysters all soaking in a luscious creamy broth. After lunch we walked around the town. Clifden is named well. It is set on a high hill in front of Bergatray Bay, with mountains on the other side of the Bay. What a beautiful, picturesque town. In our travels through the town I stopped in a little pottery place and bought a hand-made, hand-painted cream pitcher.
Moving on, we headed for
Sky Road for a breathtaking view of the Ocean from 400 feet above sea level
looking down on the pastures and the Clifden Harbor.
Sky Road is aptly named, because it really felt like we were riding straight
up into the sky. There was very little protection from keeping your car from
falling off the side if you were not careful on the winding, twisting roads.
We made our way to the Lettergest Beach where Shawn Thornton in the Quiet Man movie rode in the race on the beach. We could see the large hill that the racers galloped around on their horses. When we left the beach, we doubled back through Cong and on to Ross Errily Abbey where the big thunderstorm took place during the courting scene in the Quiet Man. The Abbey is an old Franciscan Monastery from the 1600s, and one of the most beautiful ruins that we have seen so far. In the evening we went into Galway to look around and had Chinese for dinner.
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Today we left the Beautiful B&B, Mandalay by the Sea. We enjoyed staying there very much. Now we are off to see the Cliffs of Mohr. On the way to the Cliffs, we stopped to see the Dolmens at Paulnabrone. This is actually a 5,800-year-old tomb in which 22 bodies were buried over 600 years from 2400-3200 years BC. Only special people were buried in these tombs. After that we stopped in Carrow Church, another ruin, then on to the town of Lisdavorna and then on to Doolin, which is the home of traditional Irish music. This is where we had lunch today.
The Cliffs of Mohr are about 700 feet up of
shear rock, some with fissures that overlook the ocean. Quite a beautiful
sight. The wind has a tendency to gust, which can contribute to knocking a
person off balance. Not a beautiful sight. Although there were many signs
warning people to keep to the trail,
people went to the edge to have their pictures taken, with their backs to
the sea, some even
standing on the fissures, although they didn’t’ even realize they were
standing on cracked rocks 700 feet above a rocky fall to the ocean below.
Hank and I got some pictures of these daring people. They were mostly young folks, and I believe that there were a lot of guardian angels working overtime protecting them and hovering about the Cliffs of Mohr. The day for seeing the cliffs was lovely and clear, allowing us to look out to sea for almost 100 miles or more.
After the Cliffs, we set off for our last B&B, the Kells, which was located at New Market on Fergus, and run by Pauline and Charles O’Brien. We had a little trouble finding it, but when we did arrive, we were awed by the very sight of it, to say the least. We had to enter through a gate, which required a code to get in (we called our hostess for entry the first time). The gate opened, and we rode up a beautiful, winding driveway to the home built in the shape of a castle standing on 5 acres of land. Please keep in mind that this was built as a private residence, and still is, rather than a B&B.
When we arrived at the impressive home, we went through heavy, double oak doors into the large foyer to greet our hostess. All of the doors in the home had these beautiful light oak doors and molding around all of the windows, as well as oak beams in the great room. The great room had a panoramic view of the landscape and river and had two chandeliers made of an intricate, medieval design of gray iron and lights. The floors were parquet and marble. The home is about 7,500 square feet and cost about 2 ½ million dollars to build two years ago. All of what we saw of the home was beautifully and tastefully furnished, and our host and hostess kept the castle theme throughout. Our bedroom, also with double doors, was in one wing of the castle house. To get to it, we had to walk down a long hallway with a turret at the end that had a set of winding oak steps to the second floor. Our room was very large, with a beautiful marble bath and shower with matching thick, fluffy, monogrammed towels.
Since our room was on the first floor, we did not see what was upstairs. Hank and I agree that the bed was the most comfortable we had ever slept upon.
This evening we went into Bunratty to get dinner at a famous place called Durty Nellies. Our host told us that it was called Durty Nellies because the Pub, which dates back to 1620, was run by an old woman named Nelly. There was always sawdust on the floor (and still is). It is said that Nelly never washed the pitcher that held the Guinness, so mould would grow on the top of the pitcher. That part has been corrected in recent times.
Hank and I had a wonderful crab salad for dinner, stopped at another pub for a drink, and then did a little window-shopping. During our window-shopping, we met an American couple who had grown up in Baltimore. It was nice to meet people from our hometown. Then we set out to find a place that was playing Irish Music. We found that in a nearby town called Ennis, and listened for a while then headed back to the Kells for some sleep.
Monday, May 03, 2004
This morning we had a wonderful Irish breakfast, and
during a conversation with our host, Charles, he showed us his family tree, and
can trace his ancestry back to about 900 AD. He is descended from several Irish
kings, all of whom lived in a castle. He also showed us a replica of a
beautiful
Celtic sword that has been in his family for several hundred years. The
original sword is in a bank vault.
Hank and I both had our pictures taken holding the sword.
After breakfast, Charles took us to see the Castle in New market on Furgus that was his ancestral home. The castle is only about 200 years old and is a hotel today. It made Ashford Castle look quiet plain in contrast. He also took us to see the Fairy Tree on the highway. Supposedly, the King of the fairies lives there, along with all of the other faeries. Here is the story of the Fairy Tree on the highway: When the government was building the highway road, they bypassed the Fairy Tree at a cost of 3 million dollars just so the tree would not be knocked down. I was expecting a large tree, but in fact, it is a small, miniature looking tree about 6 feet high or so with small leaves. Sort of looks like a large bonsai. While I was standing next to the tree, I asked the faeries to bring good luck to Hank and I, and invited one of them to jump into my coat pocket and come home with us. I have to keep whether or not it happened a secret. It was time for us to leave the beautiful Kells and our gracious host and hostess and head out for Shannon Airport and the good ole USA.
We had no problems
onboard our plane back to Baltimore, but already I miss Ireland, with its
beautiful green, hills and pastures, rock walls, little towns nestled in the
green, green valleys or at the base of the majestic mountain ranges, Pubs with
so much warm atmosphere for good times had down through the ages with friends,
both new and old, and so much traditional Irish music being played, sung and
danced to – good crack!! The good people with their warm, Irish welcomes,
excellent brown bread and Irish whiskey, Guinness and food, the many beautiful
Cathedrals, Castles and ruins scattered all over Ireland, and the smoky smell of
peat being burned in the fireplaces of the Irish country homes in almost every
little Irish town that you visit.
But, I also miss my home in Florida, my pool, the warm Florida weather, and of course our dog, Hunter, who probably thinks we’ve abandoned him. Hank and I will be happy to get back home again, but we can both say that this has been the most wonderful vacation ever!! Thank you, very much, Lord for protecting us during our travels in Ireland, and especially thank you for helping Hank drive the car and keeping us out of harms way.
