This post will cover our last six days in Ireland.
Day 10
We checked out of the Old Weir Lodge and were off again. Our first stop was in Adare, a small-town midway between Killarney and Limerick. On the way to Adare, the Garda had a roadblock set up. We have no idea what they were looking for, and it clearly was not us. The officer manning the roadblock was a very serious man who just looked at us and waved us through.
There were some cows near the road just outside of town.
Here are a few pictures from the main part of Adare.
We passed another Garda station. This one had a memorial to a fallen detective on the front of it. I salute you Detective McCabe. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.
We continued on to Limerick. Here are a few shots of the downtown.
We parked in a parking structure and walked around the downtown area. The weather was nice when we left the parking structure, but would change quickly during lunch. We ate lunch at “The Bedford.” We all shared a margarita pizza that was fine, but nothing special. As we left the restaurant, it started to rain pretty hard. We made it to our car and headed toward the Cliffs of Moher. On the drive there, it poured rain. Luckily for us, it stopped right before we arrived. Unfortunately for us, a very cold wind picked up and it was very chilly. But not too bad to spoil the visit. The Cliffs of Moher are amazing. They tower over 700 feet and run along the coast for almost 14 kilometres, or 8 miles. The Cliffs of Moher were formed over 320 million years ago. On one point on the cliffs, you find O’Brien’s Tower. The tower was built in 1835 by Sir Cornelius O’Brien, hence the name of the tower. It was built as an observation tower for the English tourists who frequented the cliffs at the time. It is said to have initially served as a teahouse or was possibly used by O’Brien to try and impress the woman he was courting at the time. Or maybe all three. Here is the tower and some pictures of the view from the top.
Here are some pictures of the cliffs.
Without a doubt, this is a must visit. And you should book it online days before you arrive. Lucky for you, I have a link at the end of this post. Next to our parking lot was a stone wall with cows hanging out. Cindy loved the cows.
One cow came up near us and scratched his chin on the wall.
After our itchy cow sighting, we drove to the town of Lisdoonvarna for dinner. The roads seemed to get smaller as we drove, making the driving even more challenging. Upon arriving in Lisdoonvarna, we noticed the town was pretty crowded for how small it was. I had to park down the street from the tavern we were going to eat at. The parking spot we found was on the left side of the road and I was going to have to parallel park to get into it. Unfortunately, for the Iast several years I have been unable to park decently to save my life. I am always crooked, too far into the spot, or hanging too far out of the spot, or on the line, or a combination of these four things. How was someone with my lack of parking talent going to parallel park on the wrong side of the road while seated in the car on the opposite side I am accustomed to? The answer is easily. Somehow, I lined up and backed perfectly in on my first try. What the heck. We walked away from my perfect parking job and headed down the street to The Roadside Tavern that was established in 1865.
The tavern was a quaint little place. We walked in through the bar and were seated at a table looking out the front window. I had the bacon and cabbage and Cindy and Sylvia split some fried shrimp and chips (fries). For dessert, we all split an ice cream sundae that had a type of meringue cookies on it. The food was link worthy, so use it at the end of this post.
With happy full bellies, we continued on toward Ballyvaughan, the home of the bed and breakfast we were going to spend the night in. Of course, the roads continued to narrow to the point where only one car could fit. If a car had come from the other direction, it would have been a challenge to pass each other. When we were a few blocks from our place, we had to stop because three young women were blocking the road. One had a box and was trying to catch a cat while the other two looked on. The young woman almost had the cat when it attacked her scratching and biting her arms and legs. It was hilarious to watch. After a few minutes of the cat abusing her, she took a break and let us pass. We learned later that evening the girls were probably trying to catch one of the many feral cats in the area. Good luck with that. Within minutes, we were at our place. It was very nice.
Cindy almost lost her mind because there was a field of cows outside of our bedroom window. They would be there to greet us in the morning too.
Day 11
Wake up, look out the window, and cue the cows.
After more cow viewing, we went to breakfast that was made by our hosts. It was the complete Irish breakfast, was delicious, and there was enough food to feed an army. We left with full bellies. We definitely recommend the Cappabhaile House Bed and Breakfast, so check out the link. We started our drive toward Galway, where we would spend the next three nights. Galway is located on the west coast of Ireland. Galway lies on the River Corrib where the river joins the North Atlantic Ocean. It is the fifth most populous city on the island of Ireland and the fourth most populous city in the Republic of Ireland. We had only been driving for about 20 minutes when we came upon some interesting looking ruins and had to stop to investigate. The first thing I saw was this funny sign.
The sign was attached to one of the dilapidated walls of the ruins we had stopped to see. To the right of the sign were several normal looking houses that could have been in any neighborhood. It was odd to see the contrast of stone ruins next to current houses. We looked all over and were unable to find any signs or information about the ruins at the site. I later learned the ruins are Shanmuckinish Castle. It was built in the mid 1400s, was restored several times over the years, and was occupied up until the late 1800s. Here it is now.
This wall looked like it had been hit by a cannon ball. Who knows, maybe it was.
We continued on to Galway and arrived at our hotel, The Clayton Hotel, well before check in time. Since we couldn’t check in, we decided to head to the downtown area to sightsee and get some lunch. Because the downtown areas can be more difficult to navigate and harder to find parking, we took a cab. That was a great choice as the downtown area was very congested, the pedestrians were unpredictable, and the parking was expensive. Here are a few shots of the city.
There were plenty of buskers performing Irish music.
And another castle, and some interesting art.
For lunch, we headed over to the Spanish Arch. Per the internet, the Spanish Arch dates back to pre-medieval times. It was built in 1584, but is an extension of the 12th century Norman-built town wall, which stretched from Martin’s Tower to the riverbank. Here it is.
We ate at Nimmo’s, located just inside the arch.
Nimmo’s is a very healthy farm to table type restaurant. This is usually not our first choice, but we decided to have open minds. I had the lentil meatballs over rice covered in yard clippings, and Cindy and Sylvia split a Shepard’s Pie and salad of yard clippings.
The girls really liked their meal, and I discovered lentil meatballs are edible, but not my favorite. I also learned lentil meatballs do not get a link. For dessert, we all split a caramel covered cake and ice cream thing that was delicious.
We did some more sightseeing and shopping. At one large store, they had a selection of sweatshirts I found interesting.
Clearly, they like Montana, a state, and Boston, a city. I’m not sure they know what either is, but it was a fun find. We took a cab back to our hotel to check in. Check in was absolutely crazy because there was a wedding reception going on in the bar next to the check in area. We were finally able to check in and went to our room to freshen up for dinner. We were tired and wanted to eat in the pub in the hotel, but were afraid the wedding reception would be a problem. It turned out the reception was going full swing in another area and the pub was not that crowded at all. The name of the pub is “The Enclosure Bar & Bistro,” and the food was very good. I had a tofu and hard-boiled egg ramen noodle soup that was really good. Cindy liked her vegetable soup with brown bread, and Sylvia had some beef nachos that had real jalapenos on it.
Day 12
We started our day with the free buffet breakfast in the hotel’s “Tribes Restaurant.” The food was very good, there was a lot of it, and it was peaceful and quiet. After having our fill of the usual, we took a cab to a bus stop in the downtown area. The bus took us to a boat that would take us on a 45-minute ride to Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands.
It was cold and stormy outside when we saw this on a beach we drove past.
Some people are really dedicated to getting their beach time. For the record, I am not. Our boat ride was a little rough, but not too bad. When we arrived on the island, there was a small bus tour getting ready to start that had a few open seats. We jumped on and were off. Here are some of the things we saw along the way.
We also saw some horse drawn carts.
There was a little restaurant we ate at that had a thatched roof. It was called “Teach Nan Phaidi.”
We all had the vegetable soup with brown bread. It was delicious.
After lunch, the tour continued. We stopped at the “Seven Churches.” There are three theories as to how the site got its name; The most common theory is that the site gives an allusion to the number of structures among the ruins, while others state that it may be in reference to a Roman pilgrimage trail that incorporated seven churches, or that the name lends itself to the seven saints who are buried on the site with their graves marked with ancient Celtic crosses. In reality, there were only two churches on the site. One was built in the 7th or 8th century, while the other was built around the 15th century. It is now basically a cemetery with some ruins around it. If you visit Inishmore, this is a must stop. See the link at the bottom of the post.
One of our last stops was the coastline on the northeast side of the island. Yes, it was a bit chilly.
The tour concluded with some shopping for famous Aran Island sweaters.
Then it was back to the boat.
On the boat ride back, there were some swells, but it was smoother than the ride out. Back on the mainland, we took the bus back to downtown Galway. We walked to a restaurant called “Beef and Lobster.” How could a place with a name like that not be good.
The lobsters were very small and expensive, so I ordered a steak and shrimp.
The steak was tough, and the shrimp was average at best. Luckily, the dessert of bread pudding ala mode was delicious.
I believe Beef and Lobster is the Ireland equivalent of Sizzler. We caught a cab back to our hotel and went to sleep.
Day 12+1
This day started like ground hog day. Breakfast at the buffet, screaming child, raining outside, driving down tiny roads….But then it changed. Our destination was Kylemore Abby to tour the Abby and extensive gardens. Of course, it rained all the way there, including our walk up to the Abby.
We were prepared for some rain, as were the dog walkers.
Kylemore Abby is about an hour drive from Galway and is next to Connemara National Park. It was built in 1868 as Kylemore Castle, complete with a walled Victorian Garden. In 1920, the castle was turned over to the Benedictine community and was renamed an Abby, making it the first Benedictine monastery in Ireland. The Benedictine nuns have lived in the Abby since 1920. In 1959, the Abby was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt. Here are some pictures from our self-guided tour.
When I went to take a picture of a stone block from the original castle, a woman popped up on the other side. When she realized I was taking a picture, she ducked down. It was pretty funny.
From 1923 to 2010, the nuns ran a girl’s school at the property.
Here are some more pictures from our self-guided tour.
After our tour of the Abby, we went outside to some light rain.
It was lunch time, so we went to the cafe on the premises. I had the usual vegetable soup with brown bread, Cindy had a quiche lorraine with yard clippings, and Sylvia had a turkey wrap. The food was very good, and we can recommend the cafe when visiting the Abby. Of course, we also strongly recommend visiting the Abby, so use the link below.
After lunch, we tried to go to the gardens, but it was raining too hard. That meant Plan B, a drive through Connemara National Park. Connemara is just under 8 square miles of beautiful hills, valleys, and nature.
Because of all of the rain, there were numerous rivers running down the hill sides.
Even though it is a small park, it is worth the visit. There is a link at the end of this post. On our way back to our hotel, we made a stop at Conneely’s Cafe in Oughterard for some special donuts.
It looked delicious. It was not. It was stale and very bland, not a good combination. Shame on you Conneely’s for selling a donut connoisseur like me such a terrible donut. I sadly drove back to our hotel where we freshened up for dinner. We took a cab to the downtown area and ate at Murty Rabbit’s which was established in 1872. Sylvia and I were bent on getting some really good fish and chips and everyone said this was the place. Sylvia and I ordered the fish and chips and Cindy ordered the…….wait for it…….vegetable soup with brown bread.
The fish and chips were outstanding. They would have earned a link, but they do not have a website. Even without a website, you must visit Murty Rabbit’s if you want some great fish and chips. After our meal, we started talking to the people next to us who turned out to be from Fort Collins, Colorado. Small world. We took a cab back to our hotel and got some sleep.
Day 14
We packed up and had our final breakfast in Galway. The food was delicious and of course there was another screaming child. What the heck. This was our day to drive all the way across Ireland and end up in Dublin for our final night. The weather was clear and there was no rain in the forecast. Could we have our first day of no rain? Time would tell. We drove for about an hour and stopped at the Shannonbridge Fort and Cafe in Roscommon. Shannonbridge Fort is a Napoleonic site that was built around 1810 to protect the nearby bridge from a French invasion.
Here is the inside of the fort.
This was an interesting place and worth the stop if you are in the area. See the link at the end of this post. Our next stop was at the ruins of Clonmacnoise Monastery. The internet says Clonmacnoise was founded in 544 by Saint Ciaran along the river Shannon. This is the same river from Shannonbridge. The strategic location of the monastery helped it become a major center of religion, learning, craftsmanship, and trade by the 9th century. From the ninth until the eleventh century it was allied with the kings of Meath. Many of the high kings of Tara (ardri) and of Connacht were buried there. By the end of the 13th century, Clonmacnoise was largely abandoned. Today the site includes nine ruined churches, a castle, two round towers and a large number of carved stone crosses and cross-slabs. Here are some pictures of the ruins.
Here are some pictures of some of the graves and headstones in and around the ruins.
And here are the towers.
On September 30th, 1979, Pope John Paul II visited and prayed at Clonmacnoise. They made an enclosed structure for his visit and it is still there.
Our visit was a little on the chilly side, but rain free and very enjoyable. Clonmacnoise Monastery is a beautiful and peaceful place and a must visit. Use the link below. Our next stop was for lunch in Kilbeggan. Kilbeggan means church of Bécán. Bécán is Saint Bécán, an Irish monk who founded a monastery at Kilbeggan and is considered by some to be one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. Now you know.
We had planned on eating at one of a few pubs in town, but they were all closed. We ended up eating at a coffee shop named Julimays. They had a pretty funny sign explaining coffee.
It was next door to a public library, which was hard to tell from this sign.
I had eggs and bacon that was supposed to come with hot chili flakes, but they were out of the flakes. I strongly doubt they ever had any chili flakes. Cindy and Sylvia split a breaded chicken wrap and salad. All of the food was fine, but not close to being link worthy.
After lunch, we were off again toward Dublin, where we had booked a night at the Clontarf Castle. Cindy was bent on spending a night in a castle, and this perfectly fit the bill. Our drive should have taken an hour and a half, but ended up taking two hours. Why you ask. Because the Garmin had one last trick it wanted to play on me before the trip was over. When we were just north of Dublin, the Garmin told me to take Highway M1 toward our destination. There was no north or south designation, so I figured Highway M1 only went one direction. As we approached Highway M1, we had a choice of north or south. The Garmin stood fast on its directionless choice of Highway M1. I felt like I should go south, but the Garmin appeared to want me to go north. Once I was locked into taking Highway M1 north, the Garmin updated and said to take Highway M1 south. Recalculating! We ended up going through a very busy traffic circle next to the airport. After fighting our way through the circle, the Garmin said to take Highway M50, but no direction. Here we go again. But I was determined to beat the Garmin. I knew we were north of the castle, so all I had to do was take Highway M50 south. That should be game, set, match. Then the highway signs offered a choice of Highway M50 east or west, while the Garmin confirmed only Highway M50. Are you kidding me? I had a 50% chance of getting this right. I chose Highway M50 west. Recalculating. We were taken back through the same busy traffic circle next to the airport. I was able to get through it slightly faster this time since it was my second time, but we ended up getting spit out on a new road this time. Cue the Garmin. Take Highway R139. No direction. This is where the Tourette syndrome started. A bit further down the road the choices were Highway R139 east or west. Easy choice this time. I picked west last time and was wrong, so this had to be east. Recalculating. And right back to the airport traffic circle. My Tourettes was now in full swing. I sounded like Ralphie in A Christmas Story when he beat up the bully. After battling the airport traffic circle for a third time, I pulled over in a parking lot and threw the Garmin in the trunk. I set up my phone to get us to the castle. I could have sworn a heard the phone snicker as we set off. The phone directed us to a special toll roadway for commercial trucks that was underground and went straight to the port. As bad as that sounds, the port was very close to the castle and we made it there, finally! If you think this may be an exaggeration, here is a screen shot of my Google maps timeline from this part of the trip. Yup, it was real.
Clontarf Castle Hotel was amazing. It is an actual castle that was established in 1172. It has been renovated with modern amenities, so if you are expecting stone walls lit by torches, you will be disappointed. If you are expecting a luxury experience in a real castle, you will be very happy. It is expensive, but worth every penny. Our booking included dinner and breakfast, which made the cost seem a little better. If you want to stay here, you can use the link at the end of this post. Here is the front of the castle and the entrance.
Here is our room. The TV was turned on and had Cindy’s name on it, since she was the one that booked the room.
After we settled in, we did a walking tour of the castle. It is an amazing place with a lot of history.
We continued our tour right out the front door and walked about a mile to the embarcadero.
The walk helped us build up our appetite. We walked back to the hotel and ate at the Knight’s Bar. Usually, breakfast and dinner are served in the Indigo Lounge, but the lounge is closed on Monday nights, the only night we were staying there.
Part of our dinner package was a three-course meal. We started with an appetizer of teriyaki and hot wings.
For the main course, I had steak with au jus, Cindy had the chicken leg on mash, and Sylvia had the salmon with a butter cream sauce.
Dessert was forest cake, a brownie, and an apple tart. There are no desserts pictures, but trust me, everything was delicious. The dinner did not disappoint.
Day 15
After a good night’s sleep, we had breakfast in the Indigo Lounge.
The lounge was very fancy and the food was outstanding. And there were no screaming children. We highly recommend the Clontarf Castle Hotel if you get the chance. There is a link below. It sprinkled on the way to return the rental car, but stopped once we had to wait for the shuttle at the outdoor, but covered, shuttle stop. Look at this beautiful view.
Within five minutes of this picture, it started raining again. In case you lost track, it rained on us 14 of the 15 days we were in Ireland. The lesson learned for anyone wanting to travel to Ireland is to always be prepared for rain. We were prepared and the vast majority of the time the rain was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
At the airport I ended up getting stopped by Irish security. The security agent was very nice and professional, but also insistent that I had illegal scissors in my backpack. He even showed me the scissors on the x-ray. I have been flying with this backpack packed the same way for the last five years and have yet to have a problem, so I could not figure out what was showing up on the x-ray. I told the agent he could empty my backpack and search everything. And he did. At the bottom of my backpack was a first aid kit that had a tiny pair of medical scissors in it. The agent laughed because the scissors were legal, they just looked too big on the x-ray. He gave me some good advice I took. I now carry the first aid kit in an exterior pocket of the backpack. It allows easy access in the event I need it for an emergency or for another search. Here I am putting my backpack back together.
After our initial cancelled flight, we hoped the return flight would be better. It did take off on the correct day. That is about the only positive thing I can say. When boarding, the seatback video screens were on displaying seat numbers. Mostly incorrect seat numbers. And apparently most of the people on this flight had never flown before because no one checked the bulkhead for the correct seat positions. A lot of people were sitting in the wrong seats and causing chaos during boarding. It took a while to get sorted out when one man was asked to move by the flight crew and he refused. And the flight crew did nothing. Instead, they inconvenienced and moved the woman who had paid for that seat. Not acceptable. For the entire flight, the service was bad to non-existent. I already was prepared to never fly with Aer Lingus again and this only helped to cement that position. We made it home and had to wait about an hour for our luggage to show up at the baggage carousel. At least our driver was able to wait for us the entire time. We used Prolux Auto Group and they were outstanding. They are a bit pricey, but worth every penny. If you need a ride to the airport, we highly recommend them. See their link below.
Post script to my trying to get a refund from Aer Lingus for our initial cancelled flight using law EU 261. After three written requests via the internet, and 30 days, I received a refund for the full amount required by EU law. We need laws like that here in the US.
In closing, here are some things we learned and a few tips from our trip to Ireland, our first international trip. The people are warm and welcoming. Don’t be afraid to ask them anything, such as must visit sights and where are the best places to eat. But be warned, there are no short conversations with them. Be prepared for rain. I leave you with the words of one of our tour guides. “There are two seasons in Ireland. June and winter.” Enough said. If you do not have to rent a car, don’t. It is harder and more inconvenient that it looks. And very expensive. They have trains that go to most cities, and each city has a pretty good public transportation system and the availability of taxi cabs. If you are flying in from the US, taking an overnight flight can help a little with the jet lag. That being said, do not plan any activities on your arrival day. If you feel good enough to do something on that day, it is a bonus. If not, you can rest up for the remainder of your trip. Try new foods, within your specific limits of course. If you are lactose intolerant in your home country, you will still be lactose intolerant in Ireland. And as much as I try to keep an open mind about food and experience new things, I did not, nor shall I ever try Haggis. That is where I have drawn the food line. Spend a minimum of two weeks on any international trip. This means planning your trip for 16 days, because you lose two days to traveling there and back. In our 15 days (would have been 16 if the airline had not cancelled our first flight), we saw so much, but missed even more. If you can only get a week off of work, consider seeing something closer to home. It will be more enjoyable and relaxing. Ireland is an amazingly beautiful place. It is called the Emerald Isle for a reason. Make sure to get out into the countryside and experience all that Ireland has to offer. The natural beauty is beyond description. You will not be disappointed. Use the internet to help plan your visit and check tourist locations to see what you need to book before you arrive. We had to book several places before we arrived and if we had not booked early, we would not have been able to see certain places. The same goes for your accommodations. If you have a special place you would like to stay, check to see how early you have to book it.
My next post will cover some of our visit to our “other” house in St. Joseph, Missouri. Until then, may the luck of the Irish be with you.
LINKS
