Bunratty and then Home...

Before we left Ireland, we wanted to squeeze one last thing in - even Brendan got up early. So we toured the Bunratty Castle and folk park. The castle had been restored and you had a real sense of what it was like to be in an earlier age.

 The people of the 12th century must have been pretty small to run up and down those stairs. That circular staircase was about 4 stories high from the main hall. But when you got to the top, the view was amazing.

 It was quite a climb, but it was worth it when we got to the top.

So that concludes our trip to Ireland. I think we would all agree that we had a wonderful trip together, that the Irish were helpful, funny, and engaging and that we were quite blessed to go so far and not have a fender bender along the way!

For those of you who traveled with us, thanks so much. We've been touched by your comments (whether posted online or in email).

Love,
The Celtic Quartet

Cliffs of Moher

As the last full day in Ireland, we decided to finish with a bang and venture to the Cliffs of Moher. Our route took us by some pretty impressive scenery along the coast, including Dunguaire Castle and a cornucopia of views of the Atlantic. 

Dunguaire Castle

What a windy, bumpy road it was... I tell ya, if it's not windy it's bumpy and when it's not bumpy it's windy--or a combination of both. Ugh! And you can never tell what roads are the best from the maps... Money Penny took us on a continuum of roads. We have learned to trust that when she sends us down an alley, that we best follow her instructions. We went from one lane roads where we had to pull to the side so others could pass us to a 4 lane highway.

Most of the time, it's impossible to even understand the signs!

????

Nevertheless, some 40 kilometers after leaving Galway, we finally arrived at the very windy Cliffs. Very windy. The wind was so strong it almost blew me over a couple of times! The scenery did however hold up to our expectations and it was quite something. Brendan and I walked up into the O'Brien view tower and it was even windier up there. My hair was blowing all over the place!

O'Brien's Tower

With a rainstorm nearly upon us, we fled the scene and headed to Bunratty. Just when we had finally started to trust in Money Penny, she sends us down another Tulleybrick road to nowhere!---so it seemed. Although it didn't appear to be the most logical way to get to the highway, we made it one way or another and were to Bunratty in no time. Needless to say we were starving so had our last beer and bites in Ireland before walking around the castle (which was closed, unfortunately, until tomorrow) and in a few little shops to spend the last of our change.

You may have noticed that we have talked alot about Money Penny (our woman on the scene guiding us to our next destination) and driving around Ireland. The map below should give you an idea of how much ground we have covered this trip. We have highlighted all the places we've been and the journey to get to each place. We have definitely seen the breadth of Ireland. In fact, we have loved seeing the Irish countryside. Money Penny must have been programmed to take us on the scenic route and although it took awhile for us to trust her, she showed up some beautiful country--up close and personal!

We've got a very lonnnnnng day tomorrow on the plane, but before heading home, we will sneak in one last peek in the castle. Ha! That's if we can get Brendan out of bed in time.

-Cassie & Deb

The Aran Islands

What a day! It's hard to believe how much we have been fitting into these days as we have been out and about. The hotel we are staying at (Glenlo Abbey) has the most amazing breakfasts and the hardest beds we've had the whole trip. So while we were all a bit tired this morning - both from the hard beds and from having to get up early to catch the ferry - we had quite the spread for breakfast. It's going to be hard to go back to quinoa after all these full Irish breakfasts. I've had more eggs in the last week than I have had in the last 3 months!

Breakfast set up at Glenlo Abbey

After breakfast, we set out to catch a ferry to the Aran Islands. Money Penny was a bit temperamental this morning and we couldn't get her to find the ferry location. We had to be at the dock by 10:00 and we were still trying to figure it out at about 9am. The ferry dock was reported to be about 38km away, so after chatting with the hotel receptionist, we headed out. We saw the sign she mentioned, but the road looked like an alley, so I ended up driving right by it. Can I just say that almost every road here looks like an alley? It soon became clear that we had gone too far. But then I looked down at the gas tank and saw we were empty! Empty?! This crazy gas guage has kept me constantly guessing. When we drove from Dublin to Cootehill it had gone from full to a 1/4 tank. Seemed strange since it wasn't that far. But then we got in the car the next day and it was 1/2 full and the last two days between 1/2 and 3/4 tank.

Sooo...Moneypenny finally came back online and directed us down another alley. To say that driving here is hair raising is an understatement. We all hold our breath everytime we pass a car. You add the pedestrians, bikers, buses and trucks and it feels like that game Frogger when the frog is trying to get across the streen without getting smooshed. After driving like a bat out of he-- over hill and dale (and Brendan and Cassie can tell you it's hill and dale), we pulled up to the ferry dock with minutes to spare and frankly nerves a bit on edge.

40 minutes later we arrived to Inishmor (the biggest of the Aran Islands). Brendan and Cassie hussled their buns to the bike rentals and sucessfully snagged 4. 

After pondering the map of the island a bit, we were off. For some reason here they get you all worked up about how gorgeous and cool these places are and forget to mention the near impossible ride there! They reel you in with a gorgeous picture and then an easy beginning. But soon you are huffing and puffing and pushing those pedals against the wind. As we got close to the Lighthouse, we had to walk our bikes.

I tell ya we were in no shape to be biking up those big hills or on roads of rocks the size of baseballs. But one way or another we soaked up the scenery and made it to a few points of interest on the island. First was the lighthouse at the highest point on the island. It was more a pile of a rubble than somewhere to explore, but we took a few pictures and were on our way down the hill.

 

There were 10 stops on the map, all on a 9 mile long, 2 mile wide island. But the trip to the lighthouse was so tiring that we decided that we really only cared about seeing the cliffs. So it was with definite enthusiasm that we sailed back down the hill to find a pub and some grub (as JK says).

After soaking up some sun and enjoying the gorgeous weather we were lucky to have, we headed to the cliffs on the other side of the island. And let me tell you it was certainly NOT an easy trek over there. We biked around the little bay and then it was all uphill rocky terrain from there. We must have missed the memo cause we were the only crazy stubborn fools to stumble all the way to the top, but once we made it, we sat down for a bit and it was beautiful.  It's quite amazing to think the locals on the island have this in their backyards!

As we were getting ready to go, we were joined by someone else. Tto our amazement, he was was from Arlington, WA! He has been riding his Harley all around Ireland and had been visting friends in London.

Of course JK chatted up a storm with the guy, which was fine because we needed to rest! We decided to call it a day and head home. It's amazing the difference in scenery on the coast versus the countryside drive to and from Cavan/Cootehill. Today it is all rocky and there's barely any green. The whole land is sectioned off into these square pieces of land surrounded by piles-of-stone walls with holes in them so that the 100mph wind they get here doesn't blow them over.

Finally Money Penny guided us home without any temper tantrums. She says "recalculating" when she gets annoyed with us.  It was a good day with a few ups and downs and we were quite happy to get back to the hotel and relax.  

Tomorrow is our last full day here in Ireland. We've got all sorts of plans, but after a day of biking we'll have to see what we can handle! The less sitting the better, that's for sure!

-Deb & Cassie 

Warbling in Westport and Gadding About Galway

We left you last night just as we were about to head into town to listen to some traditional Irish music. We had a two course dinner. Brendan found a pizza place that was actually open and smelled good. So the first course was Brendan's pizza and then we walked all over town looking for the bar owned by a member of the Chieftan's. Turned out they didn't have any music that night so we did a complete circle and ended up having the second course of our dinner and listening to music at the pub right next to the pizza place. 

We had the pleasure of listening to Kevin Collins (or at least we think that was who it was, there were several names written down and a day later we can't quite remember). Anyway, he was a very talented performer and we enjoyed both his music and his jokes.

Today was another travel day. But before heading south to Galway, we stopped by Marlene's Chocolate Haven--as we heard it was superb. Across the street was the Westport Country Market where we found a selection of fresh produce in addition to a woman spinning yarn and another chiseling stones.
 

Then we were on the road again--and what a windy, bumpy, dippy road it was, ugh! I don't know what they're thinking setting the speed limit to 100km/h (62mph) on those roads! Giant trucks would go by on these lanes with no shoulder and we would all hold our breath. It still isn't easy to gauge the distance between shoulder and median. Brendan and I were feeling pretty ill towards the end of that trip. However, it was pretty cool seeing all these random stone, castle-looking remnants just off the side of the road, but it was hard to get a good picture, they came and went so fast!

Well, one way or another we made it all in one piece and breakfast still in our stomach. Our hotel is quite the spiffy joint. It has a beautiful view of the golfing green next door and the lake off in the distance, which supposedly you can walk to but we couldn't figure that one out..

 The Pullman train also sits behind the hotel where it is currently used as a 5 star restaurant (we certainly didn't pack clothes for such a fancy place!). Before being brought to Glenlo Abbey Hotel in 1997, the  Pullman was famous for being used in the 1974 film 'Murder on the Orient Express' as well as carrying Winston Churchill's remains and funeral cortege in 1965.

Later we headed to downtown Galway where we walked around Erye Square and a few stores. The stressful drive took a lot of energy out of us so I think we will be saving the tour of the city for another day :)

Tomorrow we are headed to Inishmor Island (the biggest of the Aran islands) where we are going to rent some bikes and soak up some ocean scenery and crisp Atlantic air. Should be an eventful day with lots to write about!

To add to our list of observations:

• Most of the bartenders look like they're about 15 years old
• In general, the fruit is terrible (but the shortbread cookies are quite tasty)

Wandering Westport

Well what a day we had in Westport. After a scrumptious breakfast at our hotel, we were ready to take on a busy day! First on the agenda was Croagh Patrick. Located 10km from town, Croagh Patrick is a 2,500ft tall mountain visible from anywhere in Westport and an important site of pilgrimage here in County Mayo. On the last Sunday in July, known as "Reek Sunday", over 15,000 pilgrims climb it as a means of remembrance of Saint Patrick and his trip to the top where he reputedly fasted on the summit for 40 days and built a church. This church can be seen from the bottom. While many ambitious visitors today were there to follow in St. Patrick's steps all the way to the top, we decided to enjoy the scenery from the base.

Pilgrimage path to Croagh Patrick (on the right)

Saint Patrick

Brendan with a bit of the beautiful scenery in the background 

Everyone who knows Dad knows that he never meets a stranger. As we've made our way through Ireland, he always has a hello, a question or an observation for those he meets. He's been particularly interested in the small business of Ireland. In Cavan, he found out the the shopkeeper was still "milking the cows" (taking money from customers from the music festival) and at Croagh Patrick he was very curious about an old gent who was selling/renting sticks for those making the pilgrimage to the top. From him he learned that he'd been at it for 5 years, lived a mile away and has a license to sell these sticks from the government (a special dispensation perhaps for such good works?). Now we know what Dad could do with his Irish passport. Never hurts to have a little "insurance" does it??

Dad getting the business skinny from the locals

Across the street from Croagh Patrick was the Famine Memorial coffin ship and Murrisk Abbey Cemetery. The cemetery is located around the ruins of Murrisk Abbey, which was founded in 1456 by the Augustinian Friars.

The Famine Memorial

Brendan and JK in front of the Murrisk Abbey

The cemetery behind Murrisk Abbey

And let me tell you, these people must have been pretty small when they built this because I had to duck under every doorway!

Then we stopped at the Westport Harbor to visit the Heritage Center. Here we learned all about the history of the town and were surrounded by hundreds of old artifacts, from coins and cannonballs to shoes and cash registers.

Inside the Heritage Center

Before heading back to town, we checked out the Westport House. This was the home of Lord Altamont the Marquess of Sligo and was built by the Browne family in the 18th Century on the site of an O'Malley castle whose dungeons are still present today.

Quite the crib!

In the dungeon!

Brendan and I followed a trail through the woods (while Debbie and JK rested up a bit) next to the house and stumbled upon a waterfall.

Then we hit the town for beer and a bite to satisfy our tummies and rest our feet. We walked around town a bit and soon decided to head back to the hotel for a bit before hitting the town later for some beer and Irish music.

The Mall

Major John McBride memorial

As we've toured through Ireland, we have collected some interesting factoiods:

• The Irish are very friendly and helpful
• They don't use many "h's"  in their speech (thirty three sounds like tirty tree)
• The have separate plumbing for hot and cold water in their sinks, so warm is never an option
• There are a million kids here and every family tends to have at least 3
• The water pressure here will blow you right out of the shower
• Which is dangerous because the tubs are so deep and the side of the bathtub is so tall that you have to hurdle your leg to get out and stick the landing on the bathmat otherwise your flat on your kiester
• Lots of people in the pubs and strangely no one in church. See bullet 4
• This is a country of smokers! You can't go through a door without a smoker guarding the door

More later...C and Deb