Sunday, April 21, 2019

Ireland - Cliffs of Mohr

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We left early for a planned day drive to the Cliffs of Moher.  The weather changed and the day was beautiful, warm, and sunny.  We wandered the coastal route making the 90 minute drive into a four hour scenic adventure.  We stopped at a beach along the way and had a picnic.  We reached the village of Quilty around 5PM and located our Airbnb cottage for the night.  Once again we discovered a brand new stand alone vacation rental next to the main house, beautifully appointed and perfect for single night stay.   Right on the water, our front window had a dramatic view of the water...and the sunset.  Carol roasted a turket breast, along with the traditional side dishes, and we enjoyed a mini-thanksgiving dinner.

In the morning the day was glorious...just as we had planned...LOL...and we drive the 30 minutes north to the Cliffs of Moher.  Parking was a breeze since we were do early.  The crowd was minimal and we toured both the visitor center and then walked the cliff path admiring the views.

The visitor center was built into the hillside so as to not distract from the cliffs.


 Even the vendor stalls were nicely downplayed.
 The cliffs were amazing.







Ireland - Limerick and King John's Castle

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We departed Dingle on yet another rainy day, stopping at a megalithic church site built in 600 AD.  It was so very rainy and cold, the walk from the visitor center to the site was unappealing.  We were satisfied to watch the video and view it from afar.

For the balance of the day we wandered country roads back and forth between the hills and the shoreline, taking our time getting into Limerick for our two night stay.  Once again we chose a remote location about 20 south of the city and we were pleasantly surprised to find an absolutely gorgeous newly built home with an attached and HUGE two bedroom, two bath apartment.  Nestled in a private forest preserve, we had the property to ourselves for our entire stay.  The owners watched over us from their German hometown location...smile.



Our visit to Limerick was to see the famous harbor and tour King John's castle and the historic city center.  We found free parking easily and took almost three hours to visit the castle.  So many placards for Carol to read....smile...thankfully there was plenty to keep us busy in the very, very well done exhibits and the castle ruins itself.  Later we visited the cathedral and then wandered the riverbanks for views of the city and harbor.

The visitor center had a full museum that talked about the history of Limerick and contained full sized screens with actors portraying historic figures talking about everything from blacksmithing to sword fighting.  It took well over an hour just to get through the exhibits, they were that well done.
 The castle itself was in great shape, having been reconstructed using most of the original stone.  There were lost of winding stairwells and lookouts spots from the towers.





Saturday, April 20, 2019

Ireland - Dingle Peninsula and Blasket Island

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Having booked a ferry out to the Blasket Islands several months ago, we were disappointed to wake to a rainy and windy day.  Nevertheless, we packed up early and headed out with hopes of a change.  The drive along the Dingle Peninsula was still pretty.  By this point we have been following the "Wild Atlantic Way" for about a week and the views of the sea and the villages scattered on the slopes are so picturesque.





We reached Dingle, our home base for the next two days, and drove out to the Blasket Island Visitor Center.  Dingle is the only incorporated town on the entire peninsula.  Quaint and with an exquisite harbor, it was a postcard for sure.  The visitor center is at the tip of the peninsula facing the islands off in the distance.  The entire center is devoted to the stories and history of the people who made the island their home until 1953.  They were one of the last fully Gaelic strongholds where English was only spoken in the schools and the island was self-sufficient with fished, herding and a small about of agriculture to sustain them.  In 1953 a massive storm threatened the entire island and they village was evacuated to the mainland.  From there many immigrated to the US and Australia and none returned to the island.  The federal government made it into a national park and memorial in 1978.

We toured the visitor center viewing the exhibits and reading the many stories presented.  There was a great film and it was a way to pass the rest of day away from the pretty awful weather outside.  We checked into our grand little flat above the owner's retail shop later in the day.  Right in the center of the village, we had a bird's eye view of local and tourist life from our windows and everything was within walking distance.




The weather did not break and so our tour to the island was cancelled.  We got a full refund from a very charming and apologetic staff...amused that we would even consider blaming them for the deluge.  We spent the day hunkered down and ventures out into the day a few times during breaks int the rain.

Here are a few photos from the net that show what we might have seen had we been able to get out to the island park.






Ireland - Galway and County Clare

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On Friday we drove into the city and enjoyed a lively walking tour of historic Galway with our red-coated guide.  He was great as usual and we saw a lot of the city.





On Saturday we drove further west to a rather large manor home and spent time in the gardens and castle.











Easter Sunday.  We departed our luxury cottage in Gort and headed north to the town of Atheny.  There we visited a really great tower home that had been restored and wandered the walled city.
We then headed northwest further into County Clare to another castle.  This one also had been restored and much of its defensive walls and towers were also intact.  Touring the site ended with another great car picnic before heading further west and into the blanket bogs of western County Clare.

We took a side trip to visit the Pierce Cottage and happened upon a local Gaelic Easter gathering and potluch at the visitor center.  There was food and music and lots of joy.  We wander the exhibits and grounds before continuing our drive to the northern coast line and then along the Wild Atlantic Way again before cutting inland to our overnight in Castlebar and a lovely cottage once









again.