Sunset on the Great Irish Adventure

Here it is, bedtime for us on our last night in Ireland.  The  sun set over Ireland on our way back to Dublin from Kilkenny.   On the way we talked about what things were our favorites.   We decided it would be too hard to choose any one place or experience.   We have had just a wonderful time.   For all of you who know our reputation for getting lost during our travels, you will be impressed to know that we hardly missed a beat this time!   Just a few minor wrong turns. Considering we were driving on the wrong side of the road, with some places so narrow you couldn't have fit a piece of paper between us and the stone wall beside us-we figured we did ok.   The rental car is only dirty-not dented!  We are anxious to share pictures with many of you.    Our thoughts have started to turn to things back home.   Our hearts are a bit heavy as we know that as soon as we get home, we will be preparing to send Scott and Sam and their family on their way to Utah.   That is ebb and flow of life for sure.   So in closing we will say good bye to all and hope that the road will rise to meet you and the sun be always at your back.

Hugs to Everyone and thanks for following along with us.

Bob and Deb

Great Final Day in Kilkenny

Hi All.

Today was spent  in the city of Kilkenny.   It is an old medieval city about an hour and a half southwest of Dublin.   The centerpiece of the city is the Kilkenny Castle which is pictured behind Bob on the right.   It has been painstakingly restored to its original splendor.   What an amazing place.   We were not allowed to take pictures inside, so we are hoping our memories will be solid in our gray heads!    We also took a guided walking tour of the city which gave us lots of interesting background info about the city.

We strolled the cobbled streets, ate, drank beer and finally ended the day with a fun experience at the most famous pub in the city.   It run by a woman who was charged with being a witch!   It was so cool inside.   But the really fun part was our lesson on playing the  bodhran (pronounced bo ron)-a traditional Irish drum.   We don't know how good we were, but it probably helped that we had already had a couple pints!
After we left this pub  at about 7:30 and headed back to our car, we happened to pass another pub with traditional Irish music being played and of course we couldn't resist more music and of course, another pint (only for Deb since Bob was going to drive back to Dublin)!

Needless to say, it was such a fun day.

Hugs,

B and D

Galway to Dublin

 Hello Everyone.  

It is 10:50 PM here and we are just settling in for our cup of tea.   It has been another lovely day as the locals would say.   The picture at the left is of one of the busy streets of Galway last night.   What a buzz going on there!    Pub after pub, after pub.   We were sad to say good bye to that area of Ireland, but we headed out this morning after a hearty breakfast at the Glenlo Abbey.  

On the way to Dublin area we stopped at an ancient
monastic site along the River Shannon.   It is called Clonmacnoise.  It was one of the first Christian sites in the country.   It was so peaceful and "holy" feeling.   You can see the remaining ruins and Celtic crosses in the picture at the right.   Very cool.






We ended our journey at our Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel just south of Dublin.   It is a stately old place with lots of beauty and character.   After a wee nap, we took a nice long stroll into the area nearby called Dalkey.   We had a nice dinner and then walked back to our hotel.   On the way we hiked up to a high hill just in time to see the sun setting over Dublin Bay.   Such a pretty sight.   The city is in the background.    We plan to head south for our last full day here.   Hard to believe our trip is nearly over.  

Good night from Dublin, Ireland.      Hugs to Everyone,   Bob and Deb

A Fine Day On Inishmor

This day has to be a 10.  Not a cloud and temps near 80.  I don't think the Irish no how to react to such weather.  The two beaches we passed on the way to the ferry were already starting to draw crowds.  Our ferry ride out to Inishmor was only slightly rolling, like lying in a hammock and being rocked to sleep.  The ferry ride took about 45 minutes.   To see the sights of the island, people could walk, bike, take a jaunty car ride or a tour van.   We chose  the bike rental.  The island is about 7 miles long and 2 miles wide, so a bike worked out just right, except for the hills we had to climb.  It was nice not having so much car traffic as we have had in the last 3 days.   The biggest feature of the island is Dun Anaengus, a fottification sitting on the highest point of the island, built about 500 BC.  We ended our day on the island having a cold one.   Tasted pretty darn good.  

We are now having a "wee rest" as the locals would say.   Tending to our sunburned faces and arms and our sore butts!   We are heading into the city for dinner and some Irish music.   Galway is supposed to be fantastic for that.   We have been so pooped the last few nights that staying up late hasn't been appealing.   Tonight is it.

Wish all of you could be here to experience this wonderful country.      It has been a fantastic trip so far.   We are sad to think we are on the downhill side of the week.   Heading toward our last hotel tomorrow.   It is south of Dublin and we hope to take in some of the Wiklow Mountain sights, Kilkenny, and Waterford and/or Wexford during these last two full days.

Hugs to everyone.

The Weary Sunburned Travelers

Connemara Coast

Greetings Everyone.  Internet was a little funky last night, so we are a few hours late checking in.   It is another gorgeous day here and we are looking forward to it.   Yesterday, as shown in these pics, we visited a wonderful place called Kylemore Abbey.   It is located in the Connemara area of Ireland.   It was built in the 1850's and is now occupied by the Benedictine Sisters.   Lovely castle and immense walled formal garden.

The picture at the left is on something called the Sky Road.   It wound its way out to the coast on a tiny peninsula.   Nail-biting drive, but worth it when we got to the views of the open ocean.  
We then headed to our hotel just outside Galway.   It is another wonderful place.   We will post pics and details of today's excitement later.   We are heading for the ferry to go over to the Aran Islands.  

Bob and Deb

Another Beautiful Day

 After a wonderful breakfast here at the Lough Eske Castle, we headed a bit further north to one of Ireland's 6 National Parks.   It is called Glenveigh National Park.   As you can see in the picture at the left, most of the park is barren bog land, but about 160 years ago a man named Adare decided he wanted a "hunting lodge".   The castle you see on the lakeshore is it.   It is still nearly in the condition it was back then.   It has immense gardens which surround the castle. All of the gardens AND trees have been planted over the years by owners.   It is a beautiful oasis in a stark and barren land.   It was an interesting morning.

After we were done there, we headed on a scenic drive back toward Donegal.   Stopped on our way to do some shopping a small town called Ardara.   The picture on the right is especially for my brother, Mike.   This is your new hat, Mike.   We had fun looking around for just the right one.   Hope you are going to like it.

We ended the touring part of the day with a tour of Donegal Castle and dinner in Donegal town.  

We are pretty pooped tonight, so plan for a quick dip in the pool and then an early bedtime.   It's hard to get into sleep mode here when it stays light so late!

Tomorrow we head for Galway area.   We will do a bit of touring on our way in the Connemara area and try to fit in a stop at the town of Westport.   There is a pub there owned by Matt Molloy, who is a member of the famous Irish group, The Chieftans.   We can already hear the Guinness calling us!

Hope all is well with everyone.

Debbie

Castles and Coastlines-Day 2 of our Irish Adventure

 Greetings All.

We have had another amazing day.   We left our hotel this morning around 9:00 and reached Belleek around noon.   That is where we toured the famous pottery factory.   It was so wonderful to see all the craftsmen and women working on the beautiful pieces.   After lunch at a nearby diner, we headed to our hotel on the edge of Lough Eske, just outside Donegal.   Lough is Irish for lake.   The picture to the left is what greeted us as we drove up the long, winding, narrow drive.   Just beautiful.   We could hardly believe this was the place we were staying!

The hotel and grounds are lovely.   We took a stroll around before we jumped in the car for another nail-biting, heart-pounding drive along the coast to the cliffs you see on the right.   It is called Slieve League.   We haven't asked anyone specifically, but we are guessing "slieve" must mean cliff or mountain as we have seen it other places.   Anyway, it was a fantastic drive which felt like we were heading off the edge of the earth.  It actually is about the farthest west you can travel in Ireland.   The cliffs rise up out of the Atlantic to a height of 730 feet.  They are some of the highest in Europe, even higher than their famous Irish cousin-The Cliffs of Moher.   We figure the reason that they are not as well known is because it is quite an unbelievable drive to get there, but certainly worth every white-knuckle minute!

We then headed back to Donegal town for dinner.   After we finish here we are hoping our energy will allow one more stroll around the castle before we have our tea and head to bed.   It is 9:00 PM, but the sun is still shining.   Stays light till nearly 11:00!   Tomorrow we head a bit farther north to a National Park which is supposed to be beautiful.  We hope to do some shopping at the woolen mills and craft stores in this area.   Mike, we are looking for just the perfect hat.  

Katie, I have some bad news.   The weather has been so fantastic that we are getting worried that we might not see a rainbow.   That means no pot of gold or leprechauns!   We will keep looking, but we are not crossing our fingers for rain.

Love to everyone,

Bob and Deb

Day 1 of the Great Irish Adventure

 Top O' The Morning to Ya!

Is it still morning back in the good, old, U S of A?  It is 5:15 here is beautiful Ireland.   We had a very smooth flight with only about 6 hours of waiting in line for check in, security, customs, etc!   Neither of us slept during the flight, so we are running on adrenaline about now.   Still have dinner of fish and chips at our beautiful Dunboyne Castle Hotel and then a spa treatment.   Hope we don't fall asleep during the excitement!

These two pics are representative of our first day
The first is at Newgrange.   It is an ancient burial tomb-I mean ancient-500 years older than the pyramids in Egypt.   It was amazing.   The other picture is of Trim castle.   It is the oldest remaining Ango-Saxon castle in Ireland.   It was so amazing.   Dates back to around 1150.   This is where several important parts of the movie Braveheart were filmed.

We have had an amazing first day.   We will be heading to Donegal bright and early tomorrow morning-stopping at the famous Hill of Tara and the Belleek Pottery factory on our way.  

Hope everyone is well back home.   Jeff and Ruth, we climbed up and down 80 narrow, curved steps in that castle that reminded us so much of the tower in Bunratty!

Long-Distant hugs to Everyone.,

Bob and Deb

'Tis Time to Return to Ireland

On May 21 We will be returning for our second visit to the Emerald Isle.  This trip will take us to the northwest side of the island with the last two days in the southeast.  Donegal and Galway will be two of areas will will be touring.  The northeast is some of the least populated area, where the Gaelic language is common. We look forward to lots of beautiful coastlines, beaches and rugged terrain to explore.  We hope you'll enjoy following along with us.  Here are two pictures from our last visit: a coastline castle near Doolin , and the Cliffs of Moher, which are both about an hour south of Galway.