Ireland Day 4 Bunratty Castle and the Cliffs of Moher
I stayed at Noraville House B and B for a second night. The mother/daughter pair that stayed there
with me last night left to stay at a place closer to the center of town so I
was on my own. Eugene got up early to
make me a continental breakfast since I was getting picked up at 7:15 which was
before he makes breakfast. Ed and Marie
were in the car and we were the last to get on the bus. The bus was packed and I sat with David
again. He was one of the 13 people from Seattle who went to the Isle of Mann on
business (they raise trout eggs and sell them around the world). We rode to Limerick and met people coming on
the train from Dublin. They transferred
us to a bigger bus since there was 51 of us.
Our first stop was Bunratty Castle. It was completed in 1425 and was still in
great shape. You could actually tell
that it used to be a home – unlike Blarney Castle which seemed like an awful
place. There is a Folk Park at Bunratty
– they found buildings still standing in the area from that time and took them
apart brick by brick and rebuilt them so you could see what a typical town
would look like. It was great to walk
around. I wish I’d had more time to
explore. The castle serves medieval
feasts at night and you can make reservations to eat in the great hall with
music etc – sounds like fun!
 |
| Bunratty Castle |
 |
drive from Cliffs to Galway
|
After Bunratty we drove to Doolin where we ate lunch at a
pub called O’conners. They specialize in making food really fast for bus
groups. They sold traditional soups,
stews, fish and chips etc. Our tour
guide always tells us to be on time and that he’ll wait a few minutes but we
have to stay on schedule because to have to catch a train in the evening. After lunch we were missing a person – he
waited, he asked around to see if anyone knew who was missing. He even called my name to make sure I was
there. He knew I was by myself, but I
make it a point to make friends on these tours so people notice when I’m
gone! We ended up leaving without the
person which some people think is harsh, but he said to be on time. We got to the Cliffs of Moher and by the time
we left there, the person had been located and put on another Railtours bus and
was back on track – they were one of the new people that joined us today. The Cliffs were amazing. No wonder they are the top outdoor attraction
in Ireland (indoor is the Guiness factory
J It was cold and windy. I actually put my jeans on in Limerick today
– I couldn’t stand it anymore.
 |
| The Burren |
 |
| Cliffs of Moher |
After the Cliffs we drove to Galway through the Burren,
which they pronounce “Burn” It is a “unique lunar landscape of limestone” and
was described in 1649 by one of Oliver
Cromwell’s men as “ No tree to hang a man, no water deep enough to drown him
and no soil deep enough to bury him” We got to Galway and grabbed some dinner –
you can bring food and alcohol on the train.
It was about a 3 hour train ride and I sat with Dave and Kara – a very
nice couple from the states – she’s an art teacher so we discussed
education. There was wifi on the train
so I got to load some pics post a blog.
We enjoyed the scenery and saw LOTS of rainbows and occasionally someone
would spot a patch of blue in the sky J Kara showed me how to take the tram to my
hotel and I got there a little after 9.
I am in the Temple Bar area so it is loud. I have to get up early for my tour tomorrow
so I hope it quiets down.
No comments:
Post a Comment