Day 9 - All good things must come to an end. Final Impressions.

Tuesday we made our way home. It was relatively uneventful other than when flying from Dublin to the USA they recommend arriving at the airport 3 hours early, and you should.  It took nearly all of the three hours to get through the check-in and all the required screening. It is nice that you do US customs in Dublin so there is none required in the USA, but it all takes time.

We flew from Dublin to Stewart in Newburgh, NY on schedule, then drove the 3.5 hours to the Allen's and picked up our car, arriving home around 10PM. All and all uneventful..as it should be.

We very much enjoyed as much of Ireland as we could fit in the short time we were on Irish soil.

This is a google timeline of our travels, yes google was watching me the whole time.

Even though Ireland is farther north than we are in Vermont, the climate is much more constant than where we live. The range in temperature between night and day is much less and more predictable. We had temps basically from 40 to 60 for the whole week. However the wind the never stops, which can make it feel a bit colder when the sun is not out. When the sun was out, it was very comfortable.

My impressions of the Irish are that they are very proud of being Irish but a very friendly people. They bristle a bit when talk of the British come up, but also recognize that they have a very symbiotic relationship with their neighbors to the east. It is just hard to overlook hundreds of years of oppression.

Our tour was booked by AAA through a third party called Abbey Tour Group.  Frankly, for the price of the tour, I was very pleased. There were about 28 total in our group, we all got along well. We even had a group photographer, Abraham.

This is a group photo with Abraham in it, with his wife Mary, center under the sign.  (Calvin took the picture)










Abraham would often assemble the group for a picture. He gathered our emails and will forward them when he gets home.

As has been repeated many times, our tour guide made the trip fun, I have no regrets.

All in all "The craic was mighty!"

Day 8 - Galway to Dublin

Monday was our last full day in Ireland, it does go by fast.  We traveled from the far west of Ireland, Galway,  to the far east of Ireland, Dublin. It is really not that far, a bit over 200km (125m).

Our first stop was in Clonmacnoise. It is an Early Christian site founded by St. Ciarán in the mid-6th century on the eastern bank of the River Shannon. It was at the cross roads of Ireland for many centuries and a the center of learning. It was pillaged and raided many times by Vikings and others, but the monks always rebuilt until the dastardly British came in 1552, the English garrison at Athlone destroyed and looted Clonmacnoise for the final time, leaving it in ruins.

It is a very interesting site and our tour guide was a bit of a card. We reenacted a bit of history, Ed was the bad King Henry of England and I was his muscle, Strong Bow.  It was entertaining.

The views at Clonmacnoise are spectacular and really can't be captured by the camera.

After Clonmacnoise we made our way through the countryside to the Tullamore D.E.W. distillery. It was established in 1829 and it's named is derived from the initials of Daniel E. Williams, a general manager and later owner of the original distillery.

It was an interesting place and we had a very nice lunch there.












After lunch we headed for Dublin. Our first stop was Trinity College, established in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I.  At Trinity College we were met by another guide, Gerry Cooley, he is a from Dublin and extremely proud of his heritage.  He is into many things and is an author, check out his website if you want to know more. http://www.gerrycooley.com/

Trinity is a must stop in Dublin because it holds the Book of Kells, a 9th century manuscript that documents the four Gospels of the life of Jesus Christ. The Book of Kells is Ireland’s greatest cultural treasure and the world’s most famous medieval manuscript.  It is believed to have been created c. 800 AD.

After viewing the Book of Kells (no photos allowed) you climb to the second floor to see the long room. There is also an original of the Irish Independence Proclamation, much like our Declaration of Independence. It is jaw dropping, containing over 200,000 books.

It also contains the 14th century Irish harp known as the "O'Neill" or "Brian Boru" harp, which became Guinness emblem in  1862. The new Irish Republic tried to use the Harp as their symbol after their independence, but Guinness would not allow it. They said they bought it and owned it. The New Republic solved the problem by using a mirrored, backwards image of the Harp.

















After Trinity College our guide Gerry boarded the bus with us and gave us a tour of Dublin, he was quite entertaining.

The bus was headed for more touring of Dublin and then to the hotel, but we asked to be dropped at Guinness so we could get the tour.

Unfortunately, this was the last chance we would get to say goodbye to Calvin, but we made the best of it. Calvin really did make the tour, he is very knowledgeable and entertaining.  It is also clear that he is well known by the locals and has a report with them that just makes things go more smoothly, we were lucky to have him as our guide.

In a word, Guinness is huge!.  The tour takes at least 2 hours and we skipped a few of the 7 floors of the tour.












We ended our tour at the Gravity Bar at the top of the building. It has 360 degrees of curved glass looking out onto the city, unfortunately it was a drizzly day and visibility was limited.

With the tour you get a pint of Guinness so we bellied up to the bar and asked for our Guinness.  One thing we did learn in Ireland is how to pour a Guinness, you have to do it in two steps. First you fill the glass about 3/4 full and let it rest then 'finish' it, leaving about a half inch of foam on the top.  Our Guide instructed us that if you get too much foam you tell the bartender, "I wanted to see the Priest not the Bishop" (the Bishop has a much taller collar).

So, our bartender poured our Guinness, apparently Jean was thirsty and reached for her pint while it was resting...the bartender gave her a look that was quite scolding.  We all had a good laugh.

We had a nice time at the Gravity Bar.

















It was about a 15 min walk back to the hotel, it was raining but not hard. Another thing we learned in Ireland was always bring a raincoat.

We checked in and headed for another pub that Gerry had recommended, Ryan's on Parkgate, just down the road from our hotel. He said we should checkout the Snugs in the bar.  Prior to the 1960's no respectable woman was seen in a pub. In the 70s and 80s they could drink but only in a snug, a walled off section of the bar.  Ryan's had three snugs, very cool. The bar tender said it was more for the girlfriend than the wife.

The girls in their Snug.

The bars in the pubs of Dublin are old, ornate and beautiful.












After Ryan's we had to stop back at the pub we hit the first day of our trip, P. Duggan's. We walked in and the bartender, Danny recognized us and was ecstatic that we came back. He immediately gave us two free pizzas and we had a few more Guinness.  He even gave the girls hugs when we left, the people of Ireland are just friendly.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. It has been a good trip. We got lucky with our group, we had about a 50/50 mix of people from the US and Canada and everyone got along swimmingly.

Day 7 - Connemara Region, Kylemore Abbey, Galway

Sunday we took a Sunday Drive.

Calvin said it was a figure eight, I roughly mapped it on google maps, the man wasn't kidding.





Our first stop was at the Connemara Marble Visitor Center.

Across from the marble store there is a building with a collection of stuff, mostly old, that we browsed it while waiting to get into the marble store.

Calvin treated us to one of his many hidden talents, he can play the Bodhrán, the same Irish drum we saw played at the Irish Steps show.







At the Marble store, we were treated to a short lecture on the mining of marble in Ireland, it comes in various colors but the green marble is unique in the world.  It is quite beautiful, of course there was some jewelry to be purchased by the girls.

We drove on deeper into the Connemara Region which is more gorgeous scenery, filled with lakes, rivers, bogs and mountains.

We made our way to the Connemara National Park. At the park is the Kylemore Abbey, built in 1868 by Mitchell Henry, and a miniature Cathedral, he built in memory of his wife.

It has been home to the Irish order of Benedictine nuns since 1920.

The site is huge, and includes an 8 acre walled garden, however it is still off season so it was not in full bloom.

After strolling the gardens we walked the one mile back to the main visitor center.  The trees along the walk are majestic, some just huge others like this very interesting, why doesn't it fall over?

The Kylemore Abbey was under renovation and was a week away from opening, so we did not get to go inside, but it is spectacular from the outside.

We walked by the Abbey onto the miniature cathedral, a Gothic church, built as a lasting testament to the love of Mitchell Henry for his wife Margaret.

This little church is beautiful inside and out, it has acoustics that draw performers from around the world.

















It turns out that there was a choir group from Seattle Washington visiting the Abbey, they were all young people, about 100 in numbers and we were fortunate enough to be present when they sang.  It really was something special. I took several videos but could not upload the best one due to its size, but this one gives you the idea.

We also visited the mausoleum where Margaret is buried.

The weather was spectacular and we had a nice lunch outside in a great setting.

As we left the Connemara Region, Calvin took us to the far western part of the island, where the locals only speak Irish.  It was just fascinating. I have never seen so many stone fences in my life.

He dropped us off and we walked down one of the local streets until we arrived at the local pub, unfortunately it was closed.











It was really something to see how these people live, the earth gives them nothing but stones, and they just keep stacking them.

We drove along the coast back to Galway, it was a great day for a Sunday drive.

Calvin dropped us back on Shop street in Galway and we sought out 'The King's Head' for a drink and dinner, it is one of the oldest pubs in Galway.















We had a few pints of Guinness and a light dinner. It is an awesome pub, however it is famous and they do charge a bit more than most places in Ireland.

We returned to the hotel and had a after dinner drink before retiring for the evening. It was another spectacular day in Ireland.

Day 6 - Galway

On Saturday we left Limerick and headed north for Galway. We were given an assignment the night before by Calvin, since we were in Limerick, he challenged the group to come up with a few Limericks and recite them on the bus the next day.  We have to give credit to Bob for our Limerick so of course he read it to the bus and did a great job.

"We once knew a man from Ireland.

He told us his name was Calvin.

He drove our bus, he took care of us.

And we are happy to say he is our friend."

Once Bob broke the ice others came forward with Limericks but of course we think ours was the best.

Our first stop was the Galway Cathedral, it is amazing that a structure of this size was built as recent as 1965, however the plans for it originated a few hundred years earlier.

Inside it is much more impressive.

It is on the scale of some of the biggest churches I have ever seen.

After seeing the cathedral we were dropped off in town for about 3 hours on our own.  Galway has a street that is closed to traffic with shops, restaurants and live acts...it is quite a sight.

We even came by a young lady doing Celtic dance for change, we came back about two hours later, she was still at it...amazing. I looked her up, she is Emma O'Sullivan and is an All Irish Celtic Dance champion.

She even has a website. http://www.emmaosullivan.com/dance/index.php

We wandered about the town a bit and even found the 'Spanish Arches' built in the early 1500s.

We did some shopping and then sought out a place for lunch, we checked this place out, but they didn't have draft beer. After this trip..the name of the place fits me pretty well.

We settled on 'Quays', it is pronounced 'key' but looked like a good as place as any.

When we got inside it was huge, at least three pubs and a restaurant. The food was also excellent.

After lunch we boarded the Corrib Princess up the River Corrib and onto Lough Corrib, the Republic of Ireland's largest lake. In Ireland a lough (pronounced 'lock') is a lake.










The cruise was relaxing and entertaining. In addition to the captain pointing out all the historic sites, we were served Irish Coffee and scones as well as live entertainment.

This is just one of the ruins passed along the way.

Having our Irish Coffee.

















The entertainment was also very good. This young lady was in the Galway Girls video (Sung by Ed Sheeran). If you want to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87gWaABqGYs

If you want to see this girl in their audition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwc8pAahTQs

Finally, we were given a lesson in how to make Irish Coffee. Believe it or not there is Irish coffee competition and these guys were winners in 2011 (I think).  I can tell you they make a good Irish Coffee, I had two.

If you want to try it at home, the instructions are posted on the wall. Obviously there is also technique involved or we would not have needed the 10 min demonstration, but we will try it.















After the boat ride we made our way to the hotel for a group dinner an after dinner drink and called it a night.

Sunday we are in Galway for another day before returning to Dublin for our last night in Ireland, it goes by so fast.

Day 5 - The Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle

Friday we drove west to towards the ocean, the scenery is very different.

The wind never stops in Ireland and they do take advantage of it.

We boarded the Ferry 'Shannon Breeze' to cross the River Shannon, it was a pleasant 20 minute crossing.

There are remains of towers and castles everywhere.

These people must have stacked stones for thousands of years and the fields are still full of stones.

We eventually made our way to the Cliffs of Moher, this is one of the places on this planet that you hear about but don't really appreciate until you have stood on the top of the cliffs. It truly is breathtaking and we were lucky enough to see it on a bright crisp sunny day.  Calvin kept saying you guys are so lucky, apparently he has taken tour groups here only to have it completely fogged in.

The views are stunning.

The weather was an additional bonus, it was near 60F and very pleasant to be walking the cliffs.

We hated to leave the Cliffs, it was really amazing. We drove the coast for a bit and then up towards the mountains. The landscape made an amazing transformation from green fields to limestone mountains.

We stopped at a tomb that is dated around 3000BC, that is about 5000 years ago, it is hard to get your head around this, Poulnabrone tomb.

At the location of this tomb a Druid named Thomas sells jewelry.  He and Calvin have a relationship, Thomas came on board the bus and recited a poem. Thomas is obligated to do this since he holds a staff that belongs to Calvin he has yet to return. Calvin tells a great story, there is much more to this, but it is a story only Calvin can tell appropriately.

The castles are all over the landscape, they are purely mesmerizing. As Calvin would say "county Clare is lousy with castles".










From the limestone mountains we traveled straight to Bunratty Castle and dropped off those of us that would attend the Medieval dinner.

The Bunratty Castle was built in the 1400's, it is very well preserved. Dining in a castle that was here over 500 years ago is a bit mind blowing.

They even had a special door for June and Jean.

The medieval staircases are tight even for small people.

As we entered the castle we were greeted by the actors dressed in clothing of the period, welcomed with a glass of mead and treated to live music.

The evening was a show that included eating your meal mostly with your hands and entertainment from a cast of Medieval characters.

They were quite musically gifted and they also included some Celtic dancing.

Our server was quite funny in his own right.  Even his name was funny, Fiachra. When we called him by name he was shocked we remembered it.

Dinner is served!!











Overall we really enjoyed the food, drink and the show.

After returning to the hotel we went across the street to Flannery's Bar, another great pub experience. They had live music and played more than a few country western hits, it was a hoot.

We were in a corner booth when a gentleman came up and asked if he could take the girls pictures for the local paper. He clearly recognized them as sisters, took the picture and their names...we think it was for a paper, but we will probably never know!!


It was another full day, we retired with a smile.

Saturday we will head for Galway