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