Today, Saturday, March 30th, we are headed to the Cliffs of Moher and will end the day at Bunratty Castle for a medieval dinner and show.
We left Killarney and headed to the Cliffs of Moher. Here are a few pictures of the drive.
These are stacks of peat bricks in a bog area.
We had to cross the Shannon Estuary to get to the Cliffs of Moher. The Shannon River is the long river going through the middle of Ireland. It ends near Limerick and a body of water is formed from there into the Atlantic Ocean. This body of water is the Shannon Estuary. Our coach parked in the queue at Tarbert and we took the ferry across the Shannon Estuary to Kilrush.
Our coach would continue on through County Clare to the Cliffs of Moher.
And then we had arrived. The Cliffs of Moher are a five mile stretch of 700 foot high cliffs along the west coast of Ireland. These are phenomenally beautiful. However, our first view was the visitor's center and I was just sure I was in a Hobbit movie. It is literally carved into the side of the hill. There are also four shops carved into the hill to the right of this picture.
There appears to be a path from the visitor's center all along the coast that you could walk and view them. We did not have enough time or energy in that very cold wind to walk five miles. But we did hike up and view them from two vantage points.
Claude and I enjoyed the tiny little fishing boat out in the water with a flock of bird out in front of him sitting on the water. Claude assured me they were Puffins. This is one of my favorite birds. I'm sure Claude was saying that for my benefit because you truly could not tell what kind of birds there were all the way out in the ocean.
You can also see the Aran Islands from this point on the cliffs. These islands are just bare and the people that live on them still speak Gaelic as their primary language. They also raise sheep and use that wool to make beautiful sweaters with geometric patterns knitted into them. Claude got one of these at the Blarney Woolen Mills for his souvenir.
On a clear day you could see all the way to Galway but it wasn't quite clear enough for us.
Claude and I had lunch in the visitor's center cafe and then went to the gift shops. We purchased me a little silver Claddagh ring. This is a ring filled with symbolism. I had a dear friend in Maryland who was Irish and received her Claddagh ring as her wedding ring. That was the first I learned of them. This ring has a heart on it that symbolizes love, a crown that symbolizes loyalty and two hands holding the heart that symbolize friendship. If you are married or spoken for you wear the crown toward your fingers and the heart so the point is facing your body. If you are single you wear the crown facing your body and the heart facing your fingers.
There was an Irish harp replica in front of the music store so we took the opportunity for another photo of Claude and me.
We all boarded the coach and Gerald headed toward Limerick where our hotel would be for that evening only. He did stop for pictures of a most moving monument.
This monument is at Ennistymon. It is near the site where the workhouse would have stood. Between the years 1845-1848 a blight hit the potato crop and cause the Famine or Great Hunger. Over 1,000,000 people died as a result. For a small country this is a huge percentage of their population. The bulk of these deaths were in West Clare and West Cork counties. This monument depicts a child standing and knocking at the door of the workhouse. The workhouse if full and cannot take anymore people until someone inside dies. This child is separated from his family who are in the workhouse. Does that not break the heart strings or what??
On we head to Limerick.
Along the way we noticed this string of camper type vehicles.
Mary told us these are 'travelers'. She told us it is no longer politically correct to call them gypsies, however that is probably what we know them as. Yep, I had heard of gypsies but not travelers. I actually thought I was the travel on this journey??? She told us the government is trying to get them to settle down so their children can receive an education.
As we arrived in Limerick we passed Bunratty Castle where we would dine that evening. First we checked into what would be our favorite hotel room of the trip at a Radisson Blu. Then after a short rest we all met at the coach to go to Bunratty Castle for a medieval dinner and entertainment.
Outside Bunratty Castle is Bunratty Folk Park. It has buildings from the medieval times to stroll through. They actually have festivals there at times.
We would enter Bunratty Castle on the ground floor where there were museum type displays about the castle and its history. Then we would go to the middle floor for some 'mead' and entertainment. Once again I found myself in a little turret with tiny spiral staircases. Fortunately it was only one floor. Since our group were mostly members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) and don't drink, our 'mead' was a punch. The entertainment was a violinist and a harpist. They were excellent. The room filled with people.
On the two end walls of this large room were large ancient deer antlers. These deer do not exist anymore. Their antlers are only found in bogs. These antlers can only be displayed in this type of an environment.
After all guests arrived we were asked to go up just one more turret filled with tiny steps on a spiral ladder to the banquet room. This room was filled with long tables. Our group had one very long table. We also had in our group a young couple who were just married the week before. They were on their honeymoon with the bride's parents and would go on to Scotland when the rest of us headed back to the States. This young couple were given the honor of being the Earl and Lady for the evening. They sat across the table from Claude and me for dinner.
The meal came in courses and we were only given a cup to drink from and a steak knife for a utensil. Our first course was a delicious soup, then we had ribs, then a tiny bird of some sort, then we were given a yummy dessert. Bread was offered throughout the meal. Love me some soda bread.
The entertainment continued throughout the evening. The minstral box in the room was used to start the evenings entertainment by making an announcement from there. There were madrigal singers, the harp and violin were played, someone ended up in the dungeon, and the list goes on. It was a delightful evening and the food was great.
Alan asked us to remain after the other guests left and he took this wonderful picture of our tour group in Bunratty Castle.
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