Cliffs of Mohr, Ennis and a surprise location!

Today was a "wow" day.... everywhere I travelled, I kept saying "wow". County Clare is just so beautiful. The rugged coastline blends so perfectly with the green fields and rolling hills

As I mentioned yesterday I'm staying at a lovely B&B that backs on to the Atlantic Ocean. When I went down for breakfast, I could just sit and look at this glorious view. I wasn't rushing my brekky at all. And the big bonus was, Rosie even had Vegemite!!!! First time on this trip. She actually had Weetbix and Vegie. She knows how to make a person happy!

View from B&B window

I tried to ring my relatives, but no-one was home, so I decided to set up on my first adventure. The Cliffs of Mohr (sometimes spelt Moher - not sure which is right!) are just 10 kms out of town, so that was an obvious starting point. It was your typical Irish day - overcast and raining, but that kind of weather just embellishes this rugged coastline. So Gaby Garmin took me directly there. It costs 8 Euros to park your car - they call it an amenities fee, so I made sure I went to the toilet twice to get my money's worth!!!!

As you'll see in the pics below, it was quite wet, but not cold. The wind was blowing straight off the ocean, but that only makes it more authentic.

There are a variety of walks you can take around this place, but because it was raining reasonably steadily, I didn't venture too far... I walked up to O'Brien's Castle. The view from the top was outstanding, but if truth be known I only went in there to get out of the rain...!

I looked around for about half an hour or so, then coffee called, and thank goodness it did, because I was no sooner inside than the rain absolutely bucketed down. People were coming in looking like drowned rats. The coffee shop had these big panoramic windows and you couldn't see a thing because the rain was so heavy. I couldn't do much, so I decided to retire to the Souvenir shop. And it was so lovely to just wander around and take my time without the pressure of being back on the bus. A couple of busloads of people came in whilst I was there, and I was so grateful I wasn't part of that.

The rain eventually eased a fair bit and then the Cliffs were immersed in fog.

But it was lovely to be there and experience the whole range of the Irish weather.

My next stop was a little village about 10 kms away called Ennistymon. I was getting a bit peckish by now, and thinking about lunch, but I couldn't find a single place to have a sandwich, so I decided to push on.
But as I walked the main street looking for tucker, I saw this sign that said "The Cascades". It was a hidden treasure. Theis magnificent river pouring over the rocks...

Next stop Ennis, which is like the capital city of County Clare. It's a charming town with the shops opening straight on to the street. Th tricky part of any Irish town is getting parking. And you always have to pay. I found a car aprk and was doing laps, but started giving St Anthony and St Anne a go, and sure enough, there was a spot. I also found a public phone and got on to Nora Curtin, my relative that I'm going to visit. I told her I was in Ennis, and she told me that her daughter worked there in the bank, so I wandered in and said G'day!

When I finished in Ennis I took off for my surprise destination... I'll upload the pics below and see if you can guess....

It's the house used in the series "Fr Ted", one of my favourite shows! MAry's son Patrick had it in his GPS and he transferred it to mine. Gaby Garmin took me there with ease. When I came from Ennis, she took my via main roads and I got there really easily, but when I had taken my pics and said "Take me home to Lahinch" I went via all these really small little lanes and back roads... Gaby and I are still getting used to each other obviously! next time, I think I might ignore her if she sends me off the back way! But I took some nice pics on the way...

Clare stone fence

Took some more pics of the sunset over Lahinch beach, but they weren't nearly as spectacular as last night so I won't bother uploading them. Had my dinner again in the "Shamrock Inn". The boys there recognized me from last night and all came and had a conversation about where I'd been today and what I did. Everyone I run into knows the "Curtins". I'm having morning tea with them tomorrow so it will be nice to catch up and take a few pics of the farmhouse that still stands on the original Curtin property.

Bit long winded tonight - must be because I have the Internet connected and don't have to rush. Hope it's not TMI (too much information!)

Lahinch

On the road again....

Can't believe I'm actually here in Lahinch - the home of my forefathers. It is the most beautiful place. It's right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, quite close to the Cliffs Of Mohr, and is surrounded by fields of the various shades of green, divided by the distinctive stone walls of the Clare region.

How's this for a photo of me with Lahinch Beach in the background at sunset.

Had a bit of a sleep-in and by the time I got my case re-packed and got organised, I left Dublin about 11.15am. My lovely GPS ( now called Gaby Garmin) led me very succesfully onto all the correct roads, and off I went.

The first nearly 90 kms were on a double highway motorway, and was very easy driving. Then we hit the roadworks! One lot took about 15 mins to edge through. But it was an easy drive. I was going to stop in Roscrae for lunch, but they signs up everywhere about paying for parking, and the clamps that are imposed if you don't pay etc... And the town was quite hectic. So I gave that a miss and went on to the next town which was in County Tipperary and was called Toomevera. It was a little town, but I went into the pub and had a toasted ham and cheese sandwich (my staple diet for lunch!) and a coffee. All for 5 Euros - bargain! I meant to take a photo of the pub, but forgot!

From there my route took me right through the town of Limerick - fondly called "Stab City" by the Irish, because of its high crime rate! My faithful little Gaby Garmin took me through all the turns with no bother. Then I headed northwards past Shannon Airport and ended up in Lahinch about 3.30pm. It's extraordinary to think I crossed Ireland from Dublin to the West Coast (from east to west) and the entire journey took me only about 4 hours max with stops!

Soon as I hit County Clare, my spirit seem to come to life. There is something about this part of Ireland that just feels like home.

I've found a lovely B&B called Cois Farraige (pronounced Cosh Farragher - which means near the sea!). The owner is Rosie O'Donoghue, and I had already emailed her to say I might be here during this week. The B&B is set up on top of the cliff and has a beautiful view across the Atlantic. My room is very comfortable and the best thing is - she has WiFi Internet access. I think I'm here for a few days at this rate! All included for 35 Euros!

My B&B and my hire car - little Ford Fiesta

Went down into the town and had a look around. It really only has one main street and then there is the seaside area. It's dark quite early here, now that daylight-saving has stopped. So I had my tea about 5.30pm in the Shamrock Inn. Lovely Bacon and Cabbage. But they all think they're feeding an army! I can never finish my meals, and I'm a good go-er at dinner time!
But the man behind the bar got talking and my Aussie accent is quite obvious, so we got talking and of course- small town as it is- he knew my relatives. I haven't rung them yet, so I bet they'll know before I ring that I'm in town!

So now I'm at my B&B using the Internet, halfway across the world, and in the place from which I came. It feels quite weird, yet almost like home.So I'll upload just a few more pics of "my patch"!

Dublin - Wicklow and Bray

Nice easy day today... sleep-in and washing done.

I picked up the hirecar this morning, and made sure I found out how to reverse and how to open the petrol cap. Both of these have been problematic for me before. In fact last time I was in Ireland, the hirecar had been backed in so I just drove it straight out. I stopped in Ennis to have lunch and nosed into a car park - as you do. Until I tried to reverse out.... No matter what I tried I couldn't get the car into reverse. In desperation I eventually bailed up this man walking past with a family (turned out he was from Denmark!) but he knew the trick.. you actually had to pull the gear stick up towards the roof then move it into reverse... What a drama...

After I picked up the car, I used my new found skills with the GPS to get to Mary and Nicky's place in Crumlin. Except for one little detail.... When you set the GPS you make a setting called "Home" and their son set it all up for me the other night, and put their address into the Favourites and called it "Home". However, this was not the "home" that was found by clicking on the "home" option. So I thought I was very smart with my little GPS, but actually ended up in whoopity-whoops. But I was cunning and loaded up the correct address and eventually ended up in Crumlin.

Seeing I had the car, and the washing was in hand (12 Euros this time, but money extremely well spent to get your washing done for you!), I decided to really give my GPS a workout by going down the coast to Wicklow. The GPS was great, except sometimes we got a little confused between us. But it all worked beautifully and I ended up safely in Wicklow.

Wicklow Beach

Wicklow golf course (for all you golf addicts out there!)

By now I was feeling a little smug having more or less mastered the GPS. I wanted to go back via the coast road. But I was devotedly following the instructions and ended up on the ring road. So I looked at the map and decided to go my own way. That really tricked it. It kept telling me to do things that I blissfully ignored.... Then I started talking to it... How bad is that.... Do you think it knew I was ignoring it...???? hehehe :) Anyway, it will be a boon when I take off tomorrow for the country.

Anyway, I found my way to Bray by the coast road, and had a lovely cup of coffee sitting outside near the water. It's another beautiful weather day. I've been so lucky with my weather... Bray is a bit like St Kilda with the amusement park by the seaside. As it was midweek and the season is over, it was all quiet, but it was a lovely place.


This evening I went up to the local for my pint of Smithwicks.... have to keep up the traditions whilst in Ireland. This was a big event for Mary because she is a life-long Pioneer (given up the drink!) So I'm corrupting the Irish, and leading them to drink!


Off to County Clare tomorrow to the home of my forefathers... I've enjoyed the break today and the change of pace. Now I'm ready for action again!

Kilkenny - Dublin

I can't believe the tour is over already. We've done a lap right around Ireland and now we're back in Dublin.


We had a later start today - bags out at 8am and brekky at 9am. Woo hoo! Except for one slight detail..... when I set my alarm last night I somehow managed to move the clock forward one hour so instead of getting up at 7am, I actually got up at 6am. I thought it looked pretty dark so I checked my watch and my phone and both said 6am, but I rang reception just in case. It would be awful to be late on the last day! There is a very subtle yet strong peer pressure for people to be on time. We had a couple of Asian ladies on this trip, one of whom was rather elderly and they constantly got the times mixed up at the start. But they worked it out after a few days and all went well from there.

There was also another "character"on our trip.... Rockwell - commonly called Rock! He is 90 years old and fit as a fiddle. He actually really reminds me of my dad in looks and mannerisms. He been married 4 times, and three of them had died - of "natural causes" he was quick to point out. He was a great story- teller and entertained us quite a bit.

As did Bernard our tour guide who is definitely related to the leprachauns.... he had a story for every occasion... often about father O'Brien or one of the saints. That's one of the interesting thing about Ireland. Because it's such a Catholic place many of the stories involve the Church or the struggle of the Catholics. It's so easy to see where the faith of our parents came from....

Anyway, back to the travelogue....

We started the day with a short visit to the Waterford Crystal factory- short being the operative word, because Waterfor Crystal has gone bust - another victim of the recession. So all we really saw was a display of some of their best pieces and their showroom. Like Belleek, you can understand why the pieces are so expensive when you see the time and craftmanship that is put into each piece, but there was little to be bought under $100AUD.


Next we moved on to Kilkenny to yet another castle. But the price of entry was not included in this little jaunt so I chose to pass on payment. We could look around the outside but the day was dark and gloomy and raining on and off. And I have to admit, one can take only so many castles!

Kilkenny Castle

Instead I wandered down the street to look through the shops of Kilkenny. I love how the shops all face right onto the streets here. There are some quaint little shops in all the towns, but they all have one thing in common - they're very expensive!

Kilkenny Shops

The highlight of today however was the visit to the Irish National Stud farm (relating to horses, of course!)It was so interesting to wander around ths farm with the local guide telling us all about horse breeding and the money involved. It is such a high profile business these days, and for a mare to get coupled with a stallion (or "covered" as they say) it starts at 10 000 Euros. But, no foal, no payment. So they have all these strategies in place to make sure the mare is right to accept the stallion, because if she's not interested, she'll kick the stallion and could break his legs, and their goes the meal ticket!


Foals at the stud farm. Did you know that horses are born with their legs at the same size as they are as adults...?? The rest of the body grows but the legs don't get any longer....


The guide was a funny fellow and he told us how they know the mare is on heat. They have a little Shetland Pony called Tommy, who is in a stable with the top of the stable open and if the mare is ready for business, Tommy lets them know. But he can't do any damage, because he's locked inside but they reckon the system is nearly fool-proof!

He was also telling us that once a stallion fathers a horse that starts winning money, the value of the stallion's services goes up exponentially... Their most expensive stallion commands 60 000 Euros for each hit. And it's all very controlled as to how many goes he can have. it's all recorded and there has to be witnesses to maintain the purity of the blood lines. It was really fascinating stuff!

Expensive Irish Stallion

It was also lovely to see that famous irish rac horse - Vintage Crop, who is put out to pasture here. Although he is a gelding, and doesn't have a lot of value in their business, he earns his keep as a tourist attraction. I actually backed him when he won the Melbourne Cup in 1993. Of course we asked if he has a runner next week in the Cup, and apparently there is one called Proud Beauty (I think) but he said he will only be a chance if it's wet. What's the weather like in Melbourne...??????


The other lovely part of that visit was the neighbouring Japanese Garden. See, I do go into gardens sometimes...! The colours of the trees were just exquisite and the layout was very peaceful and calming. I'll include some pics below and you can see for yourselves.




So now, my journey takes another twist and turn as I hire a car and wander off on my own for a while. I'm actually staying in Dublin for one night with Mary, Bernadette's sister, to catch my breath and do my washing (big issue when travelling, as I have revealed before in an earlier saga!). Then I'm off down to County Clare to visit the land of my heritage and hopefully share a coffee with my relatives. I think I have the car for about a week - I'd better check those dates at some stage!

It will be nice to have a breather from the bus, and just move at my own pace for a while. Although I will miss the camaradarie of the people on the bus, I won't miss the rocking and rolling and the disciplined regimentation of life in the tour coach.

So ends another chapter on the journey. I might even have a little rest from the blog tomorrow - unless I find I have more exciting pearls to share! Right now I'm going to check my clock is set on the right time and hopefully have a bit of a sleep-in for tomorrow.

Thanks for all the lovely emails you are sending. I love to receive them so please keep them coming as you can!

Blarney-Waterford

It was a very soft day in Ireland today... in other words it was very foggy and raining, and very Irish!

View from hotel in Kenmare

It was a good day to go to the Blarney Castle though, as the weather was in keeping with the sombre mood of the Castle. We drove out of Kenmare, and I have to admit I was glad to move on... the hotel we stayed in was nothing spectacular, and it smelt of mould. Also, because of the wedding on Sat night, there were heaps of people there, and there were kids everywhere... They kept running up and down the corridor outside our rooms until quite late. Those amongst us who were teachers tried to give them the eyeball, but to no avail. The question was... where were their parents...???? However that was answered about 3.30am in the morning when the adults started wandering down the corridor speaking quite loudly to each other... Not a good night for sleeping all round!

It was a lovely drive through the irish mist to Blarney. Again because of the Year 4s studying castles I was really interested in the layout and structure of the building. There were ruts in the brickwork at the top, and one of the guys pointed out that they were for holding the hot wax or boiling oil which was poured onto the enemy below. Also I love the murder hole which was basically a trap door built over a hole in the top of the castle, which had nothing beneath, so the victim plunged to his death below. They certainly had their "ways and means" in those days.





I had every intention of kissing the blarney, and I climbed to the top without any bother, but when I had to lean backwards I got really dizzy, so had to sit up. Consequently I didn't actually kiss the blarney, but I blew it a kiss and reckon that was near enough. You have to sit down and lean backwards - all too much for me!!!




The grounds around the castle were lovely and the trees were all just changing colour, so were fantastic.



Next came the highlight of the day - born to shop!!!! Next to the Blarney CAstle is the Blarney Woollen Mills, which is probably the biggest gift shop in Ireland. Bernard had been promising us all trip that we would have some time today, and sure enough we had an hour or so to just cruise through the shop. I could've spent a lot more time there (and money!) so it was just as well we had to move on.


So back on the bus again, for the drive to Waterford, which took about 2 hours. Unfortunately there was a very serious accident on the motorway, so we had to detour, and that cost us some extra time.

When we reached Waterford, we barely had time to check in before we were taken for a walking tour around the town. Our guide was a professor of Archaeology at Trinity and was immersed in the history of the place. He told us the story of Dervila (not quite sure of all these spellings..) who was married to an old and ugly King who only had one eye. Anyway, Dervila ran away with handsome young Dermot (we all know another Dermot who would fit this bill!). Anyway long story short again. They lost the war and went to England to get reinforcements and the leader who came over was Strongbow. He ended up marrying Dermot's daughter, and Irish Princess, thus joining together the English and the Irish, and when the daughter died, the English took over the Irish lands, and history was changed forever...


He also told us of the Vikings who were the original inhabitants of Waterford, and this town had over 1000 inhabitants. Along with Dublin was one of the biggest towns in Europe. He showed us the Viking fortifications, and there is one that is still standing and has been in constant use since about the year 1000. It was a fascinating tour. I love hearing all this history, and he was a wealth of information.

Waterford square


Blackfriars Abbey


Waterford - Reginald Tower. Still in use after 1000 years

No sooner had we finished the tour than we were all bundled in the bus again to go out to Murphy's Pub, which is in the sticks outside Waterford. It's obviously set up for tourists, but they played the irish music - both traditional and popular.



We all got a free drink and 2 hours of music then we came home again. I haven't been homesick one bit on this tour, but when they played "Too-ra-loo-ra-looral" the eyes got a bit misty. It reminded me of dad and how he used to sing it to all the grandkids. It's become a family tradition now, and to hear it in this context, just made me a bit bleary eyed!I must admit I've sung that song to my little "babies" a few times too... Just as well I had my pint of Smithwicks to console me!



Tomorrow is the last day of the tour. Can't believe it's gone so quickly... Going up through Kilkenny tomorrow then on to Dublin, and it's all over red Rover... Then I'm off in my hirecar....

I have to admit, in one way though, that I'm ready for a break from the bus. Whilst it has been great to have the company and the commentary and the organisation, it will be nice to do my own thing for a while.

But I am so blessed to have been able to see ireland this way, and hear all those mad stories from Bernard, but also to learn about the Irish people both past and present. I guess that's the beauty of travel.