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"!