Day 5 - on the way to Killarney - the Cliffs of Moher

It was another spectacular day.  We were picked up at 10:00 and driven through what's known as the Burren which is a 400 square kilometer area of left over glacial movement.  It's very rocky but also green with fantastic rock walls.  It's what I expected Ireland to look like.  It was an overcast day but we had good visibility.  The next few days are a bit crucial for some decent weather as we're mostly looking at landscape and vistas.

Our big goal for today was to see the Cliffs of Moher.  They're only about 25 miles from Galway but it took us about an hour and a half to get there.  We drove down very tight 2 lane roads past a number of villages that were very inviting.  We even drove through the town which inspired the movie "Matchmaker" where there is a match making festival every September.

Eventually we made it to the cliffs of Moher.  They are truly spectacular.  At first I was sorry because the walkway along the edge was fairly far back and there were giant slabs of flat rocks about 4 feet high so that you had to get right up to them to look over and see the vistas.  After about a quarter mile walk though, the walkway stopped and you were able to walk right along the edge and see the gulls flying on the drafts.  Puffins live here as well but as with Iceland, they are having a no Rick Clement summer.  The little bastards are mocking me!

We left there just as a little misting started and drove to a nearby pub and had a fantastic meal of fresh seafood.  

After lunch the sun was out and we drove to a golf course called Lahitch.  I don't suppose I've ever seen a true links golf course and I don't know how the hell the golfers can tell where to aim for or where they're ball is.  It was a very beautiful and dramatic course.

As we continued on we drove to a castle which has been renovated and looked absolutely like what you want a castle to look like.  We didn't stop and get out of the van so I didn't take any pictures but I managed to get a picture of this one which is next to a pub called Durty Nellies.  Kevin insisted we stop there and walk through it though I don't know why.  Any excuse to use the bathroom though is always welcome!

Below are some pictures of an old Norman castle we passed and a town with some buildings with thatched roofs.  It was long to Killarney and none of us managed to stay awake very successfully but when we did we were rewarded with some absolutely stunning scenery.

At last we reached Killarney and a particularly beautiful hotel - Killarney Park.  We only rested and refreshed for half an hour because it had become a stunningly sunny evening and we wanted to be out in it.   Killarney seems like the sort of village I was expecting and the place was hopping.  Most everyone seemed like Irish people on holiday and music was coming from everywhere. We stopped in a pub to listed to 3 people playing some traditional music in a very small place and it was perfect.

On Kevin's recommendation we broke away from our Irish food and had Italian.  It was superb.  Our waitress was a show herself.  She had decorated the space between her eyebrows which was odd and she spoke incomprehensibly fast English.  When we asked her where she was from she said that in the restaurant she was Italian but outside of it she was from ...incomprehensible...but really she considered herself a citizen of the universe.  The next time she came back I had my phone out with Google maps and asked her to show us where she was from.  The place is called Swinoujscie.  It's in Poland but it's in a place I never knew existed.  She told us that it's a wonderful place for tourists and that there are still live land mines from WWII.  I'll stick with Ireland! 

Here is tonight's dinner.  G'night!