6-7-14 Dublin - Dinner in Church

We had dinner at The Church Restaurant,  a church that was converted into a restaurant/pub.  It was so busy at 8 pm that we were only able to get a small table because someone didn't show up for their reservation.

6-5-14 Antrim coast sites

We are staying 2 nights in the seaside town of Portrush. The town is on the north coast of Ireland,  at the same latitude as Ketchican,  Alaska, so there is a lot of daylight during the summer.  It was nice to walk along the beachside promenade after dinner, especially since the sun doesn't set until 10 pm.

Today we saw several sites near the town.
First was the Giants Causeway.  It features basalt rocks that look like hexagonal cigarettes of varying heights.  We hiked there over the ridge that overlooks the Causeway.  It was scenic and very windy.

We then took a tour of the Bushmills distillery to see the whiskey distillery process and taste their product.  They claim to be the oldest distillery in the world. I'm not a whisky fan, so Ionly had a few sips. 

Next, we hiked to and crossed the Carrick-a-Rede 65 foot long rope bridge to a small island.

Finally we toured the local Dunluce Castle, which is located on a seaside cliff. 

 On the hike to Giants causeway

 Rope bridge

 Marge on rope bridge

 View from island

 Dunluce castle ruins

 Giants Causeway

6-3-24 Scenic Connemura

Today was mostly driving but it was in the very scenic Connemara region in western Ireland. The prettiest parts were the emerald green valleys that we drove through on roads that looked too narrow for our bus, . We visited the Kylemore Abbey, which is one of my favorite buildings in Ireland.

We visited a falconry school on the grounds of Ashford Castle.  We were able to let a hawk land on our gloved hand, let it eat from our hand and then let it fly away to a nearby branch.

 

Marge & hawk

 An owl & trainer

 Cyclists Riding up Doo Lough Valley 

 Kylemore Abbey

6-2-24 Inishmore

Our Rick Steves tour has been very good. The itinerary is interesting and sometimes involves a short hike. 

We like that only about half of the lunches & dinners are included so when we eat on our own, we eat smaller meals.  When we have been on tours that include more meals as part of the tour, we eat more than we normally do. 

We are very fortunate to have as our guide, Pat O'Connor, who wrote the Rick Steves Ireland book.   He is always telling us interesting tidbits and stories about wherever we happen to be,  or are going. He has a great memory because he has had the answer to every question anyone has asked. 

Our tour group is also very good.  Nobody is late and there are no divas. The average age is lower than any other tour or cruise we have been on - my guess is the average age is about our age.  On many previous tours, we were some of the younger travelers.  About a third of our group are retired educators, 2 doctors, 2 phds, 2 nurses, executives, and 2 retired military.

Today we took a 45 min ferry ride to the island of Inishmore. It is starkly scenic - there is only about 6" of topsoil and plenty of stones,  some of which have been used to make the many stone fences on the island. 

Pat O'Conner

Inishmore soil

Inishmore potato patch

Horse carts for tours