We left Achill for a night at Ashford Castle. We went McGowan style. That is, we snuck me in since the cost for three persons was significantly higher. Mom and Dad were taken on a tour of the hotel while I waited in the bar. They returned and had already decided to stay an extra night. We relaxed the first evening and ate dinner at the fancier restaurant in the hotel. It was a very nice dinner, although I think even Mom and Dad were quite young compared to most of the crowd. The next day we went on a ferry ride in the lake in front of the castle and then went to the Ireland school of Falconry, also on the castle grounds. We got to fly Harris Hawks, which are actually native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. It was quite an experience landing a hawk on your hand, we all enjoyed it very much. We also explored Cong Village, near the castle. It was a tiny village whose main claim to fame is that the film "The Quiet Man" was filmed there.
We successfully snuck me in and out of the castle and then went on to a Marriott in Galway City. The drive from place to place in generally quite an adventure. We make a lot of stops along the way as there are lots of old castles and ruins and the occassional museum. However, with the narrow roads and infrequent street signs, we wind up making a lot of u-turns. It's an adventure, but Mom gets sick of it since she is the one driving.
In Galway City we wandered around the shops and Dad bought Mom a Claddagh Ring from the original makers for an annivesary present. Too bad she didn't know what they were! She likes it a lot though. We stopped in at a pub and enjoyed a nice dinner at another restaurant.
On Thursday we drove to Dromoland Castle, which is apparently the sister castle to Ashford. It is a bit smaller but still nice. We rented bikes and rode all over the grounds and golf course, then had a drink and dinner at the country club restaurant. The beds here are much more confortable than we have had. They seemed to be the hardest at Achill Island and have gotten progressively softer as we have continued on. Hopefully be the time we reach Dublin they will be quite luxurious. I wouldn't count on it, though. Today we leave Dromoland and head to Kinsale, from here on we have one night at each place until we reach Dublin where we spend three nights. Dad will be leaving us on Sunday and returning to Phoenix, so Mom and I will be on our own the last four days.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment