20160623 Photos More photos
We stuck to plan, I guess. We left Roundstone along the ocean road and visited the site near Clifden where Marconi conducted early radio transmissions to Newfoundland.
http://www.connemara.net/the-marconi-station/
It's also the place where Alcock & Brown landed after the first successful trans-Atlantic flight in 1919. They didn't know where they were, but knew it was Ireland so they landed. The aircraft was damaged since they landed in a bog vice a nice field. The Marconi people took care of them until they could go to the city and they became famous. There's a wooden walkway being built around the site with some very nice optics that let you look through the picture imposing it on the current scene.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_flight_of_Alcock_and_Brown
Then we went in and explored Clifden for lunch. D bought things. We went on to explore a couple of Atlantic beaches, one of which had two swimmers enjoying the water. Brr.
We also did the Sky Road that goes way up on top of the local hill before coming down near the water again. Great views. We went to Killary Fjord, and did another beach that had pretty good sand and a gradual slope that made for a wide beach. We did the group photo here. We continued along the "Fjord" past the Solrock school and through Leenane.
We did a rest stop at a wool & gift center at the very foot of Killary Harbor. D bought things. Then we went on through Delphi (pronounced del-fee here) and over the pass to Louisburgh. We stopped for pictures at several locations.
We went on into Westport, made a loop in the town to see where things are, then checked into the Clew Bay Hotel. It's a very nice place, huge room, slow wifi but it's there. We ate in the hotel dining room since we were told the other restaurants are full due to many tourists and Joe Biden is in town (geez, I go 3,000 miles and still can't get away from politicians).
The food was good, the wine was satisfactory, the walk after dinner was nice, and it's time for bed. G'night.
II Day 4: Your free day!
Your free day! Sleep in or take a trip. Shopping, great restaurants and pubs, golfing, fishing, and even a cruise of Clew Bay are all available. Enjoy another great night in this fun town!
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We awoke to a big shock - Britain voted (closely) to LEAVE the European Union. There were great flaps in the markets beginning at 2200 last night when the first returns came in and it was shown that the vote would be closer than expected. They'll settle out over the next few days as the banks and speculators see that nothing has changed - it will take a couple of years for the divorce to become final.
Now we see that Cameron is resigning, which will bring up another election, which again will be turbulent. The Irish are apprehensive since they're closely linked to Britain.
We went to breakfast, very good, and returned to the Clew Bay Hotel room. I cleaned up some of this site. Then the laundry people delivered the items we left to have done last night, so now we have clean clothes again.
It took us some time to get going but we finally did. The other day, D bought a bag with sheep decorating it so she could put the purchases for the grandsons in it. Today, we bought enough things to fill the bag. We did a lap of the main streets of the town, stopping where it seemed we might get something. That included toy shops for the grandsons and book shops and hardware stores and tourist-traps. We stopped to look into the church and found it was decorated for a wedding; then people started gathering outside in suits so we knew someone was going to have a memorable day.
After a bit, we stopped in P. Dunning's little bar for a glass and rest.
D forgot the bag of goodies as we walked away so we had to come back for that. We put up our feet and rested in the room before we started the second lap.
This time around, we found something for our son. The nice lady in the place gave us recommendations for dinner. We went to the dinner place to look at it and do a booking if needed - lo and behold, we found the wedding party in the bar celebrating.
We rested again, then went to The West for our dinner. Once again, a very nice place. D liked the mussels and roast beef. I did the vegetable soup and pan-fried haddock. We left the place but got the notion to look in a book store for a specific thing. The owner was locking the door but opened back up and showed us what he had on the subject. We bought the book and he gift-wrapped it. Great service.
Then back to the room to take it easy - it's cold and windy out, so we'll give the bands a pass tonight.
II Day 5: Highlights: Tour an 18th Century Manor House, Stunning Stained Glass Windows, Céide Fields, Medieval Irish Round Tower, Boutique Hotel on Ireland’s Premiere Salmon River in Ballina
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Up, breakfast and out onto the road. First stop was the local Westport House, allegedly built around 1730 on top of the foundations of an older house once owned by Grace O'Malley, the pirate queen. The house was large to start with and has had additions through the years so now it's large. We had a tour of most of the place and were told to wander through the rest at our will. It's a very special place, since the family has contributed to local welfare from the famine times to the present. Ann Richardson, the former president of Ireland is one of five daughters who now own the place.
Then Emily pointed the bus north to Newport, where we stopped for an early lunch. We stopped first, though, at St Patrick's RC Church, which as some very nice stained-glass windows. D & I hiked downhill to the visitors center and looked in. We walked the main street looking for shops or other interesting places, but didn't find many. We stopped in the local store and bought coffee and cookies to go, then took our places on a bench overlooking the Blackoak River. That got a little cool, so we patronized the Bridge Tavern for a glass of wine. When we left there, Emily was ready and on we went.
The next stop was the Ceide Fields site. It means "Meeting Place". It's in a bog, miles from anywhere. They've done archeology here in the peat bogs and discovered many features on how people lived here from 5,500 years ago until recently. The site is spectacular on the north shore of County Mayo. The building is in the form of a pyramid; one can take pictures from the glass upper part of the pyramid. There's also a cliffs picture spot, as the cliffs are abrupt and very impressive.
That took longer than expected and getting dinner bookings at our hotel this evening was difficult, so we had to do a quick run-by of the round tower in Killala. People are still trying to figure out what it was used for.
After cruising through Killala we went on to the hotel for tonight in (actually beyond) Ballina, the largest town in north County Mayo. This very modern hotel named the "Ice House" has all rooms facing the river, and the dining room is also on the river. Thus everyone has great views. The rooms are beautiful, modern, and well-equipped. It's built atop an old house on the bluff that had caverns beneath it for ice storage. The ice was sawed by hand on the river in the winter. It's a fabulous hotel, but it *is* a little far for a hike to town.
So we dined in, making it a fancy meal with prime wine and foods. Very good, and well-served. We then did little things around the room, and on completion went to the bar for an after-dinner port. We walked around the street outside for a moment, then came back to the room to rest & relax. Late departure tomorrow so we can sleep in or hike or whatever.
II Day 6: Highlights: Ox Mountain Drive, Ancient Ring Fort, 12th Century Cistercian Abbey, Town of Carrick-on-Shannon
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Well, this was an interesting day. We left Ballina and headed for Carrick-on-Shannon. First up was the Ox Mountain Drive, somewhat hilly but not mountains as we know them. We stopped at Lough Talt to take pictures and learn about wildlife. We were just under the clouds at this point, but we headed to lower altitudes afterward.
Then we did an ancient rock fort. The fort itself is a 75-foot diameter circle of rocks five to six feet high and four or five feet thick. But to get to the place we had to get through a animal-proof gate and slog up a mud path for a couple of hundred meters. We got up all right, give or take, and we enjoyed the fort. We didn't get up the guts to get into the caves under the center of the fort.
Getting back on the mud path was more interesting, since now we'd stirred it up even more. I had one foot slip out from under me, so I slid on the other foot with my arms in the "Titanic" position, doing a one-footed slalom through more mud. Amazingly, I remained erect. D thought I wanted to pass her so she just watched in amazement as I went past. Very strange feeling.
We went on to Boyle. There, we wedged ourselves into a small pub to watch the Ireland-France football game, which Ireland unfortunately lost. It wasn't part of the tour, but it was very much a part of our learning the country. Everyone in the pub was quite willing to move around to make room for us and make us welcome, but they were there for the game and ignored us afterward.
When it ended we went on to the Cistercian Abbey (c.1168) and got a great tour from the docent there. It has been repaired where necessary and a glass protective lean-to has been added on one side for protection. It's really a nice sight and a good stop.
After that, we scurried into Carrick-on-Shannon. It's Sunday night and not much will be open, was the reason. We got into our rooms in the new/old Bush Hotel (old up front, new addition behind). Then we shopped as we walked, looking for food. D found a gift shop with appropriate goodies and bought some more to bring home. We then walked down the street to Vitto's. The three New Yorkers (Yacoff, Roberta, and Diane) were just going in, so we made up a table of five. We had a good talk while waiting and then eating.
Then it came time to quit. We came back to the room and crashed.
II Day 7: Highlights: Megalithic Passage Tombs, Celtic Crosses & Round Tower in Kells, then Dublin (tour ends)
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Emily gave us the option of mountain climbing to the tombs or to hang around town and be picked up later for the remainder of the tour. We elected to forego the climbing.
So we loafed for a while, then started our walk. The RC Church first, wherein there was a casket waiting for the funeral today. The dead person lies in the casket overnight before the funeral, always accompanied by a family member. We took a few pictures and went on.
The next stop was Ireland's smallest chapel, some 16'x12'. Erected by an Edward Costello at the death of his wife. Her casket lies to the left under thick glass and his to the right. Very interesting but maybe a little creepy.
We continued our walk, looking in stores and especially one gift shop. Made purchase(s) there. Then down to waterfront level to take pictures of boats, including one boatel. The tourist center is also on the waterfront and gave us a few things. The map of the town is ripped off a pad of them, but it is pre-creased to fold smoothly - clever. Then back up into the center of county (Leitrim) government, including taking pictures of the Dock, a commercial enterprise that once was the British jail with 100 cells.
We returned to the hotel and had coffee in the shop. Then we settled in the lobby chairs until Emily came back with the rest of the crew and the bus. By now the bus has developed the trait of not opening the door, so we have to crawl out over the driver's seat - a minor inconvenience for us, but hard on a few people.
Emily drove us to Kells so we could see the town where the Book of Kells currently in the Trinity College Dublin Library was done. That book is the high point of the monks in monasteries saving literature in Ireland during the medieval period where learning nearly died. The little town isn't much but we took pictures. D & I went into Muldoon's for wine.
Then we ended the tour. Emily drove us into Dublin and to Wynn's Hotel. We said our goodbyes; she called me "Owenbeg", and we parted. She did a fine job as the tour guide, sometimes under difficult circumstances.
We checked into Wynn's and I claimed the bag we'd left here, In the room we took the purchases from our various bags and put them into the "third" suitcase for the trip home. That worked well.
We went out to dinner at O'Neill's across from the statue of Molly Malone. It's a cafeteria affair (which we hadn't realized) but the food was good. We walked the lower end of Grafton Street, the pedestrian shopping area, but the stores were closing. So we returned to the hotel and put up our feet.
Here's the tour group photo:
(L-R) Laurie, Ken, Lesley, Dolores, Owen, Dianne, Markus, Roberta, Yaakov, Kelly, Joanne, Nancy, Ellie.
