Blogs from County Limerick, Ireland, Europe

July 19 This day started out a little different. Since our first event was right here in town we had a later breakfast and departure time. We got to sleep in just a little longer! We went on a jaunting, horse drawn carriage ride through the Killarney National Park. It is the only means to get through the forest unless you walk, rent a bike, or ride a horse. The Ross Castle and the Lakes of Killarney are the reward at the end of the ride. Our driver Micky, and his son Patrick, were quite entertaining. Micky told stories, jokes, and even sang to us. It was a great ride! Once our ride was over, it was back on the bus headed toward the quaint town of Adare. It was to be a short trip but ... read more

Woensdag 4/9/2019 – Met een overjaars busje nog dienstdoende als schoolbus doen we een gezamenlijke uitstap naar het Flying Boat & Maritime Museum in Foynes aan het estuarium van de Shannon, mythologische rivier van Ierland. Foynes, gedurende 6 jaar (van 1939 tot 1945) de spil van de eerste rechtstreekse passagiersvluchten tussen Europa en de VS. Tenminste voor diegenen die het konden betalen, celebrities, militairen, politiekers en rijke vluchtelingen. Ierland was tenslotte neutraal gedurende WO2. Deze eerste trans-atlantische vluchten met Flying Boats duurden 13 uur, en boden top-class faciliteiten. Er werd ons ook verteld dat het hier was dat in 1943 de allereerste Irish coffee geserveerd werd aan passagiers van een door slechte weer terugkerende vlucht. Ter illustratie kregen we nog een cursus Irish coffee volgens het origineel recept en werden we getrakteerd op boterhammen ... read more

Irish rain at last introduced itself – overnight and this morning after breakfast. My plan for a quick departure from the hotel worked well, and I had a last breakfast at Ann’s Bakery. Two blocks in the light rain to get to the airport bus stop, and the bus came a few minutes later. I thought we were driving through a more working area of Dublin, when suddenly I recognized the central bus station from my random walk yesterday. From there we travelled at a fast pace directly to the airport, arriving in twenty minutes, half the time scheduled. Which meant I arrived before the slightly delayed arrival of the plane with all the Westwinds travellers. After considerable time, I finally saw the other members who had travelled on their own and joined them. After more ... read more

we leave the farmhouse and head to the castle! we drive north, heading to the Shannon airport through the town of Limerick for a walking tour & tea and ending at a 15 Century castle for the King's Feast at Bunratty Castle with rich chamber furnishing & artwork, along with our full-costumed talented singing wait-staff. We had front-row seats at the King's table/benches, with no eating utensils (but our very own daggers). First meal, soup (slurped from the bowl), next course/appetisers Short-ribs that tenderly fell off the bone, and then the main course amazing roasted chicken with roasted vegetables. Wow. Dessert was for shared only with your true love! the Wines flowed easily from pitchers. The servers/musicians were amazing, singing all of our Irish favorites (Danny Boy) and so many more. our chariots to the castle ... read more

We arrived in Shanagolden around 8:30pm on Good Friday, after a long trip from Dublin. We had stopped in the Barrack Obama Plaza for a coffee and to give Grace a bottle. James, Anna (Dave's uncle and aunt) and Gordon settled us in, then we made a new batch of bottles before sitting down to sandwiches and a drink or two. The next day, we slept until 11 and at that stage we decided to just wait for lunch. After lunch we drove to Ashford, where Donal and Veronica live. They have two dogs; a boxer called Hugo and a small terrier called Chester. We had tea and cake, and Grace got acquainted with Hugo (Chester wasn't allowed near her as he's a bit bitey. Kathy, Dave's cousin, and her boyfriend, Nev, joined us after a ... read more