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Leamanech Castle
Only ghosts and cows 'round here! We finally made it to The Burren! We actually woke up and hit the road fairly early...not really early as we are on holiday...'member? Our plan was to have breakfast along the way and this we got in Ennistimon. Beth opted for a low cholesterol approach with an omelet but I went in for the LCB #1, that is the large cholesterol bomb #1! Two eggs, brown bread toast, 3 sausage links, two sides of rashers (bacon), and black and white pudding, with beans of course. And tea for those anti-oxidants to ward off any bad juu-juu I might be ingesting.
The Irish need to learn how to make a proper fried egg. The egg comes out more like a boiled egg with a solid white and yolk rather than the crispy browned edges and yummy liquid yolk. One may as well have a hard boiled egg instead of the way that it is prepared here. I did dig the black and white pudding though. The black pudding is blood sausage. I chatted with the owner of the place and he told me that it is best when the sausage is made from the blood of a freshly killed pig. That
Interior of the castle
I forgot to mention the resident crows...by the way...there are a gazillion crows in Ireland. sounds about right to me. He waited tell me this until Beth went to the loo; he didn't want her to hear the “freshly killed pig” part and offend her sensibilities. What a fine gentleman.
We made it to The Burren (this is from the Irish word - bhoireann “the stony place ) about mid-morning. It is a very interesting and unique geological area that is quite rocky. It is described as a “karstic” formation. This means that the soil layer is very thin on top of porous limestone. Erosion and animal traffic (cows) expose a lot of rock. Of particular interest are the stone forts and megalithic tombs that are found in the area. The stone forts are round structures that were built not so much as “forts” but as enclosures to hold animals and be secure places for the early inhabitants of Ireland.
The tombs are also interesting in that the people went to great lengths to build them with very large stone slabs. I can imagine that it took quite an effort to construct them. That is ditto for the forts.
Here is the bad news. Most historical places are on private property. They are either commercialized
It was a grand place
There is an interesting story behind this place...but its Irish so there is always an interesting story :-) by the landowners or one cannot access them. The rest are thankfully owned by the government. Beth and I spotted a ring fort (on private property) and we climbed over a wall and walked out to take a look at it. Beth was hesitant to be trespassing but with a little encouragement she followed my lead. Sometimes life ain't easy with a renegade - but is a hell of lot more fun and interesting than with some compliant bore! Hahahahahaha....
The drive was scenic and we had an outstanding lunch of clams in Ballyvaughn. Those are the meatiest clams I have ever eaten. We hit the road and headed back to Cooraclare in a meandering fashion. It was a beautiful day for a drive and the greenery of the place never fails to amaze. We were driving along the coast toward the Cliffs of Moher and began to encounter tour buses - I despise those monstrosities especially on these narrow roads.
We took the first road away from the coast. As we drove along we spotted this tall castle among some trees and we went looking for a way to access it. But no, the landowners had the place posted
The Burren
Largest such area in Europe...just one of the many little factoids about this place. in a serious way; they really meant to keep people out. So we kept right on driving. It also never failed to amaze to be driving along and come up on a pub where one is unexpected. I like that. I saw some that looked like good places to stop over for a pint.
We pulled into Cooraclare and we went across the street to Tubridy's for just one half pint! Presently one of the locals (Senan) that we've gotten to know came in and I bought him a pint. He reciprocated and bought us another half pint. We decided to invest in the local economy and bought a local lotto tickets as well. Each town and village hosts there own lotto with the winning numbers announced each Monday night. The pub that sells the winning tickets gets 100 euros out of the deal. We'll buy a ticket at the O'Keeffe pub as well.
While we were chatting with Senan, John (another local guy we met) and the girl that was working the bar, I asked about any local events or festivals. Senan mentioned The Roses of Clare. I asked if it was some type of beauty contest. The girl
Ring fort
Well preserved and restored example...you have to pay to see this one. immediately said, “Well you can call it that but last year's winner wasn't what you would call a stunner.” Beth inquired if there was talent required. The girl said that in a way, yes. During the festival, that is held over a period of a few days, the girls are required to perform in some way, i.e., sing, dance. Beth then suggested that personality would play a factor. The girl agreed reiterating that some of the contestants weren't “stunners.” Beth then said they are probably the girls with a “cute personality” (which we all knows = h-o-m-e-l-y!). Maybe it is all those fecking potatoes they eat.
The Irish are a lovely people, however. I nominate them as the friendliest and finest people we have ever visited. If the planet had a tourist destination contest the Irish would win the “congeniality” crown hands down. One should visit Ireland just to meet the people. Anyhoo after we made it back to the apartment Beth observed that it is probably difficult to step into the pub for just one!
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