The Cliffs of Moher

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Everyone slept well last night and this morning we had the idea to bath the kids before breakfast that way we would ensure that the dining room would be open. On the weekends they provide toast and cereal as well (though I had bought some yesterday). I opted to skip the morning run, hoping that I would feel better this afternoon. Everyone had a huge breakfast surrounded by lots of young Irishmen. Apparently a group arrived late last night and will be spending the weekend spelunking in the area. The kids loved watching them dress up in their gear. We set off around 10am for the Cliffs of Moher. We drove through the little town of Doolin, which is famous for its Irish music scene (at the three pubs in town!). As we continued down the coast road we passed by another one of the towers erected here during the rule of O’Brien. There are crumblies everywhere! We reached the cliffs shortly thereafter and were literally and figuratively blown away.

It is a good thing that I packed enough layers for the kids because even though it wasn’t that cold the wind was fierce. We walked up to another tower, this one directly on the cliffs. The cliffs were amazingly severe. As I mentioned previously, people lose their lives here every year. We were very careful to keep a tight grip on the girls and to keep Eliza contained to the backpack. Even still there were times where I felt like Emma could take flight at any minute. We spent a good two hours exploring the cliffs and talking with the kids about invaders and Vikings (We read a Magic Treehouse book about it right before we left Belgium to get us ready). Jonathan and I both ventured beyond the authorized zone for a brief stroll. The maintained part has stone walls between you and the cliffs; the other section drops right down and it is a wholly different experience.

We bought a shamrock charm for Emma’s charm bracelet and then went to the car for a picnic. It was a beautiful day and even the views from the parking lot were terrific. After lunch we headed further down the coast in search of The Rock Store. We found it and had a great time. It reminded me of Perhams of Maine with all of the rocks and minerals. Abigail got some shamrock earrings and I got a pair of earrings in the shape of the celtic knot. The girls each got a small polished stone also. After our shopping we decided to try our luck driving into the countryside close to the water in search of a walking trail we had heard about. Well, after an hour of dead ends (where Jonathan had to repeatedly back down streets because they were too narrow to turn around on) we finally managed to get out of there. It was crazy but everyone was fairly entertained between the scenery and animals on the side of the road. We were even able to send our scraps of apple cores and carrot ends to some donkeys. We came back to the hostel and Jonathan laid down with Eliza and Abigail while Emma and I had a snack and scrapbooked and colored.

We decided we have eaten out enough and so we would have a low key evening and just stay in. The kids had the run of the hostel and ran around and played for the early evening. Jonathan went to the store for dinner supplies and made pasta and sausages for the kiddies. The girls spent about an hour before bed chasing "Burger", the hostel kitten around the downstairs. Then Jonathan read some Tin Tin and the girls went to bed. We watched last night's Red Sox game, played cards and drank cider.

The last day in Ireland. I woke up feeling crumbly but went for a short run anyways. Our flight wasn’t until 3:35 out of Shannon, which was about an hour and twenty minutes from us. We packed up and everyone ate a nice breakfast, once again provided by the hostel. We checked out of the hostel and I can’t say enough about what a great place it was to stay with the kids. I think because they are used to drunken youngsters they didn’t mind our kids running around and being loud. It felt like the weekend we spent in NH last New Year’s with my sister in law and her family at the Inn they all work at…in other words, very comfortable. Additionally there were people of ages staying there. There were at least four couple there who were in their 60s and numerous others who were in their late 20s.

We took off a little before 10am and headed towards Ennis, which we had been told was a nice little town for a pit stop on the way south to the airport. It was indeed cute but being a Sunday morning nothing was open, much to the girls’ disappointment. There was a cool friary in ruins that we scoped out but then we hit the road again. Poor Eliza is not feeling well at all and even worse than her crankiness is the way it seems to be affecting her potty training - ugh. Still we drove on and went towards our next stop: Bunratty Castle. It was another 35 minutes down the road and only about 7 minutes past the exit for the airport. Apparently it is popular spot for people beginning or ending their trip out of Shannon as I heard lots of people talking about flights while we were there. We only had a little over an hour so we opted not to spent the 50 euros it would have cost us to enter the Castle Grounds and Folk Park (think Sturbridge Village but much smaller). Instead we bought some things at the gift shop (two books on castles and three tin whistles - won’t the people in the airport love us!). We walked around the castle and found a café at the front where we had coffee and scones and the kids shared hot chocolate.

After our snack we hit the road again and ended up at the rental car return place in about 18 minutes. All in all it was a very quick and easy day. We were able to relax in the airport before our flight. The flight itself was quick although Eliza is really feeling quite miserable now. On our return leg we took the shuttle bus to Brussels midi (because the times worked out better than the train) and then a train home from there. Managed to load everything onto the bikes and get home a little before 9pm. Quite a travel day but luckily things were smooth all around. This trip was so easy and fun and now we are looking forward to visits from friends and family to entertain us until our next big trip at the end of November: Spain!

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Photos

Another tower on the roadside
There are towers and crumblies almost around every corner.

Our dorm room
The hostel was great. Our own bathroom, plenty of beds, a bar with a pool table, a tv room and huge kitchen and dining room.

Jonathan venturing past the point of no return
It was a serious drop off the side of the cliff and we couldn't believe the people that would venture there with their young children in tow.

Straight down
Jonathan (foolishly) joined the hordes of people who belly-ed up to the edge of the cliffs to look down to the water.

Thatched Roof
We actually saw a bunch of houses around Ireland with thatched roofs, which we thought was very cool.

Tin Whistle Action
The girls marched around and played their tin whistles in front of Bunratty Castle on our last day in Ireland.