Ireland Day 3

Slept in a bit. Got ready. Had Breakfast.

Today we are heading to the Cliffs of Moher, should be good. It's about a 30-45 minute drive or so on the southwest edge of the Burren region in the county Clare of Ireland. Dad still was not feeling good, so he did not come with us today.

Wow, the scenery is beautiful! Little towns and even tinier roads. We came around this hill and there was a bay, big waves washing in from the ocean. We found a small pier and stopped to walk around and take a few photos. It was very wet, when the waves would hit the pier, they would splash over the top. Very windy and chilly also. Heading on.

We reached the visitors center for the Cliff of Moher. Parked and we were ready for quite a bit of walking. It was a hike.

Walking up to the cliffs, is like walking up to the edge of the world. They are sheer drops, of about 120 meters (390 feet) down to the Atlantic ocean. Since there was quite a bit of swell, there were some impressive waves crashing into the cliffs. The wind driving in off of the ocean, drives the spray up the cliffs in a reverse rainfall. It was very cool. I got a video of the spray just as the sun came out so I got a pretty rainbow. There is a tower called O'brien's Tower up the cliffs. From there you can see the Aran islands off in the distance. It was very impressive. It's definitely worth a trip out to see.

Heading back we stopped at the Bunratty Castle. It is the most complete castle in all of Ireland. And it was impressive. There is a small village setup on the castle grounds to show what it might have been like living there at the time the castle was built. There were soo many floors, 3 great halls stacked one on top of another. Tiny and very steep stairways. I went down some steps to one of the dungeons, and I barely fit through the doorway. I have some videos which I hope convey the tightness and steepness of the stairs. Climbing to the top, and walking out on the parapets was breathtaking. And not just because of the steps, the view was amazing. Climbing around, seeing the different rooms and bedrooms, pantry, kitchen, servants quarters. It's hard to imagine what it would be like to live there.

Heading back to the Villas. It's been a great day seeing everything. Time for dinner at Aunty Lena's pub in Adare.

Tomorrow looks like The Blarney castle and stone, and visiting Tralee.

*edit* photos and videos are not done uploading yet, I'll add a link when they are done, most likely tomorrow afternoon.