The Route: Boston, MA to Dublin, IE

The Plan:

My flight number EI0136 on Aer Lingus leaves from Boston Terminal C at 21:25 (Eastern Daylight Time).  I’ll use military time mostly in this itinerary because there is a lot of travel scheduling information and using military time saves me from having to use AM and PM all the time which for me is exhausting.

I’m going to have to arrange transportation from home so that I arrive at Logan no later than 19:00 (EDT).  If I can’t get someone to offer to drive me there, I can take the 16:45 Concord Coach from Portland which arrives at Logan at 18:40 which would be perfect.  This might be the easiest thing for everyone because I really don’t expect someone to take me there and back just for my own convenience.

I will be flying economy class which will be a wake-up call for me since I spent most of two decades traveling for business and worked my way up to first-class for most of that.  I’ll get a chance to experience what flying “in the back” is like these days.  I understand it is worse now than it was 11 years ago.

Since I am a U.S. citizen travelling to Ireland, I’ll require a valid passport, which will remain valid until after completion of my scheduled trip. However, I won’t require a visa for either tourist or business stays provided the duration is less than three months (which unfortunately will only be 15 days).  My current passport is valid until February 7, 2025.

I booked the same seat 32H for the flight over and back.  One less thing to remember. The current plane for this flight is an Airbus A330. The seat is a standard economy seat with on demand TV and AC power. They are about four rows back from the nearest lavatory and only two rows back from the mid-station galley and emergency exit.  All-in-all a good compromise (I hope!).

There is a full bar service along with a hot dinner with tea and coffee.  I’ll see if it is a good idea to pack some additional snacks to help break up the six hour flight duration.

According to my confirmed reservation, the plane will arrive at Terminal 2 in Dublin, Ireland on Monday morning at 08:30 (Irish Standard Time).  Let’s pick up the trip in the next section.

What Actually Happened:

Well. I’m off! I got on the Concord bus ahead of time. Everyone was here so we left Portland only to stop on the side of the highway minutes later. Some old man left his carry on in the terminal and someone (Concord or his family) came out on the highway and delivered it to him. I’ve never seen anything like it. After a few minutes we were back on the road heading south.

I’m sitting next to a girl that just graduated from UMPI and she is heading to Scotland and Wales as a graduation present. Her real purpose is to go see Taylor Swift in Wales. That’s pretty cute. It’s her first plane ride. I’m kind of excited for her.

When we got to Logan, I checked my bag and moved onto the next phase. I got through security much faster than I thought I would.  I walked to the nearest bar to my gate and sat down to my first well deserved beer.

Plane was supposed to load at 20:30 for a 21:30 departure from gate C21.

I sat at the Santarpio’s bar while Elizabeth texted me her sweater preferences for when I was in the woolen mill stores in Ireland. I really hate shopping for myself so shopping for other people is especially annoying. For bulky items like these, I figured I’ll ship the goods home. I figured I’ll buy flasks for Mary, Ann, and Jimbo. Mary wants some hand towels for her new bathrooms so maybe I’ll see some.

These gates are for Aer Lingus flights and the nearest bar doesn’t sell Guinness. That’s a disappointment.  I was able to resolve my disappointment by having a few Sam Adams.  Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

I don’t remember ever seeing a pet excerise area in all the airports I’ve been in.  There was one right next to my gate so I had to have a peak inside.  There was some astroturf on the ground for the pets to relieve themselves.  I wondered how effective these were for dogs that weren’t used to peeing indoors in what was essentially a closet.  Kinda weird really.

After a TOO long boarding process, we finally got seated at 20:45.  I’m in 32H. The stewardess smiled when I told her I was in 32HOTEL. Probably not too many speak in the phonetic alphabet to her.

We pushed back at 21:20 with an expected flight time of 5:30 hours. ETA is now 08:11  which is 20 minutes earlier than expected.

I sat next to Will from Florida. He lives in Boston attending MIT as a PhD candidate in biology. He went to Wesleyan for undergrad and his best friend has a Maine connection and is from Yarmouth. He passed out soon after take off so not much conversation there.

Dinner on the plane was some spicy chicken thing but I didn’t catch the name because I had my headphones on.

Before dinner I had a Heineken for €6. These coach seats don’t have much room to spread out so I downed it quickly to give back the can.

I’m listening to my own music on my iPhone because the movies offered are not interesting to me.

We’re now about 35 minutes to landing in DUB. The expected time will be 08:12 Irish Standard Time. The cabin is all picked up and we have been ordered back to our seats with seatbelts fastened.

The Route: DUB airport to Grand Canal Hotel

The Plan:

My plane arrives on Monday morning at 08:30 in Dublin.  I have a reservation at the Grand Canal Hotel on Grand Canal Street Upper – Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland (whatever that means). So first things first.  When I arrive at the airport, I need to find an ATM machine and get €200 euros now that I’ll be wandering around Dublin.  I’ll worry about getting British pounds (£) when we get up North almost the first thing on Tuesday.  For the most part I’m told I can use my credit card for most transactions so I’ll probably get a taxi from the airport which is estimated to be between $26 – $31 (€24 – €29).  I’ll decide if a tip is warranted when I arrive but I understand tipping is not expected.  Best practice is to round up a couple of dollars (oops!, I meant euros, it’s going to take a little getting used to that).  It’s only about a 15 minute ride to the hotel.

Situated on the south side of Dublin City Centre, the Grand Canal Hotel is located on the edge of Ballsbridge, within walking distance to all local attractions.

By the time I get my bag, get to the ATM, make my way to the taxi stand, and arrive at the hotel, I estimate it will be about 10:00.  I am hoping that I can go into the hotel and if my room isn’t ready (which I am not expecting it to be), I’ll ask to check my bag with the bellman to be picked up later in the day when my room is ready.

One thing that is interesting (worrying) to me is that the hotel didn’t require me to put down a deposit on the room.  The cost is €189.00.  I actually called the hotel to make absolutely sure that I was confirmed in my reservation and they told me not to worry about it.  I can pay for the room when I get there.  For my reservation for when I check back in on the back-end of the trip, I have already paid for the two nights.  In any event, I booked it officially on September 24, 2023, 02:50 IST (that’s Irish Standard Time).

I think one of my first stops will be at the Gasworks Bar which is famous for their craft beers. It’s right in the Grand Canal Hotel. What could go wrong? From this point, I don’t have any specific plans or obligations. I guess that I will just take my daypack with me and wander west through the streets until I either get tired or distracted by a pub or the sounds of music.  It may be too early in the day to hear any music, but who knows.

At this time, I don’t have a solid plan for this first day in Dublin but will build out this section as I get more acquainted with the Grand Canal area from my guidebooks and other resources.  I’m not too thrilled about wearing a daypack around while touring in Dublin.  I might just take advantage of any pockets I have and try to tour as lightly as possible.  It will be different once the main tour starts, I’ll want the daypack then.  Then again, if I happen to see some souvenirs, I may be wanting the daypack. On a previous trip I took to London a long time ago, I kind of liked buying dish towels that can be used on a daily basis back home as a practical gift. I don’t think I want to buy anything fragile at the very beginning of the trip and have to deal with that given all the moving around we’ll be doing.  If I find something on the trip that looks good like a Waterford whiskey glass or something, I’ll consider it then or make arrangements to have it shipped home.

Eating Options Near Grand Canal Hotel

Breakfast, Brunch & Coffee
– 3fe – Get your barista -brewed caffeine fix from this small Dublin chain (4 minute walk)
– Juniors  – Sit-in for brunch, order ahead for to-go lunchtime sandwiches or enjoy an Italian-influenced dinner menu; casual (5 minute walk)
Lunch
– Eurospar – Large convenience store with Irish-style baguette sandwiches, fresh pastries and full deli (5 minute walk)
– Dosa Dosa – Indian food with a focus on south Indian dosas (potato pancakes); dine-in or to-go (5 minute walk)
– Lotts & Co – High-end grocery and deli food with organic, imported and local brands (5 minute walk)
Dinner
– Paulie’s Pizza – Ireland meets Naples at this wood-fired pizza joint; casual (5 minute walk)
– Etto – Italian-influenced seasonal dining; affordable fine dining (18 minute walk / 7 minute taxi ride)
– Musashi – Dublin’s Japanese chain serves up good sushi and noodles; casual (7 minute walk)
Pubs & Bars Near Grand Canal Hotel
– The Old Spot – Refined pub with an excellent dinner menu; casual (5 minute walk)
– O’Donoghue’s – famous traditional pub for Irish music; great Guinness; always busy (18 minute walk / 7 minute taxi ride)
– Ely Wine Bar – quaff from a wine list 400-strong; good food too (18 minute walk / 7 minute taxi ride)

Pubs near the Grand Canal Hotel are:

– The Storyteller: 9 Grand Canal Street Lower, Dublin 2, D02 XD98, Ireland: 350 meters away
– Ryan’s Beggars Bush: 115 Haddington Rd, Dublin, D04 H328, Ireland – 350 meters away
– O’Connors of Mount Street: 32 Mount Street Lower, Dublin 2, Ireland, Closest to Grand Canal Hotel – 450 meters away
– The Ginger Man: 39-40 Fenian St, Dublin 2, D02 KD51, Ireland,  – 900 meters away
– Kennedy’s Pub: 30-32 Westland Row, Dublin 2, D02 DP70, Ireland, 1.0 km
– Searson’s: 42-44 Baggot Street Upper, Dublin 4, D04 V210, Ireland, 1.0 km
– Padraig Pearse: A cozy and friendly pub with a large beer garden, a pool table, and a dart board. They serve traditional Irish food and have live music every night. Distance from hotel: 0.1 km
– Slattery’s D4: A modern and stylish pub with a spacious outdoor area, a fireplace, and a projector screen. They offer a variety of drinks and snacks, and host regular events and entertainment. Distance from hotel: 0.1 km
– Vertigo Bar: A chic and elegant bar with a stunning view of the Grand Canal, a fireplace, and a cocktail menu. They serve Mediterranean food and have live music on weekends. Distance from hotel: 0.1 km
– The Ferryman: A charming and historic pub with a warm and welcoming atmosphere, a fireplace, and a piano. They specialize in seafood dishes and have live music on weekends. Distance from hotel: 0.3 km
– The Waterloo Bar: 36 Baggot Street Upper, Dublin 4, D04 R6Y6, Ireland,

Pubs near St. Stephen’s Green are:

– The Hairy Lemon: Stephen Street Lower, Dublin 2, Ireland – Where The Commitments was filmed – MUST SEE PUB!!!
– The Bar: Shopping Centre, Unit B1B, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin, D02 PC04, Ireland
– Sinnotts Bar: King St S, Dublin, Ireland – Rugby Bar
– Sheehan’s Pub: 17 Chatham St, Dublin 2, D02 X923, Ireland
– Neary’s Pub: 1 Chatham St, Dublin, D02 EW93, Ireland
– The Duke: 9 Duke St, Dublin 2, D02 NR76, Ireland
– Swan Bar: 58 York St, Dublin, D02 RW67, Ireland
– O’Donoghues Bar: 15 Merrion Row, Dublin, D02 PF50, Ireland
– The Long Hall: 51 South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2, D02 DV74, Ireland
– The Palace Bar: 21 Fleet St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 H950, Ireland
– Thomas Moore Inn: 12 Aungier St, Dublin 2, D02 CR90, Ireland

Our Favourite Traditional Irish Pubs in Dublin 

What Actually Happened:

The taxi “rank” was very efficient and I was soon in a taxi heading to the Grand Canal Hotel. The taxi man was classic Irishman and filled me in on all the sights along the way. He drove a VW IQ electric vehicle. My first ride in an EV. The ride was about 30 minutes and cost €37.00. I gave him €40.00. I think this is the proper protocol to round up rather than give a % for a tip.

I got to the hotel at about 9:30. My watch was still set to EST so I took a minute to change it to Irish Standard Time while I had a cup of Americano coffee for €3.15.  I’m only recording these various purchases for posterity and perspective. I probably won’t have leisure time to record details like this while we’re moving about.

I’m pretty tired. I didn’t sleep on the plane and the seats were narrow.  This was my first time sitting in coach for 13 years. I admit I was pretty spoiled in my, “other life.”

I checked my luggage because my room wouldn’t be ready until noon or so.  I used my website to get some hints of things to see in the area.

The taxi driver suggested I check out the EPIC museum which was dedicated to preserving the famine migration in the mid-1800’s and the ship that carried Irish immigrants to the US in the 1850s. I went online and bought tickets for both. I walked to the museum by crossing over the River Liffey on the Samuel Beckett Bridge.  Our tour guide on the ship was a very funny guy named Jerry Kelly. I would listen to this guy talk all day. He was hysterical.There were some girls there from Pennsylvania that were touring Ireland after winning a basketball tournament. They wanted to take my picture standing at the wheel of the ship and who was I to refuse them.  They were very nice and excited to be in Ireland.

After the ship tour of the Jeanie Johnston, I went to the EPIC Museum, which is the history of Irish immigration, and it was very in depth with a lot of detail a lot of active presentations, but almost too much detail for me to take in because I was so tired. There was a band playing in the great hall.  They were playing, “You’re a Grand Old Flag” which I later found out was by George M. Cohan, an Irishman born in Rhode Island.  I wonder if they were playing that song as a tribute to him and other people who claim Irish heritage. I ended up catching a cab back hotel because I had done a lot of walking that day and my legs were worn out. I was just still exhausted from not sleeping. It was €10 which wasn’t too bad.  At that point I probably would have paid double.

At about 14:00 IST I had my first pint since arriving in Ireland at The Waterbank bar which is attached to The Grand Canal Hotel. It used to be called the Gasworks but they rebranded it. One good pint deserves another so I had a second one. Brilliant. It was time to formally check in and get a little rest so I went upstairs to room 413 and laid down for a bit.

It was about 17:00 when I went up the street to The Storyteller. Interestingly, this was NOT one of the pubs I had researched prior to my trip.  It was just an inviting place up the street from the hotel so I thought I would just go in and see what’s what. On the way there, I crossed over the Grand Canal which still had working locks.  I’m not sure who would go through there on a regular basis but the locks were automated and could be opened electronically.  It was a very pretty picture nonetheless. There were only a few people in the pub so I chatted up the bartenders.  Of course they were very nice and the bartender/owner had to leave early to play in a hurling match. I had one real Guinness and ordered their chicken club sandwich. Honestly, the best I ever had. It has an entire breast of chicken pounded out on some kind of homemade bread.  I finished up with three Guinness 0.0 and I was DONE. Exhausted.

I had to buy a shirt. Mary’s always calling me a liar when I tell a story. That’s kind of harsh.  I always say the details are not important if it’s a good story to tell.  Now I have a shirt to warn folks that I’m about to start a yarn.  Stand back all you feckin’ fact checkers!!!

I was up for over 24 hours so it was time to lay down for real now. I’m gonna take a shower, set my alarm, and get some sleep. See you at breakfast tomorrow when we launch the tour!

Sláinte

The Route: Grand Canal Hotel, Dublin to Ballygally Castle Hotel, Ballygally, Northern Ireland

The Plan:

I have been telling folks that the tour is similar to an ocean cruise that if you aren’t there when they pull out, you’ll be left behind.  That is one of the main reasons I wanted to stay at the Grand Canal Hotel, because at 08:10 we’re outta here!  I’ll have to make sure that I am packed and ready to check out after having a full Irish breakfast.  I think I should plan to be down in the dining room no later than 06:45 to eat, get back up to my room to get my bag, and then check out.  I think this is going to be the daily routine as we move from hotel to hotel frequently.  I think I’ll get in the habit of showering before bed to save on the morning chaos associated with all of that.  We’ll see how stinky I get .

Speaking of stinky, I have been “auditioning” clothing since the fall of 2023 to see how they would hold up to 15 days on the road with limited laundry facilities and also to be light in weight for carrying.  I have basically been looking at outdoor clothing like Columbia zip-off pants and lightweight fishing shirts which can serve many purposes.  I plan to buy an Irish sweater over there as a layer for warmth and I have also purchased a multi-purpose raincoat that can be used to adjust to the fickle Irish weather.  We’re roughly in the Mercedes van for an average of about three to four hours a day, so comfort is a priority over ruggedness. I purchased some waterproof boots that are lightweight and have been wearing them constantly here in our Maine winter to both break them in and also to test their claim of “waterproofness.”  Is that a real word?

I’m not one of those guys that needs to be first in line to get the best seat. There will be plenty of opportunities in the Mercedes tour vehicle to enjoy the ride. While I was initially writing this blog post, I went back and checked to see what direction we would be going.  I sent an email to the tour operators to see which direction we would be going and they confirmed it would be in the counter-clockwise direction departing on June 11, 2024.   This is very important because there are two different itinerary documents and some of the attractions are adjusted based on the direction of travel.

Some people, when they think of Ireland, they think of, “The Troubles” that defined much of Ireland’s reputation on the world stage. “The Troubles” is the term used to describe the violent conflict that took place in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to 1998, between the mainly Protestant unionists, who wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom, and the mainly Catholic nationalists, who wanted to join the Republic of Ireland. The conflict involved paramilitary groups, such as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), as well as the British and Irish security forces. The Troubles resulted in more than 3,500 deaths and thousands of injuries. The conflict was largely ended by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which established a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland and a cooperation between the UK and Ireland.

My people were from the Galway / County Mayo on the west coast of Ireland so we never really had much interest or awareness of what was happening in Northern Ireland.  That being said, it is still interesting to me and I’ve seen a few Irish TV movies describing what happened from a historic perspective.

This day’s tour will take us from the Grand Canal Hotel in Dublin and continue north to Ballygally in Antrim.  I’ll need to find an ATM to get some British pounds for walking-around money when we make a stop somewhere.

Our first castle we will tour is Hillsborough Castle and Gardens. Hillsborough Castle has been a grand family home and is now the official home of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and a royal residence. Members of the Royal Family stay at Hillsborough when visiting Northern Ireland. Viewed by some as a politically neutral venue, Hillsborough has played an important role in the Peace Process in Northern Ireland since the 1980s.  It reminds me of the Downton Abbey kind of experience.  Nobody lives like this anymore regardless of how much money they have.

From there, we “roll into Belfast.” The tour recommends the Black Cab Tour as an optional extra, but there is a competing attraction in the Titanic Centre which is a self-guided tour. There has been so much done about the Titanic, I might go for the Black Cab Tour but I’ll see when I get there or when I get recommendations from the tour guide.  If I have any time left on my own, I’ll wander around until it’s time to board the van again.

Other sights the tour has identified and suggested are:

The Crown Bar. They recommend sneaking one (or two!) drinks at this historic gin palace while in Belfast. Restored to its Victorian glory, there really is nowhere else like it in Ireland.

Then there is the Boundary Brewing Co-op’s innovative collection of beers which plays to my craft beer sensibilities.

After what sounds like a full day, we will check into Ballygally Castle Hotel. Some of these Irish names are so lyrical, you wonder if they were made up by kindergartners. It is said to be haunted by a friendly ghost.  I wonder if it’s Casper. There are a lot of references to Game of Thrones in this area.  I’ll have to check it out.

If you’re not seeing ghosts, you’re obviously not spending enough time in the pubs:

Halfway House Hotel: This is one of the closest pubs to the hotel, only 0.5 miles away on Coast Road. It is a traditional pub with live music, a beer garden, and a wide selection of drinks and food.
Matties Meeting House: This is another nearby pub, 0.8 miles away on Brustin Brae Road. It is a country pub with great food and music on various nights of the week.
Olderfleet Bar & Lounge:42 Fleet St, Larne BT40 1BA, United Kingdom
The New Fairways Restaurant: This is a restaurant and bar located at Cairndhu Golf Club, 0.8 miles away on Coast Road. It offers a delicious menu of local produce and a scenic view of the sea.
Ruby’s Bar: This is a contemporary pub with a vintage style, 3.4 miles away on Old Glenarm Road. It hosts live music, comedy, and DJ nights, and serves tasty food and drinks.
Billy Andy’s: This is a fusion gastropub with a friendly staff, 6.3 miles away on Browndod Road. It serves Irish, Bar, British, and Pub cuisines, and is known for its beautiful home cooking.
The Dairy: This is a gem in the Gleno, 6.8 miles away on Waterfall Road. It is a cosy cafe and restaurant with a fireplace, a garden, and a mouthwatering menu.

What Actually Happened:

Today’s the day we start our tour. I was up at 06:00 IST to take my shower and pack. I feel like (know that) I packed too much. I came down for breakfast at 6:45 but it didn’t start until 07:00 so I’m sitting in the lobby making this entry.  The next time I travel, I have to think like a backpacker, every ounce counts. My suitcase was close to 40 pounds which is too much.

The Spectrum Global Day Pass on my phone appears to be working. It’s slow, but it’s faster than the hotel Wi-Fi!

I’m about to head downstairs to check out. The room was very nice and I did manage to get some good sleep. Breakfast today was the full Irish breakfast. I tried most of everything but I skipped the beans because it would’ve flooded the plate with too much liquid.

In classic Billy Cook style, I almost got on the wrong driftwood tour bus. There were two at the curb when we came out.  I was standing around in the crowd of people waiting for them to board and then one of the tour guides asked me my name to check off his list.  I wasn’t on it! He suggested I check with the other tour bus and of course I was supposed to be on there. That made me the last one to board which worked out in my favor because I had a single front row seat for the journey.  The agreement I would find out later is that we would change seats on the bus every day so everyone could take advantage of the views. We proceeded north on the highway towards Belfast after looping through all of Dublin waterfront and docklands areas which were not very scenic but were still cool to see.

Shane Kelly was our tour guide and he gave us a brief introduction to his background and then opened up for the rest of us to share ours. Of course, many people quickly passed over their own names to the point where I couldn’t actually remember any of them, which is always a problem for me. One of the things that Shane Asked us to do to load the ‎WhatsApp and PhotoCircle apps on our iPhones. He then sent invitations to the groups so we could share information and also share our photos.  This was brilliant because it gave us a communication vehicle if we got separated during the tour and also so we could take advantage of other folk’s photos.  You can’t be everywhere at all times and most people have a better eye for setting up their shots. Bonus!

On the way north, we stopped at a rest stop, which was quite clean and new and bright not like American rest stops. We had an opportunity to go to the bathroom, which I took because I didn’t know how long we would be between next stops.  Out in the parking lot was a very large tanker emblazoned with the name, “Guinness.”  Could this be real?  A tanker full of Guinness?  Shane told me later that it was probably some chemicals rather than beer.  Guinness, as you can imagine, is a very large brewery with many, many, trucks and tankers for many purposes.  Still, a man can dream can’t he?  Then on the other side of the building was a trailer truck with the name “O’Toole” which was my grandmother’s name.  These are my people!

We proceeded north to Hillsborough Castle which is a royal residence for visiting dignitaries from England. It was quite grand in the spirit of Downton Abbey without the same extent of land. There were some stately gardens that I took pictures of and they were very nice. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the residence so I can’t share those with you but needless to say, it was very grand many portraiture on the wall.  Princess Ann was the last to visit and she signed the guest book.  It is still an active residence for visiting royals.

After the tour which lasted an hour, we went across the street to the Plough Restaurant for lunch. I got a sandwich and a Guinness and we all went to the bathroom again and then join the group back on the bus to proceed north more.

When we got to Belfast city, we went to the black cab tours which originated at the City Hall and took us immediately into the area of “the troubles.” The tour lasted about an hour when we piled into a black cab and a minivan and they took us around to the scenes and sights of the Belfast war and it really was a war. The cab driver of my car was named Brian and he had been in the trenches during the war, and had a perspective coming from someone who had actually experienced it. It was quite powerful what the Catholics went through compared to what the Protestants did to them was astonishing. The Police force, an army or allied against the Catholics and we were taken to a remembrance garden, where there were names of people who had been killed on plaques for everyone to see it was powerful.   I have recently seen some BBC cop drama about Belfast called “Blue Lights” and they filmed some of the scenes on the same places we visited.  I could pick out many locations which was kind of cool.  After touring Belfast, I don’t have a burning desire to go back there.  I don’t think I gave it a fair shot however, as we were moving fast and had to get on with the tour so we could get to our next stop.

After that tour was over, we went to the Titanic Museum just to pick up a few members of the tour who had decided not to take the black cab tour. From there, we proceeded north again to our hotel for the night, which was called the Ballygalley Castle Hotel. We took relatively back roads to get there which was along the coast.  It is supposedly haunted and they have a ghost room where they might have been seen.  It’s a cute touch.  Every castle should have a ghost or two hanging around.

We got there about 17:30. We checked in and Shane had made reservations for us in the hotel restaurant for 18:30. There wasn’t anything within walking distance of the castle so eating there was fine. I went downstairs to the pub and had a Guinness while I waited and then joined the group for dinner. We were set up into two tables. Our group is 14 people which makes it difficult to seat us all in one table.  I had the monkfish and their seafood chowder, which was very good. After dinner some of the tour folks, retired to their room for an early evening. I went to the hotel bar and had a Guinness zero and I bought a Jameson for my new friend Deke Schroeder. Violating the Irish drinking protocol, Deke decided he didn’t want a second one so he retired to bed with his wife, Mimi whose a hoot. I finished my Guinness and went back to my room about 22:30.

Breakfast tomorrow starts at 7:30 and Shane asked that we be ready and on the bus by 8:55 so I’ll be getting up to take my shower get dressed and pack before that all happens and be ready to go.

G’night.

The Route: Ballygally Castle Hotel, Ballygally, Northern Ireland to Bishop’s Gate Hotel Derry/Londerry, Northern Ireland

The Plan:

After our Irish breakfast, we’ll board the Mercedes Tour Van. We’ll be taking the Causeway Coastal Route which is supposedly spectacular.  There will be so many spectacular experiences on this trip, I’m going to be either jaded or spoiled.

Giant’s Causway, Giant’s Causeway, Giants Causeway!!! It’s one of the most referred to sites in all of Ireland both North and South. Legend has it that the giants loathed each other. And so one day after enduring insults from Benandonner, Fionn built a path to use as stepping-stones to reach Scotland, which was then ripped up by Benandonner. The result was the Giant’s Causeway.  If you meet any of these guys in a pub, you better be buying a round.

There is a shuttle from the parking lot which I might take instead of the 1.6 mile walk which is very steep both ways. There is a cost for this, but it’s cheaper than a heart attack.

Today’s journey is from Ballygally, Antrim to Derry/Londonderry (These are always referred to together, I’ll find out why).

One of my most important bucket list items is a tour of Bushmills distillery.  This is one of the Optional Extra (£££) attractions which means it is not covered by the tour. It is the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world.  Of all of the Irish whiskeys I’ve tried, Bushmills Black is my favorite.  This is more important to me than visiting Jameson’s which I think I’ll hit when I get back to Dublin.  This could be good place to buy a bottle to have along with me for the rest of the trip.  Maybe I’ll find a nice Bushmills flask.

In true Irish form, we’ll then go to a clifftop and visit Dunluce Castle. After a few snorts of Bushmills whiskey, wouldn’t everyone want to go to a clifftop to look over the edge? Over its history, Dunluce Castle has witnessed some of Ireland’s most tumultuous and violent periods. The castle’s main structure was built by the McQuillan clan in 1500 and was hotly contested by their rivals, Clan McDonnell, who eventually seized the prized location in the mid-1500s. With its past littered with bloody feuds, it’s no surprise that over time, ghostly murmurings have emerged about Dunluce’s lonely old ruins.

Eventually, we’ll head through the gates of the walled city of Derry/Londonderry and head to the Bishop’s Gate Hotel .

Nearby pubs are:

– The Rocking Chair: 15-17 Waterloo St, Londonderry BT48 6HA, United Kingdom, 3 minute walk, 0.2 km
– Lizzie O’Farrell’s: 26 Waterloo St, Londonderry BT48 6HF, United Kingdom, 4 minute walk, 0.2 km
– Dungloe Bar: 41-43 Waterloo St, Londonderry BT48 6HD, United Kingdom, 4 minute walk, 0.2 km
– The Harp Bar: Waterloo St, Londonderry BT48, United Kingdom, 5 minute walk, 0.2 km
– Peadar O’Donnell’s: 63 Waterloo St, Londonderry BT48 6HD, United Kingdom, 5 minute walk, 0.2 km
– The Bentley Bar: 1-3 Market St, Londonderry BT48 6EF, United Kingdom, 2 minutes, 0.2 km
– Badger’s Bar and Restaurant: 18 Orchard St, Londonderry BT48 6EG, United Kingdom, 2 minutes, 0.2 km
– The Blackbird: 24 Foyle St, Londonderry BT48 6AL, United Kingdom, 7 minute walk, 0.3 km

What Actually Happened:

I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and realized the sun was coming up in a few minutes. I got dressed and headed on down to the beach to sit on some rocks and watch the sunrise. I took some pictures and some videos and I experimented with a few photos settings and I think I got some nice shots.

Breakfast was opened at 7:30 AM and I had the traditional Irish breakfast with the black pudding and the white pudding except the beans again in deference to the other people on the tour since we’re gonna be crammed into a bus together. The coffee machine was down so we had to ask for a few pots from the kitchen which were immediately provided.

After my first course, I noticed a sign on the wall over by the porridge and it was for a bottle of Bushmills whiskey, some honey, and some cream. The idea is that you fix your porridge with those other three ingredients in it and have that for breakfast I couldn’t help myself I had to try, and it was spectacular. I can see myself trying this at home with my instant oatmeal just to say I did it.  It’s hysterical. I would say only in Ireland, but I’m not sure if other places do this as well. I doubt it. This is a good place. Good people, good food, good beer.  What more  could you ask for?

Today we’re heading to the Giants Causeway, which is pretty famous basalt structures here in Ireland and then later we will tour the Bushmills distillery and I hope to sample and also find a nice Bushmills flask. I’ll purchase some Jameson flasks as gifts for folks back home when I get back to Dublin at the end of next week.

We loaded up the van at 8:55 and headed north towards the Giants Causeway. Along the way we wound down some back roads to some scenic overlooks to stop for bathroom breaks and to stretch our legs. The tour from now on is on mostly small roads winding through farms and fields and neighborhoods and ocean views. The country is loaded with sheep and baby lambs which I got to admit are pretty cute when we get out to look for things you can hear their little bleats and it’s just fantastic.

We arrived at the Giants Causeway, which is a world heritage site and it is pretty amazing. We had to take a shuttle bus down to where the actual basalt structures were emerging out of the ocean and there were a LOT of tourists there. I took a lot of pictures and was just blown away by the, magnitude of it and the uniqueness of it.  Pictures don’t really do it justice (as is true of most of Ireland) and the amount of people scrambling over the basalt took some of the grandeur away from it.

Once we had finished the tour, we had lunch at The Nook, which is at the bottom of the visitor center. I had a bowl of seafood chowder and a Guinness which I thought was good but Shane our driver thought it was shite. We’re going to have a chowder contest throughout the remaining time of the tour he seems to know there are some good ones. He was not impressed with the one at the nook and said he wouldn’t be going back there with the tours in the future.

We were then onto the Bushmills distillery but our time there was very short. We first went to the gift shop where I bought a flask and a shirt as a memory. We were then introduced to the bar where I bought a flight of Irish whiskey, three samples of their malt whiskey, which of course was very good. We boarded the bus and we were on to an amazing visual site.

Dunluce Castle is a medieval castle perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean the weather was perfect. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There was no wind. It was just beautiful. I took some great pictures and I was very impressed with the whole site even though it was ruins it still was very, very interesting. Somehow while we were touring the castle, Shane managed to procure some cupcakes and other baked goods to celebrate Diane Gunn’s 80th birthday.  We passed them around while we headed out to see more sights.

We made a brief stop at Whiterocks Coastal Park to take a brief walk on the beach. The Irish are very proud of their beaches which is great considering that so much of the country has a rocky coastline but it is an island afterall!

Still in Northern Ireland, the pervasiveness of “The Troubles” continues to haunt us. I guess if you’re Catholic you would say DERRY. If you’re protestant, you would say Londonderry. it was a fair ride through rush-hour traffic which wasn’t very scenic, but showed us what sort of the daily life of the northern Ireland city dwellers was like.

We arrived at our hotel around 6 o’clock. It is called the Bishops Gate Hotel and is near The Diamond in the walled city of DERRY. The Diamond is a square with a statue to the war, dead, and some pretty gruesome looking statues surrounding it. One of the statues has a man or a soldier, actually in a pose bayoneting something quite violent looking actually was my impression. We’ll see that statue up close tomorrow.

Shane told us that we would be going on a walking tour of the walled city tomorrow. We have to be at the Van at 9:45 to load the bags in where they will stay while we take the tour.. Breakfast  starts at 7:30 AM, but there’s no rush on that day, so that’s sort of plan for tomorrow.

Tonight I asked the receptionist at the front desk to recommend a pub nearby that had music. She told me about certain places, but she said the music didn’t start till 10 PM so that was gonna be a long wait since it was only 8 PM when I was talking to her.

She pointed me to a street nearby that had a lot of pubs. She was kind enough to draw me a map, and I followed her instructions and found myself in front of a pub called The Rocking Chair. It was 8 pm and their sign said music started then so I went in. There is already a band sitting around the table about five pieces that were tuning up and practicing, etc.. I ordered a pint at the bar and went and sat down at the table by myself. They’re only two other gentlemen in the room at the time and myself, but I didn’t feel entitled to just go and sit with them, so I sat down and looked over and smiled at them, and tried to ingratiate myself to them ,and it was fine

Shortly thereafter the room filled up with people. I don’t know where they came from but there was a line at the bar four people deep I basically asked the two gentlemen if I could sit with them so that we could create space for other people who  just showed up and they welcomed me to their table, so I sat down.

The music continued to play, which was great. I hadn’t heard any pub music since I arrived in Ireland on Monday morning, so this was a real treat exactly what I’ve been looking for for over a year planning for this trip.

I was reticent to buy a round for these guys cause I didn’t want to get in that round game, which would have forced them to kind of play along. My hearing is shot so I just smiled at them and nodded. Couldn’t understand a word they said with their accent, my poor hearing so I just kind of played along.

I have sent messages through WhatsApp to the team of touring participants, and I was trying to bait them into coming out to listen to music with me and have some Guinness and the only response I got was from the two ladies, Jane and Mary, who are great participants in everything so it was going to be a good time.

Sometime during the night, other people showed up. One girl I was talking to was from the Netherlands and with her accent, and my crappy hearing, I could kinda barely understand what she was saying, but again, I smiled and nodded my head and pretended.

Before you know it, it was 10 PM and the little band was packing up their instruments and heading out. A new girl singer that looked like Cyndi Lauper showed up with her microphone and her lyrics on her cell phone and was singing to a sort of a karaoke machine for the room. I didn’t wanna go through another set with her and I offered to walk the two ladies back to our hotel not that I would be much assistance because I was huffing and puffing the whole time.

I got back to my room about 22:30 and got ready for bed. I’m making this entry close to 23:00 but tomorrow we sleep in a little bit because our walking tour doesn’t start till 10:45 with loading our bags in the van and the breakfast starts at 7:30 to 10:30 so I’ll figure out a way to get my shower and get downstairs with my bags and stuff, have some breakfast and be ready to go and hopefully will have sympathy for my slow pace.

OK, time for bed. I hope to send more information shortly. Thanks for being there. Bye.

The Route: Bishop’s Gate Hotel, Derry/Londonerry to Mount Falcon Estate, Mount Falcon, County Mayo

The Plan:

After Irish breakfast, we’ll take a guided walking tour of Derry/Londonderry.  I hope we are walking from pub to pub but we’ll have to see. Maybe we’ll get a chance to catch our breath at the Walled City Brewhouse.

Today, we will leave Northern Ireland. While we are here, we will be touring Sligo later in the day.  This is funny to me because we know people who live off various roads in Maine and New Hampshire called Sligo Road. I wonder if our friends know the origin of their neighborhood street names.

Nearby is a very famous historic site, Grianán of Aileach.  The origins of the Grianán of Aileach fort are dated back to 1700 BC. It is linked to the Tuatha de Danann who invaded Ireland before the Celts and built stone forts on top of strategic hills. The round fort is built largely without mortar. The interior has three terraces and wooden structures were built against the terraces to provide accommodation. The outline of Bronze Age or Iron Age ramparts can be seen below the fort. Legend states that the giants of Inishowen are lying sleeping but when the sacred sword is removed they will spring to life reclaiming their ancient lands.  Billy, keep your hands off the sword.

We’ll then head into Donegal town to visit Donegal Castle.  The website for this castle says it is closing on November 28, 2023 until further notice for renovations.  Hmmmm.  I wonder what our alternate options are going to be.  Maybe it reopened but the website wasn’t updated.

The hotel for tonight is one of the most intriguing ones on our tour. The Mount Falcon Estate is an active falconry along with the opportunity to fish or shoot skeet.  They also have a “forest bathing experience” and a “woodland sound bath” whatever the hell those are.  The falcon and owl experiences are something I am going to look into if it make sense schedulewise.   Just being near them could be very very cool.  Maybe I can get some pictures. This hotel looks like the complete experience on their own grounds.  Let’s just hope they can live up to their reputation.  I’m optimistic.

Pubs (not really) near the Mount Falcon Estate require a drive for the most part so this might be a night to stick around the estate.  Some pubs not nearby are (just in case):

– Paddy Mac’s: Garden St, Ballina, Co. Mayo, Ireland
– Bar Square: Garden St, Ballina, Co. Mayo, Ireland, Literally shares a wall with Paddy Mac’s
– Brennan’s Lane: 47 Garden St, Ballina, Co. Mayo, Ireland
– Rouse’s Bar: 53 Pearse St, Ballina, Co. Mayo, F26 T042, Ireland

I’ll probably stick around the estate and have a relatively early night to catch up on my sleep plus the rooms look pretty deluxe.

Get some rest cowboy.

What actually happened:

It’s a testament to how busy we’ve been that I am making this log entry on Friday morning about Thursday’s adventures.  I just never had time to write or dictate this log entry at all on Thursday.

Our day started at a leisurely pace with a nice breakfast in the dining room of the Bishop’s Gate Hotel that was actually served off the menu and not buffet style. I ordered the complete Irish breakfast because I’m finding that I want to tank up in the mornings before we hit the road because lunchtime can be kind of up in the air sometimes if you will.

I sat across from Carmel, who is from Perth Australia, and has that sweet little accent. I think she’s gluten-free because she doesn’t eat bread and offers her selections to whoever is at the table and there was a lot of bread passed around Just mountains of toast.

Derry has a sort of a visitor center in the middle of the city which is near the walls of the wild city where we met our tour guide John who would take us along the wall tops to give us the history of the wall, the city, and the various Struggles that occurred For 100’s of years.

It was truly raining that morning, not just drizzling but real rain. I had to wear my packable raincoat, which was comfortable and fit well, but quickly became soaked in the rain the jacket claims to be waterproof but you quickly become wet either through sweating on the inside or leaking from the outside. After a brief introduction and history of the city going back hundreds of years, we crossed over and climbed the steps up onto the top of the wall, The whole time John is talking to us walking backward and, he spoke in a clear enough and loud enough voice that you could hear him. He was definitely a professional presenter and for some reason, I thought he was constantly looking at me in my eyes, and I was kinda looking back at him and we had our stares  locked up on each other. I’ve noticed this before where I think that the presenter is talking directly to me. Maybe I’m just focused on myself for some reason, but that wouldn’t surprise me.  Later, our guide Shane remarked at how think his Irish accent was (there are many Irish accents) but I didn’t notice it to be difficult to understand.  Maybe all the Irish TV I have been watching back home allowed me to translate what he was saying.  Listening to narration in a different accent or “brogue” in a language you already know (English) adds some authenticity to the information.  It is both informative and entertaining.

There was so much detail in when he spoke to us that I can’t really capture it here in this log and the history if it was interesting to people could be looked up online regarding the history of Derry / Londonderry. The things that happened there in the last 50 years or so would blow your mind the amount of violence killing all the name of Protestant versus Catholic struggles. Just amazing.

I was a little concerned that I would be able to make the complete walking tour because I admit I’m pretty out of shape and there was a lot of stair climbing on slippery steps and railings and I was very conscious about not wanting to get injured this early in the trip that would limit what I could do going forward and would probably cause the other members of the tour to adjust to whatever limitations would cause. To that point one of the members of the tour, Katie had been violently ill while we were still at the Ballygalley Castle Hotel and she actually stayed there in the room with her mother Paige until she was fit enough to join us again. Katie and Paige followed along and joined up with us after spending roughly 150 pounds to take a taxi ride from the Ballygalley Castle Hotel to the Bishops gate hotel. Surprisingly to me, I was able to keep up with the group, and the pace was reasonable, and I saw a lot of of Londonderry. After a while being out in the rain like that, I just wanted the tour to come to a close so we could get on the bus and get moving again. At the very end of the tour we met at The Diamond statue and concluded the tour thanking John for his excellent presentation. We walked back to the van in front of the Bishop’s Gate Hotel and got our soggy selves situated for the ride for that day. The van was all wet from everybody’s dripping clothes and boots and that would be the theme for most of the day on Thursday.

One thing that I’m noticing on our routes is that they don’t really follow the Google routes that I had predicted from hotel to hotel on a daily basis. We wound around all these country roads that I couldn’t really recall if I had to for this log we would go, literally through fields and hedge rows.  On our way to a Ringed fort called Grianan of Aileach. When I write this in the website, I should place directions or link to directions from the Bishop’s Gate Hotel to the ringed fort to show just off the beaten path we were.

It was raining pretty hard and a very steady wind was blowing on this hilltop fort. Once inside the walls of the fort the wind was blocked and it was pretty amazing to see scale of it. Some people climbed on the walls. I stayed on the ground and took pictures of a few things And then again you know because of the rain and everything we just kinda rushed back to the van and we’re on our way again.

We stopped for lunch at a pretty nice truckstop that had three or four different food options and a little market attached to it. I got what was called a club sandwich sourdough roll. It was just okay, it was a truckstop after all. The rain was slowing down, so that was good and kind of gave us hope for the rest of the day that we wouldn’t be totally washed out Just because it was raining, it didn’t stop us from getting out of the van and seeing some sites which is good because we need to push ourselves to experience things outside the van rather than through the windows.

We pressed on to Donegal town and got out of the van to walk around the center of town and all the shops that were there. The whole town was just Mecca tourist shops. Not being a shopper myself I wandered around for a little bit and found McCafferty‘s bar for a pint.

An old woman, an English tourist, asked the bar man if she could pour a pint just for the experience of it and he agreed. She came behind the bar and poured my pine of Guinness and then she left with the rest of her group and I called out to her I said, where did your pint go that you poured and she said you’re drinking it! So that was fun.  I don’t think that would ever happen in America where a bar patron would be allowed the back of the bar to work the taps.  Another vote for Ireland hospitality.

I walked down to the municipal parking lot where the van was and got on and took off my soaking raincoat, which was still wet from before while we’re in Donegal town. It hadn’t been raining so even though I was wet from the prior experience I didn’t get more wet, which was good

The ride to the Falcon Estate Hotel was probably about an hour and along the way we stopped at another gas station convenience store. I bought a six pack of Guinness and got some paper cups from their coffee station and we shared the six pack on the van with John and Deke and Paige and some of the other ladies had just a little sip but mostly John and Deke and I finished the beers on the remaining ride.

The Falcon Estate Hotel is truly an amazing property. It’s quite expansive and well manicured and very tidy. There was a big circus tent on one of the lawns next to the actual estate building, which is where they serve dinner. I checked into our rooms at the hotel main desk and they handed us tags for our bags  which we put on dutifully and went up to our rooms. Within minutes, there was a knock at the door and it was a porter delivering my bag to the room, which was very nice service. I wasn’t really close to the front desk and it would have been a hike humping my bags along.  I was already recognizing and regretting how much stuff I took with me on the road and will definitely curate my belongings the next time I travel.

At 6 PM we went on a tour of the falcons and owls in their aviary. I held a peregrine falcon on a leather glove and petted it. It’s very soft feathers. Next we walked to the actual aviary where the cages were and where the birds were kept and fed. They were pretty amazing and I got a lot of good pictures of them a little short movies so you can see some of their movements and hear some of their sounds just fascinating.

We had a 7:30 PM reservation for dinner in the tent, but we arrived earlier at 7:15 and they took us right in and gave us a table. I sat with the three ladies from the southern hemisphere Carmel, Diane and Deborah. Diane just turned 80 years old and is a real firecracker. A very nice lady and we hit it off famously. She remarked that I would get along with her husband Russ who was back in New Zealand.

I ordered a Dexter cut of a ribeye steak, which is something I never heard of. I ordered it medium rare along with the usual accompaniments of Caesar salad, creamed spinach, and the Cabernet Savignon wine with the cappuccino to finish off the meal. The weight staff was mostly foreign accents. I’m assuming Polish or eastern European of some sort. There were some language barriers and I was hard to understand what they were saying.  There are a lot of Ukrainian refugees flooding into Ireland so they could have been from there.  I didn’t ask.

The meal came out all at once. This was kind of a problem because steak and spinach dishes got cold while I was trying to eat in the proper sequence of salad, entrée and then dessert. I ordered a Redbreast 12-year-old Irish whiskey, which came in a very, very small portion probably the smallest portion of any alcohol drink I ever had so it was kind of a chuckle.

I truly enjoyed eating with these three ladies and listening to their accents and some of their travel adventures in the past all three of them were pretty well traveled, and they weren’t afraid to jump on a plane fly 17 – 18 hours to various locations they had been to. All three had some form of farming in their background, either presently living on a farm in New Zealand or growing up on a farm in Perth Australia.

After dinner, I retired to the hotel bar and ordered an Irish pale ale. I have been drinking so much Guinness over the last couple days. I thought I would try something different and it was very good in the manner of that I’ve been drinking.

Madison and her mother Kelly Reddiger joined me in the pub when they saw me sitting there as they were walking by. Madison is very tall 22 year-old young lady. I think she said she was 6‘2“ tall. Her father I understand is 6′ 10″ tall and played basketball in college. Kelly is very interesting to talk to and has lived. I think she said in 13 different places over the years they have moved around a lot for her husbands work. Most recently she had lived in Savannah Georgia so we talked about that a little bit. Mary Schroeder joined us for a drink and she also had previously lived in Savannah Georgia so that made the conversation well rounded out and was very interesting. It was getting fairly late around 11 PM, so we all retired back to our rooms.

When I got to my room, I took a bath and a big bathtub. There was also a separate stall shower in the quite large bathroom. I hadn’t taken a bath in a tub in years and this was very relaxing after a long day of being wet not really cold but just clammy all the time.

I set up all my electronics for charging devices, put in my earbuds turned on my podcast and went to sleep at about midnight.

The Route: Mount Falcon Estate to Clifden Station House Hotel, Clifden, Ireland

The Plan:

Let’s just assume that every day starts with an Irish breakfast, so I’ll stop reminding you at this point.  Back in the van, we head to Westport.  You could spend a whole weekend in Westport near Clew Bay, but we’ll just have time to make a quick pit stop (bathroom? pint?).

The next stop is something I’m a little afraid of.  We’re going to Mirrusk Abbey where nearby is the holy mountain of Croagh Patrick where is says you lose a sin with every step.  I don’t know if my legs can hold out that long given my lifetime of being naughty.  It would be a long march for me.

Back in the van and we’re cruising onto the Doolough Valley which is one of Ireland’s most scenic drives. A trip through the Doolough Valley is a special experience. Nestled between high mountains, there are two lakes along which the Wild Atlantic Way winds its way. The untouched nature creates a unique idyll. At the northern end of the valley, right next to the road, there is a cross built in memory of the victims of the “Doolough Tragedy”. During the great famine in 1849 hundreds of needy inhabitants of Louisburgh set off on foot to Delphi Lodge to seek food from the authorities there. However, they were harshly rejected. On the way back to Louisburgh, many of them died of hunger and frost in the Doolough Valley.  I don’t know why but this sounds like an Irish holocaust.

We’ll be staying at the Clifden Station House Hotel this night.  Some other pub options in the Connemara area are:

Lowry’s Bar: 0.2 km. This is an iconic Irish pub that offers live music, whiskey, and gin. It was voted the best traditional bar in Ireland in 2019, 2018, and 2015.
Mullarkey’s Bar: 3 km. This is a cozy bar that is part of Foyle’s Hotel, but open to the public. It is known for its open-mic sessions, impromptu gigs, and good craic.
The Signal Bar: 0.4 km. This is a casual bar and restaurant that is located on the grounds of the Station House Hotel. It serves traditional Irish dishes and locally brewed beers.
Guy’s Bar & Snug: 0.5 km. This is a traditional pub that has small intimate snugs and corners. It serves pub grub, Irish, and European dishes, as well as coffees and drinks.

What Actually Happened:

It’s Friday, the fourth day of our trip. I woke up to see a bunny out on the lawn outside of the window of my room, which was nice. I understand that some of the Raptors that are in the aviary when they’re out training have actually killed a rabbit from time to time, the trainers of the birds will take the rabbit from the bird and then feed portions of it to them overtime so that they stay hungry and want to do trainings. I kept looking at the bunny, wondering how much time it had left on this earth, but it was time to get showered and dressed and down to breakfast For today’s adventure.

Today I ordered off the menu spinach Florentine, which was sort of like two poached eggs on top of some spinach au gratin with English muffins. It was very good. I’ve been over eating at breakfast because these portions are not something that I’m really used to this early in the day, so I decided to go a little easy.

Our tour today took us to the Country Life Museum. This was very interesting and had lots of interesting exhibits. It was self-guided so you just basically wandered from exhibit to exhibit and read what they had to tell you about what life in Ireland has been like over the centuries, there’s a lot of history there. The museum is on the grounds of another Irish manner, and some of it was under construction, and being renovated or maintained is probably a better word because they were working on the slate roof at the time and therefore had scaffolding all around the building so if any slate fell off, it wouldn’t hurt any of the visitors. It was another building that made you feel like you were at Newport or Downton Abbey. These homes are just incredible.

After that, we went into another gorgeous little town called Westport. It was just filled with little shops and shopping and and some pubs not being a shopper myself I wondered around for a while until I finally settled into a pub called Cozy Joe’s where I had a bowl of seafood chowder and some fries. I wanted something a little less than a full meal because we’ve been eating so much lately, I had a pint and then walk back to where the van was and spoke with some of my tour mates finding out more about their lives and what they are interested in, etc. all in all a great day.

From there, we went to a mountain, a real mountain, called Crough Patrick. We walked up part of the mountain, basically just to get out of the low lying trees for a better view of the mountain. The story in the mountain is that for every step you take up the mountain and removes one sin from your life.  Obviously, I don’t have enough steps left in my life to reverse all my naughty nature.

We then went across the street from the mountain where there was a national memorial to all the people that died on the immigration “coffin ships.” it was very solemn.

We then went on a fairly long drive through one of the most scenic areas in Ireland called the Doolough Valley.  If you’ve ever been up to Grafton notch in Maine, take that memory and viewpoint that you had and multiply it literally by 1000 this was some of the most striking and scenic landscape I have ever seen. There were some cute cheap that were running around there’s tons of sheep in this part of the country and they’re out everywhere. They’re on the roads are in the fields. There’s little baby lambs. There’s every kind of sheep that you could imagine and they’re all very peaceful and very cute and I’m really enjoying watching the little lambs out in the field taking their naps and just being pretty cute.

We then continued on our journey down to Clifden where we would be spending the night in the Clifden Station House Hotel. This is a very comfortable hotel that was made out of the old train station. It’s a boutique hotel and they were offering a three course meal for dinner €39 which was a pretty good deal. I changed into a nice dress shirt that I had brought and got out of my hiking boots for the first time since leaving Maine on Sunday and that felt good on my feet and tomorrow is gonna be another full day.

I had mussels for my first course. For my main course I had lamb chops and for dessert I had a selection of little ice cream options. It was all very good. I ate dinner with Deke and Mimi two lovely people from North Carolina who have an interesting background and we enjoyed our company immensely and then after dinner, we retired the lobby bar. I had a Guinness, a Red Breast 12 year. Mimi had some cream d’menth on ice. We said good night to each other around 10 PM and went upstairs to our to our rooms.

We’re staying in the same hotel overnight, which is good because I won’t have to pack in the morning And we’ll be down at the van 9:30 AM after eating breakfast. Then head out to Kylemore Abbey in Connemara and there’ll be more to talk about in tomorrow’s log.

Live long and prosper.

Cheers

It’s Friday, the fourth day of our trip. I woke up to see a bunny out on the lawn outside of the window of my room, which was nice. I understand that some of the Raptors that are in the aviary when they’re out training have actually killed a rabbit from time to time, the trainers of the birds will take the rabbit from the bird and then feed portions of it to them overtime so that they stay hungry and want to do trainings. I kept looking at the bunny, wondering how much time it had left on this earth, but it was time to get showered and dressed and down to breakfast For today’s adventure.

Today I ordered off the menu spinach Florentine, which was sort of like two poached eggs on top of some spinach au gratin with English muffins. It was very good. I’ve been over eating at breakfast because these portions are not something that I’m really used to this early in the day, so I decided to go a little easy.

Our tour today took us to the Country Life Museum. This was very interesting and had lots of interesting exhibits. It was self-guided so you just basically wandered from exhibit to exhibit and read what they had to tell you about what life in Ireland has been like over the centuries, there’s a lot of history there. The museum is on the grounds of another Irish manner, and some of it was under construction, and being renovated or maintained is probably a better word because they were working on the slate roof at the time and therefore had scaffolding all around the building so if any slate fell off, it wouldn’t hurt any of the visitors. It was another building that made you feel like you were at Newport or Downton Abbey. These homes are just incredible.

After that, we went into another gorgeous little town called Westport. It was just filled with little shops and shopping and and some pubs not being a shopper myself I wondered around for a while until I finally settled into a pub called Cozy Joe’s where I had a bowl of seafood chowder and some fries. I wanted something a little less than a full meal because we’ve been eating so much lately, I had a pint and then walk back to where the van was and spoke with some of my tour mates finding out more about their lives and what they are interested in, etc. all in all a great day.

From there, we went to a mountain, a real mountain, called Crough Patrick. We walked up part of the mountain, basically just to get out of the low lying trees for a better view of the mountain. The story in the mountain is that for every step you take up the mountain and removes one sin from your life.  Obviously, I don’t have enough steps left in my life to reverse all my naughty nature.

We then went across the street from the mountain where there was a national memorial to all the people that died on the immigration “coffin ships.” it was very solemn.

We then went on a fairly long drive through one of the most scenic areas in Ireland called the Doolough Valley.  If you’ve ever been up to Grafton notch in Maine, take that memory and viewpoint that you had and multiply it literally by 1000 this was some of the most striking and scenic landscape I have ever seen. There were some cute cheap that were running around there’s tons of sheep in this part of the country and they’re out everywhere. They’re on the roads are in the fields. There’s little baby lambs. There’s every kind of sheep that you could imagine and they’re all very peaceful and very cute and I’m really enjoying watching the little lambs out in the field taking their naps and just being pretty cute.

We then continued on our journey down to Clifden where we would be spending the night in the Clifden Station House Hotel. This is a very comfortable hotel that was made out of the old train station. It’s a boutique hotel and they were offering a three course meal for dinner €39 which was a pretty good deal. I changed into a nice dress shirt that I had brought and got out of my hiking boots for the first time since leaving Maine on Sunday and that felt good on my feet and tomorrow is gonna be another full day.

I had mussels for my first course. For my main course I had lamb chops and for dessert I had a selection of little ice cream options. It was all very good. I ate dinner with Deke and Mimi two lovely people from North Carolina who have an interesting background and we enjoyed our company immensely and then after dinner, we retired the lobby bar. I had a Guinness, a Red Breast 12 year. Mimi had some cream d’menth on ice. We said good night to each other around 10 PM and went upstairs to our to our rooms.

We’re staying in the same hotel overnight, which is good because I won’t have to pack in the morning And we’ll be down at the van 9:30 AM after eating breakfast. Then head out to Kylemore Abbey in Connemara and there’ll be more to talk about in tomorrow’s log.

Live long and prosper.

Cheers

The Route: Today we explore around the Clifden area.  Destinations TBD

The Plan:

If the Portland Head Light was emblematic of Maine (and probably the whole USA based on calendar shots), Kylemore Abbey in Connemara takes the prize here in Ireland.  Just like the fictional Downton Abbey, the Irish estate and grounds are something that are irreplacable. Kylemore Castle was built in the late 1800s by Mitchell Henry MP, a wealthy businessman, and liberal politician. Inspired by his love for his wife Margaret, and his hopes for his beloved Ireland, Henry created an estate boasting ‘all the innovations of the modern age’. An enlightened landlord and vocal advocate of the Irish people, Henry poured his life’s energy into creating an estate that would showcase what could be achieved in the remote wilds of Connemara. Today Kylemore Abbey is owned and run by the Benedictine community who have been in residence here since 1920.

We won’t be doing too much driving on this day, but we’ll fit in a visit to Inaugh Valley.  I’ll need to keep reminding myself to take pictures as I will be distracted by one of the most scenic drives in the world! There is a photo opportunity at every turn as the Inagh Valley road wends its way through the majestic heather covered mountains of the Twelve Bens from the Maamturks which are separated by the valley and its picturesque lakes. The vista is ever-changing from day to day as the slightest change in the weather is reflected in the lakes and mountains. This is the second leg (30km) of the Western Way which winds its way down from Mam Éan along the valley, past wonderful scenery and then takes a right turn back towards Killary Harbour and Leenaun to where the section ends.

Weather and time permitting, we’ll make a stop to learn about the peat bogs.  My cousin Matty dug peat when he visited Ireland probably 40 years ago and I remember the pictures.  For some reason I seem to recall a slide show (remember them) in our living room of his trip.

We’ll be staying at the Clifden Station House Hotel again for this night.  Some other pub options in the Connemara area are:

– Paddy Coynes Pub in Tullycross, a cozy and historic pub with turf fires, live music, and food.
– Lowry’s Bar in Clifden, a vibrant and award-winning pub with a large whiskey selection, gigs, and craic.
– Veldons Seafarer in Letterfrack, a charming and atmospheric pub with memorabilia of the first transatlantic flight, a seafood-focused menu, and a beer garden.
– Mannions Bar in Clifden, a family-run bar and restaurant serving locally sourced seafood and traditional Irish favorites.

What Actually Happened:

Saturday. I keep having to check my iPhone home screen to see what day of the week it is. If I count on my fingers, this would make day five of our 11 day tour. We saw some really cool stuff today. We also had some sadness on our trip. The Coynes from Pennsylvania continue to be ill. Today, John and Paige remained back at the hotel while Katie their daughter went on the trip with us today. It’s kind of sad they’ve had a lot of GI issues on this trip which I can understand makes it unbearable to come along and be stuck in the van all day as we move from place to place.

It was another relatively slow start today. We all met for breakfast down in the restaurant. I had the traditional Irish breakfast, but I’ve been trying to reduce the portion size because the amount of food we’re consuming on this trip is just insane.

The main theme for today is a visit to Kylemore Abbey. I’ll fill in the details about Kylemore Abbey when I get home. I will say that this is probably one of the most grand former residences in Ireland.  I keep saying to myself and out loud, they could never do this today. just considering the amount of land that was involved in the estate and the creature ponds in the house itself and the woodwork on the walls inside and all of the art and all of the contents in the house the cost for me anyway would be inestimable.  Things on the scale cannot be even dreamed of. The highlights of the day we’re going to the Abbey house, listening to a half hour presentation given from a docent and then touring the garden areas which had temporally been destroyed, but re-created and recovered and were in active views today.

I ate lunch with Deke and Mimi again and they’re just so much fun. I really tried to have a small portion, and I basically ordered the smallest thing they had in their display case which was a chicken sandwich on a roll up with the version of Irish stuffing and cranberry and then they heated it similar to a Panini. I didn’t buy anything to drink because I have all these water bottles that I’ve been carrying around and I want to reduce the weight.

When we got back on the bus at 1 PM, Shane told us that he had made reservation at a nearby pub for us to have lunch. When we got there, I thought I would just have a pint while I’m everyone else ate, but we have this ongoing chowder contest to see what the best chowder is so I ordered a bowl of the seafood chowder and pine Guinness, and proceeded to sit across from Shane as we compared results of this chowder, Shane gave it a 7 1/2 I think well I thought it was only a 6 1/2 as the potatoes were kind of you know mushy and overcooked not the al dente potatoes that I would expect from quality chowder.

After lunch, we went to the Conamara national Park. It’s more of a park for children, but we got a chance to walk around a nice little pond and visit the museum. See some of the stuffed animal animals history of the bugs and just general sort of national natural history. We only stayed about half an hour and then we got back on the bus to go to one of the most incredible sites that I’ve seen since we’ve been on the spread trip and that’s saying a lot because we’ve seen some really incredible stuff.

Shane took us for a ride and it’s called the sky road. I keep saying these things are indescribable, but you’ll just have to refer to the pictures that I’ve taken understand the vastness of these sites and the beauty of them were words almost don’t do justice when we got to the top of the sky Road, we got out of the van and post for a group picture Smiling it’s just what we’re saying and we are so excited about what’s left to come.

We got back to the hotel about 430 or so, and sat around the tables in the sunshine to discuss what our dinner plans would be the day they started out raining turned into the most glorious blue sunny day with very few clouds in the sky almost 180° difference from the morning to the afternoon. We decided we would go to Mannions seafood bar and restaurant and I ordered a burger like a dummy because I forgot this is a seafood restaurant and I was so engrossed in talking with the people for dinner that I decided I would try to get something small to eat since we’ve been consuming so much lately and a burger seemed like a simple choice to make.  Right after I ordered the burger, I realized I had made a big mistake since some of the best seafood around was at this restaurant. Well, you live and learn.

Mary and Jane both ordered the seafood pie, which is sort of like shepherds pie with seafood inside. It had a mashed potato crust on the top of it and then sort of a crock of various seafood items like a seafood chowder almost with a mashed potato cap on top of it I tried a little of it. It was pretty good and I kind of regret it. I didn’t get it because that would’ve been more of a signature item for this particular restaurant. We had a couple Guinness at the table and then when dinner was over Mimi and Deke went back to the hotel. Mimi’s ankle has been bothering her and she’s been wearing a brace, but she decided she wanted to just go back to the hotel and put her foot up for the night.

Mary and Jayne and I proceeded onto McGrath’s bar where we thought we would hear some live traditional music. It was suggested to us by the bartender at Minnions, but we didn’t know what time the music would start when we got there. I bought a roundfor the two ladies who were brave enough to come out with me.  I got a green spot on the rocks for Mary. She likes the Irish whiskey and then I attempted to buy a old fashion for Jayne, but this bar says they don’t make cocktails so I got her a nice glass of Chardonnay while I had the usual pint of Guinness.

We stayed for a while just wanna drink because we thought the musical on sooner but then we found out the music doesn’t even start till 10 PM so we finished our drinks and walked back to the station house hotel. I crossed the street to the bar that looks directly at the stationhouse hotel, and had a pint Guinness, hoping that one of the locals would just strike up a conversation with me. No such luck there was a lot of people in there and they all seem to be in parties of six or more so they weren’t in any need of conversation from me.

After that, I just went back up to my room. Did a little prep packing for tomorrow morning and watch the Irish news to see if there was any news about a potential Aer Lingus labor action, what we would call a strike.

My legs are really taking a beating even with compression socks on every day. They’re starting to swell up more and not reduce as much with the compression socks. I’m watching them closely. Hopefully they won’t be any problems going forward, but it didn’t notice that one of the toes on my right foot is a little bit swollen, so I don’t know if that’s as result of all amount of walking we’ve been doing in boots or if it’s a problem that might be happening.

Well, I guess that’s enough for today obviously, I’ll be posting pictures from today on the website and also sending a few along to the WhatsApp group that’s been interested in my trip which I’m actually quite grateful that they would have enough interest to follow what I’m doing and sort of share in this with me.

It’s Friday, the fourth day of our trip. I woke up to see a bunny out on the lawn outside of the window of my room, which was nice. I understand that some of the Raptors that are in the aviary when they’re out training have actually killed a rabbit from time to time, the trainers of the birds will take the rabbit from the bird and then feed portions of it to them overtime so that they stay hungry and want to do trainings. I kept looking at the bunny, wondering how much time it had left on this earth, but it was time to get showered and dressed and down to breakfast For today’s adventure.

Today I ordered off the menu spinach Florentine, which was sort of like two poached eggs on top of some spinach au gratin with English muffins. It was very good. I’ve been over eating at breakfast because these portions are not something that I’m really used to this early in the day, so I decided to go a little easy.

Our tour today took us to the Country Life Museum. This was very interesting and had lots of interesting exhibits. It was self-guided so you just basically wandered from exhibit to exhibit and read what they had to tell you about what life in Ireland has been like over the centuries, there’s a lot of history there. The museum is on the grounds of another Irish manner, and some of it was under construction, and being renovated or maintained is probably a better word because they were working on the slate roof at the time and therefore had scaffolding all around the building so if any slate fell off, it wouldn’t hurt any of the visitors. It was another building that made you feel like you were at Newport or Downton Abbey. These homes are just incredible.

After that, we went into another gorgeous little town called Westport. It was just filled with little shops and shopping and and some pubs not being a shopper myself I wondered around for a while until I finally settled into a pub called Cozy Joe’s where I had a bowl of seafood chowder and some fries. I wanted something a little less than a full meal because we’ve been eating so much lately, I had a pint and then walk back to where the van was and spoke with some of my tour mates finding out more about their lives and what they are interested in, etc. all in all a great day.

From there, we went to a mountain, a real mountain, called Crough Patrick. We walked up part of the mountain, basically just to get out of the low lying trees for a better view of the mountain. The story in the mountain is that for every step you take up the mountain and removes one sin from your life.  Obviously, I don’t have enough steps left in my life to reverse all my naughty nature.

We then went across the street from the mountain where there was a national memorial to all the people that died on the immigration “coffin ships.” it was very solemn.

We then went on a fairly long drive through one of the most scenic areas in Ireland called the Doolough Valley.  If you’ve ever been up to Grafton notch in Maine, take that memory and viewpoint that you had and multiply it literally by 1000 this was some of the most striking and scenic landscape I have ever seen. There were some cute cheap that were running around there’s tons of sheep in this part of the country and they’re out everywhere. They’re on the roads are in the fields. There’s little baby lambs. There’s every kind of sheep that you could imagine and they’re all very peaceful and very cute and I’m really enjoying watching the little lambs out in the field taking their naps and just being pretty cute.

We then continued on our journey down to Clifden where we would be spending the night in the Clifden Station House Hotel. This is a very comfortable hotel that was made out of the old train station. It’s a boutique hotel and they were offering a three course meal for dinner €39 which was a pretty good deal. I changed into a nice dress shirt that I had brought and got out of my hiking boots for the first time since leaving Maine on Sunday and that felt good on my feet and tomorrow is gonna be another full day.

I had mussels for my first course. For my main course I had lamb chops and for dessert I had a selection of little ice cream options. It was all very good. I ate dinner with Deke and Mimi two lovely people from North Carolina who have an interesting background and we enjoyed our company immensely and then after dinner, we retired the lobby bar. I had a Guinness, a Red Breast 12 year. Mimi had some cream d’menth on ice. We said good night to each other around 10 PM and went upstairs to our to our rooms.

We’re staying in the same hotel overnight, which is good because I won’t have to pack in the morning And we’ll be down at the van 9:30 AM after eating breakfast. Then head out to Kylemore Abbey in Connemara and there’ll be more to talk about in tomorrow’s log.

Live long and prosper.

Cheers

The Route: Clifden Station House Hotel to Lahinch Coast Hotel, Dough, Counth Clare, Ireland

The Plan:

I don’t know if my pint is half-empty or half-full, but Day 6 marks the hump day of our tour and it should be called Castle Day.  Is there a castle on every corner like Waffle House?

We head out from Clifden and attack the Aughnanure Castle.  Their website says they are closed but who knows? In 1546 the O’Flahertys joined forces with the Mayo O’Malleys when Donal an Chogaidh O’Flaherty married Grace O’Malley, later known as Granuaile, the formidable pirate queen. The O’Malley motto, ‘Powerful by land and by sea,’ showed the awe in which that family, too, was held. At Aughnanure today we  can inspect the remains of a banqueting hall, a watch tower, an unusual double bawn and bastions and a dry harbour. Keep your eyes peeled for glimpses of the three species of bat that now live in the castle.

When I was growing up, my mother always confused me when one time she would say we were from Galway and other times she would say we were from Mayo.  Well today, I’m going to check out Galway to see what’s happenin.’  After sacking Augnnanure, we’ll lay seige to Dunguaire Castle (I gotta admit, trying to pronounce these bastions is a tongue twister). In 1954 the castle was acquired by Christobel Lady Amptill who completed the restoration started by Oliver St. John Gogarty. Subsequently the castle became the property of Shannon Heritage. Today the restored castle gives an insight into the lifestyle of the people who lived from 1520 to modern times. From April to October you can enjoy fabulous entertainment and locally sourced food at the renowned castle banquet.

We are off to The Burren!   The vast, moon-like Burren in County Clare is one of Ireland’s most compelling landscapes. Here, cool grey rock etched with crevices and cracks tumbles down to the wild blue Atlantic Ocean. The result is one of nature’s most extraordinary phenomena: a huge rocky pavement dotted with rock formations, caves and fossils, as well as an incredible array of flowers, from native species to Arctic, Alpine and Mediterranean plants.  Houston, The Eagle has landed.

At last, we will have our minds, bodies, eyes, ears, and noses blown.  No, not that kind of nose blowing, but an amazing sensory experience on the world famous Cliffs of Moher.  The Cliffs of Moher tower over the rugged west Clare coast. We’ll walk the safe, paved pathways and view the famous Cliffs on Europe’s western frontier and enjoy the spectacular vistas over the Atlantic Ocean and the Aran Islands. Their natural beauty has inspired artists, musicians, and poets for generations, as well as absorbing scientists and geologists, drawn by the unique landscape in which they sit. The Cliffs of Moher, the most famous cliffs in Ireland, will leave you awestruck, creating memories that will stay with you forever.

We’re gonna start to feel the exertion of being on the road six days and seeing and doing EVERYTHING. This night we will lay our heads down at the Lahinch Coast Hotel. The Lahinch Coast Hotel is a Four Star Spacious Hotel in the coastal village of Lahinch Co. Clare with Leisure Centre and Swimming Pool. The hotel has undergone a stylish new look and redesign to its Reception, Drawing Room, Spacious Lounges and popular “Gastro Style” Aberdeen Bar & Restaurant. These modern areas are relaxing and spacious which capture the style of the wonderful coastal seaside village of Lahinch.

Pubs nearby are:

– Slattery’s Bar: 45 meters, 1 minute walk
– The Corner Stone Bar: 140 meters, 2 minute walk
– Danny Mac’s: 200 meters, 3 minute walk
– The Nineteenth Bar, 210 meters, 3 minute walk
– Flanagans Bar: 0.2 km
– Kenny’s Bar: 0.2 km
– The Nineteenth Bar: 0.3 km
– O’Looneys Bar: 0.4 km
– Vaughan’s Anchor Inn: 0.5 km

Pubs directly in Galway:
The Front Door
Crane Bar
Taaffes
O’Conners
The Quays
The King’s Head

Highly recommended brewer:
Galway Bay Brewery

What Actually Happened:

Sunday. Father’s Day. Today we went on one of the most iconic trips that we’re going to make on this vacation or this tour is just probably more accurate. We will go to the cliffs of Moher. But first…

After two nights in the station house hotel in Clifden, we met downstairs after breakfast to get the van packed and to get on the road. The prearranged meeting time to leave was 9 AM. Everyone was there and fine spirits and we expected to have excellent weather for the day.

Our first stop was Aughnanure Castle. You can read more about this online and filling for some of the history of the castle, but needless to say it was an exciting and interesting form of architecture from the late medieval period (1490) just before Henry VIII takes the throne in England.  The tour guide was so expert it was mesmerizing.

We went to the Hazel Mountain chocolate factory, the only bean bar chocolate factory in Ireland. I had a cup of hot chocolate and a brownie, and then it was time to tour the candy making operation. It was very similar to the chocolate factory and Rockland Maine the way visited previously I think I even remember some of the equipment they use in this chocolate factory being similar to what we have in Maine.

What happened next was slightly disappointing. We drove into Galway, which is one of the most exciting and entertaining cities on the West Coast of Ireland, but we only had a couple of hours to spend because we had to get onto our planned time at the Cliffs of Moher, I was able to purchase a sweater for Elizabeth and also a sweater for myself, which was one of the my main goals of this trip, I shipped the sweaters back to the United States for free and they should arrive there in 5 to 7 business days. It was the sweater store so I went outside and went up a couple of blocks and then I found a nice little pub called the Dáil Bar where I ordered another chowder and an IPA foregoing the Guinness for a bit.

I was the last one to get on the bus because I thought we were leaving at two but we were actually asked to be back on the bus at 1:45 PM. I arrived on the bus at 1:50 PM, which isn’t so bad. Five minutes late was like anybody was really gonna be delayed on our future Sightseeing.

We continued on our journey through what’s known as the Burren in Ireland. This unforgiving landscape is like being in a part of the moon not much there, it’s mostly exposed out cropping of rock, which gives it the impression. We made our way along the wild Irish coast to see what was probably the biggest earth attraction in Ireland, which is the Cliffs of Moher.  Before this, we stopped off at shrine to Saint Bridget and saw some of the items that are in their grotto, which are prayers for people who have illnesses, etc. stop for about 10 minutes when we get on our way again.

The actual Cliffs of Moher are quite crowded with tourists. There is some ascent of a path that I opted to avoid by taking a ride on a supplied golf cart. We weren’t on top of the cliffs for very long, maybe 20 minutes and then we took some pictures and then I took the golf cart back down to the parking lot where our van was waiting.

We arrived in Lahinch at the Lahinch Coast Hotel a little bit before 6 PM. A group of us agreed to meet in the lobby to discuss our dinner plans we were greeted by Deke Schröder. He invited us into the lobby bar to have a drink so we did and we conducted our discussion about dinner plans from there.

One of the places that I had previously researched was a little pub called Danny Mac’s, that had a great reputation for food and of course their drinks were what would be become pretty standard across Ireland that we’ve seen.

Continuing with the Chowder challenge, I ordered a bowl. I also had a Guinness and I ordered a steak sandwich.

Steak sandwiches different than what you get in the US or different from what I had ever before. It was actually a nice small steak on a roll with coleslaw a salad french fries. It wasn’t shaved steak like a Philly cheesesteak. It was more like a small sirloin on a bun.

Kelly also ordered the seafood chowder she awarded it score of eight while I thought it was no better than a 7.5 and I am still waiting that perfect bowl. Today’s Sunday so Shane still has time to come through with a good suggestion.

We returned back to the lobby bar for one last pint before bed and we’re up to our rooms around 10:30 PM.

Breakfast starts at 7:30 AM tomorrow and we need to be on the bus by 9:15. More to follow.