Onward from Doolin

We spent the night of our 4th day at McGann's pub, known to be a good music pub. Our room was cute, tucked away upstairs and not luxurious but comfortable, and with a nice view.

 There was live music in the evening, so we stayed downstairs late, listening and enjoying. I had a video of the evening's singing but it's disappeared somewhere. It was a lively place, packed full, and a good time for sure.

The next morning we were on the road early to catch the ferry, and were treated to the most spectacular view of the cliffs just outside our pub.

The ferry saved us miles of driving, and removed the necessity of having to go through Limerick, a fairly large city, by our standards anyway. The ferry crossed the mouth of the River Shannon, which was quite wide at this point. This is a long river, about 224 miles.

The drive to the boat was so pretty. We were treated to a rainbow as we left Doolin.

This was actually the main route to where we were heading.

Views all along the way.

I cannot remember what town this was; getting through Irish towns is a challenge as people park pretty much wherever they want, it seems. So it's slow, but we didn't care because it gave us more time to gawk.

And finally on the boat.

Once across we were finally in County Kerry, a place I'd long wanted to visit. But first to find our b&b as the address was nonexistent on the receipt and there were no directions, only coordinates. Now some people can find places that way but I am not nearly so savvy, and my phone was being next to useless anyway. After asking at the post office and roaming around a bit, we finally stopped for lunch--a full Irish breakfast, actually!--and asked if anyone knew where this place was. The people at the restaurant were beyond helpful; they actually called the place and got great directions for us. I am still puzzled about why the host didn't provide better directions as the house was just off the main road--she seemed to think it would be impossible to find! Well, it was, with the lack of directions she provided.

This proved to be our least favorite place to stay. The family was nice enough but we felt as if we were intruding, something we've not felt at any other b&b before. But we spent little time there; after finding it and getting our things moved in, we set off for the Dingle Peninsula. Our time was getting short, and we still had so much we wanted to see.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Back to Ireland, Day 4: Doolin, the Cliffs and Lisdoonvarna

When we travel, we try to pack as much as possible into every day. Sometimes that means we don't get the depth I would like--we don't get to stay in one place and just sink into the life there or explore all the nooks and crannies. But since our opportunities to go and our dollars are limited, we stretch them both as far as possible.

Day 4 was a long day, starting early and ending late. We left the wilder country and made our way to the pretty town of Lisdoonvarna, where the annual matchmaking festival was in full swing. I'm not talking about the kind of matches we strike on a box either--this is a place for singles to meet up! The festival runs for the entire month of September, and the town was filled with people. Whether they were all looking for a mate or just enjoying the many activities offered, I don't know. But it was a hopping place.

Fortunetellers were on hand to help see if the future held romance.

The town gets totally into this, as the painted signs on the buildings attest.

"Love is in the air," The sign on the side of the building says.

I wondered how many weddings have been conducted here during the festival?

Irish Arms pub--nice name!

I enjoyed the brightly painted buildings so much!

We didn't stay long, much as I wanted to. I wanted to talk to a few people and ask them about the festival and why they were there but we still had things to see this day.

Like this: The Cliffs of Moher.

Now I saw these in 2015 with my sister Theresa, but can anyone ever see this sight enough? Larry was amazed! The weather had turned blustery and cold, with the wind strong enough to knock a person literally off their feet, but it was worth braving the weather to see the Cliffs.

A tower sits high above the water; we planned to hike out there but it was just too wet and wild for a walk.

The cave from the Harry Potter movies--so dark and ominous!

As we left the cliffs to find the town of Doolin for our night's lodging, we passed this tower--no long hike needed to see this one!

We ate a late lunch/early dinner and decided to see how far it was to the ferry we needed to take the next day--and it was still daylight, so why not see something more?

The road afforded such sweeping views of the coast, dotted with small villages.

And then we were back to the tower, seeing it this time for a different angle. It seems to be occupied or at least cared for as it has newer windows.

Far down below, an abandoned house nestles in a copse of trees.

And then we were back to Doolin, and ready for an evening of music.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.