Day 12: The long journey home

All good things must come to a end...  The Irish adventure is now complete and the long trip home is upon us.

The day began before dawn as we left for the Dublin airport which was 3.5 hours away.  We saw the sunrise  over the Donegal mountains as we journeyed southeast.  Along the way, we shared what were highlights for each of us.  The consensus was the Dingle peninsula follwed closely by Cliffs of Moher, Giant's causeway and Glenveagh natonal park.

No Irish vacation is complete without being stopped by cows or sheep 

Crossing a cool bridge just north of the Dublin airport

Arriving at the airport we returnd the car and immediately caught the shuttle to the terminal.  Both Jim and I mentioned it was miraculous that no damage was done to the car given the narrow curvy roads.  The left mirror may be scuffed as we many many "Irish car washes" on the narrow roads with hedges.

After checking our bags, we had a lunch of the remaining cheese, crackers, pate and grapes.  We also finished the Irish cream liquer in our coffee.  One of the differences we noted on the trip was how expensive liquor is on Ireland.  Even with Duty free the prices are marginally better than home.  I sampled Jameson. Tullamore and Bushmills Irish Whiskey in the shop and decided on Bushmills.  Marilyn got mead to remind us of our medeival banquet at Bunratty castle.  Liz settled on her standby of Baileys while Jameson was Jim's whiskey preference.

The flight left a little late, was mostly smooth but was 7.5 hours long!  The head winds saw us arrive 40 minutes late.  A drive home by Brandon got us home in time to compare the two whiskeys again on the patio and watch the sunset.  

Marilyn crashed early as she had to work Monday but Liz, Jim and I made it to 9:30.  It had been a 21 hour day!  

Liz and Jim left early the next morning for Perth.  We promised that we must undertake another European adventure soon.  Perhaps a river cruise or the Amalfi coast of Italy.  Stay tuned...

Check out the Irish fashion on the weary travellers

Day 11: Glenveagh National Park and Castle

On our final day we slept in late and had a leisurely Irish breakfast of eggs, rasters (back bacon) and toast.  For our final  day trip we have chosen Glenveagh National Park.  Although the park is only 35 km away it took almost an hour to get there.  We had to travel across the mountains and moors to get there.  Funny how roads that frightened the life out of us a week ago barely register a reaction now.  In fact, even Liz is calmer in the back seat now.

The hills near Lough Barra

Lough Barra

The view from the high pass

Mount Errigal in the clouds

The national park has a colourful history.  In the mid 1800's John George Adair, a rich Irish businessman, bought several smaller land holdings to form the estate.  He was a cruel man who evicted 244 starving tenants in 1861.  This was right after the great potato famine.  He then built a castle mansion on Lough Beagh.  After George's death in 1885, his widow made additions to the castle and began the creation of gardens.  When she died in 1916 the estate was owned in successon by two rich Americans who held ownership until the 1980's.  The castle was modernized in the 50's and 60's and the gardens were expanded as well.  The final owner, Mr Henry McIlhenny of Philadelphia, left the castle and estate to the Irish people.  After some renovations to the estate, the national park was opened to the public in 1986.

A guided tour of the castle showed the elegance of the decor.  A hunting motif was evidentthroughout.  Plenty of pictures of deers.  Stag heads and dogs were also on many pillars on the grounds.  We could not take any photos inside so you will have to imagine what it looked like based on the pictures of the exterior.

The main entrance

The round tower

The courtyard which is now a tea room

The swimming pool next to Lough Beagh

After the tour, we visited the extensive gardens.  Despite drizzle and light rain, they were impressive.  See for yourself...

Flowers in the greenhouse next to Conservatory

The kitchen garden behind the castle

Marilyn examining plants

Quiet pathway leading to the Tuscan Terrace

The Tuscan Terrace

Dog sculpture on pillar

Exotic pants in the Victorian Pleasure Garden

Statue of Bacchus in the Italian Garden

After driving back we stopped for a drink in the pub in Doochary.  The bar keep and locals in the pub were very friendly and answered our many questions.  Dinner was in the neighbouring town of Dungloe at the Bayview Bar and Restaurant where we each shared highlights of the trip.  For dinner Liz and I had lamb, Jim had chicken and Marilyn enjoyed a roast duck.  The pub was recently redecorated and featured a great men's room.  For the most part, men's rooms in pubs are very seedy here.

We have completed our packing and are getting ready for a good night's sleep.  Tomorrow will be a long day with a 4 hour drive to Dublin, 3 hour wait at the airport and finally a 7 hour flight home.  I long for my own bed tomorrow night.

Day 10: Northern Ireland

Today's plan is to visit attractions in Northern Ireland.  Just after 8:00 we started our 2 hour journey to Northern Ireland.  Jim and I have polished our driving skills and Jim confidently drove the hills of Donegal which faded into the flat lands when we entered Northern Ireland.  It was weird thinking in miles and mph again.  Skirting Londonderry, or Derry as the people in the republic call it, was a challenge with multi-lane roundabouts some of which had traffic lights to control the cars entering it.

The hills of Donegal County

Windmills just inside North Ireland

The River Foyle outside Londonderry

We arrived at the Giant's Causeway just before 11:00 and joined a guided tour led by Mark whose father and grandfather also guided people here.  People have been coming here since the early 1800's. Back then, people took a train to Portrush and then a trolley along the coast.  The whole area was a marketplace of souvenirs and the Earl of Antrim made a lot of money charigng admissions and taking a cut of sales and hotels.  In the late 1800's it was turned over to the National Trust who returned it to a natural site.  It is now a UNESCO heritage site.

The basalt towers came oozing out from the earth long ago. In the last ice age the earth was scraped off by glaciers to reveal them as they are today.  The natural beauty is captured in the pictures below...

The waves are big!

Marilyn has to lean into the wind

Liz marvels at the basalt towers

Marilyn and Dwight on Fionn Macools Boot

Marilyn enjoys the sights

Who is that giant on the causeway?

As you can see in the photos, the wind was fierce and the tide was coming. This resulted in big waves and seal sightings.  Luckily the sky remained blue so we could make these awesome photos.

We returned to Bushmills famished and looking for a pint and some lunch.  No bars served food but the Bush Road bar allowed us to bring in some food.  Down the street was a little Fish and Chips shop.  The food was great!  Jim, Liz and I had Fish, Chips and Mushy Peas.  Marilyn had a battered chicken sandwich and onion rings.  Even though we ate a week's worth of fat, we enjoyed every bite.

A tower in Bushmills

Refreshed we set off to nearby Dunluce Castle on the coast.  We decided not to pay the 6 pound entry fee.  Rather, we snapped some pictues from beyond the entry point and then hit the road.

Next, we visited the Dark Hedges which was the location for episode 1 of season 2 of Game of Thrones.  The arching trees provided a spooky King's Road that Arya fled Kings Landing on.  Check it out...

Dwight looks for Arya in the Dark Hedges

After a couple of brief stops for some food, gas, ice cream and snacks, we arrived home just before sunset.  I write this blog entry with a cold Tennant's lager.  What a great day.

Day 9: Touring around Donegal

After the long driving day yesterday, we had a leisurely start to the day.  Marilyn awoke to find that the bed rail on her side of the bed was broken.  Despite this, she still had a great nights sleep.  This shows how tired she must have been.

The plan for today is to visit a few of the local Donegal towns and find an Irish sweater for Marilyn.  We set off for Ardara which is only 50 km away.  You learn very quickly that distances in Ireland are deceiving.  The GPS chose a route that took us over the moors.  The road was basically a paved one lane goat path that twisted left, right, up and down for 20 km.  Whenever we met a car or truck someone had to move to the edge and risk falling in the bog in order for the other to pass.  Given that I was the newbie driver, I chose to halt rather than risk scaping sides.  On the other hand the natives would slightly slow down and acknowledge my stopping with a raised finger and a nod.

We arrived in Ardara and found it was named best village in Ireland in 2012.  There were many shops selling knitwear and Donegal tweed.  The shop keepers were friendly and the selection of sweaters was amazing.  We took a break for lunch at Nancy's Bar which was named best Irish pub in 2013.  The food was great and the beer greatly appreciated.  Marilyn found a framed, matted picture of Giant's Causeway for a souvenir at a shop next to the river.

Ardara's Main Street

The small creek in Ardara

Townhouses in Ardara

Raising a glass at lunch at Nancy's Bar

Check out the drink name Marilyn is pointing to.

After lunch we travelled out to Maghera beach to see Maghera Falls.  The twisty road passed an oyster farm where we saw the farmers turning the oyster beds at low tide.  The water fall comes down the steep hillside and ends in a pool near the beach.  Check out the pictures...

A view of the oyster beds

Driving back into Adara we noticed 2 woollen shops we missed and finally Marilyn had success finding a sweater at Triona Design.  This shop had the biggest selection with very helpful sales staff. The owner gave us a tour of the space where the four weavers make the donegal tweed.  She explained how the raw weaved cloth becomes the soft tight weave we know.

We drove back via Dungloe to avoid the goat track we used in the morning.  After picking up some dinner at the market, we arrived back at the cottage before dark.  Dinner in and watching the tellie are the plans for the rest of the day.  Tomorrow we plan to visit Giant's Causeway so rest is needed.

Day 8: The long drive to Doochary

Today sees the valiant team undertaking the longest trek of the whole trip.  We have to travel 350km from Kildimo to Doochary in Donegal  After a quick breakfast, and goodbyes to Patrick, we hit the road just after 9:30.  With a quick stop for petrol -thank goodness we rented a diesel, it only costs 1.45 euros ($2.15 Cd) per litre- we set off.

North of Galway we came across Claregalway Franciscian Friary.  This 13th century monastary was founded by the Normans.  We stretched our legs and took some great photographs.  Liz played us a great Chris DeBurgh song that captured the site perfectly.  With a quick bite of frosted queen cakes we set off again.

A view of the main church

Looking east to a castle tower

A side view of the Friary

We set the GPS for the the manor of Liz's ancestors in County Mayo near Ballina.  The coordinates we got for the manor took us to a small house in the middle of nowhere.  It wasn't the exact location, but Liz got an idea of the area they came from.  The rolling hills are different from the south in that there are no stone fences.  In fact, the countryside looked very much like Ontario.

We continued our journey north into counties Leitrim and finally Donegal. We saw ocean views and mountain views.  We stopped in the seaside town of Bundoran for a snack of coffee, lattes, hot chocolate and scones and sticky toffee pudding.  The scones were not as good as the ones yesterday in Adare.  We bought some supplies and set off on the final leg.

A view of the Atlantic near Sligo

Mountains north of Sligo

The ocean near Bundoran

The ocean in Bundoran

The mountains north of Donegal

Finally around 6:30 we arrived.  This house is very isolated in the hills.  The house is very new and has all the amenities of home.  A quick call to Jim helped us understand the heating and WiFi.  After a quick trip over the hills to Dungloe for frozen pizza and Irish Cream liqueur, we returned for cobb salad and pizza for dinner.  All in all, a long tiring day.