Ireland Trip - Day 4

I promised my students that if they were good all week that I would show them pictures from my trip during class today. They succeeded, so I had to hold up my end of the deal. They loved all the photos and asked tons of questions about Ireland, but by the end of the presentation they were all pissed at me...why, you wonder? I included mostly photos of scenery, like two photos with me in them, but none with Jared in them. At the conclusion of the slideshow, they were all like, "why didn't we get to see any pictures of your husband?!!!" Seriously? I just showed you beautiful scenery and 500 year old castles and you want to see a picture of my husband? Nosy little children.

Since all of you already know what my husband looks like, I'm sure you won't mind looking at some more pictures of pretty scenery instead of him :)

March 20th - Clare Coast-Galway-Ennis, Ireland

Our day began with an excursion to the West Coast of Ireland. I'm used to seeing the Atlantic Ocean at home, but it was interesting to see it from the "other" side. The country of Ireland is flat in the middle and surrounded by mountains on the coast. This means that I was afforded another unique sort of view of the Atlantic that I had not experienced before - a view from 700 feet in the air.

The first stop on our journey was at the Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs are suspended about 700 feet above the ocean, which makes for a spectacular view...and a huge tourist attraction for Ireland's visitors. We were lucky enough to be able to see the cliffs because our tour guide said that many times it is so cloudy and rainy in the area that you have zero visibility of the cliffs themselves. It was very cold and super windy on top of the cliffs, but definitely worth it for the view.

Our journey continued across the limestone plateau called "the Burren" along some seriously curvy, back-country roads.

About two hours later, we arrived in Galway, home of the traditional Claddagh ring. This ring is usually passed down from one generation to the next through the mother's side. Depending on which way you wear the ring shows whether you are single or taken. The ring has a heart (representing love), surrounded by two hands (representing friendship), with a crown on top (representing loyalty). If you wear the ring with the point of the heart facing your heart, then you are taken. If you wear the ring with the point of the heart facing away from you, then you are single.

While in Galway, we had lunch and explored the town. Of course, I made Jared buy me my own Claddagh ring as well :) Back on the bus, we made our way to the Connemara region.

Once we were in the Connemara region, we stopped in the town of Moycullen. We visited a family-owned marble workshop called Connemara Marble.

In this region of Ireland, they are famous for their green marble. Quite a coincidence that green marble happens to come from Ireland, isn't it :) The family told us all about their marble and showed us how they use the marble to make beautiful jewelry, among other things. Ireland also has large deposits of amethyst (the purple gemstone that is the birthstone for February). Some of their jewelry incorporates the green marble and the amethyst together, which is beautiful.

A drive back through the countryside toward Ennis led us to Rathbaun Farm. This family-owned sheep farm taught us all there is to know about sheep farming.

I got to pet one of the little lambs as well as feed the lambs a bottle. 

We saw a mare and her 4-day old foal. 

The farmer taught us how to lead a sheep dog and we got to watch him work the dog with his flock. Watching the sheep dog work was absolutely fascinating to me. It was like watching our hunting dogs work, it's what they live for.

Next, we went into the old farmhouse which is 250 years old and has a thatched roof. Many houses in Ireland have thatched roofs and the average thatched roof lasts about 20 years. So every 20 years, the top layer of the roof is scrapped off and a new layer is re-thatched on top. The farmhouse we visited was in the process of having their roof replaced, so we were able to see how it is done. It looks like a tough job, but the roof looks really cool when it is done.

While inside the farmhouse, we were treated to a traditional afternoon tea and scones made by the lady of the house. The visit to the farm was very enjoyable; I love seeing how the local people live their lives.

After our long day of traveling the West Coast, we returned to Ennis. We had become well acquainted with the hotel pub the night before and we really liked it so we went back again for a second night. It was called Preacher's Pub and it was so pretty inside, for a bar. In fact, all of the pubs in Ireland are beautiful inside. They have beautiful wood work and painted ceilings. Aside from just drinking, pubs are delightful places to just hang out in Ireland.