Monday 3.25, Cliffs of Moher

Monday in Ireland promised to be nice so Noah and I, over the weekend, decided we should take a Paddywagon bus tour to see some of the famous sights in western Ireland. I let him look at the brochure and he chose a trip to the Cliffs of Moher, located on the west coast of Ireland.

We had to get up early and walk across city centre to catch our bus. Since it was the off-season for Irish tourism, our bus had only a few people on it, even though we picked up some more as we stopped in other towns along the way.

Noah catching up on his sleep on the long drive to Limerick

Our first stop was in Limerick on the banks of the River Shannon. We could see King John's castle from afar, built in 1200 and one of the best-preserved Norman castles in Europe. 

We arrived at the Cliffs of Moher before lunch, and the sky cleared and the sun shone brighter than it had all week. It was such a beautiful, warm day, a rare blessing on the western coast of Ireland in March! We had almost two hours to spend, so Noah and I hiked both ways along the top of the cliffs for awesome photos and to take in the Atlantic, the puffins nesting, and the waves crashing against cliffs that rise up to 702 ft. above the ocean.

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was the tiny, traditional town of Doolin for lunch. Noah and I found a little cafe for sandwiches, then walked around a little, meeting a local donkey and horse. 

Our bus driver enjoyed messing with Noah and when we headed back to the bus, he pretended he was leaving without us. Noah was a bit panicky!

From Doolin, we continued along the Atlantic coast, passing famine cottages, Galway Bay, and the Aran islands. 

Famine cottage

Ruins along the drive, a common site

We stopped at the "mini Cliffs," the Burren region of Ireland that is reminiscent of a lunar landscape. Noah really enjoyed jumping around on the rocks and sunning by the ocean.

 

Before our last stop in Limerick, we took a break in Bunratty where we walked around Bunratty castle, built in 1425. It is now open to the public and hosts medieval banquets.

The original Durty Nelly's pub, est. 1620

Nelly’s Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

We arrived back in Cork around 6:00 and met up with Chris when he came into city centre after work. It was a little difficult to find a restaurant for dinner on a Monday, but we finally decided on The Liberty Grill. Early to bed that evening--Noah and I were heading to Dublin the next day, and Chris would be off to Switzerland!