I have day 1 and 2 lumped together because the day was not interrupted by sleep. I won't vent too much about the lack of sleep because I understand it is a part of traveling. However, my plan to sleep on the overnight flight to Ireland fell through. As I write this it is 6:30 a.m. Killarney time. I've been up since 2:00 a.m. after falling asleep at 10:00 p.m.
I really shouldn't complain too much about the flight because we arrived in London safe and sound.
Heathrow airport was astounding! It was not the structure itself, but it was the sheer massive size of it! We had a three hour layover, but we needed all of that time to navigate our way to Aer Lingus and our flight to Shannon Ireland. After very tight security, which included an eye scan, we boarded our 60 minute flight to Ireland. The Shannon Airport was the opposite of Heathrow with its one luggage carousel.
We boarded our bus (coach:)) and rode out into the fine drizzle. We had "weather" all day. It varied from mist to drizzle to a heavy rain. But the rain is what creates the gorgeous, lush green, land. More about his later the kids are up and duty calls.
We made a few stops on our trip to Killarney. Our first stop was very exciting because I saw my first castle. Bunratty was gorgeous and formidable. The steel gray, square stones reached up onto the slate gray sky. I snapped a few pictures from the across the busy street because the sheer size of the structure requires distance for photography. After a few shots the weather drove me inside the Killarney Mills shops. I ordered a hot bacon sandwich because I had heard so much about the delicious bacon in Ireland. The bacon was very substantial. It was more like a mild (less salty) ham. The sandwich was also flavored with some pickled red onions. Of course I also had to have a cup of tea with real cream.
After getting back on our coach, we drove through Limerick. Emillia, our tour guide, mentioned Angela's Ashes and the poverty that is still very prevalent in Ireland's third largest city. We crossed over the River Shannon where there is a large stone on the bridge called The Treaty Stone. It is believed the treaty allowing religious freedom for the Catholics was signed on the stone. When Oliver Cromwell invaded and conquered Ireland, the Catholics were killed for practicing their faith.
Our next step was Adare. Emillia told us how Cromwell made any expression of the Irish culture illegal. This included the language. Adare, as well as many towns and counties in Ireland, is a British name. Some areas in the Irish Republic are now designated as areas for cultural revival. Money is given to these areas to educate the citizens in the Gaelic language and traditions. In Adare I saw my first examples of the quaint thatched roofed cottages. We also saw a beautiful Abbey and a lush park. I enjoyed interacting with the friendly people of Adare, and I enjoyed watching the families in the park. The weather was sunny, the air was fresh and it certainly revived me.
We reluctantly climbed back on our coach and drove to Killarney and the Glena House, our hotel for the next two nights. (Still having trouble uploading pictures. Hopefully the Wi-Fi in Dublin will cooperate)
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