Arrival in Ireland

Ireland! Michelle and I had an overnight flight and arrived early Friday morning at 6 a.m. We went to the hotel hoping they could get us a room. They were very nice and found us one after just a few minutes. At that point it was 7:30 a.m. and we figured we'd have time for an hour nap. Fast forward through a few alarm setting changes and snoozes and we got up at 11 a.m. We headed out on our first adventure. The sky got cloudier and cloudier the closer we got to the Cliffs of Moher (pronounced More). By the time we arrived, the entire place was covered in fog. We decided to pay for the museum exhibit with a promise of an "IMAX" film. It ended up being more like an interactive video game scene than the History Channel documentary I was expecting. We did learn all about global warming, Pangaea, the Gulf Stream, local wildlife, legends, and the man who invented submarines. We then decided to just walk out to the cliffs as the fog had slightly lifted.We still couldn't see a lot, so we walked past a cow pasture up to a tower, enjoying the flowers, snails, and hilarious signage.

A battle ensued between the sun and the fog, with the sun occasionally allowing us views of the INCREDIBLE cliffs. There are thousands of birds nesting on the side of the massive cliffs.

We decided not to walk along the ridge with the death warnings. Our guide book also mentioned the sudden gusts of wind that have been known to throw people off the side of the cliffs. Apparently, all those other people had different guide books. We then drove along the coast road up to the Burren. This area was deforested a long time ago and reminded us of a non-red version of Southern Utah. Everywhere we looked was just picturesque. There were many cows and a few sheep and horses here.

I loved the stone walls that were everywhere. I wondered how old they were, because there were just random square areas walled allover the place. Old house lots?We stopped at the Poulnabrone Portal Tomb where at least 33 people had been laid to rest around 4500 years ago. It is one of 90 dolmens in Ireland.

We had dinner in a neighboring village called Quin. We had a little time while our order was being prepared so we explored the abbey/castle nearby. The cows and romping calves stared us down. The abbey was built by the Normans and attacked by the Irish around 1280 A.D. The graveyard is still used, though.We had a little picnic in the viewing area. There were lots of flowers everywhere! Little yellow buttercups and these little mini daisies, some with red or purple edges. We were pretty sleepy after our long day and went to bed by 9:30 p.m.