Ireland Day 5

 This was our longest sightseeing day. We started the day at Bunratty Castle. Rick Steves' Guidebook didn't have high praise for this attraction, but Ryan and I enjoyed it the first time around. So we brought the girls this time.

Down to the dungeon!

The Great Hall in the middle of the castle.

Each of the corners of the castle holds a spiraling staircase of uneven stairs.

We got to climb out on the roof and look over the landscape.

And get buffeted by the wind.

Outside of the castle, there was a whole village of sample dwellings. They range from the super poor with dirt floors to a nice manor house. There is a tiny church, a village street of old time-y businesses, a schoolhouse, a formal garden, etc., etc. I didn't really take pictures of those.

Just this wooded path and the Mill House.

It was in the Bunratty village that we found another Irish storyteller willing to wax eloquent on many topics. When he found out that Ryan and I are not beer drinkers, he gave us a plan for how to work up to 5 pints of Guinness a day while we were in Ireland because it is "both food and drink." You start out with a half pint a day, and before you know it, you can hit your 5 pints. Or not, in our case.

After we were done and in the car, I couldn't help but notice a mom with a toddler having a meltdown. I can't say I have let my child roll around screaming in a parking lot, but hey, we've all been there. 

Lunch time. Once I spotted a table at the restaurant that was big enough for the 5 of us, I draped coats over the chairs and waited for my family to place their orders and come sit with me. That meant that Ryan chose the side salads for my panini. The carrot salad was... pickled? Just vinegar-y? Definitely on the savory side. The carrot salads I have had in the past have been sweet, so it was definitely a surprise. And the sprout salad didn't have dressing. :( Good thing the sandwich was tasty.

Then we drove out to the coast. Instead of going straight to the Cliffs of Moher visitor's center, we drove out to Hag's Head for a different perspective.

It was much less busy here and had some great views.

It was very windy. You had to be careful because a big gust could really knock you off balance. This would be a concern with 700-foot cliffs nearby.

Then we drove to the "real" Cliffs of Moher. We didn't go into the visitor's center though.

I had to climb over the fence to get this photo:

The rock wall below is new from our last visit. But I got a similar shot to the above photo last time, and I was going to do it again. Ryan had really built this story up for the kids. Apparently, I was risking life and limb and practically hanging over the edge of the cliff, blah, blah, blah, and Ryan thought I was going to fall to my death and he'd have to bring home a new wife. I had to prove that it wasn't as bad as all that, but of course, there was this rock fence in the way... Proving Ryan's point that I was being foolish and dangerous. Oh well. Watch Mom living on the edge!

This path is way nicer than the tiny, uneven trail that we walked last time.

Since we were near the Burren, we had to see the Poulnabrone Dolmen before calling it a day.

We stopped at a little pub for dinner finally around 8 pm. This was a dog-friendly place and there were many dogs sitting or wandering around. This dog made himself comfortable under our table. We must have looked like we would drop food. The pub was getting ready for live music while we were eating. They carried out the tables, chairs, and a couch to get ready for the large crowds coming for.... wait for it... a rock concert. That's not what I was expecting. We had a friendly, inebriated man strike up a conversation with us while we were waiting for our food. He had fond feelings for Americans and was excited that Joe Biden was coming to Ireland the following week. He remembered when the Clintons made a trip to Ireland and got teary-eyed thinking about it. We figured it would be best to continue on before the crowds grew and things got even more interesting.

We didn't get back to our Airbnb until pretty late. This was the evening I spent washing dirty underwear in the sink. For some strange reason, no one else wanted that privileged job.