Our last days in Ireland

Ireland, con't.

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Thursday night we went to the pub in Creegh and enjoyed traditional Irish music. Three musicians, a conchatina (sp??) player, a guitar player and a tin whistle/flute player. They were really good and we enjoyed them for a couple hours. Things here always start later than we expect. This was no exception. The music started at "half ten" (10:30 p.m.).

Friday we got up and did a little laundry and then headed for the Burren. It is a rocky, desolate area, but beautiful in its own way. We had another beautiful sunny day, although a little windy. We were able to tour a 1,000 year old ring fort and saw some more castles. It is getting to the point where we say "look, another castle". It is amazing.

Saturday we packed up and left Sean and Allyson. They feel like old friends! we drove to Dublin, stopping at Bunratty Folk Park on our way. It is kind of like Old City Park in Dallas, but the main attraction is a castle from about 1400. It has been restored. There are a lot of period farm houses and other restored buildings around it.
We finally made it to Dublin about 5:00 and turned in the rental car. We took a cab to our hotel, walked around the area a little, had dinner and relaxed in our room. The computer here in the hotel was down all weekend so this is my first chance to be online.

Sunday we got up and caught a tour bus. It is a bus for one fare you can get on and off as much as you want. We got a three day pass which will include our transportation to the airport. On Sunday we toured the Guinness Brewery. We also toured Kilmainham Gaol which is a jail from the 1700s.

Today we caught the tour bus again and went through Trinity College (founded in 1500s) and saw The Book of Kells, an amazing collection of the Gospels transcribed in 800 AD. We then walked through Grafton Street, the shopping district of town and headed to St. Patrick's Cathedral. From there we went to Dublin Castle and toured that. It was built in the 1600s and is where some of the government offices are still housed. It is also where the Presidential Inauguration takes place. From there we went to the train station (Tommy wanted to see it!) and then on to the Jameson Whiskey museum where Tommy got to be an official whiskey taster!

We have had an amazing time. Our flight leaves at 11:00 tomorrow. We will leave the hotel around 7:30, have some breakfast and catch the bus to the airport. We have a layover in DC and then it is on to home. Tomorrow is a long day of travel so we are staying in again tonight.

We saw our first rain of the trip today. I think it sprinkled on us for 10 minutes!