We woke-up to our last full day in Ireland.
Sam was ready to go home, he was missing his routine. He went back and forth with wanting to go home and staying in Ireland forever.
Must admit, I was feeling the same way.
Ready to go home, but not wanting it to end either.
Everyone was heading to
Miriam and her family as well as several other guests at the Old Bank B & B, were planning on going there today. We were surprised at how much Halloween was celebrated in Ireland. Bunratty Castle was hosting children's Halloween activities in the afternoon.
We planned on going to the castle and playing it by ear as to whether we would stay for the afternoons festivities or not.
We arrived right at opening, so there was not a crowd at all.
Sam checking out the inside of the castle.
View from the top.
Two of my favorite people!
Inside the castle.
Shall we dine???
Some more shots of the castle.
Some history of the castle.
What do you mean you can't read this......
You need to brush up on your Irish!!
OK, OK
here it is in English.
Sam found some wonderful slopes to climb up and run down.
Sam had to settle for these slopes.
He wanted to run up and down the moat slopes, but it was a little too steep in Mum and Dad's opinion. Sam, of course, did not agree, but he humored us.
Jessica and I enjoying the Autumn colors.
There was a folk village on the grounds.
These photos are some of the interiors of the cottages.
Sam was on a mission to find just the right magic stick.
Me and my sweetie.
Me and my other sweetie.
One of the cottages.
Walls are made for walkin'
More of the village.
Pig pen........
missing the pigs.
Hay stack.
Keeping the haystacks dry.
Hounds relaxing under the trees.
Most of the demonstrations, etc., were not going to start until the Halloween event started at noon. But, there were a few going on.
We walked into one of the cottages and they had a cooking demonstration.
In one corner there was a gentleman reciting a poem.
It was kind of odd.
He was facing the fireplace with his back to everyone.
There were two people sitting in front of the fireplace and he seemed to be giving them a personal show.
Afterwards Jim and I were talking about it and I had to laugh.
This guy was not part of the scheduled entertainment.
In fact, I had seen him wandering around with his family.
He was dressed the part.....kind of.
Also, the poem he was reciting was all about England and the storming of strongholds. I know this because when I recognized him as the gentleman wandering around with his family, I really started to listen to what he had to say and the content of the poem.
Probably a good thing that he had his back to everyone!!!!
Sam made friends in the gift shop. He really liked this animated witch.
Sam also made friends with the security guard who you can just see on the left.
We had planned on checking out this pub, "Durty Nelly's."
"Durty Nelly’s can truly be described as one of Ireland’s landmark pubs. Nestling in the shadow of the magnificent Bunratty Castle and the adjoining Folk Park, it is the first stopping off point for generations of visitors to Ireland arriving at nearby Shannon Airport.
Perhaps the biggest single charm of Nelly’s – as it is known locally – is the fact that it’s a meeting place for both locals and tourists alike, and the interaction between the two is what makes it such a unique Irish pub.
You’ll typically find groups of overseas visitors and locals chatting away as if they were lifetime friends, swapping stories or asking after friends or relatives who’ve settled around the world – or stayed at home in Ireland.
Over the years, it’s hosted a host of global celebrities drawn from entertainment, politics, the arts – all of them lured inside our doors by the legendary hospitality of Nelly’s."
This place had been recommended to us and we had been told that it was the place that all visiting dignitaries were taken to eat when visiting this neck of the woods. We suspected that it was probably a bit on the "boisterous" side inside, and even though it sounded like fun, we needed to keep things quiet for Sam in preparation for flying home. Instead, we headed in the opposite direction.
After a bit of trial and error, we ended up at
The castle was closed, but we had a nice stroll around the grounds.
This was a rather creepy statue in the very middle of the walled garden.
They eyes followed you.
If you don't believe me, stand-up and walk from one side of your screen to the other.
Don't take your eyes of the statue.
Creepy.......
We came across a lone squash sitting on a bench.
I think the statue had something to do with it.
View from the garden.
Jessica strolling away.
Away from the statue.
This statue would be great on a Dr Who episode that features the Weeping Angels.
Did I tell you that it was creepy??
Back to more pleasant pursuits!!
Even though it is Autumn and the garden is being prepared for winter, it is still beautiful.
We had to go through special gates to prevent the cows from escaping, or munching their way through the gardens!!
One final photo as we drove off.
This may appear to be a pile of rocks.
But, during our visit to
we saw and learned many things.
This was The ‘Giant’s Grave’ Megalithic Tomb.
Another stone wall for Sam to balance on.
No matter how much Samuel encouraged, Jessica would not walk the wall with him.
Beautiful view of the loch.
Visitor's Center
The Lime Kiln.
Bourchier’s Castle
Lough Gur
Carraigcrothera – Hangman’s Rock
Hurry up everybody!!!
The lady at the visitor's center said that the except for a few steps, the walk was very mild.
For mountain goats maybe.
I lost count of the steps.
This picture was taken near the top.
It was easier not to use the steps. But, you had to be careful not to slip because of the blackberry bushes either side.
I had visions of Brer Rabbit and the briar patch.
Yay, the top!!!
The view was well worth it.
This is the Wishing Seat.
They wouldn't tell me what they wished for.
Samuel reminded me that it wouldn't come true if they told.
Our last stop was the Grange Stone Circle.
It is Ireland's largest stone circle.
Jim read that if you place your forehead and palms on the circle's largest stones, you would be energized.
We decided to give it a try.
I rationalized that a full body plant would give me more energy.
I was feeling a little weary.
It was time to head back.
Sam tried his hardest to dismantle some of the circle.
Jim and I can move at great speed when sufficiently motivated.
Boy.......rocks......you do the math.
We headed back to the bed and breakfast.
We were the first back for the day, everyone else was still at Bunratty Castle.
We found out that it had been just packed in the afternoon, an hour wait time for a ride on the train, etc.. We had made the correct decision to leave when we did!
Our last night in Ireland, so of course, our meal was fish and chips!
We liked these fish and chips the best of all the ones we had tried.
They were very busy. It was a Bank Holiday and many places were closed.
It would have been nice to go to the Pub and have a meal - the food is pretty much always delicious and it would have been nice to talk with some of the locals. But, by the end of the day, Sam needed to chill out and relax. We were just fine with that.
We spent the rest of the night packing and looking over our souvenirs.
It was a rainy night and we all drifted off to sleep with the sound of the rain on the roof.
Sigh........
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