Trip to Ireland: Day 8

 Our first stop of the day was to the Knock Shrine, where fifteen people saw the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and Saint John.  This was a wonderful surprise. 

 Our next stop was Drumcliff where we could see William Butler Yeats' grave.  I fell asleep on the bus, apparently no one could bring themselves to wake me up, so instead of getting off with the rest of my group, I woke up to an empty bus.  It was a situation very reminiscent of the movie Airplane.  Everyone's things were still there but the bus was devoid of people.   

 It just so happened that our driver Martin had taken the bus to the gas station, and was just outside the bus.  Within a few minutes I was hurriedly making my way through Drumcliff to take some pictures.  

 So I got some great pictures and a hilarious story out of the trip.  Not too bad. 

 In Ireland, you are never far from the shore. 

 Next on the agenda was the belleek factory.  We actually got to see these pitchers being made. 

 I was delighted to find a bear claw tub in my hotel room.  Unlike Sheldon Cooper, I do not think bathing in a bear claw tub feels akin to being eaten by a monster.  I loved it.  

 The final activity of the day was a Bushmills whiskey tasting.  Do not fret, I only took a small sip from each glass.  But it was interesting as I have never been a whiskey drinker. 

Love Always,

Meg

Trip to Ireland: Day 7

Ok, I will be the first to admit that I took too many pictures on this trip.  This day alone is a huge part of why it has taken me a month to get all of my pictures edited.  Thankfully I am back on track.

 This morning before breakfast I walked around the castle grounds and took pictures of the gardens.

My favorite part was this hedge walkway, I am still working on my photos, but this gives you an idea of how wonderful it was.

This is possibly the best picture of the hedge that I took,  

 The flowers were magnificent.  

 I do not know why I love doorways as much as I do, but I can tell you that I was in heaven here. 

 

 My next destination of the day was Kylemore Abbey.  I know that this abbey looks nothing like hogwarts, but the fact that it was a girls boarding school, in the most majestic area that I have ever seen, reminded me of the spirit of Hogwarts  :  )

 I have a small tattoo on my achilles tendon, that says lotus in sanskrit.  

 I was very lucky to see these amazing flowers.  

 Another reason why Ashford castle is my favorite castle, is that it has a school of Falconry.  

 You actually send off the falcon, put a small piece of raw meat in your glove, and then the falcon comes back to you.  Except these are actually two hawks, not falcons.  But that is a minor detail. 

 I do not remember this guy's name, but I called him Falkor while I was there so I might as well keep it up now.  

 Falkor opening his wings to catch some sun.

 I love that they wore little bells on their ankles so that we could hear them coming.  

May I introduce you to Dingle the Owl, and I love him.  He is a Eurasian Eagle owl, he has lovely fuzzy feet and I love him.  

 This is the closest to a harry potter film that I will ever get.  

Today was an amazing day!!!

Love Always,

Meg

Trip to Ireland: Day 6

Today we ventured to Ashford Castle.  First we took a lovely boat ride on the Lough Corrib.

 We were serenaded by Martin, who had a small part in the Quiet Man.  The Quiet Man was filmed in the town on Cong, which is very close to Ashford castle.

 A swan and her little cygnets, she had six babies in all. 

 As we disembarked the ferry, there was a bagpipe player welcoming us to the castle.

Never in my life, did I think that I would stay in a Castle.  

This was truly an amazing experience.

 If only I played chess  :  )

Today was a lovely day, which ended with a trip to the ballycurrin lighthouse, but the lighthouse will have to have a post of it's own.  It was the highlight of the trip.

Love Always,

Meg