Rock Glen Country House Hotel Clifden

... brought back on the first train. Then in 1937, ten young men died in a fire in the village of Kirkintilloch. Their remains were transported back on the last train to Achill. (Information from the Achill guide) We had a few sober moments reading the names on their stones.<br><br>We did go to Lavelle&#8217;s bar and opted for soup and sandwiches there rather than drive farther for dinner. The barmaid&#8217;s brother and sister live near Cleveland, and one of the regulars has ...

... bare feet and let me tell you it is not a smooth walk. Hundreds of people even go so far as to walk 21 miles from Ballintubber Abbey where St. Patrick baptized the people all the way to the mountain and then climb it... IN ONE DAY....crazy. One of my roommates says that she and her dad climb the mountain at least 2 times a year and she has seen old woman upwards of 80 climbing the mountain in just their bare feet...<br><br>Me and my group ...

... The sun was shinning but the bay was still in the grips of the storm of the previous day. We were in the enclosed part of the boat until the lady in front of us started tossing her big Irish breakfast. At that point we needed to get AIR. Jim discovered a nice open area in the bow of the boat. It was not crowded so we stayed there sucking in the fresh air for the rest of the journey. The boat dropped us off at Inisheer, the littlest of the three ...

Ok so we drove about two hours in the pouring rain to get to Ashford Castle. The roads were narrow and lined with stone walls. Quite a harrowing ride. We gasped at all the cars coming towards us at top speed. I kept thinking they were in our lane. We stopped in a little village for a break and to have a pint of Guinness. We tucked into a little place that was so quaint and old world. The little old lady behind the bar was ...

... br> Speaking of beer, here&#8217;s a question for you&#8230;do they have an ale called Smithwicks in America? I&#8217;ve discovered it here, and it is aaaaamazing. It&#8217;s the second most popular type of beer here, after the ever-reigning Guiness. Apparently we labeled ourselves as Americans as soon as we walk into a pub and order a pint&#8230;because Irish girls don&#8217;t drink beer. Whhyyy the heck that is, I have no ...

Meteo: uggioso, pioggerella a tratti<br><br>Ci prepariamo la colazione nella cucina dell'ostello e poi ci dirigiamo verso il parco nazionale del Connemara. C'è un tour con guida, ovviamente in inglese. E' tutto gratis, parcheggio, ingresso e tour. Facciamo conoscenza con quello che qui chiamano il bog, una gigantesca palude che a prima vista sembra un comodo tappeto d'erba, ma che nasconde profondi acquitrini. La nostra guida ha delle pedule ...

... giornata è stellare e tutto splende.<br>Arriviamo in città saltando la Sky Drive, che ci riserviamo per domani, oggi siamo troppo stanchi.<br>L'ostello, il Clifden Town Hostel è ok, abbiamo una stanza privata con vista sul laghetto. La cucina è a disposizione, ma ceniamo fuori, da Cullen's che serve una ottima zuppa ( adoro le zuppe irlandesi, col pane nero!ma perchè ne danno così poco?). La signora che ci serve, che ha l'aria di essere anche la cuoca, ha anche ...

... river, a high street with shops and a church. Other than the usual items, Galway was just an over crowded tourist trap. Spending only two hours there, we hop back in the car and continue. No point wasting time in another generic city. Along the way to our destination for the night we stopped at Annaghdown Castle that is partly in ruins although one of the towers was still in pretty good shape. We arrived a half-hour before closing, so the tour had to be quick. The ...

... started walking, it was about 30 mins away from the apartment. We asked this Irish man where the castle was, and it was only about 5 mins from where we were. He told us to go down this road and then at the end hop the fence into this field that had a horse in it. In the pictures you will see the entrance to the street that the castle is at the end of ...

... of the hills on our right to the waterline on our left. There was next to no greenery in sight, no way for the barren and windswept terrain to be used to grow crops or for grazing livestock. That people were desperate enough to even try to farm here was real proof to me of the reality of the struggles and desperation to survive on the land during the potato famine. <br><br> We stopped for the night in Westport, the ...