Alas we have come to our last day in Ireland. The week just flew by because we were having so much fun!! We couldn't believe that our vacation was almost over. Fran had many surprises for us that day. The first place that she took us to Dromoland Castle. It is a sister castle to Ashford.
The first building was built in the 15th or early 16th century. It later became the residence of eight generations of the O'Brien family. That is the same O'Brein that built the tower at the Cliffs of Moher.
When the US presidents come to Ireland this is where they stay and play golf a lot of times. In 2004 President Bush stayed there and was guarded by approximately 7,000 police, military and private security forces during his 16-hour visit. Other famous guests have also stayed there including Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Jack Nicholson, Johnny Cash and many more. It is waaaaayy too expensive to even think about us staying there. I think Fran said it is about 450 Euros a night per person, which is about $586.
The boys liked the big knights - Michael with one of them
AJ's turn- doesn't he look excited?
The family - doesn't David look handsome in his new hat? I think so!!
One of the tea rooms in the castle. It was really impressive inside there, but still wouldn't pay that kind of money for a night.
We decided to get some energy out of the boys this morning and the three of us played tag. I always seemed to be it, but that is okay I tagged the boys a few times.
We found this cool little pond and you know boys, when there is water around they are drawn to it.
My boys - I sure do love them all!!! They are so precious
They had a walled garden there also, they are popular in Ireland for the rich. Fran said they were good for employment.
Love this little bridge in the walled garden!!
After that we headed to Quin Abbey. It was built in the 12th century and was built by Thomas who came with the Normans to Ireland.
This is a statue of Zeus that was in the middle of a stream.
There were two dolphins that were caught in this river near the Bunratty Castle. There were tons of people trying to see them. The water was a little low and they weren't there when we got there but they were seen that morning. Here Michael is looking for them, can you believe that it was raining only a few minutes before this picture?
This is a typical house back in the days. The thatched roof is what the middle class and lower class people used for their houses.
The boys actually really loved this little village! They had maps and were hunting to see where the next house was.
Here is AJ helping stoke the fire - they had fires in all of the houses that we went into.
You will never guess......yep another cannon and now all three boys!!! Gotta love them!!
We went into the Bunratty castle - which was built by the brother of the man who built the Quin Abbey, Richard Sinclair, who was also known as strong bow. Michael is in the Dungeon here, we thought about leaving him, but then decided he was too cute and let him out.
Fran and Michael being the King and Queen - don't they look stately!!
AJ is now being King - ruling his people
This was the inside of the house of a little richer middle class. They had a loft up top and you can see the plates in the cabinet right there.
AJ sitting on an old tractor - not as comfy as Grandpa's tractor.
David and I out in front of the Golden Vale Farmhouse - a farmer from the rich lands.
What was really interesting in the house is that they have somebody in there cooking scones for people to sample. Well of course Fran knew her and they are cousins. What we didn't know until after we continued talking is that her last name is Kennedy - Joan Kennedy. It was too cool!! I have no idea if I am related to her or not but I am going to do some checking.
Joan was nice enough to let us in where we weren't supposed to be and take a picture at the table. It was pretty cool!! Good to know people and have a good last name!
This pig absolutely cracked me up, you see how he is on the wall, well he jumped up right in front of Michael and scared the wits out of him. It was soooo funny!!
The boys at school - AJ doing some good studying of the map
This I had to take for David - it was his motto being in Ireland. We actually did find out that it is good for you for some medicinal purposes, especially if you have half milk and half Guinness. Not sure what that tastes like, but whatever works!
These are what the travelers used back in the day. They usually only stayed in one place 3 months, not much more. They actually did really well for themselves and are now pretty wealthy. They have a different type of transportation now and most are actually settled down.
David and I taking a stroll down the road.
The boys chilling on another trailer that was used for transportation
This was a kids play area in there - it had a great maze that the boys wanted to take us through
So we heard that everybody who came to Ireland has to go to Durty Nelly's. So we went there and the boys had a little something to eat.
I thought this bike was very cool!
If you look closely you can see the Chelan County patch there - that is where David and I are originally from :-)
Then we went to St Mary's Cathedral, one of the few protestant churches that we were able to see. It is one of the most famous churches in Ireland. It was founded in 1168 AD by King Donal Mar O'Brein, King of Thomond.
St Mary's has a wealth of stained glass windows in it. Before people were literate the Bible was often taught using images expressed in stained glass.
They had so many beautiful statues and stained glass all over the church. After the church we went over to the Hunt's Museum. It was actually the boys favorite stop for the day. They had workbooks for the boys to do at their levels and it was like a scavenger hunt for them. It was a neat museum that had a huge variety of items from paintings, to jewelery, to shields and all sorts of items. We weren't allowed to take photos of it, but there were some beautiful pieces.
This is St John's Cathedral it was built in 1856, one of the newer churches in Ireland.
These stalls were carved in Munich in 1894.
Our last stop was this beautiful hotel. The boys were a little done at this point, so Fran let us off to walk up to the house from here and enjoy the scenery of the river and the bridge.
I thought this was a cool tree!! I have never heard of a cork oak tree. It originates from the Mediterranean. This is a very rare specimen of the cork oak tree. It has a lifespan of around 300-400 years. They think this tree is about 100 years old. After that we headed to our last B & B. We walked into town to a quaint pub. The food was fantastic, but the service was awful!! I mean really awful. I am so glad we brought the uno cards, because if not I don't think the boys would have sat down that long, but they actually wanted to stay longer so we could play more. :-) We had a surprise visit from Dara at the airport and the boys were excited to see him again and beat up on him a bit to give him some parting bruises. :-) Ireland was such a wonderful trip and all of us would LOVE to go back and we are going to before we leave here. They are such wonderful, pleasant, nice people that they make you want to go back. I can't wait till our next trip!!!
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