Father Ted & the Cliffs of Moher

Before we drove to the Cliffs of Moher, we walked around Dingle Town and did a little shopping. I was hoping to buy a sweater or scarf but I didn't find anything I really loved. But what I did find was pottery. Apparently, Ireland is famous for their pottery. I never knew this. Everywhere we went there was always an eclectic variety of pottery at the breakfast table. I brought home a few interesting pieces I fell in love with in. I'll share some photos of the pieces later.

As soon as it started raining, we hopped in the car and made our way to Kilirush to catch the ferry. Our GPS was pretty useless in Ireland so we had to resort to the good old map. Luckily, there aren't many main roads so we found everything pretty easily.

We arrived in Miltown Malbay, a small seaside town, in the early evening. We had dinner and headed back to our B&B to relax. That night S & I watched a little tv and we stumbled upon a sitcom called, "Father Ted"; it's focuses on three priests exiled to Craggy Island. The episode we watched was called "Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Roller blading". It was hilarious! For Lent the priests attempt to give up their worst vices and well they have a bit of a hard time doing so. Only in a country where the population of Catholics is over 88% could they show a program like this. lol! If you have a chance, definitely watch the episode. I'm hooked on the show and watched a few other episodes since we got back from Ireland. I find it interesting to watch other country's programs and see what they think is funny and acceptable on tv.

The following morning we ate an amazing breakfast as the owner of the B&B was a chef and held cooking classes during the high season. Her house was very charming and on display were various pottery pieces by some famous Irish potters. One of the things I loved about the breakfast was how each person got this mini pitcher with maple syrup. It was so cute! I wanted to take them home with me!

We started the day by driving to the Cliffs of Moher which was spectacular but WINDY!! The cliffs are 214m high at the highest point and range for 8 kilometres over the Atlantic Ocean. I was grateful they had the protective wall since the edges of the cliffs are naturally eroding and some of the sections are seriously undercut. We were told pieces of stone ledge or grassland fall into the sea regularly. And even with this information there are fearless people who go over the walls to take photos and videotape the area.

            Lil' C wasn't too happy about the high winds but he did fine as we walked towards the O'Briens Tower. But at one point Lil' C had had enough and started to whine about how he wanted to leave which was then followed by some tears. We tried to reassure him but he wasn't having any of it. So S brought him to the visitor's centre so I could walk around a little and take some photos.

I'm actually surprised my photos weren't all a blur since the wind was knocking me around. The wind was so powerful it was just crazy!! Seriously, the winds were like a natural blow dryer and it took about 10 minutes of whipping my hair all over the place to loosen my curls. lol! Instant flat iron!

You really can't grasp how windy it was that day so here is a little video clip I took. Believe it or not I talk a little during the clip but you can't even hear me.

I met  S & Lil' C at the exploratory centre where we learned more about the cliffs and Ireland in general. Very interesting. Once we left I told S & Lil' C how it wasn't very windy towards the other side of the walkway so we made our way to the area and took a few more photos before leaving.

On the way to the Ailliwee Caves we passed a house with pottery that looked similar to the pieces used to serve us breakfast. So we stopped and there were little pots & coffee cups lined up along the  house's rocky fence. When I walked into the little room attached to the house there was pottery lined up against the wall everything from bowls to tea cups. And they even had those tiny pitchers our B&B owner used for maple syrup! Unfortunately, most of them had little chips on the top (probably from being blown off the table! lol). There was a sign on the table that said something like... "I had to step out of the house for a while but if you see something you like take a look at my price list and go ahead and put the money in the tin can. Thanks!" How cool is that. You'd never see something like that in the US. I love places that work on the honor system.

Surprisingly, Lil' C loved visiting the cave and he wasn't afraid of the dark not even towards the end of the tour when our guide shut off all the lights. We were in pure darkness for about 3-4 minutes. We would have loved to have seen the Burren Bird of Prey Centre and explore the Burren area but we had reservations for the medieval dinner at the Bunratty Castle.

We arrived at the Bunratty Castle with just enough time to walk around and explore some of the homes surrounding the castle. I love the thatched roof on the traditional Irish homes.

Bunratty Castle was built in 1425 and restored in 1954 and was the location of our medieval dinner. It was definitely a very touristy thing to do but a lot of fun! I would highly recommend it. As soon as we got to the castle, they served us a delicious drink called Mead which is a fermented alcoholic drink made from honey, water, and yeast. The first known description of  Mead dates back to 1700BC s and was best known as the preferred drink of Vikings and Celts. In many parts of Europe it was a  tradition to supply a newly married couple with enough mead for a month, ensuring happiness and fertility.

Before we made our way to the dinner area we were also treated to a wonderful musical performance.

Our dinner was actually really good too. We had fun eating our dinner with our hands. The two families sitting next to us were also from the US so it was fun talking with each of them about their trip to Ireland. Lil' C really got into the show and because quite alarmed when they sent a fellow diner to the dungeon for flirting with too many woman! Lil' C kept asking me, "Why are they sending that man to the dungeon? What's going to happen to him?" The man was release once he promised to sing a song to the guests. He was actually a really good singer and with a great deal of passion sang "Dannyboy".

            Lil' C absolutely loved all the princesses but there was one that really caught his eye. When dinner was finishing he asked me if he could take a picture with the princess in the blue dress. So while the coffee was being served we found the princess in blue and Lil' C was so excited! Look at that smile and he's looking directly at the camera... that combination is almost impossible. lol!

While everyone drank coffee they had a young man playing some beautiful tunes on the bagpipe. Dinner at Bunratty was a great way to end our trip.

So far Ireland has been my favorite trip yet. The country is so beautiful and the Irish people are so warm and friendly. I will always have wonderful memories of our trip. ;)