Sorry for the trip report delay.  Things kept getting in the way like tree cutting/splitting, reroofing the house, and at my job.  In general, the trip was great.  Our trip was split into two.  Ill talk of Ireland only as Mary and I also went onto Stockholm and other parts of Sweden to visit our daughter Nancy.

Keep in mind Im not a good scriptwriter.  Ill do my best to keep the thread logical.  If you hate it, let me know, maybe I can tweak the written word.

The Aer Lingus flight went well from Logan to Shannon.  At first I thought the Tuba convention was going to Ireland as this group of guys, in the check in line, had these big bags with them.  They were golfers going to play in Ireland.  Thats cool. 

Aer Lingus fed us and showed the usual movies and sitcoms.  We arrived in Shannon, early morning, got the luggage and had some breakfast at the upstairs café.  After breakfast, got some Euro money with our struggling dollar from the ATM and then went over to the EuropCar rental to settle on a Ford Focus (they did not have the Toyota Avensis as requested).  They were informative with paper work diagrams showing the car having brush mark scratches on the passenger side, which was quite nice of them to mention.  Bought some extra insurance, got their map and off we went for the main highway N18.

Mary and I figured we would pick up on this trip in Shannon from where we left off from our previous Ireland trip of starting in Dublin to Wicklow/Glendalough and then cross country to Shannon via Killarny and ROK.  We will now tour Clare county, the Cliffs, the Burren, Westport with Croagh Patrick, Knock and finally head toward Dublin.

I will first mention some B&Bs and Hotel stuff.

Bunratty Lodge.  As always, very nice.  Mary greeted us like family.  Nice room and hot shower.  We also opted for her full breakfast including French toast.  Plus when I made the B&B reservation, I asked her to get 2 tickets to the 7PM Ceili Corn Barn dinner/show for that night.  More on that later.

OConnor farmhouse in Doolin.  Michele pointed us to Joans B&B.  Very nice place smack in the middle of Doolin.  Huge ground floor room and good hot shower.  Great breakfast too. 

Drum Haven in Knock.  No one suggested this but it turned out to be quite nice.  Two houses from the Knock Hotel and across the street from the Knock Shrine.  3 rooms upstairs, and we are sort of sharing her house, which is very well kept.  It can be similar to Bunratty Lodge where entry to house is via locked patio door.  Again breakfast was quite good.  Linda and husband provided lots of good stuff to eat and have 2 very cute children.

Holiday Inn Express at Dublin Airport.  2 miles from the airport using their big shuttle bus connected with the Crown Plaza hotel next door.  A little bit of a walk from the terminal to the buses.  Good thing it wasnt raining.  Both the room and bathroom were good.  Had some good craic (sp) and Smittys at the Crown Plaza bar next door.  We also enjoyed taking a walk in the park across the street.  The breakfast was good.  We stayed at this hotel on our way to Stockholm for the next morning flight from Dublin and again stayed here for our Aer Lingus back to the states the next day.  Quick note on our second stay at this hotel.  When we came in from Sweden, as we were ready to get checked in again at the Holiday inn, they said we are upgraded to the Crown Plaza next door.  I guess it was okay but we had the Holiday Inn hotel all figured out, but the Crown Plaza does have nice rooms and a nice breakfast sitting area. 

Back to the trip.

Before heading over to the Bunratty Folk Park I was curious about first visiting the Quinn Abbey ruins.  So we headed toward Ennis on E18.  Got off at the rotary and spotted the signage for Quinn Abbey.  I figured great, follow the road.  Now we are on a narrow 2 lane road with many curves, brush and stonewalls right to the edge of the road.  It gave me comfort for buying the extra insurance and insurance4 car hire (also good in Sweden if needed).  I guess this is morning rush hour traffic with its on coming traffic with cars and trucks to encounter. 

After a few miles in and no more signage for the abbey, I have had enough after winding up at the Quinn stone quarry.  Did not want to go any deeper on this road.  We gave up and turned around and headed back to the main highway.  Oh well, it was a good try.  I know Dromoland is nearby but being 8AM we will now park at the Bunratty  Folk Park parking lot and catch a little shut eye until the park opens at 9.  At around 8:40 some activity begins to happen where some tour buses are beginning to settle in at the other end of the parking lot and people begin to get out and walk to the entrance.  When the doors open we finally get ready and head over too, pay the admission and begin roaming the grounds.  We enjoyed the place with its enchanting straw thatch homes, including the castle and many stores and shops.  I did notice the peat moss fireplaces in some cottages giving off enough smoke to share the room as well as with the chimney.  Cant imagine the condition of the peoples lungs back then living 24/7 being exposed to this stuff.

Our plan was to head over to Bunratty B&B around 1PM to get some shuteye for the evenings Corn Barn dinner/show.  The Folk was cute and clean with a mix of farm animals and oldish buildings.  We had some lunch at the Tea House and then sat at the outdoor picnic benches watching other folks and children.  I now think this is when jet lag began to settle in as Mary and I start to dose off right at the picnic table.  We figure its 12:30 lets get to the B&B.  Mary Browne welcomed us having our room ready as planned.  She woke us up around 5:30 so that we can get ready for the Corn Barn.

The Ceili corn barn was great.  Gave us a drink as we got in, and sat us down next to some folks from London.  The place was packed with 2 bus loads of folks.  They served us Irish Stew.  The shows host was entertaining as well as the mini riverdance performers.  The crowd got into it with song as well as some being invited on stage to dance.  Following the show we strolled around the different nearby shops, listened to some of Durty Nellies outside music (2 guys sitting on the patio).  Wasnt quite dark yet but was already 10:30 and must get ready for the next day to travel to Dysert ODea and then onto the Kilfenora visitor center and the Burren. 

Ill get to that in the next session.

-gary