After spending a nice evening with friends in San Francisco we left for Shannon.  Arrived for our favorite weather!  Rain and overcast..  Had a good trip to Adare, enjoying the scenery that was so familiar and welcomed once again!   After arriving at the Adare Country House we got settled in & rested so we would be ready for the beginning of our trip!  At breakfast we got to see Denis and Ilene and visit awhile before we left for a drive around Adare.  It is such a unique little town with such nice examples of thatched roof houses, shops and nice surrounding area.  The next day headed to Kinvara, just North of Cliffs of Mor.  Had a good drive, nice day and was fun to see Sheila and John again and settle into our room til we left for dinner at our favorite place, LuAnne's, to eat while in the area.  Dinner was crab cakes - excellent!, and my husband, Dave - ordered lamb stew since they didn't have his favorite dinner of leg of lamb.  Since we arrived early in the evening we visited with a nice couple from the States who had come to visit their daughter, enjoying the peat  fire on a chilly night.  The next day we were to go on the Ferry near Doolin to see Cliffs of Moher but our trip was cancelled because of bad weather!  So we mainly stayed in and loved watching the rain pour down, and chatted with John & Sheila till dinner time before going  back to LuAnne's.  I had fish, but wasn't half as good as my crab cakes!  Dave had lamb stew again.  He ate it every chance he could because he knew when we went home he wouldn't find another place that has it. 

Left for Aran Islands after another excellent breakfast and good byes, to Inis Mor taking the ferry from Rossaveal  (Ros an Mhil) on a really fun ferry ride!  Glad we don't get sea sick since we hit pretty rough water on our way over!!    Before leaving the pier, we met up with Bit  & never stopped talking till we got to the pier in Kilornana, since this was the first time we had actually met.  Bit found a van to take us to Man of Aran Cottage where we stayed for a great 3 nights.  We were really tired, Dave and I, so Bit went with Maura, the owner that happened to be in our cottage when we all arrived-Maura was so happy to see Bit that they headed up to the house so Bit could have dinner and get caught up since Bit had not been with Mara and her husband, Joe, for some time to visit at the main house and grab something to eat. 

Our time on the island was perfect.  The sun was out most of the time.  There were some places Dave and I didn't explore because we couldn't walk as far and as much as Bit - so off she went to take pictures and explore the areas she had been before on the island.  The pictures she took while out were unbelievable.  She is an excellent photographer!  There were two units in one little cottage, which we enjoyed with Bit on one half and we had the other.  Maura makes a wonderful dinner so we made reservations to be back by dinner time,  She serves a while looking out at the ocean and enjoying the view.  A typical Irish breakfast with all the goodies on a buffet for us to choose from.  When she served me the pudding and found out I liked it, she was excited to find someone she could prepare it for! J Her husband, Joe, was such a sweet man.  We chatted with him on their deck/porch and watched him prepare his garden beds with a friend that had come over to help.  This is quite a thing to hear about since they really do not have access to dirt that readily, so the size of their raised garden boxes were small, but adequate.  They are such good people.  Maura called for a van to take us into town, but before going to town John,  took us on a tour so we could see Seven Churches, seals on the beach, and all the really neat stone walls all over the area.  John then dropped us off in town at the woolen shop -   & since they didn't have my size in a vest that day I just got some nice scarves, socks and a few other items.   Afterwards, we walked a short distance for lunch at a yummy fish and chip place that Bit suggested.  It was good to sit down and the fish sure was good.  Went to the Tourist Center and checked out the items for gifts to take home and met John and went "home".  Bit took off taking more pictures while it was still light and we just relaxed and checked all the pictures we had taken during our trip that day.

Bit took an earlier ferry the next day, & Dave and I and the owners left around noon returning to Rossaveal pier.  

We then headed to Roundstone, near Clifden, for the next 3 days.  Kristina Lowry, the owner of St Josephs --  took us to our room which was nice and big overlooking the town and bay.  Dave just got us sandwiches from the Deli across from St. Joseph's for dinner.  The next day after a very good breakfast, in a little room over the entrance of St. Joseph's & over looking the Bay, we went around Roundstone we were able to stop in and see Giftey at Malachy Kearns Musical Instruments and gift shop.  She and I really enjoyed visiting while Dave was ordering a drum to be shipped home for friends.  We hope to see both her & Malachy-her husband--next year.  That evening Dave walked to The Roundstone Hotel -- which is another real good place to stay & was within walking distance - for dinner.   Kristina & her helper, Margaret, brought me a very nice dinner of fish sticks because they knew it was too far for me to walk to the hotel.  The next day I stayed at St. Joseph's while  Dave walked around Roundstone taking pictures during the day.  The next evening we ordered dinner again.   Kristina and Margaret were really excited to bring me what I had ordered the night before at the same restaurant, but they didn't have it available  ---  they had such big smiles when they arrived because they were able to get me the crab that I had wanted the night before, and brought Dave - you guessed it - lamb stew!   You would not believe how much food they brought on my plate!!  I must have had a cup of already cracked crab, four nice thin slices of smoked salmon and three different kinds of salad. Later around 2 a.m  I didn't feel too good.  .Dave remembered me saying the salmon tasted different??  I just ate it anyway thinking maybe that was how the smoked salmon tasted in Ireland??.  Well, the next three days, while Dave explored the area, I was in bed with food poisoning!!  The next morning the ladies brought me peppermint tea & toast for breakfast - YUM!!  They were so helpful for those three days, bringing me something to eat and drink, all day, and making sure I was doing better.  After I recovered, the rest of our stay in Roundstone really was pleasant, thank goodness!  We had to cancel our reservation for Buttermilk, because I was so sick and didn't want to go to the Buttermilk Lodge after all.  We were sure disappointed since we had been there before and had really enjoyed our stay.  Dave and I drove over to Clifden and did some shopping, and were just reminiscing from our previous time/s there.  It is such a nice/cute town, we always return each trip.  We were going to stop at Off The Square - another place we like to eat --and have coffee, but decided to just site see and drive back to Roundstone.   I finally got to go to the market connected to our B&B and meet Seamus, Kristina's husband.  Cute small store, but had good selection of grocery items (delicious strawberries!!).  

I emailed our travel agent and he changed the date for us to return home three weeks early.  We both said at the same time, let's just go home and continue next year to the North since I was unable to get around and see what we had planned.   Boy, am I glad I got trip insurance! 

After we left Roundstone - we hated to leave such a nice little town and such wonderful people - we headed to Mary's at Bunratty Inn, slowly taking pictures and stopping at several shops that were familiar & had quite an assortment of gifts.  Arrived at Bunratty in the early afternoon & were able to spend some talking visiting with Mary since  we only spent the night last year and left at 5:30 a.m. for Shannon Airport & really didn't see her but once when she showed us our room. Mary's place is always so cozy and she has such beautiful things in the sitting room and a nice breakfast section looking out at her backyard.  We met people at breakfast that were from the states and were there for a wedding - mom/dad & their two sons.  Had a real good visit.  Then we left & drove to Lough Derg for the day taking a lot of pictures.  It was a beautiful sunny day, with a quick shower.   Drove thru Limerick and just looked around before going to a shopping center across the street from the Bunratty Castle for dinner . (we had gone to Bunratty Castle and Folk area-in 2006.  It is well worth seeing--we were there in Oct. '06--& had the whole place to ourselves! Did some shopping at a woolen store and headed back to Mary's.  Said good bye after having a very good breakfast, the next morning, and headed to the airport.

We are looking forward  to our next and have planned our trip to go from Shannon airport, North, then travel the whole coastline to Dublin and cut across to Shannon for home!