There will be many linen shops as you travel in Ireland, but my rule is if you like it, buy it. You can always buy more. After all, how many chances will you get to shop in Ireland.

Judy is right - if you like it - buy it!

In 2008 I saw a beautiful hooded woolen cape in the most wonderful royal purple up in Bunbeg, Co Donegal. Keith told me to buy it, but of course I said no, I'll find a better deal in Dublin. Needless to say, I have never again found such a beautiful find. In 2012 I found a lovely green cape - same style as the purple one I passed up. It's not my favorite color, but I am really glad I got it!

I remember stopping at a Quills somewhere on our first trip, though I know it wasn't in Killarney. You are correct though, they had nice linens. I purchased dresser scarves there - with lace trim and embroidered violet accents.

Foxford Wollen Mills in Foxford Co Mayo is where I ended up getting my cape. It is beautiful, and well done...just not purple...

We live in the desert southwest, and look forward to our time in the cool Irish temps. And who can resist a lovely turf fire!

Whatever the weather in Ireland, it's better than any day at home!

Saturday August 23,2014
Day 2

Dinner at the Bunratty Corn Barn last night was scrumptious:
We satarted with a glass of Mead, a light honey flavored wine. Michael and Conner had Irish stew and brown bread and I had the poached salmon with steamed vegetables and potatoes. The homemade breads here are delicious, brown and dense with tiny bits of raisins, seeds or oatmeal but the Irish Butter is amazing...I'm going to need bigger pants before I leave here! Dessert was an apple tart with frresh whipped crream which I gave to Conner and had another small piece of bread with a generous thick pat of butter!
We were asleep before our heads hit the pillows.
I woke up, stretched, and my first thought was, Where am I?" oh yes, Ireland. Then panic set in as I saw the sunlght streaming through the lace curtains and I realized we must have overslept our alarm and forgot to meet Brendan at the airport! I checked the time on my phone and it was 6:05 am- Brendan had just texed at 5:59 am that he had landed...Thank God for my internal alarm clock- I had set my alarm for 5:30 am, but U.S. time. Michael went off to get Brendan and they arrived back to take a short nap before breakfast.
Kathleen, our host at the Headley Court B&B, made us a ovely breakfast:The boys all had Full Irish Breakfast and I had Smoked slamon and scrambled eggs...we enjoyed more homemade brown bread with homemade strawberry jam that Kathleen"s Mum had just sent over she said.
Off to the Blarney Wollen Mills in Bunratty to finalize my purchases.
An Aran Fisherman sweater and scarf for Brendan, Sweaters hats and scarves for me, the ever cold Floridian, some gifts and many beautiful Irish linen items.They even shipped the entire order home to Tampa for free! (250 euro minimum) what a treat- I may Not have to buy an extra suitcase now. Kathleen told me that this particular shop is one of the best places I will encounter on my trip for the items I was looking for.
As we headed to Ennis, we were slowed for a few minutes by a crossing herd of cows with their herdsman- Just awesome. We stopped at the Dromoland Castle and took a leisurely stroll throgh the castle and grounds. They had a hawk on a special perch outside and a special crew for the female hawk in fact. The females are larger than the males because they are the ones in charge-why of course I thought. We mingled with swans and were almost chased down by a couple of them in fact. What a fun morning.
Arriving in Ennis we checked in to the Temple Gate Hotel and strolled through town. So many beautiful things in each shop, but Kathleen was right, Bunratty was the place to shop for woolens and linens.
We came upon a parked large truck filled with fresh chickens, hens, and turkeys in crates and fresh eggs- very fresh eggs. The farmer was actually removing eggs as they were laid and setting them in cardboard crates that the local townspeople were buying. I was totally mesmerized and thought of my friend Barb raising her chickens. He asked if I would like to hold a chicken? One of the local girls first asked, " Can you run fast?" I said I don't know- I know they run pretty fast. She aid she could run fast so she told the farmer to give me one to hold. He handed me a hen by the feet and told me to hold them tight with one hand and the neck with the other. I was prepared for it to squirm, but it didn't - it settled and quieted immediately. She told me to think of a name for her. Michael suggested Tampa to me. So, Tampa, it is. The girl bought the hen, named Tampa, and two others. She said she lives in Mao and that her brother owns Matt Malloys Bar in Westport and if we get there to ask to see my chicken! What a friendly town this is and what a highlight in my day!
We had lunch at St Patrick's Bar-where else? We weren't very hungry so we ordered two soup specials to share. Each one came with a bowl of vegetable chowder, a toasted ham and cheese sandwich with onions and tomatoes and chips. Oh, and I can't forget yet another version of homemade brown bread with pats of thick Irish butter. The boys said the sandwiches were delicious and Michael and I loved the soups and bread. What a lovely lunch special for only 6.95 euros each. We then each had a pint of guinness or Smithwick's Irish Ale. After more strolling through town we came back to our hotel for the guys to nap and all get refreshed for our evening crawling a few pubs and having dinner at the Poet's Corner in the Old Fround Hotel...

I am enjoying your detailed day by day experience as you travel Ireland.

Hope you will have the time for an update each day. I can just about taste the food, hear the music and travel (at least in my mind) along with you and your family during your dream trip.

Monday August 25, 2014
Day four

We had a lovely breakfast at the Morgan - we all had the full Irish of course. Although everyone loves sausage, bacon and eggs...we are beginning to discern slight differences now and todays flavors were not our favorite compared to the last few days. But, I'm certainly not complaining. It was a lovely breakfast with all the breads, scones, croissants, jams jellies and of course butter!

We picked up Taylor from the Airport, well Mchael did, I always say we even when I don't help at all-lol. It was a cloudy day in Ennis and spitting rain, but we took Taylor on a brief tour of our hotel and the town of Ennis and we packed up. The Temple ground is a very nice hotel -beautuflly modern and comfortable. Our rate for the family room suite that sleeps 4 B&B was 209 Euros. It was not very warm and friendly however, not unfriendly mind you, but the staff were very quiet and cool.
We headed for The Cliffs of Moher, about an hours drive from Ennis. Because I've been reading about these towns for a year in books, on blogs, and trip advisor- I recognized landmarks and restaurants along the way. When Taylor and I saw Vaughanns, we had to make a U turn to stop. It is a famous casual fish restaurant on the coast. It is the most interesting feeling to actually see a place in person that you have been reading about for so long. Glass half walls were filled with oyster shells and ropes and nets -so inviting. Each dish we saw pass- I thought looked better than the last. We weren't very hungry actualy and dinner would be in just a few hours so we decided to share a cod fish and chips and seafood chowder. I am so glad we decided to share, because the cod filet was abou 12 inches long and actually overflowed the dish at 13.95 euros it was quite a bargain and Delicious.
It was cloudy at the cliffs. We could't find our local guide who I made reservations with a couple of months ago. Pat Sweeney you takes you on a very animated guide of the Cliffs. He grew up here on the cliffs and its the highlight of many peoples trips. I was really looking forward to his 4 1/2 mile guided hike. A local employee there who knew him -called him for me. He unfortunately had to cancel and also bad weather was coming in. I was disappointed that he didn't get a chance message me- but we are very flexible on this trip and I understand things come up.
When you are only at the cliffs for one day you hike them rain or shine-so that's what we did. The fog and rain gave them a very mystical magical feel. I've read historical novels and even Irish romance novels all my life and this misty grey hue is just what I have always imagined. The moss on the cliffs was spectacular and the people who were willing to walk right up to the edge were very daring. As for me, I stayed behind the stone wall. My husband and three sons were the daring ones and after a few moments of watching them near the edge with all that wind and rain blowing-I just had to look away and stay safely behind my stone wall. I can't even imagine the time it took to put all of these stone walls up in Ireland. All around the cliffs and even for miles it seems that stone walls approximately four feet high define the property lines. they are quite beautiful. The sheep confined in some of them were very content to just lie in the rain and relax. We really didn't mind the rain at all. I was bundled up like a snowman with my two shirts, two pairs of pants, fleece top windbreaker raincoat, hat and gloves. Michael called me a snowman. I was warm however and didn't mind the wind at all. My pants were Columbia and waterproof, The boys jeans were soaked..The snowman knows best!
We arrived at our B&B a charming Thatched Roof Cottage called Cloch na Scith, our hosts are Nancy and Tom. Tom was born in this cottage as was his father. It is absolutely charming. We have two rooms, one a queen and also 3 person for the boys- both ensuite. The rate is 70 euro per room per night B&B. We were offered hot tea and homemade cherry bread or frosted maple brown cake when we arrived. Our bedroom is cozy and romantic with bleached pine floors an spindle bed with beautiful quilts. The bathroom has a special heater with a pull cord that when pulled blows high speed hot air. I'm always cold everywhere -even Florida in winter so I am delighted with my heater.
Because the weather wasn't good and we were tired from all the fresh irish air at the Cliffs, we decided to stay in Spiddal for the evenings entertainment. Galway is a 20 minute drive on rather winding roads. Spiddal has three pubs and restaurants but we loved our hosts suggestion of the Thai Giblin. It has only been open for four months and was packed when the live trad music began at 10pm. You must have a reservation and ours was for 7:15 so we had wonderful seats to hear the music.
Our dinners were delicious: Michael and I shared a sizzling salmon served with asparagus and a creamy buttery mashed potato that resembled a risoto in textre. Brendan and Taylor had hereford Grass fed beef burgers with grilled onions and mushrooms and Taylor had a ribeye with a blue cheese sauce for dipping -all the boys had chip(fries) as well. They were offered two kinds of fries: skinny or steak fries and they found this quite unique.
We returned to a lovely peat fire and some reading by the firelace before bed....what a lovely day!

Still day four technically
Monday August 25

This morning we slept in until 8 am. Breakfast was served at 8:30. This was the best breakfast so far. I think because the eggs were freshly laid and the sausages were made locally, they just had a really nice crisp texture and a sweet mild taste. The Irish soda bread had fresh apple bits mixed in from the tree in the backyard right near my bedroom window. Nancy served it with fresh strawberry preserves and apple jam that she made. The coffee was strong and french pressed, just the way I prefer it. The boys all had tea with milk and sugar.
After breakfast we headed to Galway. It was a little rainy but not too bad at all and it wasn't cold. We shopped in a great market for chocolates, teas, and even tried a whiskey sampling. That was our undoing. I'm not a big whiskey drinker, but they had one called yellow spot by Mitchell & Son- it's single pot distilled -three cask maturation ( whatever all that means). It was 85 euro a bottle and we splurged and got one for our trip because we all loved it and it was smooth as silk.
We then shopped for jewelry for me-great fun. I have a pandora bracelet, but I prefer the Tara's diary of Ireland charms for it. I added two charms and ordered a 26 " pendant Tara charm-such a lucky girl.
After taking lots of great pictures of the shops with us looking in them we headed to Clarinbrige for a late lunch. I wanted to go to Paddy Burkes since I have been reading about several people who have been there. I had mixed reviews: the creamy white fish chowder was some of the best I have ever tasted. The fresh oysters were the very best I have ever eaten. The baked mussels with crumb topping were delicious as well.Unfortunately, the fried cod and chips were nothing spectacular, especially compared to the cod we had yesterday at Vaughn's. Todays cod was half the size, over battered, not as flaky and more expensive. With 2 rounds of guinness, 4 cod entrees, 1 soup, a dozen oysters and an order of baked mussels the bill came to 137 euro- which I wouldn't have minded at all if not for the lacking cod :(.
After lunch we went back to Galway to do some more sightseeing. I hope to copy some of the flower cones filled with petunias and begonias when I get back to Tampa. They are everywhere and simply beautiful. The street are so colorful with shops all handpainted with lovely signs and stones, cobblestones, umbrellas and flowers everywhere. We also parked along the coast and we watched people fishing for mackarel and jumping in the bay from a diving platform to swim. Some had wetsuits and some just their swimsuits-very brave! My boys all plan to jump in on Wednesday while we are staying at the Salthill hotel- we'll see.
One of the more interesting things we saw today was an armored bank truck unloading money into the bank and it had 6 armed military personnel armed and ready from the Irish Army with machine guns.
We have a very early morning tomorrow so we decided to have a picnic dinner at our B&B in front of the peat fire. We bought local cheddar, Irish gouda,Guinness cheddar, mozzarella, antipasta salad, and Italian meats, baguettes, roasted red pepper spread, hummus and pesto. For dessert we picked apples out back,an almond pear tart and Irish chocolate. We've spent some time talking with our hosts and learning about their home and family, the care and intricacies of their thatched roof, and just enjoyed their company. Now it's time for an Irish Baileys coffee and bed.

We found Yellow Spot the last time we were in Ireland.  Had Green Spot before, but not the Yellow.  Not easy to find, but when you do ... on my.  We were at Hoban's in Westport and asked the person behind the bar what is the best whiskey that few people ask for.  The answer was Yellow Spot, we tried it, and found it really good.  It's the best whiskey I have ever tasted.  Period.

You can now get it at duty free shop at the Dublin Airport, and although pricey, it was much less than $80 there.

Geno

-- Edited by Geno on Tuesday 26th of August 2014 10:17:38 AM

August 27,2014 Wednesday Day 5 What a fun, relaxing and busy day yesterday. So many excurions that required percise timing and scheduling: I should have been a military woman! Our departure from Cloch na Schit was sweet-We first had a delicious Full Irish Breakfast from Nancy. This has been our best breakfast chef thus far! We headed to Galway to catch the Galway tour bus to Connemara. At the hotel we hopped into two taxis for the coach bus station....Off to Connemara.Four in a taxi us the legal limit here. Our cabbie squeezed uus all into one just to take two of us to the second...daring. Our Tour: This is what I imagined Ireland "Green " would look like: the high mountains, rocky rolling pastures, steep trails, winding roads, and sheep, goats, and cattle everwhere. The sheep seem to be the most prevalent. I'm surprised lamb fetches such a high price per kg in the butchers with the number of sheep I have seen thus far. The catlle are beautiful- many are creamy ivory and caramel in solid colors. I don't beleve I've ever seen cattle this color. There are also some black and white cattle, but smaller in number- at least from what I have seen on this trip. The sheep graze freely on the grasses of the mountains. They have a red or blue spot - or both colors-spray painted on their backs to differentiate ownership. We stopped and everyone unloaded the bus for a photo stop. The sheep came right up to us. You would almost think they have a lot of affection given to them from a farmer or his children being this friendly to all of us. Another interesting agriculture display was the collection of turf-peat. It was being harvested: cut into wet clumps of bricks and then laid on pallets to dry before being bagged and taken to town for sale to rural homes that still burn peat fires.The bus driver, Michael O'Mallery, described the millions of years that went into the formation of peat. He said thousands of trees used to stand here and fell over and new trees formed and the same thing happened for centuries. There are vey few trees standing here today. You can see the remnants of roots on the hillsides though of very old trees...wow. It just kind of takes your imagination back for a time. We stopped at Kylemore Abbey, a lovely castle made by Mr. Mitchell for his wife and nine children. Such a beautiful home. It was eventually bought by the Abbey and used as a private school for girls in Ireland. The grounds were immaculate and the gardens were blooming with color and impeccably manicured. I spoke with a girl from Poland who was working in the gardens trimming leaves for quite a while and picked up a few gardening tips from her. Our next stop was Cong where " The Quiet Man was filmed" It was a really big deal for that small town in 1952 and the town still commemorates the significance with quiet man shops, cafes, B&B's galore. The Lovely and Extravagant Ashford Castle is nearby and this is where all the cast of the quiet man stayed as well as kings, quees, princesses, movie stars and anyone else wanting to spend 400-2000euro per person..per night. We finished our tour and were dropped off at our Salt Hill Hotel at 6:30 for or 7:00 dinner reservations. We ate at the Prom restaurant: our first course was smoked salmon and capers. Our second course was roast lamb and mashed potatoes with steamed potatoes and our third course was apple crumb tart, hot ganache molten brownie, and Baileys cheesecake. All of our desserts we served with homemade ice crream and fresh whipped crream. All washed down with pints of Guinness. Simply divine! We finished our dinner at 8:40 just in tiime to walk over to the Galway Bay Hotel for the Trad on the Prom- featuring some of the most magnificent Irish dancing and music performances I have ever seen. This is the highlight of many visitors entertainment and will most certainly be mine. We enjoyed our hotel room after the show. Some lovely Irish Whiskey we bought in twn that was very special at 85 euro a bottle- smooth as silk and delightful! Our bed was welcomiing, perfect and covered with the thickests, softest, white down comforter ever...sweet dreams!!

Cindy, I have a question for you. Since you mentioned the possibility of purchasing a bottle of Yellow spot at the Dublin Duty Free Shop, will you have a direct flight home?

There was some discussion previously when there is a connecting flight home and security at the connecting airport for transporting liquids to be carried on.

No problem with direct flights as the purchase is sealed by the duty free shop and retrieved by you on landing. However, I have heard of bottles being confiscated at the connecting airport when trying to carry on bottles to the connecting flight.

Someone on the forum may want to readdress this issue once again, if not for Cindi then for others with connecting flights out of Ireland. What is the procedure for liquids purchased at the duty free shops and getting them through a connecting security safely.

Day 5 cont'd
The boys went out for a bit after. Michael and I went to bed. They found a local pub right down the street. They think they experienced tourist discrimination: they walked into a pub behind two local Irish girls, the bouncer stopped them and asked the girls if the boys were with them. When the girls said no, the man told the boys they stopped serving at midnight. It was about 12:15. The boys said many in the pub had full pints and the music was still going strong...no worries. The boys found a casino, betting facility, and stopped there instead...after some experimenting with how the betting works- Brendan exclaimed that as a family the baker Boys were up by 43 euros- that means Brendan was down -lol.
Given the luxurious comfort of our hotel, the Salthill, and those soft down comforters, we slept in until 8:45 am and hurried to get ready for breakfast. The bathroom is very elegant and spacious. I'm surprised that I haven't seen a shower curtain in Ireland yet? the showers have had - half glass doors. I guess if I lived here I would figure out how to not splash water everywhere with just half a shower door-lol.
Our breakfast was served in the main dining room and was a Full Irish breakfast buffet today. They had Irish oatmeal, which I hadn't tried in Ireland until today. It was delicious- I've bought Irish oatmeal and prepared it at home before- I think the difference was that it tastes creamy as if made with milk instead of water. It's also thick- you add sugar and milk and perhaps Bailey's like the Irish. I really enjoyed the oatmeal ...and actually didn't have the delicious brown bread and butter today. I have a few pairs of leggings with me...warm,soft and most importantly stretchy! I made need an extra inch by the end of this trip. Yummy.
After breakfast, Michael and Taylor decided to take a swim in the freezing cold Galway bay. It is 16 degrees celsius in the water which is 60 degrees fahrenheit. They have a public diving platform and they talked about jumping in all week. The polar bears bundled up over their swim trunks and we headed to the bay. It was low tide and the water was only a foot deep, so they had to settle for jumping in from the departure ladder. They swam for a minute and returned. Taylor said his toes started to feel numb as soon as he entered the water. Taylor bundled up in in flannel jackets and fleece sleep pants. Michael took a nice cold outdoor shower and just wrapped a towel around himself- such a polar bear.
They took another warm shower at the hotel and then we checked out...now headed for Killarney.

Friday August 28, 2017
Day 6

Breakfast at the the Applecroft is an event in and of itself. The coffee is a special blend that Kathy gets for the french press coffee machine. I think I'm going to get a french press when I get home.The sugar cubes make having a cup of tea with milk and sugar seem like you are having a tea party. The scones and warm whiskey nut bread is well...I'm adding calories just writing about these delectables. Kathy was presented an award for her B&B recently and we can certainly see why.
After having the most delicious eggs benedict overlooking the gardens from Kathy's sun room at the Applecroft, we headed on a day of adventures. The guys dropped me off at the Muckross House and Farm while they went golfing. They went to Ross Golf Resort- just down the way from Ross Castle. It feels like we are deaming when you think about playing golf next to a castle built in the fifteenth century. The literature said they couldn't wear jeans so...they wore shorts. It's been windy and raining off and on and they actually wore shorts.
I on the other hand was warm as a bug in my down jacket and gloves. I hiked the 3 mile path at the estate and saw the most authentic recreation of farm life in the 16th century. An entire village is recreated here. It was buit around 1990 I think they said. In each farm the small, medium and large- a woman was baking soda bread and tending the peat fires. So quaint and enjoyable. The livestock and ponies on the grounds were definitely an added benefit of the farm. Especially the Connemara ponies, as I find them exquisitely beautiful in color.
The guys picked me up late in the afternoon, albeit they were cold and wet...I was still warm in my toasty down. We decided that since Ross Castle was on the way back to the B&B we would stop now before going home to freshen up for the evening-even though the guys were a little wet they are great sports.
Ross castle was very interesting- you tour the castle with a guide and she explained the workings and importance of each room and the grounds. We all really enjoyed it and asked some questions. We've seen enough castles for this trip now. Other than castle  hotels, we've actually only seen this castle, but with our time so short here, we prefer the pubs and walking around the towns. Taylor's middle name is Ross, so it was the perfect castle to see.
When we returned to the B&B-we had Irish coffee.Kathy made us a pot of coffee and I had purchased a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream. We also had Kathy try the yellow spot whiskey we had purchased and she loved it. After having a Baileys coffee or two everyone was warm enough to freshen up and venture out for the evening.
First we stopped in the Aran woolens store and Taylor found a beautiful sweater. The prices were similar to the Blarney woolen Miills in Bunratty, but I just prefer the feel of the store more in Bunratty and they had a much bigger selction. I have decided that on my next trip, I will fly into Shannon again, but have no warm sweaters or tops in my suitcase. I will go straight to Bunratty and purchase my warm clothes for my entire Ireland trip! I will also purchase all of my souveneirs there to send back home!
After we purchased Taylors sweater we went to dinner at Quinlans again. Now, I know most people don't go to the same restaurant two nights in a row in a fabulous place like Killarney, but, They catch their own fish and people come from hours away to eat at this place. It is the best fish I have ever eaten! The Prawns were so sweet that I thought they must have soaked them in sugar water, but they don't ...They are just caught deep in the atlantic and served as fresh as I have ever had them. We were going to order lobster tonight, but they sold out!
After dinner we went to a few fun pubs- the last one called Tattler Jacks was the best and the most fun we have had in any of the pubs so far. The guys playing the guitars were so talented and there were Irish girls from the local area there. This is a popular spot for the locals. The girls were dancing and got all of us up and dancing. The Irish music was great and the American music made us laugh. The two favorite songs always requested by the Irish in every pub we've been in are: Take me home by John Denver and Wagon wheel by Mechanical Crows. It just makes us laugh to think that this is what the Irish enjoy most of our country music and our one hit wonder. We learned that each pub has a license and on the license they may all be granted different closiing times. All of the pubs we have been in so far closed at midnight, But, Tattler Jacks was sttill going strong when we left at 1:00 am. What a fun time!
In the morning when Kathy served breakfast and asked which pub we most enjoyed and we told her Tattler Jacks, she laughed and said Oh My Gosh - you'll lose your morals in there! We just loved Kathy and Killarney. We really missed not going to Dingle, but staying in Killarney was a great decision- with the rain and not wanting to drive that much to and from Dingle when only in Killarney for two days...we had a blast in Killarney and will stay here many more days on our next visit-allowing one day for Dingle! Time to pack up now - get into our Black and Gold Knight colors and head for Dublin!

-- Edited by tampacb on Saturday 30th of August 2014 05:56:05 PM