On Sunday morning, Amanda and I got up earlier than normal, packed up, ate breakfast, and went out to the bus early to get a front seat. This was mainly because we were leaving Killarney for Galway, where Amanda spent the spring semester, and she was ecstatic to be going back to Galway one more time before returning to the U.S. (I'm not sure I have ever seen her quite so giddy!) I was a bit sad to leave Killarney, as it was one of my favorite places we had visited.Our first stop en route to Galway was Bunratty Castle (photo #1) which dates back to the year 1425. Bunratty is very different from Blarney, mainly because it has been restored to look similar to what it did when first built. There were several rooms, most of them furnished with period furniture, clothing, armor, etc. There were also several staircases that were extremely narrow, but the view from the top was really pretty (photo #2). I really enjoyed touring the castle, but I think I like Blarney better, simply because it is so rustic and original. After that tour was finished, we had lunch at the restaurant there. I ate the Seafood Chowder, which was amazing!! After lunch, we once again boarded our coach and took off for the Cliffs of Moher (pronounced mo-er). These cliffs make up a coastline of about 5 miles long, and they rise above the Atlantic Ocean at a staggering 700 feet. The view from these cliffs was absolutely breathtaking (photos #3 and #4)! Amanda had told me that the wind usually blows quite furiously at the top, but there was only a slight breeze that day. This was the first time I had ever been to any kind of cliffs before, and I loved it!We left the Cliffs of Moher to travel to Aillwee Cave (pronounced all-wee). This cave wasn't discovered until 1940 by a man named Jack McGann, and he didn't even tell anyone about it until 1973! We saw bear bones that date back about 1,200 years, a waterfall, stalactites, and stalagmites. I took a few pictures while in the cave, but none of them turned out very well. We left the Aillwee Cave to drive through The Burren, which is limestone region of Ireland. And even though the ground is very hard and rough, the wildflowers still manage to grow. To me, the Burren was very bleak, but also a very lovely part of Ireland (photo #5 is a view of the Burren from Aillwee Cave).We continued our travel through the countryside until we finally reached Galway. We had dinner at our hotel, and then Amanda took some of us down to the Crane Bar, one of her favorite spots in Galway. We had to take a cab, as our hotel was sort of out in the middle of nowhere (at least, it seemed like that). When we got into the cab, the little screen on the driver's side said something like "bunch of Americans"...nice :). When we got to the Crane Bar, we all ordered a drink and then sat and listened to some really good music. We stayed there until about midnight, and then took a cab back to the hotel where I promptly went to bed.
(I am sorry for the delay in my Ireland posts. I hope to finish up within the next week or so!)On Saturday, we awoke to a gloriously sunny day, which was perfect for our tour of the Ring of Kerry, Ireland's most popular scenic drive. We started in Killarney and went in an "anti-clockwise" (the British way to say "counter-clockwise") direction, ending up in the small village of Sneem. We made several stops along the way, mostly to gaze at and photograph the sheer beauty of Ireland. One place we stopped was the Kerry Bog Village (photo #1), where we toured actual dwellings of villagers from the early 1800s. It was here that some of us, including myself, went over to the Red Fox Inn to have some Bailey's Coffee :-). One of my favorite stops along the Ring of Kerry was to a sheep farm owned by an Irishman by the name of Brenden (photo #3). Brenden gave an amazing demonstration of how he and his two sheep dogs work together. Each dog has its own whistle commands, as well as verbal commands that they learn to follow. All Brenden has to do is give the commands, and the dogs know what to do. It's quite fascinating to see them work!I think that our last stop was a really cute little village called Sneem. Amanda and I walked around a little bit, and then went into a little shop to get a Bailey's ice cream cone...best ice cream ever! We left Sneem and headed back to Killarney to eat dinner at our hotel. After dinner, I went to Mass at Saint Marys with the Wahlmeiers and the rest of those in the group who are Catholic (which turned out to be pretty much everyone). That was the first time I had ever attended a Catholic service, and it was very interesting. The only thing they recited that I knew was the Lord's Prayer. I was going to say it with everyone, but the Irish talk so fast that they were half way done before I managed to say "Thy kingdom come"! After church, then some of us went to Danny Mann's again to hear music...and have a Bailey's (yes, that is the third time that word has appeared in this post!). The band that played that night was the Molly McGuires. They had a good sound, and sang some familiar songs, but their mics were sooo loud that it became a bit annoying by the time we left. 
