CDs delivered safely to their destination

Breakfast this morning was our last in Carrigaline but we could have stayed there and explored more of West Cork. There are lots of locations left to see - on another trip.

After breakfast with Paddy Egan we took possession of a box of CDs of his, destined for a music shop in Ennis, Co. Clare. The weather was perfect and we were going to put our trust in Ms. Google to get us through Cork City on our way north. However, we followed Paddy to the highway we needed, filled the gas tank and had a wonderful uneventful drive with nary a wrong turn. Well, none that I will speak of. I mean if Google is too early or late with turning instructions it can't be our fault. And when she tells you to take the second exit when there are only two, and you really needed the first one, that isn't our fault either. The long and short of it is that we didn't really lose any time.

Passing around Limerick we'd been advised that we should follow the signs to Galway. Our destination was Ennis, and we didn't understand until we saw the signs. Ennis was not mentioned until a few kilometres later but having followed the advice, we sailed through.

We stopped at Bunratty and had a lovely lunch before heading to the Castle and Folk Village. What a marvellous place. Judi made a complete tour of the castle but the circular stairs up to the higher floors were too much for my knees which don't cope well with high steps so I only went up one level.

This was followed by a good couple of hours wandering and examining the houses and other buildings in the Folk Village. Then we followed the signs through an almost magical forest landscape where we saw Fairy villages, a beautiful walled garden, some miniature horses, a couple of donkeys, both horizontal and vertical mills, a thatched roof being replaced (work was temporarily halted but we could see the layers), and generally had a fabulous walkabout.

By late afternoon, we realized that we were pretty close to Ennis and decided to deliver Paddy's CDs to Custy's traditional music shop. Abandoning the car in a good parking spot on the very narrow street, and asking for a bit of help with directions, we were able to get there in good time. Judi picked up a few things and I took a few photos of the unique store. The owner told us about a good place to have supper so we went to The Old Ground Hotel bar called The Poet's Corner and enjoyed some delicious seafood chowder and brown bread.

From there we proceeded to the B&B where we are now about to call it a day. We each have our own room and access to two bathrooms as the third guest bedroom is unoccupied. This is the cleanest house I've ever been in. It almost sparkles. The grounds and garden are equally pretty and neat. The lawn would be the envy of the most particular of gardeners. Our hosts were very welcoming and very chatty. 

Their recommendation to head to Doolin, take a ferry to the Aran Islands and a cruise beneath the Cliffs of Moher will occupy the sunny day predicted for tomorrow. We've booked it online and now just have to make sure we are at the Doolin pier on time. This will be my first visit to Inis Mor and second on the Cliffs of Moher cruise.

The internet connection is very slow so photos will have to wait.