Day 12: Rathbaun Sheep Farm, Cliffs of Moor, Bunratty Castle September 10

This day was one of our best days, probably the best day of our Ireland tour, and not just because Bob and I were crowned Lord and Lady at our medieval dinner in Bunratty Castle (more on that below). Most of the day was spent outdoors with lovely views, great weather, all ending with a great dinner with us reigning over the crowd!

One of many castle ruins along the way.

Because today was our last day with some of our traveling companions, we asked the tour guide to make sure we got a group picture. We left our hotel in Galway and drove to a lovely spot by the ocean where our tour guide armed himself with several cameras to snap pictures. To protect the privacy of our traveling companions, I won't post the group picture, but it was taken at the spot below.

After our photoshoot, we traveled through the countryside to Rathbaun Farm. This turned out to be one of the most fun, relaxing stops of our entire trip, maybe because this country girl was quite at home wandering around a farm? Or was it the scones and warm tea? Or the welcome from Frances and Fintan? Frances greeted us on the bus and we went off to the barn to look at some of their sheep. Then Fintan did a demo of Ted (the dog) rounding up the sheep, herding them towards the pen where Fintan grabbed one for sheering. The exclamations from some people in our crowd of tourists indicated they thought he might be handling the sheep a bit roughly. I grew up on a farm; it didn't bother me at all.

After the sheering demo, along with facts about sheep in Ireland, we were escorted to the farmhouse where we were served freshly baked scones with jam and cream. Even Bob chose tea to have with the scones which were heavenly - the best I had the entire trip and much better than any I've ever had in the U.S.  We were allowed time to explore some rooms of the farm house which were set up to represent Fintan's family abode.  With enough time to wander around outside, I looked for the farm tractors. Sadly, I never did find one! The grounds are lovely and made me wonder how a farm wife has time to add the clever decorations and tend to all the flowers. Admittedly, the flowers were past their prime as it was fall, but it was still a beautiful setting.

Cliffs of Moher

Pictures can't do justice to this location. The smell of the sea, the wild wind whipping around us, acres to explore, an endless view across the ocean, climbing the hill to the tower - it's all impossible to capture in photos. It was one of our favorite stops on the trip and is definitely a place I'd love to visit again. 

Bunratty Castle

The plan for the evening was a medieval dinner at Bunratty Castle, a taste of mead and Irish entertainment. What was unexpected was a greeting by a gigantic flock of birds. I spotted this flock from the bus, but as we entered the castle grounds, walking along the walk leading to the castle, the birds were cackling and many of us thought, at first, that the sounds were piped in to set the stage for the evening. We were ushered up stone steps to enter the castle, greeted by people dressed in period costume. Each of us received a cup of mead as we entered a large room to gather around a small ensemble playing medieval style music on a harp and violins. Bob and I were quite surprised when a young maiden approached us and said we would be crowned Lord and Lady for the evening. We hesitated, but the maiden assured us it wouldn't be a huge role to play, and we would just be first to enter the dining hall to lead the crowd to dinner. She lied.

Though I had to do very little, Bob was expected to join in the entertainment, acting as Lord for the evening. He got to taste food before it was served to the other guests, and, in a short skit declared that an unruly onlooker be sentenced "off with his head!" Luckily he was cued by a young maiden who stood beside him.  We had a lot of fun and our tour companions joined in the excitement of someone from our tour having this role. In fact, our roles lived with us for the rest of our days together with several of our companions calling us m'lord and m'lady, or mentioning our "status" in conversations.

One of my favorite taken-from-the-bus pictures!

Stops along the way: County Clare

I have been labeling this section "surprises/cool stuff," however, one of our stops doesn't fit this category at all. We made a quick stop at a memorial commemorating those who died in the "Great Hunger," or Irish Famine. Across the road from the memorial are the remains of the Ennistymon Union workhouse opened shortly before the famine. Among the memorial plaques is a sad monument created to depict a small boy standing at the door of the workhouse after both his parents died. Based on a true story, the boy had a note pinned to his shirt: 

"Gentlemen,There is a little boy named Michael Rice of Lahinch aged about 4 years. He is an orphan, his father having died last year and his mother has expired on last Wednesday night, who is now about to be buried without a coffin!! Unless ye make some provision for such. The child in question is now at the Workhouse Gate expecting to be admitted, if not it will starve. -- Rob S. Constable''

Another stop along the way, at Corranroo, Co. Clare, was less sobering. We took a photo break along route N67 at a spot overlooking the ocean. My favorite part was the cows that were wandering very close to the wall dividing us from their pasture.