I'm surprised that I didn't panic...I just went to the information desk & told them what happened & the representative made a call to the musicians that were on the train entertaining us to look for the camera. They found it & made arrangements for an employee to pick it up & bring it to Adare Manor that evening. WHEW! What a relief!
So these next few pix were taken on my phone...I'm so glad I had my phone! When we arrived at Adare Manor I was pretty impressed! Just through the gates was the remains of this fabulous old castle & we were greeted by a fox hunting party...they literally escorted us in - kinda cool!
And then I caught a glimpse of where we were staying...oh my!
This was the entrance into the main lobby...
Later on that evening we were bussed to Bunratty Castle & Folk Village for an evening of dinner & entertainment. Concierge returned my camera & the cute little musician took a selfie with her gorgeous smile so I would know who found my camera.
A traditional Irish meal of beef stew & potatoes with your potatoes & this accordion player went around from table to table playing the same song up close & personal. Truly, he played the same song all night long! But it was a fun evening & we laughed a lot!
The next day we headed to the coast to see the Cliffs of Moher. We stopped at a vista point & got a glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean, the edge of the Burren, & the remains of an old castle - the Irish countryside is literally dotted with old castles!
We continued to the Burren National Park, this "great rock" is 250 sq kilometers of limestone pavements with criss-crossing cracks. It's quite unique!
A quick stop for lunch - you guessed it - traditional Irish stew served with a side of potatoes with our potatoes...
The Cliffs of Moher were stunning - towering over the ocean, some 200 meters of sheer drop to the water!
Back in time for dinner & a stroll through the grounds headed to the village for dinner...
I loved the thatched roofs! Very Irish cottage looking...
So many churches & cathedrals, too! All of which are adorned with multiple Celtic crosses. These are said to have been introduced to the pagan Irish (who worshiped/revered the sun) by St Patrick himself, in an effort to explain the importance of the cross by combining the symbol of Christianity with the circular representation of the sun to give the pagan followers an idea of the importance of the cross by linking it with the idea of the life-giving properties of the sun. They are basically all over Ireland.
The next day we made arrangements to participate in the Falconry/Archery event offered by the Manor - it was SO MUCH FUN! I am no Katniss Everdeen, but I held my own!
They gave us plenty of time to practice on these still targets & then we got lots of practice pretending to hunt for food as they placed these images over the targets...& then they took us to an open area & we shot at moving targets! They launched these round red discs into the air in front of us & we tried to time our arrow to hit it in mid air!
Not bad! Here we are with "The Kids" - let's just say that "the odds" were ever in Aaron's favor as he hit most of the discs you see here. I did hit one myself, but most of these were Aaron's.
The Falconry was AMAZING! Susan, our Falconer, was very patient & knowledgeable. We interacted with a white barn owl, a Mexican striped owl, a western screech owl, a Eurasian eagle owl, a saker falcon, a white-faced scopps owl, & a Harris hawk! She took her time & let us hold each one & feed them, etc...it was so cool!
We took this hawk out for a walk & it would fly away, then she would put a piece of meat on our glove & it would swoop down out of the trees & land on our hand. I'm sure I closed my eyes every time because its wings looked massive - like they were gonna take my head off each time!
How cool are these pix in front of Adare Manor?
Needless to say, I had a blast! It was a great way to spend our last day there. That evening was our gala celebration at Dromoland Castle - pretty impressive!
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner & evening of traditional Celtic & Irish music...
A few of our "good neighbor" friends celebrating a great year & a great trip. We said good bye & then our friends from Rescue, CA (Tom & Trish) picked us up so we could spend a few more days with them in "their" castle just up the road.
Yes...our friends own a castle in Ireland, don't yours?
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