We fiddled with the washing machine this morning. I think we might have it figured out now… somewhat. Tried to get Mike and & Olive’s help but they were uncertain too and not very successful finding the user manual online. Later in the day when we returned for the day I spent some time online and found out how it works. I even wrote down the more useful directions and left it on the washing machine for the next guests who come. Olive thanked me for that.
Other than apple pie for breakfast we decided to cook up some of the bacon, sausage and eggs. That along with some bread and butter made a tasty breakfast and filled the little cottage with some great smells.
We decided to do the cliffs today. That was a whole day thing and would give us extra time to finish doing laundry and the like later, since we were running on limited cloths and didn’t wash anything while in London. We got some directions and an old map from Mike so armed with directions, map and GPS we eventually got to the cliffs. I did end up stopping and asking for directions twice, but both times were a pleasant experience. The people I’ve encountered here seem to be happy being helpful.
The drive was again interesting, it was beautiful and intense. The roads have speed limits that often are well beyond the safe speed to drive. I don’t think they expect you to go the speed limit unless you’re suicidal, it’s not like the speed limits in the U.S. who expect you to be able to keep control of your vehicle if you’re going up to the speed limit. The roads seem to have no obligation to be straight. I think they are just paved over old horse paths from hundreds of years ago. It’s one of the reasons the countryside is so stunning, but it takes a crazy amount of concentration.
Video – Narrow Roads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAsfsHceNLs
Yet, we managed the narrow racetrack like roads and got to the visiting center of the Cliffs of Moher (they seem to pronounce it “More-er”). It was plenty windy even before you climb up to the edge, and at times and in certain spots the wind becomes all encompassing. Other than the view it seemed like the wind was the other main attraction of the place. As for the view, the view is spectacular!
Video – First Glimpse of The Cliffs of Moher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dduh6qMpmSM
(I think I am going to have beaten these adjectives to death by the end of the journal. “Magnificent!” “Amazing!” “Spectacular!”)
It was a very stormy day (mostly wind) and the surf below at the bottoms of the cliff created an “Amazing!” swath of whiteness at the base to the towering cliffs. I can see why they picked this location along the cliffs for the visitor center. Gazing out to the right is an old little watchtower that I’m not sure what its original purpose was for, and to the left is several jutting protrusions of the cliffs, making it clear to see their majesty. If you squint, you can see birds nest on the cliff face and fly around above the surf.
We climbed up the stairway both to the left and right, wishing we were allowed to travel further along the cliffs, but happy still the same. The watchtower was particularly interesting in that it had a very clear and distinctly strong area of wind alongside it. We spent a majority of our time there, taking a handful of videos. We of course took many pictures of the area as well. Rain would come and go in spurts, and by the end of our stay we were feeling very chilled and numb. Johnathon loved this place more than any other so far. It’s the most excited and joyful I’ve seen him. It is a very humbling and glorious place. I am so glad to have seen it.
Video – The Surf below The Cliffs of Moher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMxLDNPa5Pk
Video – Cliffs and Cows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7mEPM3QPn8
Video – Gerbil on The Cliffs of Moher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCvoeyR1Njg
Video – Brother in the Wind at The Cliffs of Moher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy6NCSHZGPc
Video – Me in the wind at The Cliffs of Moher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z9GOWudH3s
We drove home driving along the coast, it is a great landscape. Rocky, but it provides great views and there is a lot of little quaint looking fishing villages along the way.
Video – Random stop along the road: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E8O–Pkk9I
After we got back from the cliffs we went out to eat at the Village Inn.
The food was excellent. I got roast stuffed chicken while Johnathon got potato cakes & smoked salmon. I got a big clump of cooked cabbage with mine, and some carrots. I was really surprised that I enjoyed the cabbage, I usually don’t but it was cooked marvelously. The Chicken was great as well. The chicken had stove top stuffing in it and was sitting in some brown gravy alongside a couple scoops of mashed potato.
Johnathon said he loved his meal too. He really liked the potato cakes and ate up happily his coleslaw and salad sides that came with his meal.
Olive and her family came in while we were there, getting their own dinner. I got to chat with them and catch up a bit. We told them about our experiences with the cliffs. They are a friendly family, I am quite fond of Olive and Mike.
Interestingly, the news was playing on a TV in the corner, and it was showing off Obama’s visit to Ireland. I found the whole thing kind of neat as I didn’t know about his plans to come to Ireland. Apparently Dublin shut down (words that Mary the innkeeper used) and said their city was full and had no more room for people to come into it because of his visit. I am REALLY glad it didn’t land on the date that we are going into Dublin. From everything I could tell, Obama’s visit went over very well with the Irish people.
Johnathon hasn’t jumped in on much of the talking, but I’ve been enjoying my exchanges with the people here. I’m finding out interesting things like “half 4” seems to mean 4:30. I’ve been called “child” a couple of times but they have been in very positive and friendly ways. Just imagine it flowing naturally at the end of an accented phrase.
It seems like the waiters and waitresses typically bring the food out to the table, glasses along with a pitcher of water that stays on the table and then they leave you alone. You get up when you are ready to pay, and Mary (the innkeeper) refused to let me give her a tip. After speaking with Olive, she said at the end of our week if I wanted to give Mary a tip, then we could.
After dinner we went to the grocery store, and had a lot more time to browse around this time. We got an odd assortment of things, stuff like steak, bread, ice cream sandwiches. We got some orange flavored honey along with some pre-cooked and packaged “American Style Pancakes”.
Full day, and happy to be back and relaxing with a nice full tummy.
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