It has taken a few weeks to get to this last post of our trip to Europe. Trying to catch up....
Tuesday morning after visiting Rick's heritage sights in Down County we packed up our belongings ready to travel to Limerick for two nights. Before leaving though we wanted to walk through the beautiful Leslie Castle. We unfortunately didn't get to stay IN the castle but the mews on the back property. We for sure wanted to see inside the castle so we did just that.
Here we are standing in front of the mews, our rented space on the Leslie Castle property.
Some fun pictures from The Castle Leslie....
It was a three to four hour drive to Limerick (which felt like forever on those narrow roads) but we did stop for some sightseeing and dinner in Athlone.
We toured the old castle built as a fortress and chess like piece through the ongoing wars with England.
I didn't get any pictures but we stopped for a picture on the bridge over the Shannon River.
We also stopped at a pub for dinner before we headed on to Limerick. Skylar and Sarah had found an air b&b for us to stay in and it actually was about thirty minutes south of Limerick a cute little town called Adare.
Skylar and Sarah had found an air b&b for us to stay in and it actually was about thirty minutes south of Limerick a cute little town called Adare. The b&b was a fine place to stay. It had a little kitchen stocked with cereal and milk for the morning. Rick went to the store to pick up some other breakfast items to get us started for the day.
Isn't it so cute with all of that ivy?
We had previously decided that we visit the Cliffs of Moher but with all the driving we had been doing we changed our plan and decided to just hang around the Adare area. I found that there was a greenbelt bikeway not too far away and decided to reserve some bikes for each of us. Of course, Rick and I got some electric bikes and Skylar and Sarah got the regular bikes.
Before our scheduled bike ride in the afternoon we walked around the streets of Adare and did a little window shopping. There was a nice park there that we took a stroll through, as well. We found a visitor's center that had a bakery and a woolenry. Rick purchased a hat and some socks for the bishopric and I got an earmuff. Rick also got a pastry from the bakery.
We started our bike ride from Newcastle West about twenty kilometers from Adare. The bike rental company met us at the car park and off we went. The greenbelt bike path is on an old railway track. The path was very nicely situated and took us through some nice farmland. After ten kilomenters we came to the Barnagh Tunnel route. We turned off and rode through the tunnel, passing an old train station then and up toward a rest area. We stopped and got a drink and snack and then got back on the path. We rode up four kilometers further to Templeglantine and I was very happy to turn around at that point. My rear was sore so as we turned to head back I put my bike in high gear and went as fast as I could. We made it back in about half the time as coming. I was ready to get off that bike by the end of our ride. Rick stayed right with me and Skylar and Sarah came in about five minutes later. Anyway, it was a nice memory made:)
That evening we drove into Limerick for dinner. We were going to have Asian food but changed our minds and went for some Italian instead. We drove a little around Limerick and then wanted to just relax at the house. Skylar and Sarah went to bed early and Rick and I just enjoyed some down time.
The next morning was Thursday. This was our day to split up. While we were in England we got word of Darrell's death (our brother in law and Rick's business partner) and new that we would be leaving Europe a day early to get home for his funeral. His passing was unexpected and we truly thought he was getting better after being moved to the rehab center. It was a shock and a sad time to be away but we recognized that DeeAnn would be surrounded by her family to help comfort and strengthen each other.
So, on this day we drove up to Limerick to get another vehicle. While Skylar and Sarah drove toward their next night's stay in Dunmore, we drove toward Waterford. We knew we wanted to go back to the crystal factory. We enjoyed the factory tour the first time we came to Ireland and wanted to do it again. It is fascinating all of the work that goes into making their crystal. From the glass blowing to the etching and polishing it is a tedious process and unless it is in perfect condition it is broken up and goes back to being melted down and starting over.
We enjoyed the showroom at the end and loved picking out pieces that we wanted to have shipped home. We purchased 3 four piece goblet packs, a cake plate, two bowls, a vase and a ring holder (for my bathroom) It was a bit of money spent but how often do you get to Waterford? We were happy with our purchases and are excited for them to get here!
After Waterford we made our way to Dublin. We got checked into the Moxy and walked over to the Arlington Hotel to see the Celtic Nights dinner and show. It did not disappoint. We had seen this show before and loved it so we were happy that we were able to change our tickets for one night earlier. The food was great and the entertainment was really great too. The show was a good way to end our time in Europe. It was a long day (lots of driving) and we were happy to fall into bed that night.
This brings us to the end of our British vacation. Our flight didn't leave until around 1:00 so we were able to have time to eat and get to the airport to get our covid tests. The flight home was smooth with a two hour layover in Dallas and we arrived home about midnight. It was a wonderful vacation spending time in Rick's ancestors homeland, spending time with Brach and Kendra in England and then Skylar and Sarah in Ireland. We appreciate so much the opportunity to do such things and recognize it as a blessing to travel to foreign lands.
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