Limerick Town

After so many people telling me not to go Limerick I felt the need to go! I think folks are operating on old beliefs and history. I am finding Limerick to be a nice place with the beautiful River Shannon adding to its charm. Yesterday I spent several hours in the downtown area, walking the shops, having lunch and just taking it all in. I took some pics of what I saw. Also, yesterday there were two sporting events in town that attacted over 20,000 people. Hurling and Football matches just up the road. The Limerick teams were playing and thankfully they won! I took the bus into town since parking was at a premium....much easier. Again, I found nice, friendly, helpful people. The first bus driver took the time to write down the bus number I needed and where to catch it. The second bus driver actually stopped at the front door of the Hotel instead of the regular stop so I wouldn't have to walk far. Amazing.

I was asked by a homeless lady (who was wearing a yellow vest saying she was registered) to buy a 2 euro lottery scratch ticket. What a good way to raise money. Apparently they register as agents and get to keep part of the money they collect and the rest goes to lottery and is used to provide services for the homeless. I'll have to show this card to my housing friends in Seattle. On the surface it looks like a good idea.

Limerick continued....

Today is Sunday and I decided to go check out the historical section of the town. King John's Castle is one of the most impressive buildings. St. Mary's Cathedral is also beautiful and dates back to 1168 with most of the history from the 15th Century. Huge stone buildings that must have taken an amazing amount of man power and time. St. Mary's is surprisingly a prostestant Anglican church. I decided to pop in the church and say a few prayers, for Angela and Frank McCourt and spend a little time in meditation. When I poped in there was a service in process so I took a seat quietly at the back of the church. I did what I had come to do and stayed a bit longer to listen to some of the service. When I started to quietly leave, I pulled a classic "Reed Tumble" by not seeing one of the stairs and fell flat! So much for leaving quietly. The service continued while 2 men came to the rescue and made sure I was OK and brought me tea while I was told to sit and rest a bit. No breaks or bruises so far but I did take a hard hit on my bad knee. We'll see what tomorrow brings. I can't believe I got busted sneaking out of church!

I'm sharing a bunch of Limerick pictures so you can get a feel for the Town. I loved the sign about "school boy haircuts". By the way, there is CCTV security cameras everywhere. In the shops, on the streets, everywhere. Very security minded in Ireland. Must stem from the days of the "troubles" when they were dealing directly with terrorism. Or maybe the Irish are just "light fingered"!

We have had a short Sun sighting!

I drove from Galway to Limerick yesterday without any mishaps and am staying at my first Hotel on the trip. The Greenhills Hotel is just fine. The big attraction is the swimming pool, steam room, sauna and jacuzzi. I spent about an hour thrashing about in the water yesterday. It felt soooo good. The sun pokes its head out of the clouds from time to time. So like Seattle.

I got a picture of Ann from the Griffin House in Galway plus a couple of lovely front yards and the beautiful crystal chandelier at the Griffin House.

I'm starting to get a grip on this driving thing. The roundabouts are the challenge. I actually went around one of them 3 times until I figured out which exit to take. It was starting to feel like a carnival ride! In one of those "if I knew then what I know now" moments, I would not have rented a car. There is bus service all over Ireland and I could have been able to get to all the places I am seeing. Oh well, let my experience be of help to others.

Today I plan to explore the City of Limerick. Not a lot of historical site but

Lawd, didn't it rain!!

And rain, and rain and rain. I love my B&B in Galway. Griffin House at #3 Father Griffin Place. Ann and Marie run it and Ann is a hoot! I've been well cared for, food is excellent but more than that, Ann has made me feel like an old friend and we have laughed ourselves inside out. My "adventures in travel" would make a great comedy show. I've seen the City of Galway quite by accident. I start out with my map and my intention and always end up somewhere interesting but not where I had planned to go. Then I get to recount my trip to Ann and enjoy it all over again. Today a milestone, I finally found my way home....accidently.

Yesterday I took a bus tour to the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. It was raining and foggy the whole trip but the driver was kind enough to describe what we would see if it was clear. It reminded me of all the times I had visitors when I lived on Whidbey Island in WA. and had to do tours like this. Brought back some fun memories. "there is a beautiful view of snow topped,Mt. Baker when it is not cloudy"....

The tour yesterday had some amazing moments. The Burren itself is an ecological wonder. Over 320 square kilometers of unique limestone that is home to over 70% of Irelands native flora. Flowers growing out of the stone...the 16th Century Castle Dunguaire, a good deal of it still habitable. And most amazing of all, the standing stone Poulnabrone Dolmen,a tomb constructed by Neolithic farmers approximately 5,800 years ago, making it older than the Egyptian Pyramids. I also loved the stacked stone fences....all hand done, no cement.

We stopped for lunch at a great pub in Doolin. Our tour drivers home town. I made 2 new Irish friends so I had good company at the table. They were from Dublin and had never seen this part of Ireland. Lovely ladies who were happy to welcome me. By the way, even the Irish cows are friendly.

Tomorrow I head for Limerick. Everyone tells me not to go to Limerick, it does not have a good reputation among the locals. But the Guide books say it has changed after several million euro were invested by the government in upgrading the town. The attraction for me is the hotel with an indoor swimming pool. The weather is predicted to bring rain through the weekend and I'd rather be swimming in water than driving in it. So I plan to "hole up" for a few days and get some excercise. Plus my arthritis is screaming at me in all this damp and cold. The pool and jacuzzi sound like just what I need. Hope you enjoy the pictures....send me some sunshine, please!!

Camera Found, New pics coming

Camera had fallen between the bed and the wall. Was found when the sheets were changed! Luck of the Irish is back. Now I need to get out and take some pics....problem today is heavy rain in Galway....so I'm glad to have 4 days here to see the sites.

Yesterday was the "day from hell"! Picked up my rental car from Dan Dooley's and had a couple of surprises cost wise...When it is all in, I will have spent about $1300 to rent a car for 2 weeks. I probably could have taken tours to the places I wanted to see for that money and saved myself the anxiety that rises in billows from the left hand side of the road. "Too late smart"!

I rented my car yesterday at about noon. Headed out on the motorway and about 10 miles out, the left front tire blew! Scared the shite out of me...big noise and then finding a place pull over off the Motorway was a challenge. Once done, a wonderful, young couple stopped to help. He put the spare on and she kept me from a major meltdown. Ended up calling the rental car office and they sent out a replacement car. All was going well with them until they called later to tell me I would have to pay for the tire! All that insurance I bought didn't cover the tires or windshield. Learn something new every day.

Entered Galway and started driving on the left, in traffic. My problem seems to be seeing where the left side of the car is. First thing off, I managed to come close enough to a car to pop my side mirror back. Interesting experience...fortunately the car I hit was parked and I did not seem to do it or mine any damage. Couldn't find the B&B where I was booked so I called and yet another wonderful Irish person walked out to find me. Amazing customer service.

Today the rains have come and I believe it will not be a good day to go exploring. Good nap weather....so until next time....I'm for some ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ's.

My Camera is Missing!

Yesterday I spent the day in Dublin and realized I had forgotten my camera. I went to a Craft/Food Street Market that was fun and colorful. Walked through the Temple Bar district, historic and filled with pubs....I think it should be called "Tourist Central"!LOL I pretty much walked to every part of the City. Finally figured out the street name thing. They put the names on the side of the buildings on the corner....but sometimes the names are in the middle of the block so it is not a perfect system. I did manage to find most every place I wanted to find. Big improvement over my first day of wandering like a lost soul. Ended up the day at my favorite store Marks and Spencer and bought my "heat and eat" dinners for the next two nights plus pears and blueberries. Caught the #19 Bus home. Couldn't find the camera...it's lost, Damn! Fortunately, no pics on it....all have been downloaded.

I was planning to take the Dart train to Hoath today. Hoath is a seaside town with a Sunday Farmers Market and a bevy of seafood restaurants. Anthony Bourdine featured the place on his Ireland Show. Problem was, I woke up this morning in so much pain that I could barely get out of bed. Damn Arthritis got me. I guess all the walking I have been doing carrying a heavy tote bag, has done me in. I should have paced myself better. Even on the days I planned to rest, I walked away half the day. I have to remind myself that I no longer have the body and endurance of a 40 year old. I thought all the gym time I've put in over the past 6 months would make a big difference and it probably has but 6 days of walking for hours was just too much. I stayed in bed until about 2PM when the B&B owner knocked on the door to check on me. I'm up and doing some stretching to see if I can loosen my muscles a bit.

Tomorrow I pick up my rental car and head out for two weeks. I won't be doing as much walking so things should be better physically. Assuming I can manage to keep from having any collisions with driving on the left and my new GPS works, it should be great fun....I do love road trips.

Dublin Wanderings

Slept late yesterday and decided to take a neighborhood walk in the after noon. The neighborhood is lovely mostly brick row houses, all with bright colored doors. Lots of flowers and a beautful Church. I was amazed to see a phone booth with an actual phone book lying there unattached. I haven't seen a phone book in a phone booth in years, and years. In my travels with my trailer, so many times I would stop at a phone booth to look up something in the phone book but they were always torn from their wire. So I truly was shocked to see that phone book lying there, unattached and unattended.

I continued my walk and was having a great time until I realized I didn't know how to get home. I consulted a very nice man sitting at a bus stop and was told I was several miles from where I began. By that time I did not feel up to walking all the way back so I took his advise and waited for the number 40 bus. It droped nearly to my door. Before calling it a night, I ducked into the pub across the street and had my first and only Guinness of the day and a dinner of boiled bacon and cabbage. Local favorite and quite good.

Day of Quiet contrasts

Although I planned to rest this day I decided in the afternoon, to explore two site near by. The National botanical Gardens and the Glasneven Cemetary. The Gardens were beautiful but unfortunately many of the glass houses were closed for maintenance. The first thing I saw upon entering was a garden filled with the kind of plants that are in my AZ back yard. Shocking...next to that garden bed was a circle made of succulents. All this in Ireland? The rest of the walk was more in line with expectations, beautiful flowers and trees one would expect from this climate. I couldn't find any staff to ask about the Southwest garden but plan to return with questons. Next door is the Gladnevin Cemetary. It is beautiful in it's own way. Filled with magnificent headstones and monuments. The foundation that runs the Cemetary is in the process of restoring the oldest stones so they can be read. The started first on the Irish Heroes of the 1916 Rising. It is quite moving to be in the midst of all these departed souls.

After all this I felt I need a cup of tea so I headed to the Tower Cafe. I got my tea plus a slice of apple tart. Perfect ending to a quiet day.