Ireland Day 2

Day 27 - Ireland - Day 2 (September 25)

We decided to sleep in a bit, so didn’t get up until 7:30 AM with breakfast an hour later in the downstairs dining room. Fitzpatrick Castle is bustling with tourists from all over the world and we hear German, Japanese and American as we eat. After breakfast we took our bags out to the car and then returned to map out our route and make a reservation for this evening at Springlawn B&B just outside Galway.

We start our drive just about 10:00 AM, returning to the M50 then catching the M4 east, then switching to the N6 for the small town of Athlone. We got into Athlone just about noon, parked and walked into the city center, over the river and to the old town fort which houses the Tourist Bureau. We picked up some travel information, then returned to town for lunch in a small café where we both had a delightful meal.

Leaving the café we returned to the car and drove out to an old monastery called Clonmacnoise Abbey http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ireland/clonmacnoise . We spent some time here in the museum and out in the grounds, walking through the ruins of the abbey and the cemetery which stretches back for over 1200 years. They are still doing some restoration to the towers to stabilize the stones. It was very interesting.

Leaving the Abbey we returned once again to the N6 for the drive to Oranmore, just outside Galway. Here we turned on the N18 for the short drive to Cragana and our lodging. After getting settled, we read for a while, worked on photos and the blog, then drove into town to the local pub for dinner. It was really good!! Arriving back at Springlawn we settled in for the night.

To see our photos, go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski