Well, I’m not completely exhausted writing this, so that’s a good start.  We had a long tiring day today with all the driving, but it was my first time driving on the wrong side so I’m hoping tomorrow’s drive feels more comfortable.  It was a little weird driving on the Left, but more unnerving than that was the fact that I think when the Irish build their roads, they decided to make them all one way roads, then someone else decided it was a bad idea, so they drew a line down the middle and turned the one lane into two.  It’s crazy just how narrow the roads are, there were numerous occasions today where I felt like we were going to get hit, and that’s not to mention the speed limits.  There are these winding narrow roads and the speed limit is 100km/h.  It’s crazy.

Aside from the driving fun, we saw a few things on our drive.  We got started a little later than we’d hoped as we slept in until 8:15 (I know, really sleeping in eh?), and the Thrifty Car Rental place was jammed and it took forever to get our car.

Our first stop was a castle in Tullamore.  We had some trouble finding it, and even drove down this huge driveway only to find that it didn’t go to the castle like it appeared, but to some framer’s house.  Once we got there we got out, took a few photos and then discovered that they were doing renovations.  Of course there was no sign to indicate as such.  So that was pretty well a waste of time.

Our next stop was the best of the day.  We stumbled upon this place only the day before we left for Ireland and decided it sounded cool.  The place was called Clanmacnoise, and we saw a bunch of ruins, including a castle that basically toppled over.  We spent a good hour, maybe even more there.  Just as we got our tickets it started to pour, and heavily at that, so we waited the rain out, and were given some sunshine right after.  I’d recommend going if you’re in the area.

After Clonmacnoise, we went to Clifden, where I’m writing from now.  The GPS from Thrifty, which they claimed to have ‘up to date maps’ didn’t have the M6 on it, a major highway.  So we weren’t quite sure if we were on the right track for some time.  Thankfully, we found our way to Galway and back onto the GPS.  Galway had a bunch of crazy roundabouts and they were interesting….

Once in Clifden, we made it to the Ardagh Hotel, and went and grabbed dinner at J.P. Connely’s Pub.  There were some guys playing a violin and bagpipes playing while we ate.  They sounded pretty god to me.

After dinner came the rains, and that was over 3 hours ago now, and it’s still raining.  We took a drive around and made plans for tomorrow, so we hope the rain holds out a bit for us, there are some places I’d like to go while we’re in that area that require being outside walking.

I hope to write again tomorrow after we get to Doolin, hopefully I’ll be talking about the nice weather.  For now, here are a few from today.

Enjoy!!!

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