Last week, Rebecca and I headed off for a Road trip to the west coast of Ireland. The weather forecast was a bit mixed but we decided to chance it and we were not disappointed.
Day 1 We set off at about 8 am. We journeyed the length of Glencar water falls before stopping for a wee cup of tea, which really hit the spot. From here we set off through Sligo town down the road to Croagh Patrick one of the Holiest mountains in Ireland (well until we got there). Once a year people do a pilgrimage up this beast, some even go for the bare foot approach. Having climbed it all I can say is they must be well fit. The Mountain is in a class location looking over an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. The climb up and down took us about 4 hours with a break for lunch half way, the mountain is o
nly about 840m. But considering underfoot is mostly loose scree, I thought we done well. After climbing the beast we went into the Beautiful wee town of Westport (sure you would know by the name that it is cute), and got some well earned food. From here we headed back to the hotel for some relaxation, the old hot tub at the hotel was good medicine. We also sampled one or two of the local products a drink called Guinness which was nice, and then Corona, I didnt know there was a town in Ireland called Corona, but that stuff is nice.
Day 2 We set off at 9:30 after a flipping lovely breakfast at the hotel, why can every breakfast not be that good. The wee individually packaged cereal boxes, we individual Jam spreads, we individual tea pots, the list goes on! Our first stop was Cong and Ashford Castle, not that nice a castle but a nice wee town. Its were John Wayne shot the Quiet Man, not a real quiet man but the Movie. We then drove through Connemara National Park which is a real beautiful area, huge mountains and untouched trees and lakes that seem thousands of years old. We had some left over pizza for lunch which was left over from the night before, I tell you what pizza is better cold and a day old. After driving out of the National park we hit up the Atlantic Ocean. Rebecca and I had a great time, while the surf was onshore and messy, it was good for a bit of banter. Rebecca ended up catching the biggest wave of the day, which was great even if she didnt mean to.
After the surf in the chilly ocean, we headed back to the hotel which was about an hours drive, good time for some tunes, its funny how albums that seemed dead, never to be played again, sitting in your CD case, can come back to life again in the right context. When we got back to the hotel we grabbed a kick ass meal in the hotels rest, and then people watched in the hotel bar. It seemed like locals from miles around were drawn to this new hotel, the fancy lights and big seats were new to these people.
Day 3 We went home by the senic route taking in the beautiful Island of Achill. Nothing really on the Island itself other than a few random people who fit the island life pretty well, some sheep, and hares. However, we did find a class we cafe that served civilised coffee and soup and panninis. So we stopped there for lunch. It was such a class thing to find a top class lunch before the long drive home. After lunch we set the compass for home, on our way home those Cds keep shining and we even saw a Rainbow.
Brilliant to have time with the one I love, making memories...
