Sunday, February 21, 2010

Wrapping up our adventure

We played some wii in the hotel and ordered room service. (Partly because of the operating hours of restaurants) Anastasia ended up being quite ill. Thank goodness for tile bathrooms!! Ugh. It was a great trip, but this was our cue to head home.


The weather took a turn, too. Notice the snow.....

Fun zone
















We walked the town and toured the countryside, so we figured that we deserved a fun zone day. The kids had fun in the bouncy zone, climbing wall and trampoline jump.

Off season touring

























The kids had fun doing laps and so did daddy. Here are a few pics of the troops.


Here are the kiddos doing the mini track and having a great time. They only hit the tires a few times.






We had excellent but cold weather. However, it was off season and many things were still closed. After attempting to see a few closed items, we ventured off to a farm and go cart track. We saw the rock walls and baby pigs.


Adare and coastal drive





































Adare was a nice trip out. We drove south from Limerick. This is the home of the Robert Trent Jones SR golf course. There is also a preserved part of the city with thatch roof houses. There is a great park and old washing area. See the stones that they used to scrub out the staines? I am happy to report that the kids did not fall in, but the group behind us was not so lucky. Oops.

Cliffs of Moher


































We hiked up to the cliffs and had blue skies with lots of wind. These cliffs were used as an outpost and are now a wildlife habitat for birds. They were used in filming movies like Princess Bride, Harry Potter/ Half Blood Prince, Far and Away....

We had a great visit despite the gale force winds. When we got back in the car, it started to pour. Timing is everything.


Locke Pub and castle




We had the family feast and just about liked the plate clean. We had the Sunday Roast and it was some of the best food that we have had!!

Kids were impressed with the pub and the Guinness taps that they could work.




The next day we visited Bunratty castle and drove along the coast. The castle also housed a small Williamsburg type area.

King John's Castle



















We treked over to King John's castle. It was pretty impressive. This started out as a Viking settlement and was later enclosed to make a rather tough castle.


Treaty stone










Limerick was known as the Treaty City. This is the site where they signed the famous treaty ending the siege. It was basically over religion, too. St Mary's was built in 1168 and is still used. It is a
really neat church.
We visited the Milk Market and saw the Masonic temple, too. We walked 3 miles back to the hotel and the kids did not whine or complain. :) I had to take a sign of the potato market parking.

Ireland











For the February half term we tagged along with Tom to his conference in Limerick. (No, the children did not learn any!) But we had a great stay in the Strand Hotel along the River Shannon. It was a great trip.