Ireland in Retrospect: Bunratty Castle and Adare

Bunratty Castle and Adare September 21

After we left the Cliffs of Moher, we headed southeast toward Adare, where our next lodging was. Directly on the way was Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. I know I know, touristy. But we wanted to see one castle while in Ireland. One the way there, we stopped at a small creperie in a little town whose name I can't recall right now. We both had a type of savory crepe made with buckwheat instead of flour. Mine had goat cheese, so it was quite rich. Tasty though! And of course, we got tea too.

Bunratty Castle was as I expected. Big, old, and somewhat interesting. There were so many steep, winding stair cases. I like that the castle was furnished to give visitors an idea of what a 16th (or was it 15th?) century castle might really look like. Also on the grounds were small buildings to represent life in that time: a farmhouse, a laborer's house, a blacksmith shop, and others. It reminded me a bit of Old World Wisconsin.

One wrong step could spell disaster.

View from the top.

When it started to rain, we decided to head out. Plus, there were a lot of people. Not to be ageist, but elderly tourists are definitely the worst. So slow. In other news, weather in Ireland is so interesting. It really can be raining one minute and sunny the next. Or in this case, pouring down rain out one window and the sun trying to peek out of another.

We were only about 20 or so minutes outside of Adare, so we were at our bed and breakfast, called Carrigane House in a jiffy. We met Maura, who was kind enough to let us check in early. We rested in our room for a couple of hours, and then went back into town (the B&B) is located a little ways out of town) for dinner.

I had wanted to check out a place called The Blue Door. We lucked out and managed to snag the very last table. The restaurant was in what looked like a small house, so the visual atmosphere was lovely. Not a huge fan of the clientele though. Loud Americans to our left and loud Americans to our right. Listen, I love America. But when I'm in Ireland, I want to be around Irish people! I don't want to hear someone brag about their timeshare in Myrtle Beach or another complain that the tiny restaurant doesn't have any beer on tap. At least my meal was fab. And pretty!

After dinner, we walked to Sean Collins for an after dinner drink. That Guinness was so good! I'm kicking myself for only getting a half pint instead of a full one. We briefly chatted with the bartender, as well as another American couple that was sitting at the bar. See? I don't dislike all American tourists. Just the loud, slow, obnoxious ones. Haha

Wanting dessert and more tea, we stopped in another restaurant. I can't remember the name, but the cheesecake we had was delicious! We sat and talked there for a while. It was nice.

Then, back to Carrigane House for bedtime!