Another bucket-list destination done & wishing I was born (rich) in the 1600s

Today was a great day of adventuring, especially because we got to tick off a big attraction on the way.

As we didn’t find all that much to do within Limerick, we decided to do a day trip out towards Galway (so further north) to give us some more time in Galway itself, as we’ve heard nothing but great things about Galway City. Travel smart people.

Although we had a pretty busy day planned, our first item on the agenda didn’t open until 9am, and I think we got there at 10am. Honestly these later starts are saving my sleep schedule, unfortunately for Dad they’re definitely going to have to stay. What was weird about today was I got 9 hours of sleep last night, which, after going to bed at 2am after kayaking was probably the minimum amount necessary, but I felt so fatigued all day today and I have no idea why. We’re going to head out to find some dinner soon, but honestly I felt like I’d just got off a plane, it’s the kind of tired that really reminds me of jetlag. I feel like I just need another solid night’s sleep and then we’ll be reset, but I did hope to be less foggy today. But oh well, we push through.

Luckily for me we started the day with a half an hour drive out of Limerick to Bunratty Castle and Folk Village, which was such a cool experience. If it was just the Castle itself we were going to see then it probably wouldn’t have been all that exciting, considering at this rate it feels like we see a castle a day. This Castle, though, is probably the most well preserved we’ve seen thus far. Not much had to have been restored since the 1600s when it was built, partly because it wasn’t highly attacked, and this meant all the walls and floors are completely original, which in Ireland is unique to this Castle. All the artworks and furniture in the Castle were also original pieces from the 1600s donated from the Viscount and Viscountess of the area in the 1980s I believe. Knowing nothing was a replica did help immerse yourself in the world a bit more.

The Castle wasn’t just a castle though, the ‘park’ had been constructed into an entire medieval village, including staff in costume. It was so cool not to just walk through the castle, but to visit the blacksmith’s workshop, the farmers and their homes, the doctor’s practice, the village pub, market etc. It contextualised the Castle so well, which I feel like is often missing from how Castles are presented as a tourist attraction. It’s so easy to just be like yeah ok that’s a cool old building, but having it a part of a much bigger system makes it much more logical and cohesive to understand. I loved seeing all the different homes set up according to the family’s social class, it made me realised I’d really only be cut out for the rich life of the 1600s let’s be so for real here.

We probably spent a good 2 hours or so walking around and exploring all the different areas, and I could go through all of them but let’s guess my highlight. The art store? No. The medieval pub? Of course not. The doctor’s practice? Absolutely not. The random farm animals in their little pens? That’d be the one. I spent way too long just staring at their cute ponies, they were just so darling. And the goats had kids with them, I’d say max a month old, so I don’t know what else was expected of me. You give me calves and kids and piglets and expect me not to hang out there for an hour? Oh yeah that mistake’s on you, I’m hanging out with them for a bit.

Driving on from Bunratty we had another hour or so before we would reach our next destination for the day, one I have been looking forward to ever since we considered travelling to Ireland at all. And that would be the Cliffs of Moher! Luckily for me of course I was not driving, so I took the opportunity to have a solid nap. I don’t think I actually fell asleep for any period of time, but I wasn’t feeling very well and an awful headache started to kick in, but there was no way I wasn’t going to enjoy the Cliffs, so I popped a couple of Panadols and tried to rest a bit.

Whatever I did really helped, and by the time we arrived at the Cliffs car park, a 20 minute walk away from the actual Cliffs, my mind had cleared a bit and I was hoping just maybe I would enjoy myself. And we did! We made sure to find a carpark a little further away from the main tourist section so we could do a longer walk and try to experience bits of the Cliffs which weren’t as busy. And our strategy definitely worked, we got most of the trail to ourselves before the main viewpoint you see on all the postcards, and though the wind was intense, it didn’t rain at all and it wasn’t cold, so in Irish terms, the weather was perfect. We walked a good distance around the coast and took in the beautiful scenery before hopping back in the car. Honestly those Cliffs are just stunning, it was so surreal to see an image that I’d seen countless times online finally in person. They looked like they were painted on to the coastline and I could just reach out and touch the canvas.

Our last stop before heading back into Limerick for dinner and Olympic viewing was the town of Ennistymon, which we’d past briefly on the way to the Cliffs of Moher and thought it looked pretty cool. And we were right once again! We did a short walk through the town to see the cascades which pour out into the town’s river but underneath a beautiful stone bridge. Then right near the river we found the cutest vintage store, so of course we had to check it out. I love those spontaneous excursions that end up being a highlight of the day, it’s the best part about travelling.

Tomorrow we’re heading off to Galway, which I would say is the city in Ireland I’m most looking forward to. Let’s hope I have a good time!

Currently MIA,

Lauren x