Ireland Trip - Day 13 (July 25): Donegal to Doolin

At this point in the trip, we could feel things starting to wind down – we still had a couple days to go, but we both agreed two weeks was just about the right amount of time for a trip of this nature – we were starting to overload on everything we had seen so far.

After a hearty breakfast of french toast, which we both chose, we packed up and checked out of Ard Na Breatha (the first place, incidentally, where the hostess did not come out to say farewell – it was a staff member who took care of the bill). After driving back through Sligo, we turned slightly west, and headed into Mayo. Our route was very heavily influenced by the presence of the woolen mill in Foxford – and we were definitely not disappointed. The store itself is bright and cheerful, with a nice little café on the first floor, but it was the woolens themselves that just wowed us. The blankets and throws, linens, sweaters, scarves, and other items were scrumptious – I wanted to roll myself up in them and nap. I found an absolutely stunning sweater, while mom purchased a scarf for a friend.

After drooling a bit more over the offerings, we continued on our way into Connemara. We stopped briefly at Kylemore Abbey; we chose not to pay the rather hefty price to see the grounds, but took a few pictures from across the lake, and had a light lunch of potato soup and brown bread and went on our way. We next stopped at Connemara National Park, where we walked the nature trail, encountering a VERY green caterpillar along the way, but did not, unfortunately, get to see the ponies (just one, from quite a distance). Hardier souls were climbing to the top of Diamond Hill, but we chose to take it easy (especially as the skies looked like they could open up at any minute).

Kylemore Abbey

Connemara National Park

Once we’d gotten in a little exercise, we headed for the car and continued south. We made our way around Galway, and kept on towards the Burren. The landscape there is just stunning – it was so fascinating to see those great, grey hills rise up before us. We arrived in Doolin around dinner time, and made our way to the Roadford House where we were staying the night. We were greeted by Marian who, in spite of having been pulled out of the dining room, took a few minutes to show us up to our room and give us some information on where things were in town.

Doolin

After unloading our bags, we decided to find something to eat. We were both tired from a long day in the car, and decided we weren’t up for any of the live music that Doolin is known for – especially given that a few guide books warned that it had become a bit of a tourist trap. We wandered down the main street, and after passing a few places, came upon Fitz’s pub. We each had pasta with tomato sauce – simple, but very good. Mom had chocolate cookies for dessert; I however decided to take advantage of the fact we were walking, and had a couple pints of Smithwicks. After dinner, we made our way back to Roadford, where I had just about the best night’s sleep of the entire trip. Very comfortable bed, and extremely quiet.