Guinness

It is an offence to leave Ireland without having tasted their Guinness.  So we went to see the brewery, and a free pint was included.  Most of it was devoted to the history and explanation and we saw the new stainless steel version through the window.

there was info on all the special stuff that goes into making Guinness.

First the barley.  Lots of it.

And yeast.  Apparently they have been using same yeast for all these years.  A reserve supply is kept in a safe in the boss's office in case anything happens and they have to get another lot going.  I bet they have more than one!

 And the water is also special.

Water display.

The Guinness harp.  Apparently Guinness was the first to use this symbol.  When Ireland wanted to use the same symbol, they took the mirror image of the harp use by Guinness.

We did have a taste.  Not as bitter as some of the other beers I have had.  I have never been a lover of beer (despite trying) and this one was more interesting - but as for a whole pint??!!

And lunch time.  BL found the chocolate mousse, no doubt with Guinness, so we shared one.

An interesting display we spent several hours there, including at the shop, which sells fudge with Guinness in it.  It must be a massive tourist earner for Dublin and Ireland.  A well run museum.

Back to Dublin

Then back to Dublin.

Saw these outside a shop near our lunch stop.  None of those 2kg jobs you get in Coles.


Tomorrow is an extra day in Dublin for us.  We have bought (seniors) tickets online for the Guinness factory/brewery tour.  A free pint is included, so will eventually get to taste the stuff.

Then a look at Christ Church - and whatever else the day brings.

The weather (apart from at the Cliffs of Mohr) has been very kind to us with occasional soft rain.  

Leaving Ashford Castle

Today we had time to walk around some more before leaving Ashford Castle.  Some pictures in and around the Castle.

Monogrammed bedsheets and pillowcases.  But no chocolate on the pillow case. A serious omission!

Wallpaper - or is it wall-polyester?  This is embroidery - so watch that cup of coffee!

The bigger picture of the wallpaper.

 Rhododendrons are everywhere.  This is a small group

Not those wimpy poppies you see in other parts of Europe!

Part of the walled garden.

BL living like a princess.

One last look before we get on the bus - and back to the real world.

How Ashford Castle copes with National Geographic magazines.....

Ashford Castle

Today we left Galway and drove to Cong where we boarded a boat for lunch and to take us to Ashford castle.  They bill this as the highlight of the trip - and it certainly is.  It reminds me of some of the palaces we stayed in India.

This is lunch.  The boat captain is giving us the history of Ashford Castle and the lady next to him is our tour guide, Clodagh (pronounced Clow-dah).

Our first view of Ashford Castle.

Arriving at Ashford Castle - led across the bridge by a (Scottish) piper.

To the entrance....

And this is our group arriving.

then we went walking towards the village - it reminded me of walking in Spain, except just more Irish.

and saw a swan two cygnets.

We spend one night here, and are on the road tomorrow at 11am for Dublin.  Our hotel there will be a considerable let-down after this experience!

Galway

Today we left Galway after a look at the town and the Cathedral.


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 This is a statue of Oscar Wilde (left) and Estonian writer Eduard Wilde. According to the Internet, "this is one of a pair of identical statues – the other one stands in Tartu in Estonia  – and was presented to Galway to mark the occasion of Estonia joining the EU in 2004. Though they share a surname the two men are unrelated and never actually met or chatted in real life, though they were contemporaries".

 Galway Cathedral - outside - too big to fit into one shot.

Galway Cathedral - inside.

And Singapore is not the only institution to be celebrating 50 years.

Kylemore Abbey

Today the main feature was Kylemore Abbey. It was originally a private castle built 1860s, and the last owners are the Benedictine sisters who purchased it in 1920.  It is in a beautiful setting, with the abbey and a small gothic church nearby.  There is also a walled Victorian garden.  BL went to the garden.  I ventured to the church.

There were also walks and hikes you could do.

As always on a tour, I could have spent much more time here.  It was also our lunch stop.

I fell asleep in the bus and woke to find we were at a photo stop.  This photo doesn't do justice to the spectacular scenery, but couldn't resist the contrails in the air.  There were more than appear in the photo. I thought I had missed the name of the lake, but the guide didn't know either - there are so many!  The bare hills reminded me of Faroe Islands.

Photos still slow, so that is about all for today.  And sorted out the downloading hassle - just read them from the camera.

Tonight we go to an Irish dancing show.

Irish optimism

We saw this today. With over 200 rainy days a year in parts of the west, the salesman must have been a good one.

Solar panels on a house outside Galway.

More durians in Singapore

The neighbour's tree has been "raining" durians (with a bit of exaggeration). The three of us here cannot possibly do justice to all the fruits. Since Beo Lan is the afionardo of durians, Wai Zin is carefully freezing some for her return.


​Still a lot of fruits on the tree.

Ready for the freezer.

​

Killarney to Galway - and the weather caught up with us....

The wifi at this hotel is marginal, and pictures taking ages to upload.  So will have to stick to text.

We left Killarney and crossed the River Shannon by ferry - a very respectable ferry at that - memories of Sierra Leone make me nervous about ferries.

Then we went to see the Cliffs of Moher, apparently a geopark along the Wild Atlantic Way.  But due to the weather, there was nothing to be seen beyond a few feet,  so we saw a lot of the very interesting visitors centre and shop.  It was all a bit like Nordkap in Norway  but much warmer.

After that we drove through a region called the  Burren.  It is described as a karst landscape, but reminded me of some of the rocky paces we walked through in Spain.  Apparently one of Oliver Cromwell's generals described it as having not enough water to drown a man, not enough soil to bury a man and no trees to hang a man - or words to that effect.

Then to a sheep farm!  But still interesting to see.  Irish sheep are raised for their meat, and the money gained from their fleece just covers the cost of shearing - their wool is considered pretty useless. The farmer quoted a high rate of twins in their sheep - up to 20%.  Seemed pretty high to me. Density is 3 ewes (plus their lambs) to the acre, but one sheep per 3 acres in the mountains.  They too have a live sheep export industry to the middle east, but sell chilled meat to European countries mainly.

Then we saw Galway Bay before driving to our hotel on the other side of the bay.  Today's overcast weather makes it look grey but it is not cold.  This hotel is outside the town, a huge sprawling resort type place on the (rocky) beach.

We are well - the tour seems to work pretty well despite having 39 people on it.  There is a lot of road trips - but so far we have been 2 days somewhere then look at local places in between.  After Galway, we then have single night stays.   More meals have been included than I expected - both afternoon tea and dinner were provided for us today.