Yesterday the weather was just as predictably unpredictable.....so typical of Ireland (and Scotland as well). But that didn't keep us from venturing out in the morning.
After a fabulous breakfast at the Ard na Breathe B&B, we put on our boots, gloves, and scarves.....donned our coats, made certain to grab the umbrellas...and headed by foot into Donegal.
Once we stepped out the door of the B&B, I couldn't help but chuckle at the curious sheep.
We went on our merry way, however, and headed to the information center in search of an historic walking tour that I had found online, but had no way to print. The friendly woman there was surprised to hear of such a walk, and she took down the web address to check it out. (A lot of help that was too us.)
Since it was pouring down rain anyway, a long walk really did seem out of the question. I was already drenched, and we hadn't even begun our tour!
We walked to the end of the harbor where we viewed the spot where the Harvey emigrants would have embarked for their journey to America in the 1890's.
The Atlantic ocean is in the distance.
Along the coast at this point stands the ruins of a Franciscan Friary that had been built in 1474 and had been endowed by Nuala O'Conner and Nuala O'Brien, wives of O'Donnell Chieftains.
The history behind the castle was fascinating, and we enjoyed walking through the grand hall and the manor house.
On the way out, when we went to thank the proprietor, we were introduced to Paddy Meehan, a former mayor of the town of Donegal. This is when we learned that the "event" that had taken place the night before was actually a concert commemorating James McKay Rorty, an Irishman from the town, who had been killed in the battle of Gettysburg. It turns out that Paddy will be in the US in June, with the intention of touring the battlefield. Of course, Marty couldn't help but pass along a few interesting tips about the place, having been there numerous times himself. Kind of funny to be discussing the American Civil War with an Irishman, but apparently many emigrants lost their lives in the Civil War shortly after leaving the country for America.
Walking around Donegal Town can be quite a challenge as there are no crosswalks and the drivers are not too eager to let anybody cross the street. This road sign actually describes things quite well.
Doesn't it look the the car is out to hit the running man? I suppose that this must be fair warning to be cautious. In any event, never walk too close to the edge of the sidewalk!
Today we decided to stop off and visit Annie once again before making our way back to Larne. We are scheduled to take the ferry back to Scotland on Saturday. She was thrilled to see us and to hear all of the excitement of the previous evening. Annie looked so much better than yesterday!
I had taken the photo of the three of us to the local pharmacy and had a print made for her. The girl behind the counter looked at the photo and explained, "I know that woman! She's such a dear soul". I explained the happenings of the day before, and the young lady became so excited and she said, "Why not buy a wee frame to put the photo in for Annie?"
Now, was that a great idea, or what? She found a wonderful frame that said "Family" on the top, and the photo fit inside perfectly. Then this young girl wrapped the frame in some pretty paper for us. (Really.....can you beat this hospitality?)
When Annie opened the gift, she looked at the photo and said, "I look terrible!" Now, that brought a laugh out of me. Imagine being nearly 92 years old and worrying about how you look! But, she popped it up on the table, smiling.....and I knew that she was thrilled with it.
We once again chatted through visiting hours, and when it was time to leave, I looked out the window and saw this
After a fabulous breakfast at the Ard na Breathe B&B, we put on our boots, gloves, and scarves.....donned our coats, made certain to grab the umbrellas...and headed by foot into Donegal.
Once we stepped out the door of the B&B, I couldn't help but chuckle at the curious sheep.
Obviously, we must have been some entertainment for them, as one by one they popped up their heads for a stare-down.
We went on our merry way, however, and headed to the information center in search of an historic walking tour that I had found online, but had no way to print. The friendly woman there was surprised to hear of such a walk, and she took down the web address to check it out. (A lot of help that was too us.)
Since it was pouring down rain anyway, a long walk really did seem out of the question. I was already drenched, and we hadn't even begun our tour!
We walked to the end of the harbor where we viewed the spot where the Harvey emigrants would have embarked for their journey to America in the 1890's.
The Atlantic ocean is in the distance.
Along the coast at this point stands the ruins of a Franciscan Friary that had been built in 1474 and had been endowed by Nuala O'Conner and Nuala O'Brien, wives of O'Donnell Chieftains.
It was here that four Franciscan monks wrote the History of Ireland from 1632 to 1636. The documents covered the history of Ireland from its beginning to 1618.
We walked into town towards Donegal Castle. When we walked into the entrance, the proprietor told us that we were in luck, because he was not charging visitors to tour the castle that day. There had been an event the night before, and the staff was still cleaning up, putting away chairs, etc., and they hoped that we could overlook that as we toured the castle.
Let me just say that we didn't see one chair or anything out of place on our tour, but we weren't complaining about the "freebie"!
The history behind the castle was fascinating, and we enjoyed walking through the grand hall and the manor house.
Walking around Donegal Town can be quite a challenge as there are no crosswalks and the drivers are not too eager to let anybody cross the street. This road sign actually describes things quite well.
Doesn't it look the the car is out to hit the running man? I suppose that this must be fair warning to be cautious. In any event, never walk too close to the edge of the sidewalk!
Today we decided to stop off and visit Annie once again before making our way back to Larne. We are scheduled to take the ferry back to Scotland on Saturday. She was thrilled to see us and to hear all of the excitement of the previous evening. Annie looked so much better than yesterday!
I had taken the photo of the three of us to the local pharmacy and had a print made for her. The girl behind the counter looked at the photo and explained, "I know that woman! She's such a dear soul". I explained the happenings of the day before, and the young lady became so excited and she said, "Why not buy a wee frame to put the photo in for Annie?"
Now, was that a great idea, or what? She found a wonderful frame that said "Family" on the top, and the photo fit inside perfectly. Then this young girl wrapped the frame in some pretty paper for us. (Really.....can you beat this hospitality?)
When Annie opened the gift, she looked at the photo and said, "I look terrible!" Now, that brought a laugh out of me. Imagine being nearly 92 years old and worrying about how you look! But, she popped it up on the table, smiling.....and I knew that she was thrilled with it.
We once again chatted through visiting hours, and when it was time to leave, I looked out the window and saw this
Isn't that just lovely?
It was time to leave, and we both hugged Annie. Then, she looked at us with her big eyes and said,
"So, when are you coming back?" What a hoot!
It was time to head to Larne, but we had decided to drive north to the Giant's Causeway. (This has no connection with the New York sport's teams). But, we never actually did figure out what it was supposed to be, because we showed up 10 minutes prior to the Visitor center closing.
But, we did manage to capture a few photos of the shoreline.
Beautiful, don't you think?
By this point the sun was nearly setting, and we still had quite a drive ahead of us, so we began the journey to Larne. The last 10 minutes of the drive snow was falling. And, the lady who owns the B&B told me that we are actually heading into snow when we get to Scotland tomorrow. Now, how lucky is that?
It looks like we're leaving Ireland just prior to all of the St. Patrick's Day festivities. And believe you me, there were plenty of places gearing up for the big event. Shamrocks abound! And Donegal was bursting with anticipation. We'll have to see if the same enthusiasm greets us in Scotland.
Let me just share a few photos of the place here in Larne. Once again, we can see the boat in the harbor.
The place is right near the harbor, so getting to the ferry should be fairly easy.
But let me just say that the decor here is quite a bit different than the elegant place where we stayed in Donegal.
Want an example?
Ok, here goes......
Isn't it what you've always wanted?
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