Mon 28 Sept, Connemara
Ironically we had some difficulty finding the actual hotel. But finally got to it 6:35 pm. The receptionist then offered us dinner at only 6:30 or 730. Not surprisingly we were not impressed and eventually, with very bad grace, they allowed us to have it at 8 pm, but not a second afterwards. The whole situation was very badly handled.
Our room was spacious and but the view overlooking the garden was nothing special. However we did see the harvest moon rise through our windows . We unpacked and went down to dinner. The dinner was good but we were amazed by how the restaurant manager spent all his time talking to one particular table: maybe in the morrow we will find out what special people these were?? When we had finished dinner we found that there was a harp recital taking place in the lounge and we listen to this for 15 minutes or so and the Harpist's finger work was quite fantastic: I was able to see this because I fortuitously had my binoculars with me as I had used them to look at the harvest moon. A really great day apart from the eating hours argument at reception.
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Tues 29 Sep. Connemara
We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with some really good fresh strawberries also porridge but no decent juice. After this we went out for an hours walk around the lake: very very windy at times but did not rain on us. I used meta glasses to describe the scenes I was looking at and she constantly use the word serene which seemed a bit far-fetched on such a blustery cloudy day. We examined the outdoor swimming pool on the way back into the hotel and David tested the temperature of the water. As a result, I was brave or foolish enough to try it and really enjoyed my swim although the pool was really old and half of it was too shallow to swim.
We went out about noon and drove round the Connemara Loop past the 12 Bens and many lakes, but it was not in its full glory due to the very overcast day and some rain. We then drove to Clifden and stopped at a craft and heritage Centre. However once we got out of the car, the place seemed run down, and it did not seem to be worth while buying a ticket to wander round the grounds. So we drove back to Clifden and had a walk round there, before returning to the hotel about 15.30.
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Lough Inagh |
10 Bens |
Maam Cross |
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Leenaun |
Kilary Fjord |
Kilary Fjord |
We had some bread and cheese and ham and read for an hour by the turf fire in the entrance lounge. The rain did not abate, indeed it got really intense and the wind got up, so we were unable to go out for another walk. We went down for a cocktail by the fire before dinner at 8 pm, where there was a pianist which made it very enjoyable and the food was good again although far too much for me. When we left we found that there were a couple of Irish musicians in the bar playing folk tunes and songs so we sat down there for half an hour listening to them
Wed 30 Sept. Connemara
A later breakfast than normal as David was trying to find out why my Meta glasses were no longer working and even after breakfast he spent another hour on this, unsuccessfully. It seemed to be a problem associated with us now being in another country, that is Ireland, and not close to UK (Northern Ireland) where they had worked. AI indicated that it was different privacy laws giving different versions of the glasses.
So it was around noon before we finally set out. During the morning there was some terrific rain, which outmatched any of Spain's Gota Fria rain. It was so intense, but they were also bright sunny periods. We headed south to Clifden and then drove round a peninsula from there. We stopped at the Alcock and Brown Memorial site where their plane had actually landed in a bog, however it was a 3 mile round walk to see this and there were too many intense rain showers around that we abandoned the idea of walking to the site. . There was also a Marconi Station there where Marconi had sent messages across the Atlantic in 1907.
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Roundstone |
Roundstone |
Roundstone Cafe |
Alcock & Browning Landing Site - we did not get to it |
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Connemara Smokehouse |
Quackers on the loose near the hotel |
Bunowen Beach |
Bunowen Beach |
We continued onwards with sunny periods and lovely countryside beside lakes and the coast. We stopped in Roundstone for a smoothie and almond cake: the same café as we had stopped in years ago. Then back through Cashel and Maam Cross to the hotel which we returned to about 4 pm. We then had a ham sandwich in the room with coffee before going to a showing of W B Yeats and his muses in the library upstairs at 5 pm. This was a dramatisation of the poets life and his poetry inspired by love for up to 8 Muses. It was performed by a local company, Curlew, which comprised just three people in total but only two of them performing this particular peace. It was very effective and introduce me to Yeats‘ poems, which I had never read before. There were only two other people present and one of them had studied Yates at Trinity College.
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William Butler Yeats |
Maud Gonne, one of his many Muses |
Back to the room to change for dinner and then two cocktails beside the fire in the lounge before entering dinner before 8 pm. Tonight it was really quiet, no large groups and less couples than on previous nights. We were surprised to be chatted to by Anne-Marie, the General Manager. She had obviously been off duty for the previous two nights. She made us feel very welcome.. A good meal as usual and we finished it off with two glasses of dessert wine donated by Anne-Marie sitting by the fire back in the lounge. We had furthered our knowledge of WB Yeats by using Gemini on the iPad. Exploring further on AI for David's contemporaries at Campbell, we found that Boyd Black had died in 2018 and not much was known about John Nesbitt on the web
Thurs 1 Oct. Connemara to Killaloe.
A short day as David was under the weather so he did not do much. We had a late breakfast and the boys were photographed by Anne-Marie’s marketing manager for their web site. As we left we took her picture with the boys, with whom she was delighted. She gave us a book on the history of the hotel which I hope I can read with my meta glasses one day. We went for a walk in the morning through the gardens. David started off with me but felt ill, and indeed was, sick. So I walked further by myself. Then I had a swim in the pool before we left around noon.