On the Rocky Road to Dublin

Today we set out to Northern Ireland. When we crossed the border we immediately noticed differences. Of course there is the currency, the metric, and the Union Jack, but it isn't just that. I am not really sure how to explain it but there is a difference in the look and the feel here. The architecture, the garden designs, the height of the hedges ... it just all comes together to make things feel very different. Some things are the same though. You just happen on sheep and castle ruins all over! The other thing that is the same here, as it is in Newfoundland, is that a fine enough day turns into a deluge within minutes. I am not one to quit becasue of weather usually but we spent our first quiet night at our Airbnb tonight. Hoping tomorrow brings clearer skies!

Today we woke to beautiful sunny skies! Although we head back to Dublin today, we had no particular timeline to follow. Yesterday was a spectacular day and it poured rain, so we thought, why not try the drive again to see the loop in the sunshine. What a good choice. Breakfast at the B&B was very good and set us up for a morning of exploring. If our early morning view out our window is this good... Fruit is served with a combination of fresh and stewed fruit. Never would have thought it was so good! Why yes, that is Bailey's being poured onto my porridge! Yum! Setting out early we were not very far into the drive when we realized what a great idea this was!! These pictures are the same shots we took yesterday. What a difference a bit of sunshine can make. I thought it was beautiful here yesterday, and it was, but today...my oh my! Campers on the beach we walked yesterday. Thoughtfully posing Didn't really realize yesterday, this is a mountain stream that we had to drive thr...

Well today went from mauzy to pouring rain and back again, a couple of times! It was a perfect day to prove if you didn't venture out becasue it was raining, you sure would miss a lot! We decided to try driving the Slea Head Loop Trail on The Wild Atlantic Way, since hiking didn't seem advisable. We started with a hearty breakfast at our B&B and then started the loop that was literally outside our door. Though we suspected there wouldn't be much scenery nor exploring, we hoped that driving along the loop trail with our Rick Steves travel guide would fill our morning. The peninsula is home to 50,000 sheep, so I thought I would be entertained enough. Little did we realize! Traveling along the fuchsia lined roadways bursting with tropical colour is lovely. When we spotted a sandy beach in the town of Ventry we decided to head off the road to check it out. At this point there was not much more than a thick mist so we took our chances with a walk on the beach. We explored ti...