July 12, 2010

Limerick, County Limerick, Republic of Ireland

I woke up at 6:15a .m. when my alarm went off. I tried to go back to sleep since I also had a set wake up call for 6:45, but I just laid there and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I was able to finish all my blogging last night, and enjoyed a peaceful night. Although I faced the street and had the window open, the nightly noises and early morning traffic didn’t bother me. Some other of the group that face the same street complained about the noises. When I came down to an excellent breakfast (yep, you guessed it, dry scrambled eggs!) many of the group were already eating. I sat down at a table with 4 other people whom I normally don’t hang out with or talk to since they tend to cluster to themselves and seem a bit snooty. Sure enough, after sitting in silence for a short time after the “good mornings” went around, I tried to generate a conversation with them. They answered briefly and then went on to speaking to each other leaving me out of the conversations. So, I finished my breakfast and left with nary a word from them or me . We left the hotel for Bunratty Folk Park at 8:30a.m.

Bunratty, County Clare
Bunratty Folk Park

After the gates opened at 9, we split off either on our own or some took a 45 minute guided tour of the castle we dined in last night. I set off on my own to explore the Folk Park. However, it became quite obvious very quickly that while the gates were open, no one was at work yet. None of the buildings and eateries opened until 10 (hence the 45 minute guided castle tour). So I walked to the top of the incline to the main Manor house and toured the walled gardens and barn. Then I sat until 10:10 still waiting for the Manor house to open. After seeing another building open across the field, I abandoned the idea of seeing Georgian Manor house and headed off to see the rest of the park. It was a nice place with many shaded pathways. The sounds of chickens and sheep could be heard throughout the park to make it seem like you are actually in the 19th century farm village. Most of the buildings in the town square had regular items that you would find in any souvenir shop. Those that specialized in Irish crafts were way too expensive to purchase. It was a nice way to spend a Monday morning for almost 3 hours.