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Lisdoonvarna, Day 5

Day 5 was a busy one! As soon as the girls were dropped off at school, Elle, Peyton, and I hustled out the door and headed west. Along the way, we stopped at Clonmacnoise, a 6th century monastary founded by St. Ciarán. Located on the River Shannon, it's a breathtaking spot and I had the opportunity to study a little more Ogham. The place was crawling with German tourists, which is an odd experience for us. While buying our tickets, I heard one of the workers ask some German tourists if they were Americans and you never heard such a gasp followed by a quick, "NO! We're Germans!!!!" I tried my best not to be offended.
Again, I'm stunned by the beauty of the wildflowers growing in the old stones. There were also a good many crows making their nests in the windows in the round towers.
The River Shannon with a few swans lazily swimming around.
A fairy ring with cows munching in the background.
Peyton among the ruins. Check out the Chairman Meow t-shirt.
I love the font of the script on this headstone.
The sky has been so blue and the weather has been so amazing on this trip. Everywhere we go people are constantly commenting on the unusually good weather and I have to admit, good weather makes for lovely photos.
While in the visitors center, I took lots of photos of relics and "old things" but the picture I like best is this box of jaws, bits of bone, and teeth.
After our tour, we refortified with cups of coffee and tea. I also had a piece of apple pie with creme (alas, it was consumed too quickly for a photo).
It seems like everywhere we go there are these bucolic scenes of cows grazing in fields of wildflowers. For an added bonus, it's also calf season and there are so many gorgeous little baby cows nursing in the fields as we drive by.
On the way to Lisdoonvarna, I snapped this shot of a pub with a handprinted Guinness sign.
I'm not sure what a "donkey derby" is, but I'm guessing it's not great for the donkeys.
Eleanor was really excited about a sign for Boston and insisted I take a photo of it--unfortunately, we were basically in the middle of the road, which explains this hurried shot. However, I have to confess that I love the look on Elle's face!
Once we arrived in Lisdoonvarna, we left Eleanor to nap while we did a quick tour of the town. Here's their adorable library.
 And, some less adorable graffiti.
 And, my adorable husband.
 Slow and local food seemed to be a big deal in Lisdoonvarna--there were these great snail signs all over town.
Peyton enjoying his first pint in the Roadside Tavern. In addition to having plenty of Guinness on tap, they also had local beer from the Burren Brewery on tap.
I loved the interior of the pub--especially the old man drinking a pint at the bar.
This is the town gas station.
Lisdoonvarna is best known for it's annual matchmaking festival. These statues commemorate the event.
Somehow, this is the only photo I took of our rental house. But, here's a link to the listing on Air B&B.
They're a bit out of focus, but this was our view from the bedroom window the next morning.

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