Travel Journal April 19, 1999
Adare, Limerick and Bunratty.

Adare

I got a late start today. First, I had spent a couple hours in the morning reading a few more chapters of Ivanhoe. Secondly, disentangling myself and my belongings from the castle took a while, as was getting breakfast.

On my way out, I stopped at the village of Adare, whom critics call "Ireland's prettiest little English village." Most of Adare's charm is synthetic, but it's worth a picture or two.

Limerick

I was feeling pressed for time, and since I had already spent some time in Limerick on Saturday, I decided to head on towards Galway, which seems like a more interesting town. But I did take a picture of Limerick Castle (also known as King John's castle, and took time to check the tourist office.)

Bunratty

Bunratty castle and folk village. A very tourist-oriented spot, which is very much in contrast to nearby Limerick. Like a little, permanent, and very low-key Renaissance Faire.

To be perfectly honest, having stayed at a castle for the last several days, I wasn't particularly anxious to see another one. I was more interested in the folk village. But I did take a few pictures.

According to Danny (who was the horse-cart driver in Killarney) this particular type of tree is called a Monkey Puzzle, because "it's the only type of tree that a monky can't climb" (the branches have dense thorns all the way to the trunk.)

Interesting, in these thumbnails the village doesn't look that folksy.

A display of antique farm equipment.

The Horizontal Mill.

Although Mike Jittlov had mentioned that he had enjoyed the Medieval Banquet at Bunratty Castle, my bad experience in London made my shy away from spending £32; In addition, my timing was bad. Although, to be fair, I could tell that this was not the same sort of thing as the horrible one in London, it seemed a tad classier. Instead, I ate at a nearby pub and drove towards the Cliffs of Moher.