We make our way along the beautiful coastline road with Galway Bay in view most of the time. 
We encounter the delightful little village of Ballyconeely on our way back to the N59 which takes us back to Galway. Seaside sights abound and beauty is around every turn in the road. What a marvelous area! We enter the village of Roundstone There is a small cluster of buildings and shops that are separate from the village itself. Small condos, a parking area and artist shops.
This small village of Kilcogan afforded us a pleasant way to stretch our legs and poke in a few shops. Marlene is pictured here in a delightful park in the center of town. We visited a really classy antique shop where we covetted many of the beautiful pieces that were on display.
Once we had made our way along the southern cost of Galway Bay, we began our drive along what is called The Burren. The Burren is what appears to be a stoney, rugged landscape with little or nothing to show for itself. When we arrived in Ballyvaughan, we stopped off at the visitors center and parked the car. Inside the visitor's center we learned that we could hire the resources of a personnal guide who could take us up onto The Burren. After some confusion and discussion with the person we were trying to accomplish this task with, we managed to procure the services of Shane. Shane would meet us the next day in the church parking lot.
We encounter the delightful little village of Ballyconeely on our way back to the N59 which takes us back to Galway. Seaside sights abound and beauty is around every turn in the road. What a marvelous area! We enter the village of Roundstone There is a small cluster of buildings and shops that are separate from the village itself. Small condos, a parking area and artist shops.
This small village of Kilcogan afforded us a pleasant way to stretch our legs and poke in a few shops. Marlene is pictured here in a delightful park in the center of town. We visited a really classy antique shop where we covetted many of the beautiful pieces that were on display.
Once we had made our way along the southern cost of Galway Bay, we began our drive along what is called The Burren. The Burren is what appears to be a stoney, rugged landscape with little or nothing to show for itself. When we arrived in Ballyvaughan, we stopped off at the visitors center and parked the car. Inside the visitor's center we learned that we could hire the resources of a personnal guide who could take us up onto The Burren. After some confusion and discussion with the person we were trying to accomplish this task with, we managed to procure the services of Shane. Shane would meet us the next day in the church parking lot. Once we had arranged this activity, we found a bed and breakfast and unloaded our belongings. We got back into our marvelous vehicle and headed for the road that would take us through The Burren and past some interesting features. The most interesting was the Poulnabrone Dolmen. It was a holy place for people who lived here long, long ago. Marlene is pictured next to the dolmen and the perspective helps you to realize how large this particular structure actually is. I read some things describing it's history and it's meaning to the people who actually built it. Being the sceptic that I am, I did not however find any reference to the fact that when this dolmen was found that it may have been in a sad state of affairs ... i.e. parts were laying unassembled on the ground. Anyway, we continued on the road and came upon the fort but alas, it was closed and we were not able to enter the enclosed grounds.
Back into the car ... headed south towards Lisdoonvarna. The day was becoming more beautiful as evening wore on. Herds of cattle were wending their way back to the barn. Cloud patterns coming in off the Atlantic and over the mountains. Appearing and reappearing rainbows kept our eyes watchful and waiting. What a most beautious evening. When we came to the crossroad ... one direction, Lisdoonvarna, the other direction Ballyvaughan ... we opted to head back to Ballyvaughan. On the way back we stopped across the road from the house pictured here and looked at the map for some idea of where we were and where we had just come from. Suddenly there appeared a rainbow, pointing us in the direction of Ballyvaughan. After we stopped and emptied the pot at the end of that rainbow, we continued back to town for dinner.
And a good dinner it was. Then to bed in anticipation of meeting our own personal Burren guide tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment