Here is the tale of the most wonderful vacation I’ve ever had. Six riding friends had booked a trip through Cross Country International for the Galway to Claire cross country ride in Ireland. The day to leave had finally arrived. Five of my friends and I were going to Ireland for an equestrian vacation. Maura, Joanie and Nancy had gone over a week ahead. They were doing some touring, visiting of Maura’s relatives and going to the Dublin Horse Show. Then, they were meeting Susie, Barbara and me at An Sibin Riding Center.
We were taking a bus from Brunswick to Logan Airport in Boston. Barbara and I had taken care of getting the bus tickets since Susie was in California the week before we left. She was crewing for a friend that was riding the Tevis Cup 100 mile endurance race. Well, she quickly informed us we had used the wrong bus company. We booked tickets from Greyhound. Though they conveniently picked us up in Brunswick, we would have to make a transfer at South Station in Boston. But, since the tickets were bought and paid for, we would just have to deal with it. The day before we left, Rosemarie gave us a scare by having a bout of mild colic. And then there was a big deal over a terrorist plot that was foiled involving planes flying out of the UK to the US. So, we didn’t know how things would go at the airport. Luckily, our bus arrival time would give us plenty of time at the airport. We now knew we probably would not be able to take any carry on luggage and there were no liquids, creams, pastes or gels allowed to be brought onto any airplanes.
Fred drove Susie and me to Brunswick where we met Barbara. Her husband Kevin dropped her off and was on crutches. He was having some trouble with one foot. Not sure if it was from and injury or possibly gout. The bus picked us up right on time at 10:15AM. We had a 20 min. stop in Portland and then on to South Station. Barbara had been told when she called Greyhound that there would be a shuttle that ran from South Station to Logan Airport every 15 min. We checked at the Greyhound information desk to see where we caught the shuttle. They told us to go across the street to the next terminal and take the Silver Line. Ok, we were all set. We had a lot of time so we decided to relax and have lunch at the terminal across the street before going to the airport. We had a nice lunch and when it was time to go, we followed the signs down to the Silver Line. Only to find out the Silver Line had nothing to do with Greyhound bus service. We asked someone about the Greyhound shuttle and he said he did not think there was one. We found a Greyhound information desk and asked again. After all, our tickets said “Brunswick to Logan Airport”. The woman at that information desk told us to go back up to the terminal we arrived in. We went back across the street and upstairs to that terminal and ended up back at the Greyhound information desk we originally went to. We asked once again about the shuttle to the airport. Well, he said there was one. But, it didn’t run on schedule and was sometimes late. We had missed the one we should have taken and the next one was going to be too late. AAGGGHHHH. So, we went back down stairs and across the street and took the Silver Line to the airport. It only cost $1.25 so was well worth it for the peace of mind.
We got to the airport in plenty of time. We quickly found our check in and got through quite quickly. We ended up checking all our luggage. We then quickly went through inspection and into the secure area. We browsed around in the shops for a bit. Then, we found Susie a rocking chair by a window and she took a nap while Barbara and I wandered around a bit more. Our flight boarded right on time and soon we were off for Ireland. We experienced some turbulence on the flight but it was otherwise uneventful. We all slept a bit. We arrived at Shannon Airport in Ireland right on time. All our bags arrived for which we were grateful. We got through customs quickly. We arrived just after 7:00 and we were to be picked up at 9:00 by someone from Au Sibin Riding Center. So, we got some coffee in the departure area and sat down to wait. Barbara changed some English pounds her mother had given her to euros. We weren’t sure how much we’d need but didn’t want to exchange too much since whatever we didn’t spend we would have to change back at a loss. We figured we could use our credit cards anyway. As we were sitting drinking our coffee, a man came up to our table holding a big sign that said “Cynthia Ross”. It was Bertie from An Sibin. He was there very early much to our delight. We had to wait for 2 other girls that were arriving on another flight but it was not a long wait. We asked Bertie how much money he thought we’d need. He told us to get more then we had already exchanged. He told us there would be few places we could use our credit cards. Susie needed to get more money with her credit card which was done by an ATM like machine. She could not get any money because a PIN number was required and she couldn’t remember any of her PIN numbers. So, I took 100 euros out of my checking account for her.
An Sibin Riding Center
Flower Garden
View from the sitting room
Barn at An Sabin
The other two girls soon arrived and we loaded up into a van and headed for An Sibin. The other two girls were from New York. They were Simone and Rocky. They had just graduated from high school and it was soon evident they were a couple of spoiled rich girls. But, they were pleasant enough. Rocky was going to be going to Bowdoin College in the fall.It was about an hour ride from Shannon Airport to An Sibin. We were very busy gawking out the windows at the country side. Very weird to be driving on the left side of the road. And the roads were sooooo narrow with no shoulders. And rock walls and hedges right on the edges of the road so there is just no where for a car to go off the road.
We pulled into An Sibin and were instantly enchanted. It was at the end of a dead end road out in the country and was absolutely charming. It is a 250 year old farmhouse that has been restored. Our rooms were lovely. We were given a quick tour by Nicola and then there was tea and cookies waiting for us in the tearoom so we could sit and relax after our travels. The tearoom was next to Barbara and my room. After tea, Susie and Barbara took a nap. I went out and went for a walk around the farm. They had a pair of donkeys. A jenny and her colt. Also a young calf, a sheep, 3 dogs, duck, geese, chickens, and tumbler pigeons. After checking out the farm I took a walk along one of the riding trails, then came back and took a nap myself. I was quickly woken up and told to get ready.
View from tea room
Tower stairs
The front hall
Stairs to dining room
Bar in hallway at bottom of stairs
Dining room at An Sabin
Nicola was going to drop us off in Mount Shannon so we could go over to Holy Island to look around and then have lunch at a local pub. Nicola dropped us off at the boat landing. We took a boat over to Holy Island. It was just a small boat but it was only a short ride to the island. Holy Island is in Lough Derg. It is the ruins of a monastic settlement where there are the ruins of six churches, a well preserved Round Tower, ancient graveyard, a Holy Well and a ‘bargaining stone’. The Island itself is privately owned and used as a cow pasture. So, you wander through the cows to get to the ruins. But, that is all part of the charm. We were there for an hour and taken back to the mainland. From there we walked up to the Aistear Iniscealtra. This is a 4.3 acre community park which includes the Maze which is the main feature of the Aistir. It is a pathway or pilgrimage through time, depicting the belief systems of Ireland from prehistoric times to modern age covering 9,000 years. It is a beautiful maze of pathways and constructed of timber, stone and foliage. There are seven spaces within the maze displaying contemporary relics and representing the seven distinct time periods of spiritual evolution.
Susie & Barbara on Holy Island
Susie on Holy Island
Cindy on Holy Island
Barbara on Holy Island
Susie on Holy Island
After touring the Maze, we walked up to the Mount Shannon Hotel and went into the pub for a light lunch and our first glass of Irish beer. We had a Guiness on tap of course. Nicloa picked us up at the appointed time and took us back to An Sibin. Joanie, Maura and Nancy had arrived while we were out playing the tourists. After very happy greetings, we went and sat and chatted in the tea room for a while. We eventually moved to the sitting room to hear all about their adventures in Ireland so far. They had a very funny adventure on the Aran Islands involving a rainy day and the pony trap tour. The took the traditional pony trap tour of the island. It poured on them. They had not taken a change of clothes with them since they were only staying overnight and heading right back to the mainland in the morning. The trap driver was apparently all to fond of tucking the wool blanked in around them. He stopped at a pub so they could go in a get a beer to take along with them. They offered to buy him one which he readily agreed to. They got out to hike to the top of a cliff and left their half full beer cans along a wall near the pony trap. When they got back, the driver had finished off all of their beer. When they got back to hotel they were completely soaked and they had dinner reservations for that evening. So, they called the owner of the hotel to see if she had a clothes dryer they could use. She did and Nancy put on her pajamas and took their pants down to be dried. Unfortunately, she forgot to give the woman her name or room number! The woman finally tracked them down by just calling all the rooms.
Susie in the Maze
Barbara in the Maze
Susie, Barbara and Rocky in the Maze
Our first Irish Pub
Joanie & Maura in the tea room at An Sabin
View from the tea room at An Sabin
Supper was at 7:00 PM. This is when we got to meet all the other riders. We had already met Simone and Rocky from the U.S. There was Karen and Sophie. A mother and 13 year old daughter from Belgium. Clara and Jessica, both 18 year old girls from France. Mark and Femka, a young couple from Belgium. Euna, an 18 year old girl from Belgium. And George who was from France and probably late 40’s or so. All spoke very good English except for George. He spoke some English so between that and lots of sign language we could communicate with him. We would be riding in 2 groups of eight and 2 guides. Mark and Femka were assigned to our group. We also met our lead guide Denise. She was a wonderful girl and fantastic guide. She was Swiss but her family owned property in Ireland so had spent a lot of time in Ireland. She grew up in Ireland until she was school age and then went back to Switzerland. Our rear guide was Elody who was from France. We had a wonderful 3 course meal starting with stuffed tomato. Then a main course of roast pork with gravy and raisin sauce. Boiled potato, cauliflower, baked apple wedge, and boiled onion. There was also fresh baked bread. Not sure what the desert was but it was something in a pie shape form with fresh currents on it. Delicious. We visited for a while after supper in the sitting room then headed for bed.
I woke up Sunday morning around 6:00 AM. I got up at 7 AM and went into the sitting room to read for a while. Breakfast was as 8:30 AM. I had the traditional Irish Breakfast of scrambled eggs, ham, mushrooms, fried tomato and bread with butter and jelly. All the bread we had during the week at Au Sibin was baked fresh daily. There was also cereal and fruit available every day. And of course tea, coffee, and juice. At 9:30 we loaded up into the 2 vans and headed out to the pasture where the horses were. I got into the van that was pulling the horse trailer. They were going to haul a horse out but the horse panicked in the trailer and scraped up his back and was eventually unloaded and put into the barn. We arrived at the field which was large. Our assigned horses were pointed to us. We were given a halter and told to take a handful of grain and we went out and caught our horses. Surprisingly they all just waited patiently for us and there was no trouble catching them. I was assigned to Fahmi. He was a full blooded Irish Draught horse. He was enormous at 17 hands, 1,600 lbs or so and soon nicknamed the Titanic. The horses were a mix of Irish breeds. Irish Draught, Connemara, Pie Balds (Gypsy Drum), Irish Cobs, Irish Hunters and many crosses of them all. All horses were in good condition. Most were very heavy built drafty type horses. Susie and Barbara were assigned horses that were a mother/daughter pair. Susie had Grainee and Barbara had Nollaig. They had some Arabian in them and were the lightest built horses in our group.
Mara got a nice bay named Claddagh. Nancy had a bay horse named Tara. Joanie had a gray horse named Roisin. We brought the horses out of the pasture and tied to trees in a clearing. The girls working for An Sibin gave us a demonstration on how the horses were to be saddled. They all got a nice fleece square pad. Then an English shaped gel pad on top of that. Horses with sensitive backs also got a therapeutic massage pad under the fleece pad. This was a very strange looking pad. I’d never seen one before. All girths also had a fleece cover which was removed and washed every day. The fleece saddle pads were washed every week as well as all the saddles and bridles oiled. The girls helped all of us saddle our horses to make sure everything was put on correctly. Then the girls would check the horses feet every morning. Any loose shoes or nails were replaced or tightened up by a farrier that met us at each field every morning. He was quite a character and looked a bit like he had just been rolled out of the pub each day. And looked so unhealthy you wondered if he would be there the next day. Fahmi had to have one shoe tightened up. We then bridled up and headed out. The first half of the day we only walked and trotted. This was to make sure we were ok with our horses and equipment. My saddle fit me well and Fahmi was a good old guy. He knew his job well. Every day after about 10 minutes on the trail, Denise would check all our girths to make sure they were all tight and all was well. Along the trail she would stop and point out interesting things and tell us storys about them. Such as where kings had been buried or tell Irish tales connected with the area. My impression of Ireland is that it is very prickly. There are hedges everywhere and they are blackberry bushes, holly, thistle, stinging nettle, prickly fir bush, and wild rose. We rode to An Sibin where the horses were tied up and fed what seemed to me a large amount of grain. Each horse was then re-saddled by the staff to make sure everything was ok. This was done every day at lunch. Lunch was set up with breads and several spreads. A mustard spread and a garlic spread. Along with cut up cucumbers and peppers, cheese, fruit, and the all important Nutella. A chocolate spread that was VERY popular with everyone. There were also cookies, tea and coffee.
Our guide Denise
Femka, Cindy & Maura
Gypsy Wagon
Femka, Mark, Cindy, Maura, Susie, Barbara &
Cindy, Maura, Susie & Barbara
Nancy, Cindy, Joanie, Maura, Susie & Barbara
Nancy, Cindy, Joanie, Maura & Susie
Sophie at lunch the first day
Lunch the first day
Getting ready to ride after lunch
Barbara on Noleg and Susie on Rosheen
After lunch we mounted up and headed out to the field where we would leave the horses for the night. Susie’s horse, Grainee, was a bit silly. She was frightened when Susie tried to put her fleece pullover on while in the saddle. She was also a bit nasty with the other horses. We eventually noticed then when turned out, none of the horses liked Grainee or her mother, Nollaig, so they were just trying to defend themselves. We got to do some cantering the in the second part of the day. Cantering Fahmi was like riding a ship in bad seas!!! Not an easy task to sit to. We had a great ride and the weather was very nice. It was in the 60’s. We arrived at the next field where we would leave the horses, un-tacked them and turned them out. We were then driven back in the vans to An Sibin. I headed straight in to take a shower and managed to flood the bathroom. I cleaned up but left Barbara with a wet bath mat. I felt bad until Barbara told me she did the same thing. This was the only day we watched any TV. The Dublin Horse show was on and we watched that. I went outside to walk for a bit. Joanie and Nancy were out feeding the donkey colt. We went in for supper which was once again wonderful. Euna overslept and someone had to go wake her up. To start, we had ham rolled up with a horseradish sauce and melon slices. Then salmon in a sauce, broccoli and mashed potato with chives. There was baked apple for desert. After supper the six of us went out for a long walk. The next farm down the road had a couple of donkeys. The younger one came to the gate and brayed like crazy to get some attention. He was very angry when we left. We all went right to bed when we got back from our walk.
Susie, Maura, Joanie, Mark & Femka
Nancy, Mark, Femka, Barbara, Susie & Maura
Susie, Maura, Mark, Femka, Nancy & Denise
Susie, Maura, Joanie, Mark, Femka, Nancy & Denise
Susie on Gronya
Denise telling us the tragic donkey tale
Horses in pasture watching us
Mark, Femka, Nancy, Susie, Maura, Cindy & Denise
End of ride the first day
Marura & Claddagh
Barbara & Noleg
Joanie & Roisin
Horses out to pasture at end of first days ride
Cindy, Barbara, Nancy, Susie & Marua. End of first days ride
Nancy & Joanie feeding the donkeys
Barbara & Joanie in sitting room
Barbara in the sitting room
Cindy & Nancy in sitting room
Monday morning I woke again at 6 and got up at 7 to read for a while. I had the traditional Irish breakfast again. At 9:30 we headed out to the fields. We caught the horses and tacked up. Fahmi had to go to the farrier for 2 new shoes. One front and one back. The farrier had a dog that was a Corgi/Jack Russell cross. Quite cute. Someone had left their helmet laying on the ground and the dog decided to mark it as his territory. I warned the others in our group. For the rest of the trip we made sure our helmets were safely on our heads from the moment we got out of the vans in the mornings! We passed a Neolithic doleman which was said to be 5,000 years old and the burial site of Oisin And Grainee. Denise told us the tale about them which was very sad. Actually, all the stories and tales she told us had tragic or sad endings! We rode through the turf fields where they cut peat for burning. We had some wonderful views of the Shannon River from there. We also rode through the managed forest areas. That looked a lot like home. We were met on trail with lunch all set up for us. There was bread, ham, cheese, veggies, fruit, and of course Nutella. Today was Denise’s (our guide) birthday. She was 20. We sang her happy birthday at lunch. We then rode on to the next field where we left the horses. Fahmi’s back was a bit tender. When we got back to the center, we heard that George from the other group had fallen off and his back was bothering him. It was Barbara’s turn to get the shower first. Once again we both managed to flood the bathroom. While Barbara was showering, I had a beer with Nancy and Maura in the sitting room. I had a Smithwicks which I liked better then the Guinness. For supper we started with salmon (raw) on cucumbers with a lemon on top. The main course was Irish stew with lamb in it. For desert we had something that was like apple crisp but lots better. We went to the pub in Whitegate that night. Denise wanted us all to come to celebrate her birthday. We were out quite late. Way past Barbara’s bedtime! Hahaha. On the way out of the pub, the local dirty old man and regular fixture in the bar managed to grope Susie. Guess he got a surprise since Susie no longer has anything to grope. He made up for this by groping one of the younger girls as well. I had seen him being a bit friendly so I had skirted as far around him as I could. Bertie had told us that it was going to rain the next day. Barbara wanted to bring her rain pants but didn’t want to ride in them all day so she rolled them up and put them in my saddle pack.
The Shannon River
Our rear guide Elody
Denise on her Connamara pony Hurricane (Hurry)
Peat fields
Nancy, Denise, Joanie, Susie, Barbara, Mark, Femka, Elody
Cindy on Fahmi
Joanie, Nancy, Mark, Femka, Denise & Susie
Nancy on Tara
Cindy on Fahmi, piled peat
2nd group finishing ride
Tuesday I was awake again at 6 and up at 7 to read. It was raining already when I got up. Barbara was late getting to breakfast. She had been out in the trailer looking for my saddle that had her rain pants in them. I had the Irish breakfast once again. I put on full rain gear. Pants and coat. I had noticed that all the guides wore rain gear every day. I was sure there was a reason for this! Susie found some rain pants in the mudroom and wore those. It wasn’t really raining when we headed out to the pasture so Barbara rolled her rain pants up and put them in the pocket of her coat. Joanie didn’t wear any rain pants. When we got to the field, most of the horses came to the gate. That was nice. Not long after we were on the trail it started raining quite hard. By lunch, those without full rain gear were soaked. I was fairly dry except for some water wicking up the sleeve of my raincoat by my fleece shirt. The landscape was beautiful despite the rain. We all squished into the horse trailer to eat lunch. There was bread, tuna salad, veggies, cheese, fruit and of course Nutella and cookies. We all really appreciated the hot coffee and tea that day. Because of the rain, we were given the choice to do a shorter ride or the regular full ride. We all decided we wanted to do the full ride despite the rain. Barbara had taken her soaked riding pants off and put on her rain pants. She knew she might get some saddle sores from this choice but was willing to take the chance so she could be a bit dryer. The regular ride was the right choice since the sun finally came out on the second part of the ride. We had some beautiful views as we rode up through the Slieve Aughty Mountains. We were heading down to Lough Graney. Denise told us we would be riding through the lake. We were a bit curious about this and kept asking her if we were going to be swimming the horses? She would not really say more, just to wait and see. When we got down near the lake, but not quite in sight of it, Denise gathered us together and told us to pay very close attention to her. She said that we must follow her exactly, keep in single file, and keep moving and do exactly as she did. She was not going to tell us anything, we were just to follow her. She then turned and headed off at a good trot though the windy woods trail. We suddenly came out on the shore of the Lough Graney and trotted into the water and went along the beach just in the water. We trotted past the beach and suddenly Denise turned directly into the lake and took off at a canter. Eeeekkkkk. So we followed her and we cantered across the lake. There was a shallow bar that went across the lake. It was a bit more then knee deep to the horses. Closer to belly deep for the shorter ones. That made the horses gallop in big lounging strides. It was sooooooo much fun. It was a wonder no one fell off we were laughing and giggling so hard. Far too soon we got to the field where we would leave the horses for the night. It was a large field that went straight up a big hill. We were all imagining the horses being at the top of the hill in the morning and having to climb up there to get them. Barbara’s horse was developing a nasty sore on her back. She was told she might have to use a different horse for the last day. Fahmi’s back was actually a bit better. Probably because I was finally getting used to his gaits and riding him much better. Between the rain and galloping through the lake, we were all a bit wet by the end of the ride. Even my riding boots which were water resistant were a bit damp after the lake gallop. The rest of me was in pretty good shape. Joanie was absolutely soaked. We were all glad to get back to An Sibin for hot shower and dry clothes. Ha, my turn for the shower first! We all stuffed newspaper into our shoes in an attempt to dry them. Some of the rider’s shoes were really soaked. Susie smuggled her and Barbara’s boots into her room to put by the heater. It was a long day and by the time we were showered and changed, it was time for supper. That night we had stew to start with. Followed by a roast pork with turnips, onions, carrots and cauliflower. Then there was cold semolina with raspberries in it. Delicious. We all went out to change the newspapers in our shoes before heading to bed. I stayed up for a while talking with the young girls. Sophie, Euna, Jessica, and Clara. They are such nice girls. Apparently George had fallen off his horse again. He only rode half the day each day and was dropped off at a pub for the rest of each day. They said he was not a very good rider and he was having back problems even before he came on the ride.
Saddling up the 3rd day
Nancy & Tara with Farrier
Joanie & Roisin
Denise telling us about the Fairy Tree
Galloping across Lough Graney
Joanie, Nancy, Mark & Femka
Simmone Rocky & Clara
Sophie, Karen, Jessica, Maura, George, Barbara & Cindy
Wednesday was the same routine of awake at 6 and up at 7 to read. I went out to check my boots and take out the newspaper. They were reasonably dry. I had my usual Irish breakfast. Susie’s camera had run out of power on the second day so she was grumbling about David not charging it. We all were teasing her pretty hard about being so dependant on David to do everything. She took it all in good fun. Then we had to pack since it was our last night at An Sibin. Wednesday night would be spent at a B&B. We were getting too far from An Sibin to be brought back in the evening. We would be split up between 3 different B&B’s and would have supper in town together at a restaurant. As we suspected, the horses were out of sight on the top of the hill. The guides went up and chased them down. We did not have Elody the last day as our back guide. It was her turn to work on the farm. I do not remember the name of the girl we had the last day. Barbara’s horse’s back was still sore so she was given a new horse. A very cute piebald named Connie. Very drafty build so would be quite a change from the one she had been riding. We climbed right up a mountain right off and had some stunning views of the Shannon River. Nancy came off her horse while leaning over trying to pick some blackberries. The saddle slipped. Denise’s horse balked about crossing a puddle and Susie, in an effort to help her, managed to smack her own horse in the face. We heard the commotion from behind and had thought she had accidentally hit Denise and we were getting after her about abusing the guide. We passed some caves that looked manmade set into the hillside. For lunch we had a rice and bean salad. It was good though of course I had to pick out the beans. Mark told me there were going to be a bunch of bean trees growing where I was throwing the beans. There was also bread, veggies, fruit, cookies and of course Nutella. The second part of the ride we had some beautiful view of Glandaria, or Valley of the Kings. This is a fertile Shannon River valley that was a very popular place for kings to settle in past years. At the end of the ride, the horses were unsaddled and loaded into a big van to be transported to a field. The van had a very steep ramp and a horse the size of Fahmi was taller then the van. It had an open roof with just a framework of bars. Fahmi got in and then just stuck his head up between the bars.
Susie
Our last morning at An Sabin. Maura, Susie, Cindy, Barbara, Nancy & Joanie
Rounding up horses
Horses coming down hill
Barbara & Connie
Maura & Susie
Horses peaking at us through hedge
Susie, Cindy, Denise, Maura & Nancy
Susie, Maura, Nancy, Cindy, Joanie & Barbara
"business" stop. Cindy, Barbara, Nancy, Denise
Barbara, Cindy, Susie, Elody & Nancy
Lunch Stop
Loading up the horses
Fahmi loading into van
Horses loaded in van
We were then dropped off at Connole’s B&B’s. Susie, Maura, Barbara, Euna and I were in the same B&B. It was a very pretty place. We were greeted by Ann, the owner. She showed us to our rooms and told us her husband would take us into town whenever we were ready. She gave us the breakfast menu and asked that we let her know what we wanted for breakfast before heading into town. After we all showered, we gathered in the common room. We were ready to head to town in hope of getting there before all the shops closed. We told Ann we were ready but apparently her husband wasn’t. So, we had a bit of a wait before going. We listened to some Irish CD’s and read some books that were there on Ireland. We put in our order for breakfast. Some of us ordered pancakes and Ann muttered under her breath that Americans always want pancakes. Hummmm. Finally, We were all crammed into a small car for the ride to town. 4 in the backseat! He dropped us off and told us we were to be out in front of the pub at 10:30 to be picked up. If we were not out there, we would be walking. We were meeting everyone at the Corofin Arms for supper and then going to a pub to listen to traditional Irish music. We were ok with being picked up at 10:30 since we assumed the music would be starting at 9:00 or so. As we figured, most of the stores were closed except for a couple general stores. We did poke around in them and bought some chocolate. Our supper at the Corofin Arms was very good. There was a limited menu to choose from. I had smoked salmon (raw) on a salad. Baked chicken in a sauce with potato, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. For desert there was fruit slices (apple, orange, grape, nectarine), a cream puff with chocolate sauce over it and an apple pastry. We then found out that the Irish music would not be starting at the pub until 10:00. We were very disappointed that we would not get to hear much of it. Susie called our B&B and told them not to pick us up as we wanted to stay at the pub longer and would get a taxi home. Ann said that would not be possible and that her husband would be there to pick us up at 10:30. PERIOD! The music was very good. We were a bit surprised when they played John Denver’s ‘Country Roads’, then Dolly Parton’s ‘Joline’. When our ride arrived promptly at 10:30, Susie tried to get him to come in by offering to buy him a pint. Nothing doing. So, we had to leave. We were not pleased about this.
Pub in Corifin we went to on our last night in Ireland
Corofin
The next morning, I woke up as usual at 6. I laid in bed until 6:30 when I just had to get up to use the bathroom. I got dressed and headed downstairs at 6:45. I was as quiet as I could be since I saw no one else up. I just went into the common room and sat down to read. Barbara came down sometime between 7:30 and 8. She and I went out for a walk. When we got back, the others in our group were up. We were out in the hall and Ann’s husband came out and made mention of someone getting up at the ‘crack of dawn’ and wandering around the house waking him up. Susie said she didn’t believe anyone from our group had been up that early. He stated that it was someone from room 4. Well, that was me. I admitted it was me that had come downstairs early. He looked at Susie and said, “well, who was right this time?” and then he said that people don’t get up that early in Ireland and he stalked off. Leaving us all staring in disbelief at his rudeness. Susie then told us that he had come up to their room that night and had knocked on their door to tell them they were making too much noise and to quiet down. Not quite the Irish hospitality we had been used to. Breakfast was served at 8:30 and was very good. At 9:00 Bertie came to pick us up. He first took Maura and Euna out to the field since they were riding two more days. Then he came back for Susie, Barbara and me. Apparently, Maura said something about the rudeness of our hosts at the B&B. We told him that Maura was right and we told him what had happened. He was mortified and apologized repeatedly for our treatment. George was not going to ride at all that day so Bertie dropped him off in town. Bertie felt so bad about our rude treatment at the B&B that we he took us to see Dromoland Castle. It is a restored castle the is now a high end hotel. Dromoland Castle dates back to the 16th century and is the ancestral seat of the O’Briens. Very beautiful. We walked around it a bit and took pictures. It is where George Bush stayed when he visited Ireland. He dropped us off at Shannon Airport and we quickly checked in and got through customs and into the secure area. There we had time to do some shopping and have lunch. The flight was only ½ hour late getting off the ground and it was a smooth flight. Susie met someone on the plane that knew here. No surprise there! Hahahahaha. Our flight got in on time and all of our luggage made it also! As soon as we stepped out of the terminal the Silver Line bus pulled up. We decided to take this back to South Station. We had to wait a few hours at South Station but our bus was on time and had us back to Brunswick at exactly 10:15. David was there to pick up Susie and I. Barbara’s son was there to pick her up. Fred was at work so it was only Zephyr to greet me when I got home. I ran out to the barn to check on the mules and horse and say hi to them. It was good to be home but I am going to miss Ireland. I just loved it there and it was a fantastic vacation.
Breakfast on our last morning
Cindy & Barbara waiting for the ride to the airport
Dromoland Castle
