Bunratty Castle Had Neither Buns Nor Rats

May I just say, thank you Ireland for painting big signs on your streets. 

My life has been saved many a time by following your guidance

 when all my American instincts would have lead me a close encounter of the foreign kind.

King John's Castle has not been restored, but contains video and other displays telling of it's long history. It was originally begun by King John, but he never lived there. It was sieged again and again, including competing tunneling forces that dug like prairie dogs underneath for months.

The best thing about this castle was the view 

from the turrets. Limerick is a beautiful city

Yvonne and I were briefly put in the stocks for singing "Ooo da lolley, ooo da lolley, golly what a day" off key.

Hanging out with Yvonne can get a person into all sorts of trouble

We left Limerick and traveled north to Bunratty Castle. This is part of a huge touristy complex that was quite fun. The castle is full of furniture and props, some old and some not so old that help you envision castle life. 

The narrow stone stairwells were slightly claustrophobic and the smell was reminiscent of this old throne.

Thank goodness we didn't have to eat mutton and drink ale like in olden times. An egg sandwich and a diet coke were much more palatable.

I wanted to steal these old time caravans. I also wanted to climb inside and look around

We call this pretty red vine Virginia Creeper. I always think this is an insult to all the nice women I know named Virginia, not one of whom is a creeper.

There were even pigs for atmosphere!

A shady tree lined street was so beautiful in the fading afternoon light

This looks like a flower but it was a gigantic mushroom

We left Bunratty Castle, deciding against a 57 Euro medieval dinner that was offered at the long trestle tables inside the castle. As we drove away we saw a couple bus loads of tourists emptying out ready to be entertained.

As we drove toward our next destination of Ballyvaughan, in a search for an elusive limestone rock formation called "The Burren", our sat nav lead us on a crazy series of narrow country lanes. We caught glimpses of beautiful country homes amidst the green of fields and trees. Often, we had to pull over or back up when met by an oncoming car. While all the lanes were paved, some actually had grass growing through the pavement in the middle. 

Mark filmed a little bit of our journey

We pulled into Ballyvaughn in the dark, finding our cottage amidst green grass and stone fences. It was a legitimately old cottage with a thatched roof, flagstone floors and only l 1/2 baths. It also came complete with 5 large daddy long leg spiders in the kitchen window. Keith Kennedy voted to let them be, but I dispatched them to heaven with my cold American heart.