Unexpected Castle, Rainy Ruins, Bad Poetry
First, let's put the post's cover photo here because stupid Blogger doesn't have a function for "make this the cover photo..."
Today was a much longer drive. But that doesn't mean we wouldn't be having fun! Here, follow us!
We left rainy Clifden behind...
Going south, there wasn't much to see unless one likes peat bogs, rolling terrain over rocks, brown shrubbery, and the occasional house. I asked Dad to take a picture or two through the rainy windshield and he replied, "Of what?" It was a fair question, and by the time I answered, we'd already passed by the item of non-interest.
Even after we turned left along the coast for another 25 KM, the rain was heavy enough and the coast far away enough that, unless you love blurry pictures of a rain-spotted window, there was nothing to see. I'm sure it's lovely to drive through on a warm sunny day, but we weren't here for any of the three of them they likely have each year.
Our next "destination" was Galway.
I put "destination" in quotes above because that implies we stopped there. I've been to Galway before, having taken a day trip with my two-legged sister - my other sister has four legs - finding the city to be charming, but small enough that a half-day trip would have been enough.
I put "destination" in quotes above because that implies we stopped there. I've been to Galway before, having taken a day trip with my two-legged sister - my other sister has four legs - finding the city to be charming, but small enough that a half-day trip would have been enough.
The few pictures above were taken as we drove past all the finest attractions - the Latin Quarter, the Marina and Docks and Port, the Riverside Walk, the Latin Quarter, the...
Well, therein lies the problem: If one searches the usual sites (or even the unusual sites) for "Things to do in Galway," one will find that very few of them are in the city of Galway with most being in the *County* of Galway. With only a rainy half-day to sort through, we chose to trek onward.
That said, if you want to see what's in the city, I took these pics during the previous trip. There are some points of interest we didn't see on our drive through it. I'm also sad I've not (yet) been to see this!
We did make one stop to fuel the car and drain the people. It's good to know you can buy this fine product in a fuel stop while leaving town.
Given the weather, we decided the faster N-class road would be best so we could Just. Fucking. Get. There! ("Where?" will be answered below or at the end of the last post. Hint: There once was a man from there.)
However, just before we left the rain of County Galway for the rain of County Tipperary, there, at the top of Lough Derg - which, by the way, contains the entrance to Purgatory - we stumbled upon the town or Portumna. 
While we were too early for the MONSTER AUCTION - the best prices you'll pay for your monsters! - we saw the sign for Portumna Castle and, much more importantly given that we'd gone more than 2.5 hours without protein or anything else except candy bought at every stop we'd made since leaving Dublin (and we had brought plenty with us from there,) the café at the castle! We ate first, but I didn't want to put a camera near the table lest it be accidentally ingested. We'll skip to the castle pictures.
While the outside (where the rain had, during lunch, dropped to a drizzle) was nice enough, the inside was warmer and dryer!
Above: Just a 400+ year-old chai and a (much newer) limestone pot-bellied stove!
The castle grounds also had gardens for Mom! Had it not been raining, I likely would have joined her, but we all know that she's the family's slut for gardens.
Meanwhile, as I left the castle - words that still sound strange even to me - and headed toward the woods that lead to the car, I got to read some long-winded poetry. (The Irish are always long-winded!) By the way, this isn't the "bad poetry" I mentioned in the subject/title. That's lower.
At then end of the wood was an abandoned abbey! (Note that I'm trying to portray that with the excitement of one who hasn't seen an abbey, usually abandoned, every day of this trip.)
See the first picture of the grounds for location. Or ask me.
Given that we'd spent over two hours (including lunch) here and hadn't expected such a long stop, it was time to get back on the road, first through the little town of Portumna.
I can't even see the word Portumna that without thinking of Peter Wolf's 1976-ish idiotic faux-pas when trying to remember Rapunzel's name in the live intro to "Musta Got Lost"! Speaking of long-winded poetry, the relevant part of the introduction - all of which is posted, along with song lyrics, in the YT link above - are...
"Take your big curls and just squeeze them down, Rotumba!"
What's the name of that chick with the long hair?
(Rapunzel!)
I'd say "Hey Rapunzel! Hahaha!
Hey Raputa!
Hey Raputa the Buta!
Flip me down your hair and let me climb up to the ladder of your love!"
Portumna. Rotumba. Same person, right?
We were back on the highway by 4:00 pm, first onto another N-class (remember it means "less bumpy") road and then an M-class ("M" in Irish means "You're going to pay a lot in tolls for this drive!") road. Somehow, we made the hour-long drive to our final stop of the day in only 95 minutes!
Our final stop today was another small city in Ireland's west. Or to put it, after we were checked in and fed and the other three decided they were too tired, another way...
I'm sick of driving in rain
But it's Ireland, not coastal Spain!
The BnB calls
From its warm and dry halls.
Screw it; I'm goin' out again!
More about Limerick tomorrow.
We'll take time before we sit in the car-o
To walk through the city -
Its rep is quite gritty! -
When we leave, we'll sure feel some sorrow...
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