Cliffs of Moher

January 4, 2014

After I killed Tim the night before, of course I made him get up at around 6 a.m. the next day for another tour. Ha. I really was trying to kill him. We boarded a bus at 6:50 a.m. to take a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs of Moher are cliffs that are right on the Atlantic Ocean and are 390 feet (120 meters) above sea level or higher at some points. The Cliffs are one of the main attractions in Ireland, so that's why we decided to take a day trip there. Tim and I slept for the beginning part of the trip, then the bus stopped somewhere in the region of Tipperary so we could eat breakfast at a convenient store/café. We were on our way again and then stopped in Limerick to see King John's Castle, which is a castle that was built in the 13th century and sits on the River Shannon. The west coast of Ireland was having some flooding going on while we were visiting so you will see in my picture that the river is really high. Also at that spot, we saw the Treaty Stone, which is a stone where the treaty to end the Williamite war in Ireland was signed. The Williamite war was "between Jacobites (supporters of Catholic King James II) and Williamites (supporters of Protestant Prince William of Orange)" (Wikipedia). The treaty was signed in 1691 on that stone and now it is on a pedestal in Limerick.

The Treaty Stone

King John's Castle and the River Shannon

Tim and I

Once leaving Limerick we made our way to the coast to visit the Cliffs of Moher, on our way you could see more flooding and you could see where the water had reached, but then had receded. Our tour guide even seemed very surprised at where the water levels were at/had been. He said that he had very seen it like that before, there was seaweed and such all over the ground from the flood waters.

Once at the Cliffs, we had an hour and a half to walk around and explore, which to be honest, wasn't enough time to see everything, but it was still a sufficient amount of time. It just went fast. It would be cool to go back and walk the trail and goes all the way along the coast. And maybe walk it at a time that is less cold and windy; however, I think it is windy the majority of the time. Also, the Cliffs are kind of dangerous. There have been several people that have died there from either jumping or ignoring the signs and falling. There is now somewhat of a barrier in some spots to hopefully keep people from falling, but they definitely are kind of frightening, but also gorgeous.

Cliffs of Moher

Tim and I at the Cliffs

Cliffs and O'Brien's Tower

After the Cliffs of Moher, we went to the nearby town of Doolin to once again have an amazing Irish meal. Yum, that's my kind of meal.

After lunch, we had a little time left before we had to be back on the bus so Tim and I walked around Doolin for a little bit and made a friend.

Then, we boarded the bus again to head to some smaller little cliffs and we walked around on those for a little bit. You could definitely fall off the edge of those, too. I stayed a good distance away...Tim, being adventurous, went exploring.

Tim taking risks

Our next sop was at Corcomroe Abbey, a 13th century abbey, and again we got to walk around for a little bit. It was a pretty stop, but I liked our next bathroom stop as well in a little town (no idea what the town was), but the sun was setting and the water was pretty.

Corcomroe Abbey

Dusk in a little Irish town

And then, we headed back to Dublin, but not before making a few more stops for the bathroom. Clearly the tour group hasn't traveled with my family. We took a lot of bathroom breaks, which is understandable for the average person, I guess, but I am not average. I grew up in a family where you go before you leave, ha. Apart from all the stopping, the tour was amazing and I would suggest it to anyone. If you're reading this blog and traveling to Ireland soon, click here for the tour link.

We made it back to Dublin around 7 p.m. and just relaxed for a little bit, then we ventured back out and stopped at a Thai Wok place for dinner and shared a vanilla malt afterwards. As we were walking back to the hotel, we passed a bar that was playing American football, so we went in and Tim enjoyed a beer and watched football. I watched too, I guess. :P Then, we went back to the hotel and unintentionally took a very long nap. I think I had killed myself that day, also. I woke up at around 1:30 or 2 in the morning and still had my contacts in. Whoops. Needless to say it was a fun, but exhausting day! :)