Ireland--the Final Chapter

I have been lazy about writing an account of my last two days in Ireland, so I'd better do it before my sieve-like memory forgets all the details!
Saturday morning, March 20th: Bonnie, Katie, and I left the hotel and grabbed a cup of coffee before catching a bus to the University of Limerick. Katie wanted to show us the campus and where she is living for the semester. The River Shannon flows through the grounds of the university, just like the Chippewa River is a centerpiece of UW-Eau Claire. We walked across "The Living Bridge," which feels as if it's moving, and took pictures in the Stables--Katie's favorite hang-out when she's not diligently working in the library. Her house in Plassey Village, where she lives with 7 roommates, was obviously a college kids' abode--but nice. We met Val, one of her roomies, and I asked him to say something to me in Gaelic. I love the sound of the language, but couldn't understand a word of it.
After seeing campus, we hopped on a bus to go back downtown. There we had lunch at Chocolat, a restaurant Katie had been dying to try. We each had a delicious meal followed by a dessert of 3 different cheesecakes/cake. (Don't tell Richard Simmons on me.)
Another bus ride later, we were at Bunratty Castle just outside Limerick. Katie was a little disappointed that Bonnie and I didn't want to go inside; we were temporarily "castled out" and more interested in checking out the shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills there. We did do some walking down the road to the Bunratty Winery, but unfortunately it is closed on Saturdays. To soothe our disappointment over getting no free samples of mead or wine, we stopped in at Durty Nelly's, one of the oldest pubs in Ireland, for a drink. Sitting on the outdoor balcony, we enjoyed the sun and the breeze over glasses over Bulmers and Bailey's Irish Cream.
We returned to Limerick and had a late supper of pizza and garlic bread--that traditional Irish meal!--at Luigi Malone's. From there we walked to Dolan's Pub to hear some Irish music. It wasn't an actual band that played--just local people who come in and play their insturuments together for fun. I'm sure Katie was quite relieved that I didn't dance any jigs, though it really was toe-tapping music! We only listened for a short while since we had another early morning the next day.
Sunday we got up and walked down to the Travel Center to catch a tour bus for Blarney and Cork. We searched in vain for an open coffee shop or restaurant, discovering in a hurry that nothing is open on Sunday mornings when everyone is supposed to be in church! Fortunately our bus driver stopped partway to Blarney so we could grab something to eat at a gas station.
Blarney Castle was quite spectacular. The grounds are beautifully landscaped with flowers, trees, and a stream with waterfalls. We climbed the narrow, winding stone steps to the top of the castle in order to reach the infamous Blarney Stone. Many people were waiting in line to kiss it--including Katie and Bonnie--but I only observed. You have to lie down on your back and hang your head backwards while a man holds onto you in order to kiss the stone, which is the fourth one down from the top--and actually part of the wall. I don't like heights, especially being upside down while looking five stories below. Bonnie and Katie had their pictures taken by the on-site photographer and bought them, along with the certificate proclaiming that they had kissed the stone. After leaving the castle we walked through the Druid's Settlement and saw some interesting rock formations. The rest of our time in Blarney was spent shopping!
From Blarney we drove to the City of Cork, which has 250,000 people and is the second largest city in Ireland after Dublin. We spent our time there just exploring the city and having lunch. We ate at O'Brien's Sandwiches, where we had a shamrock-shaped chicken pesto sandwich. Excellent!
We got back to Limerick around 6, retrieved our luggage from the hotel, and said goodbye to Katie at the bus station. She had been a super tour guide, and the time with her in Limerick was by far the best part of the trip for me. Bonnie and I took a short bus ride to a hotel in Shannon which was just across the parking lot from the airport. We had to get up at 5 AM Monday to be at the airport by 6. Bonnie discovered the fickleness of Irish electrical current when her curling iron overheated and burned off a chunk of her hair!
The Shannon Airport has duty-free shopping, but by then our bags were already full of souvenirs and gifts. We had the amazing experience of seeing a whole waiting-room full or American soldiers returning to Iraq from R and R. I talked to a couple of them and thanked them for their service--wished afterwards that I had taken a picture.
Our flight back to the U.S. was uneventful, other than the fact that Continental served us a chicken dinner at 7 AM! When we got to Newark, we discovered that our flight to Minneapolis was delayed--what a surprise. We finally got back to the Cities at 6:30 PM, 2 and 1/2 hours late. Ironically, we deplaned at the same gate where we had spent so many hours waiting to fly out the week before--just in time to hear the announcement that the next flight to Newark was also delayed! I won't fly Continental again!
We caught a shuttle to the hotel where we'd left my car and took off on the 4-hour drive to Rhinelander. I came straggling into the house at 11:15 P.M., not knowing then that it would take me four days to stop feeling exhausted! But it was an incredible trip, and I would like to go back to Ireland again someday. If you get the chance, you should too!!