Bunratty

The clip clop of jaunting cars talking past woke us up this morning.  They were all on the way to Ross castle down the street. We up and showered and went down for breakfast, the food was so good.  I had a bowl of oatmeal and it came with a shot of Baileys to stir in- what a brilliant plan.  The girls had waffles and a whole lot of fresh fruit- Illene was a great hostess and I would recommend the Mountain Dew B&B if you are ever in Killarney.  Then we were off- Limerick bound.  The drive was not to long, we saw a few sites along the way- stopping at Adare, the castle here look amazing; unfortunately it was closed for the Winter.  We walked up to the Abbey and walked in on mass (oops), then did a little walk up the river- taking in the lovely Irish Countryside.  Back on the road to Limerick and we were there in no time.  Trying to get in to the Centre was another story- the roads were all blocked the Garda- seems there was a parade of sorts on. We got tired of trying to get downtown and decided to head to Shannon instead.  We had booked dinner at Bunratty and decided to check out the little town that is Bunratty- we turned in and saw a few B&B signs, none of them could we find, except one and she didn't have a family room.  Across the road the Bunratty Manor looked expensive but we gave it a shot- not too bad 100 euros, so we checked in and had a chill afternoon.
At 5 we headed towards the Bunratty castle as we were due at our Medieval Feist at 5:30.  We were treated with a glass of Mead and some wonderfully costumed actors.  After some songs and crowning of the earl and duchess- we headed to the main hall for dinner. Sitting at long banquette tables we were told the only utensil we had was our dagger (knife) and our fingers. There were jugs of wine not the table, bread and water.  First up was a bowl of potato soup - we sipped these, it was really quite delicious.  Next up were pork spare ribs- finger licking good for sure.  The main course was chicken and veggies- with a red wine reduction - truly a great dish.  After all the wonderful food we were served and apple pie of sorts for dessert.  Then the "lords" and "ladies" sang and played some harps music- it was a wonderful experience which I would highly recommend.  Before we knew it 2.5 hours had flown by and it was over.  We went to the lower hall for some coffee and then walked back to the hotel.
The girls were pooped, but Frank and I headed to the main dining room/pub for some live music and Guinness and Baileys to end a really great day.
On a sad note- it seems I have lost my battery charger for my camera- so I have 2 bars left and don't want to waste the charge uploading my photos.  I hope to find a camera shop in Galway that might give me a charge. (PS - I did find one- whew!)