Day Nine- 28 September

The manor house Hotel and Country Club couldn't have been a nicer place such was their hospitality and service. After a home cooked breakfast we drove off into what would be a very, very long day ahead. First stop was the Belleek Pottery Factory at Belleek of course. I had heard so much of this pottery which is more like fine bone china than chunky pottery. Every piece is completely hand made and decorated. Truly fascinating. We did a short tour of crafts persons at their work. Such fine work you need years of practice and all have to pass an apprenticeship before being able to be employed. One must have absolute patience and steady hands to do this fine, excellent work. I had one or two pieces shipped home as we have a wedding to be in the family. Gosh, now it was  midday and we had to get a wriggle on. We had to get to Ballingarry, south west of Limerick city before dark a five or six hour drive! Unfortunate to miss out on Galway Bay, but ,hey, the traffic was appalling. We had numerous traffic stops due to road works and as this is Ireland traffic lights haunting traffic one way stays on forever even if there are no cars. No such thing as the lollipop man that earns $90,000 a year just to hold the stop, go signs! Ireland has 31 % unemployment. Could fix that!! I desperately wanted to go to Cliffs of Moher to pay my respects for darling Mary's sister who passed away last year. We made it!! My golly, gosh, has it ever changed! Last time I was there in 1974 there was one small road and you could go right up to the edge, not that you'd want to. Today there is a huge car park and a ticketing system( of course) ,shops, cares, toilets etc. the best thing though is the majority of the cliff face is fenced off with a high barrier. I love this place with its beauty and ruggedness but I don't like the idea of portraying it as a tourist monetary gain as people suicide off the top. I payed my respects then we hit the road again. It was 5pm. Eek, more hurdles along the way. It is well known that if you want to get somewhere fast, things beset you. This time it was dairy cows being headed down the road. I didn't mind this at all. It was lovely to see. Nearly there and we passed though the most beautiful village ever, not including Broadway in Shropshire, England. Adare is classified as the most beautiful village in all of Ireland and that it is. We were nearly there! Eventually got to The Mustard Seed at Ecco Lodge Hotel, another delightful place with a warm and welcoming owner, cum everything man! This man has an award winning restaurant called the Mustard Seed and you could tell it was good in the restaurant by the number of people booked for a meal. We arrived at 6.30 pm, luckily still light and were greeted by a seat by the fire and pre dinner drinks with canapés. We loved our room which was up and around, down and along! The home and the rooms all filled with antiques and quirky collectables. Angie and I had a huge room, in fact it was probably two rooms once. Angie had the double in one section and I had a quiet nook in another separated by a sofa and writing desk. Everything ran like clockwork even they were busy with meals. Nothing was a problem. We were to have two glorious days there, but I was totally stuffed from all the driving so tucked into bed early.