So I know what you are thinking, what happened to Day 5? Well, it was bust. Dad worked most of the day as did Mama. It was a day spent at the hotel with no photos taken. Daddy vowed to make up for it on Day 6. So he searched tourist books for a destination. It had to be somewhere away from town, out in the country. He selected the town of Quinn.
Day 6: Quinn was over an hours drive from Limerick. So after the drive to Dell, the boys hit the highway. It was a beautiful day! The sun was out and the temperature was in the high 60s. Perfect for a drive in the country!
About 5 miles outside of Quinn is Knappogue Castle. That was the boy's first destination. The drive up the highway had the typical boring scenery. However exiting the highway to Quinn was another story. There were small roads lined with stone walls thru rolling hills of green pastures. We took plenty of photos but none captured the beauty being there in person. Upon reaching Quinn we followed the signs to the castle. The drive thru town was quick and took us past Quinn's Abbey. We decided to stop there on our way back. It took longer to reach the castle than expected but was well worth the drive.
Unlike King John's Castle, the grounds of Knappogue Castle are vast and surrounded with beautiful scenery. There is a gate near the main road that takes you down a smaller tree lined road to the castle. Reaching the parking area we realized we were the only tourists at the castle. It was hard to believe that such a beautiful place had no tourists. Later we ran into an older couple but for now, the castle belonged to the boys. We spent over 2 hours exploring the castle and its midieval garden. Diego had lunch in the garden. How many babies have lunch in a medievil garden!
Next stop was Quinn's Abbey. We drove back to town and parked at a pub near the Abbey. There was a narrow dirt path leading from the main road to the abbey ruins. It was at least 100 yards long and was not meant for strollers. It also had two stone walls with turn stiles. This meant Daddy had to carry the stroller and baby over both walls. We stayed about an hour taking photos then went back to the pub for a late lunch. After lunch the boys drove back to Limerick to meet Mama for dinner. This was by far the best day of the trip!
Day 7: The family visited Bunratty Castle. We never actually entered the castle grounds. Instead we visted the gift shop and had dinner at a nearby restuarant. Unfortunately we forgot the camera at the hotel so we have no pictures :(
