Lahinch

What a cute little town in County Clare.

The morning started out with about 8 plates of scones and 3 cups of coffee- a wonderful 2nd breakfast after a bus ride. The guy kept bringing us plates of scones...who can resist them!

After that, it was time for some set dancing. Those who know me well know that dancing in general...not so much my forte. But there was a lovely lady showing us all the moves in the dance. We learned 5 different kinds of dances..Oddly enough I was pretty good at the hardest one. Most of you probably won't believe me when I say that though. So I got my Irish dancing lessons out of the way.

We then had some free time in Lahinch. It is a beach town. Lucky for us there was a surf competition going on (Elissa, you would have loved it). Surfers everywhere, kite surfers too. First thing we did when we got off the bus was take the shoes and socks off, roll up the pant legs, and run to the water. IT was FREEZINGGGGGGGGGGGGG. But totally worth it! It was so nice to see the coast of Ireland! After my feet almost froze off and I got the sand out from between my toes, we walked around the town for a bit then headed back for lunch.

After lunch we headed to the Burren. Such a cool area of Ireland. First we headed to Ailewee Caves, which was really cool and we had a tour there. But my favorite part of the day (after the beach) was driving through the Burren. The ground is almost completely limestone and what little grass there is is so rich for cattle and livestock. Farmers are considered lucky if their livestock is grazed on the Burren. What was really cool was seeing the changes in the landscape from green grass, to brown hazel tree plant things, to complete stone. The animals just kind of raomed between feilds and limestone barriers. The waves crashed up to the stone barriers. It was quite the site. I'd like to head back there in the Spring when it supposed to be beautiful with flowers from around the world growing. But even without the flowers, it was beautiful (I thought).

County Clare was quite a lovely area. I'd like to see more of it. All the towns were so little and quaint. It was overall just a wonderful and relaxing day. It was kind of nice not having to plan anything and having everything set up for us. It was a packed day, but tons of fun. Can't wait to get back to the beach either!!!