My husband and I keep finding ourselves cycling through the Irish countryside. No complaints, you wouldn't think cycling 35 miles a day would be so relaxing but it works for us.
Ireland is a beautiful country filled with lovely vistas, friendly folk, traditional music and it's own special magic.
Castles and churches abound...this is a 13th century Friary in Ennis.
Shadows in said Friary
Ballinalackin Castle and horse
There seems to be more animals than people in Ireland, this misconception may have something to do with the roads we traveled rather than any actual statistic.
A "soft" morning, who knew there were so many shades of green?
"soft"=misty, not actually rain!
This is the type of shot you might miss riding by in a car, actually very few cars on the roads we cycled on. This cow seems to be telling me to stay back, a "watch" cow if you will.
Upon further investigation, she was just being a mom.
Nasturtiums climbing on a repurposed bike, just lovely.
An idea for my garden and a use for one of the surplus bikes in my basement.
Doonagore Castle 16th century tower house just outside of Doolin Ireland.
Doolin is a charming seaside village famous for it's traditional music and location.
The Cliffs of Moher are located 8 km away, somehow we managed to get lost on our way to the most visited sight in Ireland so we had to settle for the cliffs of Doolin.
The Burren, from the Gaelic word Boireann is an area of limestone rock covering imposing majestic mountains, and tranquil valleys with gently meandering streams. With its innate sense of spiritual peace, extraordinary array of flora and wildlife, and megalithic tombs and monuments older than Egypt's pyramids, the Burren creates a tapestry of colour and a seductively magical aura which few people leave without wanting to experience again.
I fell in love with this landscape! Gorgeous, left me peaceful and satisfied.
We took a Burren Hillwalk with Tour Guide Shane Connolly. He's very knowledgeable about the geology, flora, fauna, folklore and history of the Burren. A triple threat: historian, farmer & comedian! He kept us engaged and laughing the entire time. Brilliant!
There are 24 species of orchids that exist in the Burren. I believe this is a narrow leaved helleborine.
Once we reached the top Shane treated us to a shot of Irish Whiskey.
The Poulnabrone Dolmen ("the hole of sorrow"), a mass grave that dates back to 2500BC
I found this orchid on the side of the road, actually retained a bit of the information Shane shared with us.
Another common sight in Ireland
