First installment of Ireland pictures! I’m going to break these up into chunks over the next couple weeks so I don’t blow up your readers.
We flew into Shannon airport, which was really great because it was much less crowded and easy to get in and out of – especially learning to drive on the left! Our first base was Ennis, which is a nice size town about 20 minutes from the airport and a good spot to be for all the things to see in County Clare. It’s super cute.
That is the friary, which we toured later. It was raining when we first got into the airport, but then it dried out and the sun came out when we got to Ennis.
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Many towns in Ireland took part in something called Tidy Towns, which is basically a competition for towns to beautify themselves. The towns painted the buildings bright and colorful, which is very appealing to look at.
We stayed at the Rose Cottage B&B
It’s a larger B&B. I think the owner said she can have 16 people at a time. We actually were the only ones staying there (Sunday and Monday). It was about a 10 minute walk to town from here, which was great.
The river Fergus runs through Ennis.
We ate dinner in the building on the left and sat looking out that arched window. Or I did – John had his back to it LOL.
As I mentioned above, the Franciscan friary is smack in the middle of Ennis.
You can go inside and look around (there is an admission fee). This friary is from the 13th century.
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There was a roof built over the main part of the friary to protect the carvings inside.
It’s amazing to see something this old. And right in the middle of town, too.
It’s quite large as you can see by tiny John below:
I fell in love with the tower. I have a million shots of it.
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Don’t you love the gray clouds behind with the sun? It was beautiful. It is beautiful!
Lovely pics – especially that dessert 😉 Thanks for sharing!
That dessert was one of many LOL
Oh wow what a lovely little town. I love the painted houses, makes a town more brightful especially on a cloudy day.
Can’t wait to see the next posts. So far I’m in love with Ireland and want to go there too now.
It’s so wonderful, Fran! Of course, you would fly into Dublin, so your first impression probably will be different than mine LOL. The biggest city we went to was Cork.
Oh I love the colorful houses. And the friary is interesting–reminds me of some of the scenes in All Creatures Great and Small. The picture with John for perspective is good.
The colorful houses are so fun! Most towns have them, too. Apparently the tidy towns is a contest every year so more and more towns participate.
Is a friary the place where the friars used to live? Or more like an actual church? The name is confusing me, and of course I keep thinking “fairy” because of my friend’s fairy gardens. How’s that for a tangent? What a sweet town and I love that calm river running through it.
Yes, they lived there and it was their church. I guess a work from home job 😀
GREAT photos! I love the ruins and the stormy skies behind it. You capture how I picture Ireland beautifully!
It is just like I pictured as well! It was a photographers dream over there.