Super Spectacular

Super spectacular. My description for the day. Even those words don't properly define my mood right now. More to come on that.

The hostess from our last B&B obviously isn't a morning person. Her chipper and spunkiness was spent last night. She was all business getting our breakfast on and didn't have much to say this morning. We set off earlier than we probably have on any morning so far.

We saw yet another castle ruin and then headed down the coast. I forgot to mention that this is the Atlantic coast. I wanted to get a sunset picture since I have so many sunrises from back home. But our location last night wasn't truly on the ocean, but a bay. It didn't work out.

The Burren was the next sight to see. These are truly the "Rocky" mountains. They are nothing but layers upon layers of rocks. And in one picture, we captured a rock fence that went up and over the top for the cattle. I asked Tony how a cow could manage to make it up the rocks without a broken leg or four, let alone come down the other side. Crazy!!

We found a chocolatier and of course I had to buy some. The building it was in was so adorable. That's what we've found about all of these buildings here. The outsides look plain and simple enough, but when you go in them, the wood work and decorations are gorgeous. We've decided we like Ireland.

We wound our way through the rock mountains back to the coast. Tony wanted to stop and look at this one grouping of rocks along the way. We got out, walked out, and realized it was cliffs on the ocean. The drop was about 75 feet or so. He was all nervous, and I think I may have found another one of his Achilles heels - heights! He doesn't like burning fires either (well, outside of small campfires). I kept messing with him and would get close to the edge. One time he held on to the back of my pants as I took pictures. Funny.

We continued to drive and weave through the small villages. We saw another castle ruin, took another picture, and kept going. I've finally given up on trying to keep track of the names of them. It's a hopeless cause. We finally made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. And OH WOW!!!!

I really got to make him nervous a few times there. On one particular ledge we saw a guy sitting with his feet dangling over the edge. I didn't go that far, but I laid on my stomach and looked over the edge. It was crazy. My Mom would have shot me for sure on that one. She seriously disliked heights. It was about a 150 foot drop. So cool.

We walked and walked and finally turned around to head back. We had taken the "up" route and on the way back Tony asked if we were walking out to the other end. I knew that was his opening for me to say "No" and take the blame for skipping out. I gladly complied. He was relieved and agreed immediately. It would probably have been at least another 2 and a half hours of walking out and back. There was more to see.

We drove to a little town called Limerick. It was too populated and we wanted to drive out of it right away. I've been the route planner since the first day of Tony planning the crazy flight/drive to Edinburgh. We've hit pretty much every major attraction along the way and then some. At one of our B&Bs, another guest mentioned they were going to stay in a castle. A light bulb went off, and I started planning when we could do the same.

I researched all the castles that you can stay in in Ireland. A castle called Ballyseede in Southern Ireland looked like the best bet based on pricing and scheduling of sights. I had put it on today's schedule if it happened to work out. Once Limerick turned into a dud for us, I called the castle. They had an opening and we could get to it by 6 p.m. - our usual stopping time. I said "sold" and off we drove.

I wasn't very good at hiding my excitement. I think Tony knew how excited I would be to stay in a castle. I mean really, what little girl doesn't dream of living in a castle at one point or another as a child?! The thought of living in one for a night sent me over the moon!!

As soon as we checked in, our bellhop brought us to our room. This place is gorgeous. We've stayed in another place back home that's similarly nice, but this one is nicer. The room is huge and in one of the round turret corners. I oohed and ahhed and then it was picture taking time.

Right before Tony snapped a picture with his phone for us to send to the girls, I said I hope our room has a ghost. I took a picture with the big camera and then grabbed his phone to send the text. In looking at the picture, I swear I see a face in one of the windows and an orb in another. We're on the second floor! GHOSTS!!!!

After dinner I saw one of the waiters outside and of course had to ask about ghosts. I love ghost stories and wouldn't you know it, our castle has a ghost. Her name is Hilda and she supposedly appears on March 24th. That just so happens to be our anniversary!! There are NO coincidences!!

I told him about my picture and he said if I'd like he could tell me more about the castle and ghost a little later. We met him and a few other guests at 9:30 downstairs. He gave us a little more information and showed us some pictures previous guests have shared. I told him about my picture but that she was a young girl, not an older lady. I don't think he believed me. Maybe I'll have to find an email address for them and send it. She's there!!!

I'm writing this from a window seat looking out the window. I don't know that I'll sleep a wink tonight. For what we paid for this place, I'm thinking I need to stay up and enjoy every last second. It really is a cool experience, one that I won't forget any time soon.

So, super spectacular!! It's gonna take a lot to trump this day. I don't know that I'll even try.