The Burren

TODAY!!!
We drove up into the Burren, a protected land area of Ireland, a unique limestone landscape that whose origins were beneath ancient seas. We are now heading toward the western coast of Ireland. Our first stop was the little town of Carran, where we visited the Burren Perfumery. The only one in Ireland - they don't welcome any tours or buses, so we knew it was going to be quiet! It was a really great place - they use the wildflowers from the Burren area to create their scents - Andrew and I each picked one out for each other. Finding our way there was quite the adventure, we made a wrong turn and went through some of the most narrow roads I've seen so far! With periods of rain off and on, we weren't able to see much of the Burren rocks that cover the lands, but once we left the perfumery we had enough sunshine to truly appreciate the area. We even got a glimse of a rainbow across the fields.

We drove further north making a couple of picture stops - too cold and rainy today to take any walks. We saw the church of Carron - ruins and a walled cemetery that were first built in 1200! This was truly a neat place - one that isn't visited too often, we had to walk through thick mud to get there, since there was no path. We also saw the Poulnabrone - a Portal Tomb that is believed to be from 4,000-5,000 years old.

We finished our day with one of the best pubs for local seafood - Monk's Pub in the tiny town of Ballyvaughan. We were one of 3 tables in the pub, and Andrew noticed the man at the table next to us had a Pittsburgh Brewing Company sweatshirt on! We got to talking, and not only are they vacationing from the states, they live in Mars, PA! These were the first Americans we've seen so far, and to think how close they live to us back home! They wanted to know if we knew where to catch the Steelers game!