Cliff of Moher Tour

I experienced my 1st tour today. The sites and the history behind it all was breathtaking. The main attraction was the Cliff of Moher, but the bus ride there as about an hour so we did a lot of sight seeing along the way. The first stop was Oranmore Castle which was built in the 15th century and was once the stronghold of the Clanricardes, a prominent Norman family. The catle has changed hands over the years and was bought in 1947 by Lady Leslie, a cousin of Sir Winston Churchill and wife of Sir Shane Leslie. The castle is still privately owned and occupied by descendants of the Leslie family to this day. These are random sites along the way. Our tour guide was talking extremely fast and I didn't happen to have a notebook handy so the following will remain unnamed... I experienced my first Ireland "Traffic Jam" This cottage is approx. 500 years old. If for whatever reason this roof had to be patched, as of today, it would cost an individual anywhere from 45,000-60,000 dollars to fix!!!
***A little quick fact: When Grandma Marilyn's Sister (Mary) and her husband (Alex) were in Ireland they visited her Uncle Will's wife and son where they had tea in the cottage her mother was raised in. At that time they were still farming there.***

Next stop was the Cliff of Moher. Enjoy the breathtaking pictures.. to be honest the pictures don't do the cliffs justice. There are no words to explain the natural beauty and amazement of the cliffs. Stare at amazement... and try not to drool :) if you look close at this picture you can see the walking path at the edge of the cliff. Visitors, before 3 months ago were able to walk clear along the edge, but unfortunately a tourist was to close to the edge and well the rest is history so needless to say the path is blocked off and the sign below hangs on the wall which seperates the current path from the old one... On one of the cliffs lies the O'Brien's Tower. The O'Brien's tower stands near the highest poing of the Cliffs of Moher 214m at Knockardakin. It was built in 1835 by the landlord of the locality - Cornelius O'Brien - a descendant of the first High King of Ireland, Brian Boru and a member of the O'Brine clan. O'Brien built the tower as an observation platform for the visitors who were even then flocking to the Cliffs of Moher. The tower was originally made up of four seperate sectionsbut these have not been reduced to two with the existing archway, bearing the O'Brien crest, added later. The tower was restored in 1970 and msot recently in 2008 and it is once again being used as a viewing point for the Cliffs and the Aran Islands.
I figured out today how to post videos so look for them in the blog more often. I apologize for the shakiness of the film the wild was out of control on top of the cliffs. I hope you ENJOY!!! :)

Today was relaxing yet informational and inspiring. Just what the doctor ordered!!