Arrival Day!

Boy, what a long haul we had!  And this, is my first view of Irish Green Country side as we began our descent toward the Dublin airport ----

This is going to be really short as we will be loading up our bus soon for another day of touring…..

Any time you have folks gathering from all corners of the earth to one place….it means a lot of waiting for other planes from far away places so we hung around the airport a while waiting for those folks to arrive, get themselves through customs and reclaim their luggage.

From there we loaded up onto the bus….and off we went!

It’s about a 2.5 hour drive west from Dublin to Galway, and we had made plans to stop half way for a leg stretch and a bit of lunch before heading right into touring.

Of course, HALF of us were passed out trying to catch up on missed sleep – but a couple of quilters from South Carolina, Margaret and Liz….never skipped a beat!

Hexies on the bus!

Their secret??  They came in on MONDAY and spent a couple days in Dublin so they are already well rested and wide awake!  ((NO FAIR!))

lunch spot!

Yes there was a Burger King in here….but when you are hungry, ANYTHING is good.  There was also a regular lunch counter with soups, etc….and I had a yummy soup and bought some fruit…

Back on the bus for another NAP!

And then we stopped at the Connemara Marble in Galway.

Be sure to click the link above….it’s got the whole story that I don’t have time to write down right now!

The ladies piled in to hear the lecture on the very unique green marble found in the area.

We were given a very interesting look at the green marble and how it is used.

Marble, uncut, unpolished

Cut, polished and fashioned into jewelry.  Gorgeous!

The differences in the colors was fabulous!

A family run business, even the young boys are busy at handcrafting jewelry and other trinkets from the beautiful stone.

Samples of marble cuttings

Marble cutting saw.

The weather is just spectacular!  Today it is supposed to be even better, with a high around 73 degrees f.  I packed for colder weather --- oh well, there is always shopping!

From here, we went on to see how crystal was cut ---will save that for another post.  From there it was home to the hotel where we nodded and tried to stay awake through dinner – and off to bed!

I’ll keep you caught up as much as I can – we have a full day planned today beginning with a tour of the Connemara Region.  We will drive through mountain ranges, past pristine lakes and streams, and past the bridge made famous in the 1952 movie “The Quiet Man” with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.  From there we head to Kylemore Abbey and Gardens enjoying not only the abbey and gardens, but a bit of shopping and lunch before heading back to the hotel….

Much love from Ireland ---

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