Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

            One place I definitely recommend visiting, especially if you fly into Shannon Airport is Bunratty Castle and Folk park. This place caters to all different interests. From those interested in the history and re-building of the castle, to those interested in life around Ireland in the early 20^th century, or those who like to gnaw on a turkey leg and pretend they’re royalty for a night. Yep, you can have a feast in this real castle! If you feel like this is the way you want to go, I would recommend booking in advance, though this is not something Matt and I have tried ourselves.  This was actually our first stop on our visit in November 2012, so we were a bit tired, a bit crabby, and happy to have a place to stretch our legs after the long journey. 

Tada! Here it is!

Before our 2^nd trip over, I had never seen Bunratty Castle so this was something new. It is somewhere between a historical venture and a tourist trap. Even so, I’ve now been back more than once and enjoyed it each time. It is a BIG area and the castle is only a small part, so you may not get to see all of it your first time unless you give yourselves a few hours. There is also a local artists “town” where you can get crafts, pottery, or a bit of tea and scone if you’re peckish.  The thing that struck me most about our day here is I saw 3 rainbows pop up and fade during our visit. In the states I don’t see many rainbows, perhaps because I was usually locked in a lab from sun up to sun down, but none the less I’ve probably only seen 10 in the past 7 years. On this visit, EVERYDAY I saw at least 1 rainbow! But rather than I blather on and on about how lovely and fabulous all of this is, I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

This is the point in the blog where I have to re-iterate that most of the best places we've gone have been because we followed a random dog. This one led us to a gas station where we were able to get a nice breakfast and coffee before making it to Bunratty Castle.

More dogs! Two Irish wolfhounds running like mad towards the castle. These two are part of the folk park and you can sometimes see them romping in the morning before it gets too busy. They were very friendly.

Bunratty Castle! - Self guided tour of the 15th century structure with lots of stuff to see. Not for small kids unless you're OK with hauling them up narrow stairs 3-4 floors up.

Antlers from some of the MASSIVE deer that used to roam Ireland. There are still some deer this big, but they're under protection until numbers increase

One of the well preserved tapestries in the castle. Absolutely amazing that this was made before the USA was officially a country!

The lady's bedroom with a VERY old dress still there! Now this didn't actually belong to the lady MacNemara, but it is from the same time period.

On the roof looking into the other structures. How cool, right?

Rainbow number 1! Saw a few while we were here

The view from the top alone is worth all the stairs. Just be careful! They're a bit slick/worn after 600 years!

Looking out the opposite direction. Welcome to Ireland!

 Now onto the Folk park!

One of the cottages. You can go into each cottage and see how people lived and survived in different parts of Ireland during the early 20th century

Another adorable cottage

Apparently these roses didn't get the memo that it is NOVEMBER and roses are not supposed to be blooming, but here they were!

Huh, more blooming flowers... After moving here I realized that flowers bloom MUCH later here than they do in the states. Many flowers that would be long dead in the Midwest, or mid-Atlantic flourish well into November and maybe even December

Inside of one of the cottages showing that animals and people often shared the same living quarters. If you turned around you would see the kitchen. And here I thought I was being naughty allowing my crazy puppies living in and out of the kitchen. We'll get to that adventure later

A lovely mill on the site. At the time it was being rehabbed so it will eventually be open for touring!

Lots of animals around the folk park which is great for little people, but they are not the most friendly. This guy wouldn't let me pet him, but I did get a couple nice pictures.

Chubby pony!

A lovely chapel on the site. You can go in, and tour, or take a break and say a prayer, or just walk on by.

The manor house on the property. Gorgeous and you can visit the whole thing!

Inside the manor house. Built in 1805 this is quite a bit more contemporary than the castle.

Another lovely flower blooming in the midst of fall.

This look is usually reserved for when I start talking to people over here, Ok fine when I start talking to people in general. Bless his heart he had his head in the shed and when I called he got up, turned around and stuck his head out so I could see his massive rack (yes, it's ok to giggle). He was AMAZING and seemed pretty friendly.

Again, a great stop if you fly over and land in Shannon airport, but also worth the drive if you don't. It has history, animals, architecture, and some in your face cliches if you like to gnaw on large pieces of meat. And in closing, I'd just like to point out I didn't feel like I was going to die or that Matt was going to unintentionally kill me through out this whole post. Therefore I submit this as proof that this is great for the whole family!