At the Cliffs of Moher, things are Inconceivable

Man, I sure hope I'm using that word correctly. Anyway, let's talk about day tours. I'd never done a day tour before. Like, ever. I don't count school trips; those were pre-organized, never took a full day, and the only vivid memories I have either centre around awkward social interaction with the opposite sex or the latest South Park quotes circulating like illegal drugs. These days I limit things entirely to awkward social interaction, but I digress.

Seeing one of Ireland's treasured natural spots, the Cliffs of Moher, seemed like a good choice for a full day tour. It was a simple way to get out to the opposite coast to Dublin, to catch a glimpse of the country in between, and to have somebody tell me what I should be looking for and doing, and in a timely fashion. Plus it had the advantage of letting someone else navigate the narrow country roads.

Example: Kinvara. Note the car parked half on the footpath out of necessity, to allow the flow of traffic.

So a coach tour I had, and let me tell you it was just the best. The guide was knowledgeable and entertaining, the pitstops were frequent enough that I never found myself wondering if today was the day I should invest in adult diapers, and the cliffs themselves, well...

You can't even conceive of how wonderful they were.

That last picture should give you an idea of the scale of the place. So...actually, I guess now you can conceive of how tall they are. Huh. How did I screw that statement up so bad? Inconceivable!

And now, some stray thoughts...

Ruins of Note:

OK, so I can't pick just one. Why? Because there are ruins all over the freaking country. You might think that'd dilute the enjoyment of them somewhat, but no. If anything, it's the opposite. I would love to be able to just randomly explore all the stone cathedrals, towers, and other structures dotting the landscape.

Example: look at this tower. There's no car park for it. No museum. It's just...there. In somebody's yard. I want one.

Wildlife:

There were a lot of swans swimming around King John's castle. This is as close as I got to one of them. Actually, I'd be pretty damn careful around these things. They were huge, and from what I hear swans can break your damn wrist with their beaks. Pretty though!

Pro-Tip for any Day Tour:

Bring lots of cash. They may pay for the main event, but if you want to take part in some of the along-the-way activities, be sure to plan to spend more money. This tour wasn't so bad; almost everything was free or included, but I went on another today that I'll talk about in a later entry. Just trust me on this. Cash.

Words of Wisdom:

Fellow intrepid traveller, observing the Treaty Stone in Limerick: "how do we know that's the actual stone and not just some rock?"

I feel I must paraphrase Firefly to answer that: "Does the stone remain a stone, if we don't know it's the Treaty Stone? Or do we...what's the word...IMBUE! That's it!"