Lisdoonvarna Biking

Sheedy's

At the Cliffs of Moher

View from Sheedy's

Salmon Dinner

September 22, 2010

Today we met the VBT tour guides and the entire group (16 of us total) in the hotel lobby for a transfer to Lisdoonvarna and our two nights stay at Sheedy’s Country House Hotel.  The drive took us to the Cliffs of Moher where we had an hour to explore this area of the Atlantic coast of Ireland.  Here the cliffs rise up to 702 ft above the ocean with the waves crashing against the base of the cliffs.  The view was quite spectacular and we were fortunate that there was some blue sky and we could see the Aran Islands at the mouth of Galway Bay.  We will be staying one night on the largest of these islands, Inishmore.  We had temperatures around 60^o with a very strong wind as we walked the walkway along the edges of the cliffs.  A short 20 minute ride took us to Sheedy’s Country House in Lisdoonvarna, which is an old spa town that annually holds a matchmaking festival during the month of September.  The entire town is in festival mood with people arriving from all over to participate in “matchmaking.”   See www.matchmakeireland.com.  There is a lot of music and dancing in the pubs; evidently more than usual. 

After an hour, we met to “get acquainted” with our individual bikes and take a short ride through the countryside.  The roads in Ireland are very narrow and there are no shoulders.  By the way, all the driving is on the left side of the road.  Our route took us on the back country roads where the roadbed is narrower and the traffic very light.  Because the temperature usually never gets above 70^o and there is a lot of moisture, the countryside is very green with lots of flowers blooming.  Also, there are forests of fir trees, which shouldn’t be too surprising considering we are considerably north.  Along the way we had views of the Atlantic in the distance.  Looking west and seeing the Atlantic Ocean, seemed strange.  My biking GPS unit worked great with the map showing our exact locations along the way.  Ahh, technology is so great!

Dinner was at 7:30 PM with a social gathering in the bar at 6:45 PM.  There we got a chance to meet everyone over a couple of glasses of wine.  The owners of Sheedy’s are well-known chefs and the dinner was outstanding.  I had the Autumn melon salad, pork belly with assorted vegetables, and sticky toffee over cake with ice cream.  Bev had the potato soup, salmon with assorted vegetables, and raspberry sorbet.  The presentation was gorgeous and the food was not what you would expect in Ireland.  After dinner we took a walk in the town, but the “matchmaking” celebrations had shut down for the night.  Tomorrow morning after breakfast we have a day of riding in the Burren area.