Galway To Sligo

Once again we got everything ready to go, our suitcases out the door to be loaded on the bus. This morning at breakfast we about caused an international incident. Every meal we have our coffee and tea last, well one of the guys noticed that the coffee pot was just right here, so we helped ourselves. The poor young waiter was having a tizzy, this can't be happening. I think he even got in trouble by the head waiter. Anyone the guys explained what had happened and we were very sorry. I have to tell you that it was nice to have a cup of hot coffee with my breakfast.

On the bus we went, the sun is shining again, very nice to see. We are making our way north up to Sligo. Our first stop is to the village of Knock. This is a village where about 200 years ago the villagers saw apparitions of the Virgin Mary. To this day it is a very religious site. In 1979 Pope John Paul II said mass here and gave the village a gift of a golden rose. The church and the whole site is very pretty. The original chapel is still standing and we were able to get inside and take photos. They have built a church on the site where the appartitions took place and while we were there, they were getting ready for mass. We had about an hour to spend here. Once again Jen and I lost Mom. We were making our way to the bus when we found Mom again. She was on a different path than we were. Mom and I had talked about splitting up when we have just a short stop at these places, this way we can get more photos. As it was we were getting the same photos of everything.

We made it to Sligo early, too early to check in, so we stopped for lunch in the town. We were dropped off in a part of town where the river run through. We ate lunch in a little coffee shop along the river. It was too cool to eat outside. We sat by the window and watched the people up and down the walk. We watched a little girl feed the pigeons. After lunch we walked a bit along the river then back to the bus. It was still early to check in so we were taken to another hidden treasure of Ireland. We went to The Holy Well. This is an outside place of worship. For 800 years the Irish people were oppressed by the English and were not allowed to practice their faith, so they did it in secret. Here they worshiped in secret. It is very beautiful with altars and statues. It is used to this day as a place of worship.

Now it was time to check into our hotel. We stayed on the bus for our optional tour of the Belleek Pottery Factory in Northern Ireland. As we made our way to Belleek, we stopped at Drumcliffe. This is where the poet William Butler Yeats is buried. He spent his childhood in Sligo and a relative of his was the priest at Drumcliffe. The church is very beautiful and there is one of the few original celtic crosses here. Very few are left standing today.

We arrived in Belleek, we wouldn't have known we were in Northern Ireland until our guide told us. There are no markers or borders, those were taken down after the "troubles". We were not allowed to take photos in the factory except in the spot where they weave the baskets. After watching them, I will appreciate these delicate pieces more. Such intricate work and very time consuming. After our tour, we wandered through the show room. We all bought a bell that is only sold at the Belleek site. Since we were in Northern Ireland, they don't take euro for money, they are under the pound sterling. Fortunate for us they took American money and we had the bells shipped home. It only cost $20 to ship it home. The only bad part is that it will take 4-6 weeks. We figured it was better to have these delicate things shipped as they would pack it nice and safe and if the bells do arrive broken, they will be replaced at no cost. Alot better than packing them in our suitcases or carry on bags.

We got back to the hotel in plenty of time. We had about an hour before dinner, so Mom and I took a walk along the Sligo Bay. It was a pretty time of day, just before sunset. We were inside eating dinner during sunset, so we missed that.