Athlone, Ireland
Upon leaving the Dublin area, we quickly discovered that Ireland is very difficult to navigate without a car. Athlone gave us our first real taste of the difficulties of tourism in Ireland for those of us who aren't on bus tours. Athlone, a town smack in the middle of the country, is a convenient jumping-off point for the Clonmacnoise monastery. Of course, there isn't any public transport to the site, so we had to bicycle the 17 km each way. The ride wasn't too long or strenuous, but the weather was less-than-pleasant. Still, the countryside was beautiful and the monastery atmospheric.
Due to the lack of hostels or other cheap accommodation, we ended up staying in a B&B for a couple of nights. Definitely worth it to spend a couple of days in a nice place, especially because of the excellent and heavy Irish breakfasts.
A church at Clonmacnoise.
Back in the day, monks built round towers to protect themselves from invaders.
Yet another cemetery.
Sean's Bar in Athlone is allegedly the oldest bar in Ireland. Surprisingly, it's not too touristy.
8/14/2007 :
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