Quiiet Man sites and the Connemara

Trying something new so this blog may get a little ‘windy. I’m using the car adapter to power the laptop and will blog as we go. We spent several hours looking at the houses and places where scenes were shot from the movie, using map from the souvenir shop. A few wrong turns but we managed to find most of them.

Ashford castle where the crew stayed while filming

We head out of Cong to drive the Ring of Connemara. The road signs that have been so good thus are now in short supply. Several times we needed to stop and make sure we were on the right road. We pass through Maam and Lenaune where we have a pint with a colorful barkeep.

The roads twist and turn to follow the terrain. We’re both surprised to see MOUNTAINS. Not Rocky Mt. Worthy but quite impressive nonetheless. As we leave Lenaune the roads are suddenly lousy with sheep, a new hazard to deal with. Larry has done a great job of driving so far.

Mission abandoned – our quest to see the sandy beach where John Wayne won the horse race was unsuccessful. We could not find the correct turn off the minor road we ventured down. Oh, well, on to Clifden for some lunch then down to Galway where we can score some Mussels for Larry.

We have seen conifers for the time on the trip. they seem out of place for some reason. The drive to the ocean and Clifden was very adventurous as the road just twisted each way without notice. Larry says he’s getting a blister from the wheel. Cliften is a very interesting town and I would sure like to spend some time here. For the first time we feel rushed and only stay long enough to get some currency exchanged for Larry since the debit card will not work. If you come to Ireland and find yourself on the coast, this town should be a place to see.

Well, it’s on to Galway and then to the Cliffs of Moher further South.

One the way back east we catch a HUGE break. I see a small sign on the side of the road that says – Quiet Man Bridge. I make Larry turn around and sure enough, there it is The Bridge, just a few hundred yards off the road.

We stop to take pictures and meet two women who have stopped to take photos for their husbands who love the movie too. We convince them that they are so close to Cong that they’re husbands will never forgive them for not going there. We give them out map of the Connemara peninsula that we no longer need and bid them goodbye.

I’m going to leave out crappy trip through Galway at rush hour and the finding of the B&B for later.

We'll finish with some more scenery shots as we're told that's what the fans want..and a shot of Larry at the B&B this AM.  No pub shot today