Off we go!

May 31st, 2010- We hit the road to Athlone on Monday. Nearly a straight shot west from Dublin, Athlone is close to the center of the country. We took a trip to Clonmacnoise. Clonmacnoise was a monastery established 600 A.D. Serene and beautiful, the Fool's spent several hours looking at this picturesque, pastoral, incredibly Irish setting.



We drove into Athlone after several hours of sight seeing. We were greeted by the lovely Mary Broderick at her two story home in the Batterys in Athlone. Athlone is much smaller than Dublin and was home to Rita for a handful of years. Mary was ready with pork chops, roasted potatoes and vegetables. Amazing! We rested after dinner then headed off for drink to end the day.



In addition to being home to our lovely hostess, Athlone is also home to Ireland's oldest pub. Sean's Bar was established in 900A.D., verified by Guinness World Records. We had a few before we splashed through the puddles on our first rainy evening in Athlone.