WB Yeats and Sligo

Tonight I am in room 4 at the Park Bed and Breakfast in Sligo. Three nights, three different accommodations, all in room 4. I wonder what that means...

The day began with a walk along the beach. I know that sounds great, and in theory it was, in reality, not so much. Picture this: bitter cold, whipping winds, and just as we hiked to a hillside overlooking the ocean for a group photo, downpour. The wind was so fierce it could literally knock you off your feet. As we hiked back to the bus there was a terrific squall of rain from behind us so everyone ended up soaked in the back. One student took off his jeans and wore shorts for the scenic two hour bus ride to the town of Donegal. There is nothing better than sitting in wet jeans for a long bus ride. When we arrived in Donegal we had a few blocks to walk to the Donegal castle. Our student ducked into a store and actually bought a pair of jeans (the shorts were a bit cold in the bitter Irish air)to get through the day. Danny, our tour guide, gave us a nice tour of the castle, which was built in 1465. There were two other older couples wandering the castle with us and one of the men was wearing a Pirates hat. I questioned if he was a fan (it's hard to find Pirates fans in Pittsburgh, let alone Ireland) and he said he was from Boston but his daughter-in-law was from Ligonier. The hat was given to him from his son. He was actually a Red Sox fan.

After the castle we had about an hour on our own for lunch and some shopping. I found a great little place called The Old Abbey's Coffee and Gourmet Sandwich Shoppe. They had quite a few great things on the menu, including gourmet pizza and baked potatos. Since I was still chilled from the wet jeans and the castle tour, I opted for the homemade vegetable soup with wheaten bread. It was mightly tasty and warmed me up. As I sat there observing the locals enjoying their lunch, a James Taylor song came on the radio. I had a flashback to the summer before last when I saw him at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia. Listening to him in Donegal made me smile. I'm a long way from Philly. I ordered a tea to go and I was off to do some window shopping before catching the bus at 1:30.

We then traveled to Drumcliffe Graveyard, the burial place of the great Irish poet and statesman, WB Yeats. John had asked me yesterday if I would choose a student to read about Yeats and to recite one of his poems. Since we have one English major on the trip, I naturally thought of him. So John (the student) took the bus microphone and shared some information about Yeats, reciting from a book John Nolen had given him. He also read a poem when we stopped to get some great pictures overlooking the Lake Isle of Innisfree. Yeats is buried at a small cemetary in an unassuming plot. I took a few pictures and even picked up a few postcards at the giftshop for my friends who majored in English in college. They would have liked this particular place. Oh, and I ordered another tea to go. I was still trying to get warm. I was finally dry, but still chilled.

After leaving the Drumcliffe Graveyard we stopped at the Lough Gill and saw another castle. This one was closed for the season, but we could still take pictures from the outside and go down to the dock and take pictures from the water.

Next stop, Sligo. We arrived around half past four. I am in the Park B&B, with nine of our students, and John is at the B&B across the street with the remaining seven. It's a great little place, especially since we were able to tap into the wireless. They are not so lucky across the street. Around 6pm we had dinner at Molly Fultons bar and restaurant. We had three choices for each of the three courses. It was an excellent meal. I had a chance to sit with some of the students that I don't know well, so that was nice.

Now I am back in room 4, drinking tea and trying to stay warm. Tomorrow we head back to Dublin, but first we visit the Boyle Abbey and the Lough Key Forest Park and Tour Boda Borg, all before lunch. The students should be back in time to have dinner with their host families. They start school on Monday. I will spend Sunday uploading pictures and trying to make them available to anyone who would like to see them. I've taken over 200 just on this three day trip. Any suggestions on the best online site to make these available: flickr, adobe, picassa? Any ideas?