After the Cliffs of Moher we went to the Burrens Visitor Center in Kilfenora. The inscription on the plaque above reads:

Stony seaboard, far and foreign
Stony hills poured over space
Stony outcrop of the Burren,
Stones in every fertile space

At the visitor center we watched a presentation on the Burrens, describing the plants and animals that live there. It's actually quite interesting because the rocky soil provides a home to variety of plants that like to live on the stones, in between the stones, and normally would never be found together. It's a unique place to take pictures of plants if you ever have a chance to go.


After the presentation we were invited to wander and have lunch. Most people went to the tearoom attached to the visitor center but Helen and I went next door to take pictures of an ancient cemetery, and then we found a little pub down the street to have very quiet lunch all to ourselves. This cemetery has a glass ceiling to keep it from wearing down any further than it has. Then the picture of a plant comfortably living in a little nook of rock shows tenacity I think, and the fertile nature of the Burrens in that any cranny big enough for a little dirt is big enough that something will probably grow there.



As you can see, some of the stone work and graves within this courtyard were very old. If it wasn't for the squarish jaw and prominent cheek bones above, I'd say this dang thing looked Egyptian. I wish I knew more of the history here, and I may go back and look it up, but Helen and I are mostly snap happy tourists, just interested in taking pictures and saying "I've been there"!



The shots above are from the pub we wandered into. We paid the equivalent of about 24 dollars for smoked salmon, served on a piece of bread, and a shared Guinness. Did I mention the salmon was cold and by smoked they didn't exactly mean cooked, just smoked? It was actually very good, but definitely not what I was expecting. However, if you look closely at the Guinness you'll see a clover imprinted in the foam. According to instruction I received there, to properly drink a Guinness you must wait for it to settle, which takes a few minutes, and it should have a head that is "just so", etc.. I'm such a slacker Irish mutt.