Ireland Trip Report: On Our Own Again, WOW Moments and Insights (Part Three)

At the conclusion of the RS Heart of Ireland tour we took the train to Bunratty. Rick pans this location in his Ireland book, and we respectfully disagree. Accepting a certain loss of pride we booked a "Golden Years' package at the Bunratty Castle Hotel. That got us a spacious king-sized bed room with a large modern bathroom. The hotel is a little "faded", but still a lovely place to stay. Along with our room we got one dinner at their steakhouse restaurant and one aftenoon tea. We decided to have the dinner the night we arrived after the train trip. It was quite good, served by an outstanding waitress who provided us with good conversation as well as hot food.
The next day (Monday) we walked around the corner to the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. The park was largely unsubscribed, so for most of the time there we had the place almost to ourselves. The weather alternated between blue skies/sunshine and cloudy/misty moments. We could not have ended our Ireland time in a more serene way. First we spent some significant time exploring the restored castle. Start with the story boards on the ground level to appreciate the monumental task they had rebuilding. There are LOTS and LOTS of steep uneven stone steps. Which is why we Golden Years folks took our sweet time. We would climb to a level and then sit and take in all there was to see there before moving upward and onward. We then moved onto the park. Wandering among the tree-lined paths with the sun filtering through will always stay in my memory. Walking through the re-created thatched cottages with their pungent peat fires burning evoked images of what it would have been like to have been a fisherman or a farmer during earlier days. The park is sort of like a miniature Williamsburg, with some live animal areas as well as small high-quality shops selling homemade items. I got some lovely pottery fired in an on-site kiln and a gorgeous hand-knit sweater at a small shop close to the pub in the "town". We sat down for a pint there,and reflected on our first time in Ireland. So much natural beauty. So many friendly people all ready to share their stories and listen to yours.
There is a woolen mills outlet complex outside of the park next to the hotel, but I had already found some lovely items from the small shops scattered throughout the park. There is also a large gift shop at the park with more typical items.
We then returned to the hotel for our included afternoon tea. There was so much food that it constituted our dinner for that evening as well. Time to pack up and make the trek back home.
WOW Moments:
We made one tour stop that was a "surprise" and it was the highlight of the trip for me. We stopped in a small town called Listowel. We met a pub owner named Billy Keane who served us a small lunch and even greater sustenance with powerfully moving stories of his family. Like his deceased father (John B. Keane), he combines journalism with running a local pub. Author and poet, Billy carries on the generational legacy of keeping the family pub and traditions alive. This was a special moment that will become a lifetime memory, and something we would never have found on our own. For that reason alone, the RS tour was worth every penny we spent.
INSIGHTS: There is a lot of debate on this forum about tours vs. independent travel. Both have value and both have their season within the travel life of anyone with wanderlust. Whether you do a full guided tour or book a local guide for a few hours, the depth of knowledge you gain can never be matched by reading a travel guide or listening to a pod cast. After years of doing only independent travel we decided to try a RS tour for a location we didn't feel comfortable doing on our own. (Russia)
It was a transforming and humbling experience. For places where public transport is not ideal, we now prefer to use RS. We can fully enjoy the trip, and cover way more ground than if we did it on our own. A compromise we embrace.