Cliffs & Scones and Disney Farewell

So anyone who knows us, knows sometimes Dom loses things, only to recover them (thankfully) soon after.  Remember the time he left his glasses at the chocolatier in Paris?  The hotel concierge located them and sent them to us in London. What about the time he "lost" his wedding ring at the Ritz Carlton in Naples, FL?  The gym manager found it where he left it.  He had taken it off, placed it on a window sill when he used the hand sanitizer at the gym.
This time he left his dress shirts which are neatly folded and in a packing bag at the Westin in Dublin.  Disney to the rescue!  Our Disney guide Martine had those shirts found and sent to Dromoland the next day.  Whew!  Crisis averted.  No needless shopping to replace them.  Now you just know I had fun with this one!

Off we went today to visit an Irish farm in County Galway where we made scones, fed baby goats, witnessed a sheep shearing and then were fed a delicious lunch topped off by the scones.

Frances has been running this kitchen and baking scones with tourists for 29 years.  God love her; she is a hoot and you better listen to every bit of her instructions!

Finton is Frances' business partner.  This farm has been in his family for generations.  Ted, his trusty border collie, demonstrated his talent of corralling a few goats while Finton sheared a sheep for us.
Honestly, it's just like a belly rub.

What a lunch!  Frances' staff prepared a delicious vegetable soup for us with homemade soda bread.  Next came fresh ham and the delicious cheddar cheeses we have been eating all over Ireland.  The butter, the cheeses, the milk...."Happy Cows"!

Next, a drive to the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland's most visited natural tourist attraction.  The cliffs, located on the west coast of the island, stretch 5 miles and are 700 feet above the ocean.

The first day of absolutely no rain...yeah!  

The Farewell Dinner is certainly bittersweet.  It began with a bagpipe serenade in the lobby.  

We were then led by bagpipe to a private dining room where we were greeted by a quartet of Irish musicians.  

As if that weren't enough, four young ladies, dressed in their crystaled dance costumes, entertained us with traditional Irish dances.   

God love their kind spirits.  They were then charged with teaching some of us to dance!  These kids have been taking lessons since they were at least 5 years old.  We did not stand a chance! But they were patient with us and we all had good fun.  Yup, that's me among them, making a fool of myself.  

  Before each of us could go our merry way tomorrow, our amazing guides asked us for our own individual magical moments of the last week.  Overwhelmingly, everyone said how the guides had touched them individually.  For Dom and myself, how much pride these young ladies have in   working for Disney; how much they enjoy what they do and how it is reflected every day in their attention to detail.  All the other guests had a profound appreciation for the guides; for Martine, who freely shared her love of her Irish heritage, for the amazing knowledge she imparted of the history of this island and its people; of the customs that she loves; for Alica, who loves Disney as much as we do; whose young at heart spirit is apparent in all her 'jokes of the day' and her enthusiasm for her job.  

In reflecting on our experience, I must admit that it has been first class all the way.  Although we had positive reviews from a few of Dom's colleagues, we were skeptical.  I know this might sound like a commercial for Disney, but the attention to detail has been astounding.  These two young ladies really listened to all the guests and surprised us all at every turn with their thoughtfulness and enthusiasm.  They made everyone feel special; from the woman who is living out her heritage and meeting up with relatives she never knew; from the widow who was supposed to take this dream trip with her husband who passed away too young so her sister came in his place; from the guy who won the trip who still is in shock, thinking he didn't do anything to deserve this amazing experience; to the couple who got engaged on the trip.  They became royalty to us.  Everyone had a story and our guides made them all feel special.

For Dom & I, we learned more than we ever thought about this island.  We had so many laughs and made new friends.

On to London tomorrow.  Come along as we experience one of our favorite cities.