吃喝玩樂的札記 A Blog on Travels, Food and Drinks: 大自然所創造的海岸屏風 The Natural Screen Built by the Invisible Hand

愛爾蘭環島遊(第3天) Round Tour in Ireland (3rd Day) - 愛爾蘭西海岸 West Coast of Ireland

這天，我們向愛爾蘭西邊的海岸進發。駕車從北愛爾蘭向南經N15公路，不知不覺便會進入愛爾蘭共和國(通稱愛爾蘭)，屬於歐盟國家之一，使用的貨幣便改由北愛爾蘭用的英鎊，變為歐元。開車約1小時，已可沿岸看到大西洋的波濤洶湧及遠觀Classibawn Castle。This day, we headed to the west coast of Ireland. Going south from Northern Ireland over N15 highway, we soon entered the Republic of Ireland (or known as Ireland). Being a member of the European Economic Community, the currency used was changed from Sterling Pounds to Euros. After about an hour drive, we could view the wavy coast, facing Altantic Ocean and the Classibawn Castle.

順序經N15，N4，N17及N18公路，駛車約三小時，過了Galway市不遠便可到達西海岸行程的第一個景點 ─ Dunguaire Castle。幸運地，本是陰天的天氣，在我們到達後開始放晴一陣子。不久，又再陰天，開始下雨，我們便趕回車上去。

Going via the highways N15, N4, N17 and N18, after another 3 hours' drive, we passed the Galway city and arrived the first visiting spot of the day's itinerary -- Dunguaire Castle. Luckily, the cloudy weather turned to a short period of sunny time. Just after a moment, it became cloudy and started to rain. We ran back to the car quickly.

然後，再駛車往南行一小時，我們便去到Lisdoonvarna 小鎮的Elements B&B. 它是一所兩層高的大屋，主人是來自英國伯明翰的夫婦Keith和Christina. 他們都非常友善且樂意幫忙，我們的房間都整潔、舒適，還在小櫃子上放了美味的自家製Biscotti餅乾。在大屋的客廳，還放了一個小型天文望遠鏡，如晚上天氣好，可試試看星。

Then, we started another hour's drive to the south to arrive the Bed-and-Breakfast "Elements B&B" at the town Lisdoonvarna. It was a yellow house of two storeys, with private parking and a back garden, run by the couple Christina and Keith. They came from Birmingham, friendly and helpful, gave us a warm welcome. The rooms were clean, tidy and cozy. A glass of delicious home made biscotti was placed on the small cabinet as well. A telescope was set at the common living room. If the weather in the evening was good, people could try to looking at the stars.

主人翁還養了兩頭寵物狗狗，它們都很可愛、服從且安靜，一點都沒有騷擾到住客。Christina and Keith were raising two dogs at the house. They were lovely, very obedient and quiet, not disturbing any guests at all.

放下行李後，由於距離晚餐還有點時間，我們便往附近走走看。
After settling down with the luggage, as there still had time before dinner, we drove to the nearby areas to have a look.

因五月底已是當地的初夏，比較晚天黑，我們更駕車上到Cliff of Mohers先探究一下，來到時已過七時半，但仍然很光亮，可清楚看到大自然所創造的海岸屏風。略為看看這裡的環境，例如要走的步道，為明天早上前來遊覽作準備。

As it was early summer at end May, sunset was usually quite late. We drove up to the Cliff of Mohers and arrived after 7:00pm. It was still bright enough for us to see the natural screen built by the invisible hand. We briefly looked around there, exploring the trails to prepare for our visit in the following morning.

之後，我們便前往已用電郵提早預訂了的Cullinan's Restaurant. 可惜，因他們在訂枱記錄簿寫錯了時間，我們到達時還是要在偏廳先坐下等，約二十分鐘後才可安排入坐。Cullinan's Restaurant 曾榮獲不少獎項，我們享用了一頓很美味的海鮮晚餐，很滿足！

After that, we started to go to the Cullinan's Restaurant which we had emailed to make booking in advance. A pity that all the tables were still full when we arrived, although we had reserved for a table because they had marked the wrong reserved time in the log book. We were led to wait at the sitting area and they arranged a table for us after about 20mins. Cullinan's was a award-winning restaurant. We had a delicious seafood dinner for which we enjoyed very much and satisfied!