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| Clew Bay looking west toward the Atlantic |
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| The Famine Ship Memorial at the base of Croagh Patrick |
Monday was a lazy day, we slept late and took a drive west on the south side of Clew Bay, turning south after hitting the town of Louisburgh, and continuing on towards Leenane. Just a beautiful drive on a gorgeous day.
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| Old fossil at the base of Croagh Patrick |
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| Doo Lough |
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| On the ride from Louisburgh to Leenane |
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| Approaching Doo Lough |
Doo Lough (black lake) is just stunning and we drove by at a particularly fortuitous time, with the sun highlighting the ridges and hollows in the mountains on all sides. Thanks to Padraic for directing us to this area last year.
After our day's travels, we looked forward to an invitation to dinner at the home of our hoteliers, Darren and Maria Madden. They are the owners of the Clew Bay Hotel (http://www.clewbayhotel.com/) and also own the apartment in the Old Mill in which we've been staying. A lovely young couple, and we had a great time discussing the mess our politicians and bankers have made of things. Maria had promised nothing fancy, just a "rough 'n ready meal." But you can guess already, right? Fresh oysters, beautiful crostini (we would say bruschetta), tender and flavorful grilled steaks, fresh steamed veg, an after dinner cheese plate, french press coffee, and chocolate biscuits. Lovely Niamh (pronounced neev) and handsome Conor assisted in preparing and serving the meal. She almost 11, he 13 - wonderful, charming, well-mannered kids, an immense credit to their parents. And both with the most engaging smiles. We had a lovely night.
The following pictures are from after dinner when we walked the Maddens' big chocolate labs down to the pier in front of their house. Not a bad view to have from your living room window, huh?
