Friday Killaloe, Lough Durg

This is our last day. The bus takes off from the hotel at 10:30 after we settle up our accounts for any lunches, laundry, beverages, or other incidentals. We will make our way back to Shannon Airport, our dispersal point, but first we have a lunch and a cruise.

We stop at Killaloe on the Shannon River, where we eat a tour-provided lunch at Flanagans, located by the river.

We eat in their round tower area. Picture of their bar.

And immediately to the left of the bar, their wine cellar/safe.

After the lunch, we have but to cross a small lawn to an embarkation dock to the ship for our cruise.

The ship fits us all inside, but some prefer the upper outside deck. The cruise offers Irish Coffee according to the “original” recipe: a measure of Irish whiskey, two lumps of demerara sugar stirred into hot, strong coffee, with lightly (barely) whipped heavy cream floated on top. They don’t actually whip it, they half-fill a pint bottle, cap it, and shake it vigorously for about a minute. They serve other adult beverages too, but the Irish coffee is pleasant on a cool and breezy cruise. And we’re not sure if the cream comes from County Clare or County Kerry cows, but it has an incredibly high butterfat content/taste and is enough to float a small raft on. We limit ourselves to two.

Lough Durg is part of the Shannon River, with homes, hotels, and marinas along its shores. It’s quiet, but the river is wide enough to kick up some rough waves in a good wind. It’s a calm day on this part of the lake, and Paula is allowed to step into the wheelhouse and drive for a bit.

The ship, Spirit of Killaloe, is larger than it was several years ago. It was taken into dry dock, cut across the middle, four feet added along with a new stern and drive plant, and welded back together. Pix from Facebook.

And after the cruise, it’s back on the bus for a snoozy, short drive to Shannon.