Athlone was a good base to see some of the sites in the center of the island. There are historic sites in Athlone (oldest pub in Ireland as well as a castle) and the surrounding area.
The next day dawned bright and sunny in spite of all the downpour the previous day and we set off to see some sites. Our first stop was Clonmacnoise which is a monastic settlement ruin on the banks of the River Shannon. It's a lovely setting and they have some very nice Celtic crosses too. I managed to smack my head pretty hard on an arched doorway on one of the ruins. Mike warned me to duck but I had taken some cold medicine the night before and I was still little groggy so I didn't really register what he said until it was too late. I'm never taking NyQuil again, ouch!
We then made our way to Birr Castle which has a large reflecting telescope. It was the largest telescope in the world when it was finished in 1845. They have an exhibition of the scientific contributions of the family who owns the estate. It was very interesting if you like science or astronomy. We also had a nice lunch at their courtyard cafe.
Our final stop of the day was the Rock of Dunamase, an early Christian settlement that was pillaged by the Vikings in 842 A.D. By the 1100's, it was the most important fortification in the area. And the best part? We had the whole place to ourselves!
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