September and October 2023, Week Forty Eight.

 Hello my lovelies, I hope that 2024 is treating you well so far? I have been putting off posting about this week last September/October since it was such a busy week, and I knew it would take me forever. I took SO many photos and videos, haha! However, I am only sharing a few of them here with you, and I hope you enjoy them.
My dear friend Patricia arrived on the Monday afternoon and we had a great evening in, catching up with each other. She lives in Virginia, and I hadn't seen her since I left America in July 2022. She was visiting her family in Germany and the Netherlands, and made a special trip over to see me too, which I very much appreciated!

Rainbow over Pollan Bay.

Virgin Mary while waiting for my friend to arrive!

The next day we had breakfast at Nancy's Barn, and I introduced her to Guinness 0.0, before we went to explore the beautiful Glenevin Waterfall. It's so much fun doing touristy things with visitors, you get to see things anew through their eyes! From there we went to the Glendowen Craft Shop to see the lovely Ann and shop for some souvenirs, and then on to do some shopping in Buncrana. We also stopped at the Drift Inn and had another lovely pint of Guinness 0.0 beside the fire, before heading back to Ballyliffin and taking a walk over the cliffs at Pollan Bay to see the sunset.

Woods near the Glenevin Waterfall.

Walking to the Glenevin Waterfall.

Wet from the rain and the spray from the Glenevin Waterfall.

View of Tullagh and Binion from the Glenevin Waterfall.

Warm Welcome at the Drift Inn, Buncrana.

Sunset over the Cliffs, Pollan Bay.

On the Wednesday, we spent the day indoors, there had been lots of weather warnings for Storm Agnes, and also the electricity was off in the whole area for some scheduled maintenance. We didn't want to risk driving elsewhere through the storm, only to find they were closed due to no electricity, so I lit the fire and we had a cozy day of crafts and cocktails, (Mine were mocktails, of course) which was still very enjoyable!

Rainbows after Storm Agnes.

Gareth traveled over on the ferry Wednesday night into Thursday morning, and arrived about 04:00. I had a Voiceover class at 01:00 (8pm American East Coast time) and just stayed up after that to wait for him. As always, it was so good to see him after a month apart, and I got to introduce him to Patricia at last. (Though not at 4am!) Later that day we all went to Nancy's Barn to try their famous Seafood Platter. This is something I've been wanting to try since I moved here, but it's far too much food for one person. This was the perfect time to try it, and it was everything I hoped for and more. The photo doesn't even do it justice, I couldn't fit the whole thing into the frame! After that incredible meal, we took a drive up to Mamore Gap and did some exploring around there, also seeing the Mamore Cottages and saying hello to some donkeys. From there we drove back to Clonmany via Tullagh Bay, and went for a pint at McFeeley's to warm up, before heading up to Malin Head. Malin Head is the northernmost point of mainland Ireland, and the views are spectacular (when not obscured by clouds, of course!) so I try to take my visitors there when possible. The weather had turned fairly nasty by then, so we didn't go far, but at least Patricia can say she's been there now. From there we went to the Seaview Tavern for a meal, before coming back home and having a fairly early night after a long day!

Seafood Platter at Nancy's Barn.

Traffic Jam at the Mamore Gap.

View from the Mamore Gap.

Friendly Donkey at the Mamore Cottages.

Windswept and Happy, Tullagh Bay.

On the Friday morning Patricia had to leave to get back to Dublin for her flight, and that evening was the beginning of the 2023 Disappear Here Film Fest, so I had some social media work to do for that. Gareth and I dressed up and we went to the Ballyliffin Hotel for the festival opening night, and got to watch the hilarious dark comedy, "Apocalypse Clown", which I really enjoyed!
Saturday, our friend Peter came to stay overnight, since he was visiting family not too far away. All three of us went to the Film Festival that evening, and then went out for drinks in Ballyliffin and Clonmany, which was a lot of fun. I had been sober for a month at this point, but I knew they'd both be feeling it the next day!

Drinks and Music in Clonmany.

On the Sunday, as I predicted, both of them were feeling a little fragile. We took a walk on the beach and over the cliffs to help clear their heads, and then went to Nancy's Barn for breakfast. The third time I visited that week! The cooked breakfast did the trick and they felt much better afterwards. Later that day I took Peter for a walk up Mullagh to see the views, and after he left, Gareth and I got dressed up all fancy for our night out. First we went back to the Film Fest for the final night, and then on to Kealey's Seafood Bar in Greencastle for a delicious meal.

With my love on Pollan Strand.

View over the Cliffs, Pollan Bay.

View of Pollan Bay from Mullagh.

Rainbow over Lough Foyle, Greencastle.

Date Night at Kealey's Seafood Bar, Greencastle.

It was an extremely busy, but fantastic week! I loved showing my little corner of heaven to my friends. (Gareth already knows how amazing it is!)