Marble Arch Caves

(8/1) Wednesday -

On our first morning in Enniskillen, we headed over to the Marble Arch Caves with plans of a boat ride and walk through the caves.  The drive to the caves was a bit of an adventure.  Brian, Brendan, Elise and I were in the mini van together, which is entertaining on its own.  Then you put us on the left side of a very narrow, winding road, in the rain with huge puddles and it's a recipe for silliness.  While Brian was trying to concentrate on the curves in the road and trying not to lose a mirror by hitting oncoming traffic (you really have to think skinny thoughts on these roads), Brendan was laughing hysterically at me because each time we drove through a large puddle on the passenger side of the car, I'd scream for fear of getting soaked because Brendan had his window wide open.  Thankfully, I only got wet once, but from that point on I shrieked every time we hit a puddle.  (Probably not smart to open your mouth when you're afraid of getting splashed.)  Anyway, we were being completely silly, but it was a lot of fun.  Typical Audrey and Brendan shenanigans.



Once we arrived at Marble Arch we found out that the tour had been shortened due to all of the rain and would only last about 15 minutes . . . and no boat ride.  We decided to do the brief tour anyway, so we descended more than 100 stairs into the cave and walked along the path for a short distance; long enough to get a sneak peak of how amazing the caves are. I'd recommend this to anyone visiting Northern Ireland.

After the caves, we headed back into town to do some exploring and have lunch.  We lunched at Patrick's Pub on Main Street in Enniskillen.  The food was great and the owner, who was also our waiter, was fantastic.  I must say, everyone we've met in Ireland has been so nice and so welcoming.  I had chicken goujouns, which is the Irish version of chicken tenders, and they were so tasty.  I also tried some fish goujoun and it was also quite tasty.  (Yes, I said I ate fish and enjoyed it.)  After lunch, we headed over to the Enniskillen Castle ruins and museum for a quick tour and then over to St. Michael's cathedral. Then we called it a day and headed back to the hotel to relax.  It was such a nice afternoon, Brian and I decided to relax outside instead of in our room.  We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening lounging and enjoying the weather until the sun went down and it got too cool for us to sit outside.  Tomorrow we head to Westport.