Day 11 on the road from Shannon to Ballyvaughan 1st stop Quin Abbey

Quin Abbey Processed with Alien Skin Snap Art3 Pastel Filter

After saying goodbyes to the group and being dropped off at the Shannon airport around 6:00pm by the tour bus, I picked up my rental car and Garmin from Europcar.. OK big gulp, piled the luggage in....opened  the door and they delivered a stick shift instead of the requested automatic.....so back to the counter to tell them about the error, then wait with anticipation that they actually had the right car. Shortly afterward, they did deliver the car. (One question I always ask when renting a car, is how to open the gas tank. Not sure I would have found that little latch on the floor to open it had I not asked. Oh and its a Diesel so make sure to get the right gas!) Another big gulp actually getting into the car. I spent a few minutes getting familiar with the car and Garmin, plugged in the address of the Oakwood Arms and off I went to the hotel for a nights rest before heading out. Thank goodness the hotel was only a few miles from the airport....I was not up for challenging myself with driving far on the other side of the road that night. I stopped at the grocery store in the nearby mall, stocked up on road supplies, water, nuts, dried fruit etc...Had dinner  at the hotel, got a good nights rest and headed out the next day. First stop on the road north was Quin Abbey a short drive only 17km from the hotel about 15 minutes away. No tripods, no backpacks allowed...the keeper held them for me in the locked closet at the entry point. This is a situation where the ISO capabilities of the D4 came in handy. I spent  time here just wandering where I could and studying the old building, reading inscriptions and marveling at the antiquity of the place! But not knowing exactly how long I would need to get where I was going for the day or what unexpected opportunity I might find, as well as driving slowly the first day on the road, I moved on down the road. More from the road tomorrow....

ISO 2000 f8 1/100 sec focal length 28mm handheld VR on. Monochrome conversion Nik SIlver Efex Pro