Aug 20, 2011 - Galway, Ireland

From Doolin we drove along the coast to Galway, enjoying the views of sea and more of limestone landscape of The Burren. We spent a couple nights at College Crest Guest B&B in Galway, a lovely place with good breakfast. We spent our evenings listening to music at the lively, local An Pucan Pub. Saturday night we even got in a little dancing here . An Pucan takes its name from a class of Galway hooker, a traditional fishing boat. One of these boats has been restored and integrated into the pub. The entertainers perform from inside the boat...

Aug 10, 2011 - Galway

Galway will forever be know as where Anna and Telka gained 10 kilograms each! Thanks to the Galway races, the town was in party mode and naturally we joined in. Realistically we didn't go to the races and we only went out one of the three night. Nevertheless enough was consumed to last us a long winters hibernation. In amongst the indulging, we managed to head to the Burren (the limestone hills region) and to the cliffs of moher (the most spectacular and touristy spot in Ireland). Thankfully our visit to Galway was made complete by more...

Jun 25, 2011 - Kylemore Abbey

We woke this morning to a drizzly gray sky. Its our last full day so we were ready to make the most of it and enjoy whatever sights we decided to visit. Our first stop : Kylemore Abbey. So much history behind this building, we were all captivated by its beauty and breathtaking scenery. The abbey was originally built as a castle by henry mitchell for his wife. It was built during the Irish Potato famine and was luxurious, it had one of the first Victorian walled gardens in Ireland. The castle eventually was sold to another family and when...

Jun 24, 2011 - Burren Perfumery and Clifden

The Perfumery and Clifden Apologies for not keep up with this these last few days. We are currently sitting in the Dublin Airport waiting for our first flight which has been delayed.  Let's see Doolin to Clifden... We didn't really have a plan for the day, but decided to take our time and stop as we wanted to. We had seen several write ups in our travel guides about the Burren Perfumery. As we set out driving we started to see signs for it so we ignored The GPS (which we nicknamed Candy) directions to Clifden and followed the signs. We...

Jun 23, 2011 - The Aran Islands: bike riding!

Doolin We have had a really nice and adventure filled day! Our B&B here is a little smaller than the previous ones and much more personal. The proprieter is an older woman who is very friendly, she saw us as we were leaving for dinner at Bunratty Castle last night and was full of gracious compliments.  Today began with a hearty breakfast and a quick stop at the Tourist Office for information on the ferry rides to the Aran Islands. The informant recommended a trip to Inisheer, the smallest if the three islands. We paid our Euros, found our...

Jun 23, 2011 - Inis Mor (Aran Islands)

Today was sleep in day only having to leave the hostel at 9.30am to catch a bus, then ferry from Rosseveal over the Atlantic Ocean to Inis Mor (Aran Islands), an island 9 miles long and 2 miles wide and is mostly made of barren limestone rock and small fields which are surrounded by stone walls. We hired bikes to get around the Island to explore this ancient Gaelic speaking island.  Some of the sights visited were the ruined Arann Lighthouse and Signal Tower, the highest point on the island, the Worm Hole, which we didn't find but must have...

Jun 22, 2011 - Ennis / Galway

Day started with a stop at Poulanbrone Dolmen, otherwise known as the Portal Tomb or sex stone, this stone in one of Irelands most photographed ancient monuments.  Next stop was the Faerie Ring, a mythical home to the faeries.  Here we walked around the ring (tree lined built up circle) clockwise,  making a wish at the end.  It is said that if you walk inside the ring, or throw/piss into the ring you/bus will receive back luck. A drive along Cork Screw Road for a glimpse of the view over Galway Bay, then we drove through Lisdoonvarna.  A...

Jun 8, 2011 - The Connemaras

Today we transfer to Galway. We travel straight through the city and take the coastal route through the Connemaras. Once we leave the seaside suburbs we come to the amazing landscape of the ‘rocks’. The land is undulating – all humps and hollows – and covered in rocks. Rock fences divide the land into small blocks. Some are cleared with homes on them the others are empty or have a few cattle grazing. The rocks extend up the sides of the mountains. Certainly anyone born into farming here would be picking up rocks from age one to when they...

May 25, 2011 - Irish Land Sharks

The last 3 days in Galway have proved interesting. A man in the hotel elevator said that he’s never seen a May like this, with all the wind and rain. Yet it hasn’t dampened our spirits or sense of adventure. Now we know what the west is like in the wind and rain. However we did not hike today in Connemara National Park. If we had better pants maybe we would have braved it, but with only rain coats, our legs would have been soaked through. This decision to not get out of the car much afforded all the more time to lose our damn minds. It is...

May 24, 2011 - Buying Tarts in Galway

Not a lot to report today. The wind was still high enough that they cancelled the ferry to the Aran Islands, and the flights were also grounded. It is a bit of a blessing in disguise as due to all our blundering about, we're both feeling a little run down. As much as we want to see and do as much as possible, there's no point seeing and doing it bleary and delirious. I can't think of a better town than Galway to kick back and take it easy. Further, we had a lot of housekeeping to tend to as well. Let's start with the ton of laundry. We...

May 23, 2011 - Rivers Running Up and the Cows of Mooer

Today was a long travel day. From Killarney to Galway. Not a to mention the side trip to Cliffs of Moher. Nor the fact that I had Bill driving me all over the Burren looking for stone circle forts, beehives () and other markers of many days gone by. Leaving Killarney was like leaving Western Cork; bitter sweet. There is much to see ahead of us, but I could have lingered many more days in the area. There are more hikes, more trails to bike, and more roads for us to ramble down on a mad adventure. Perhaps another time. As we rolled along...

Apr 30, 2011 - The Emerald Isle

Hi Everyone Well what can we say about Ireland. The scenery is spectacular. Driving around the peninsula’s it changes with every bend and turn in the road. Emerald green pastures with bright gold gorse dotted with sheep, moss covered mountain slopes, rocky outcrops, sheer cliffs dropping into the sea. Villages of brightly coloured houses painted peach, salmon pink, lilac and sky blue nestle in the valleys. The hedgerows are full of flowering wild garlic, along with primroses and may blossom. We’ve seen our first English bluebells in...