It's our first real day in Ireland, and we have a very early start (bags out at 6:45!) since we have a lot scheduled for today, starting with the Cliffs of Moher, in the next county over from County Limerick--County Claire!
On the way we did make one stop to see a memorial to the Great Famine.
Unfortunately, when we got to the Cliffs it was seriously overcast and windy, but we could still see a bit.
On our way to the next stop, we passed by Galway Bay, and listed to a bit of the song, Galway Bay while we passed (which was pretty neat).
We next went to Rathbaun farm, where we had a cream tea in a thatched roof cottage farmhouse!
The schedule had just said coffee, so that was a very happy surprise for me.
We had scones with ginger rhubarb jam and clotted cream.
We next went up to the barn to see sheep and bottle feed lambs.
The lambs came right up to us (looking for more milk, of course).
Next a quick look around the gardens,
before heading back out to our next stop--Galway city.
There was also a street fair where I did some shopping and we had street food (I had a German bratwurst) right in front of an old church, St. Nicholas. This is Ireland's largest medieval parish still in use.
Already time to head back to the bus.
(If we had more time, I would have loved to stop here! They sold some of their tea blends, so at least I was able to bring some home to try!)
After a quick stop at a marble factory to learn about irish marble,
we drove to Clifden, a small fishing village in the far west of Ireland.
Dinner was at the hotel and lasted from 7 to close to 9.
We had wanted to go up to Monument Hill to take night pictures of the town (they exist on the internet), and walked a bit along the Sky Road, but the path up the hill had been closed for the night (probably because it was dark). I did not enjoy the walk out or back because the road was narrow and winding with no sidewalks or real shoulders, and I kept forgetting which side traffic came from. It was also dark and rainy. So not the best nighttime photo idea I've ever had.
After that bust, we went to the pub right across the parking lot from our hotel in an old converted train station.
Katherine and I had ciders and listened to the live music.
(I was starting out small, ok)
The band played all the way from Danny Boy to Fulsome Prison by Johnny Cash. So it ended up being a nice end to the day.
• I just involuntarily groaned when I read the "bags out" time, haha. I'm sure it was made worse by how tired and sleep-deprived we would have been at that point.
ReplyDelete• The Cliffs of Moher were probably my most-anticipated stop, and literally the ONLY thing that I can remember looking back is how crazy windy and rainy and cold it was, and how by the time we went inside the little gift shop area to find the restroom, I literally looked like the bride of Frankenstein and could not feel my face. I think I ripped out at least 75% of my hair trying to comb through it. This was also the year that like five other random acquaintances visited Ireland and they all had beautifully scenic, blue-sky-fluffy-cloud weather for the Cliffs of Moher. On the bright side, our crappy weather just made your photos extra atmospheric, haha.
• Photo No. 13 is pretty! Why don't I have a match? Grrr.
• Mmmm scones. They look like they were yummy.
• Reading through this entry is bringing back so many memories and now this trip doesn't feel like THREE YEARS ago. :(.
• As I was scrolling through your first Galway photos, my first thought was, "I think I remember insisting that we eat street food sausage here." And then you had a photo! Why are my clearest memories food-related? LOL. I can picture exactly where we sat behind that church.
• Okay, there are so many yum food photos in this post and I really should not comment on them all individually or people will think I'm weird. I did laugh audibly at the dessert symphony, though.
• I'm LOLing at our dangerous night walk. You were SO sure that we were going to die. Oh well, we tried. And we got some nice photos during our afternoon jaunt!
• LOLing also at the dramatic difference in the sizes of our ciders. *facepalm* I really enjoyed that little pub and the music! It was fun! :).