Limerick To Galway

Woke up to a very big surprise, the sun was shining. We were so happy to see that sun and it sure felt good. Today we are on our way to see the Cliffs of Moher and The Burren, which are all outside things.

We are now getting into more the scenic parts of our drives as we follow the coastline. Our first stop was The Cliffs of Moher. Very beautiful scenery with sheer and jagged cliffs with luxurious green pastures on top. We spent about an hour and a half here. It was a bit cool here, but at least we weren't getting rained on. No more rain forecast for the rest of our trip.

We were able to get beautiful photos of the cliffs. There was a tower at one end that we paid 2 euro to climb up to see the view. More spiral stairs, but at least it was small. There is a rock wall to keep tourists from venturing too far out and falling off the cliffs, which apparently has happened. The cliffs are formed from the pounding surf and the gale force Atlantic winds.

Our next stop was a place called The Burren. This is a very strange place. It looks like it was just one huge rock that over the centuries has been broken up. Strange plants do grow here and we were not allowed to pick any. Biologists are studying the plants and trying to figure out why they only grow here. Jennifer and I wandered out towards the shore, Mom stayed up by the road as she wasn't wearing the right shoes to be wandering out on rocks. Jen kept telling me to be careful. She reminded me that I don't have a good track record with rocks. Mom kept warning me to be careful too. I was, I managed to conquer the rocks. Of course these rocks are bigger and bit more solid.

One of our travelers wasn't feeling well so we stopped at a small gift shop/cafe for a short break. We were able to get some photos of the coastline of Galway Bay. We made our way into the city of Galway, one of Irelands major cities. We were dropped off at a city center for lunch, we had about an hour and a half here to get lunch and be back on the bus.

There were several American fast food places in this center. There was a McDonald's, took a picture of Jen standing in front. We decided not to eat here because we can eat at McDonald's back home, so we found a cute pub to eat lunch. I tell you, those pubs serve the best food.

After lunch we had some time before heading back to the bus, so we wandered into St. Nicholas's Church. It is a very old church and there was a tomb of a crusader. Our bus was parked right across from Galway Cathedral and we had about 10 minutes to get inside and take some fast photos. It was a very pretty cathedral. We got our photos and back on the bus.

We had plenty of time before we could check into our rooms at the hotel, so we took a drive through Connemara. We stopped at the marble place. This is where they quarry the green marble and also amethyst. Our little guide spoke to Jen and told her that she has a touch of the gaelic in her. When he found out that Mom and Jen both have birthdays in February he told them that if they put a piece of amethyst in their pocket they will never get inebriated. It only works on people who were born in February. Jen bout a piece of amethyst on a marble stand and I bought a marble celtic cross. They are very pretty. I think Mom bought something too but can't remember what.

We were finally able to check into our rooms at the hotel. This was a very big hotel. By the time we arrived, we were so glad just to be off the bus. This was the longest time we ever spent on the bus. Our hotel really wasn't in a place where we could go exploring, so we just stayed in the motel. Mom and I had our usual nightcap and then we watched some of our group playing a card game. It looked like fun and we should learn to play it. Will have to see if I can find the game "Phase Ten" around here.