GALWAY

On August 9th we drove to Galway and stayed at the  Salthill Hotel.   It was lovely.  The hotel sits right across the street from the Boardwalk on Galway Bay.  It was so beautiful!  Lots of people out walking, and some swimmers as well!  Brrrrrrhhh!  We did not swim.  We are not so hearty as the people who  live  here!  We strolled around on the boardwalk and then listened to music in the pub before going to bed.  

The next morning, we had a bus trip to see the Cliffs of Moher, Poulnabrone Dolmen, Dunguaire Castle, and the Burren.  It  was a good way to do it so Steve could enjoy the beautiful landscape and he didn't have to worry about directions or parking!  in fact, The Galway tour company picked us up at our hotel!

We first saw the Burren on the drive up.   It is a rocky,  limestone landscape, with some lovely wild flowers and it stretches out seemingly endlessly.  Sometimes from a distance, the hills look like they have snow - now we know it's the big white limestone rocks of the  Burren! I have read historical fiction books about Ireland, and now I know what they mean when they say they crossed the Burren.  There are some flowers unique to the Burren, and lots of information and photos of the flora can be found online.  It is quite a lovely, dramatic landscape.

Poulnabrone Dolmen is an ancient burial ground located in the Burren in County Clare.   I think they said it dates back to about 3500 BC.  The tomb is set up with two large stones supporting a cap stone across the top.  There are several throughout the area, but this one is probably in the best location for visiting.  They excavated in the 1980's and found about 20 people buried there, with only one person being over the age of 40.  The landscape alone is awe-inspiring, but add to it a structure built in 3500 BC and it leaves you somewhat speechless. A visit to the Burren should definitely include a visit to Poulnabrone Dolmen.

Dunguaire Castle was built in 1520 and since that time has been completely restored.  I do not know what is original and  what is restoration, but I would guess it is mostly restoration!  It is a lovely tower house on Galway Bay just outside the village of Kinvara.  There are indoor tours which we did not have time to do, and they have two banquets in the evening that you can book and enjoy medieval entertainment, poetry readings, and Irish folklore.  I am thinking we will have to book a banquet while we are here!

Prior to getting to the Cliffs, we stopped in Doolin for lunch at Gus O'Connor's Pub.  The pub was grand and I would definitely go back.  The village was nice and there was a candy shop with some of the best fudge I have ever had!  

Then it was onto the Cliff's of Moher.  What an incredible place!  The cliffs are so high and so beautiful - truly breathtaking in my opinion and you can walk  across  the top and see the sheer drops up close and  personal!  The North Atlantic Ocean stretches out before you and it is so vast and so powerful, it leaves you feeling awed and humbled.  It was a partly cloudy day for us with moments of expanded sun, but I can imagine the cliffs would be quite frightening if you were there during a storm!  The cliffs have been featured in The Princess Bride as the Cliffs of Insanity and in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

On the highest point of the cliffs there is O'Brien's Tower.  It was built by Sir Cornelius O'Brien  in 1835.  There is a spiral staircase to the top and room for only a few people at the top.  The views from there are  amazing.  We had a lovely trip to see the sights and definitely would go back to Galway as there is still so much more to see!