Saturday, 24 August 2013
Friday, 23 August 2013
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!
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
Lots of traffic circles as I have noted before. They do call them roundabouts here, (not rotary's like my Boston friend!) and they have names. The closest to us is the Leo Casey Roundabout. When max speeds are going down, the signs say "traffic calming" which is just so peaceful...
Cannot find chili in a can here - which I like to use for chili dogs, but I made my own quick and easy using Uncle Ben's jars of sauce. I don't recall seeing these in the US, but here you can get all kinds of ready-made sauces that are actually pretty darn tasty! The hot dogs came in a package that said "american style" - something that seems important in a hot dog!!
Managed to bake a traditional Patsy Hogan Schlueter birthday cake for Haley, but the accent frosting was white or cream since I didn't locate food coloring! Still, it was really one of the best cakes I ever made! I credit the fresh Irish eggs for that!
Everything just seems fresher here with fewer preservatives. (So don't leave it sit for long...) The beef is fantastic. They have steak mince (ground beef) that is so lean I barely have any grease to unload. The eggs are very bright yellow and just taste great, and Irish sausage is fabulous! Bacon is a different cut so it is a little more like Canadian Bacon - thick and a little more like a small cut of ham.
Obviously, we won't starve here!
Also noticed that bathroom light switches are outside the room itself. Seems dangerous... It's a prankster's paradise!!
When we were out at a shopping plaza, I asked a clerk where I could find a restroom - he was confused. They are called "Toilets" here, which I suppose clearly defines their purpose! Since then, I know to look for the toilet sign.
So by the time anyone gets here to visit, I will have all the info you need to have a fabulous time!
BACK HOME AND ONTO SOCCER
So after Derry we went home, picked up the pups and rested up for our next venture. During the week we recouped a bit and Steve worked some more! I got more driving experience and Haley had soccer practice.
Haley tried out for a team that is part of Ireland's National Women's Soccer League and she succeeded in making the team! The age is 17 and up. Haley turned 17 on August 18 so she is good to go, and young for the team, though they seem to have quite a few young players. She is very happy with this team and really likes the coaches and teammates. In fact, now she MAY have forgiven us for uprooting her to a different country right before her senior year of high shool!
Only problem is that she is playing for the Castlebar Celtics and the town is about 1-1/2 hours away - on irish roads! It is a straight shot on the N5, but it gets very curvy and sometimes no shoulder. Speed limit is generally 100 kmph which translates to about 62 mph and it can be hard to pass on curvy roads. There are some parts where the road has a big SLOW sign painted on it as you get to a curve and when you get to the next one, there is a yellow sign that says, SLOWER (!) How do they know Steve is going too fast?! The practices start at 8 pm, which is still light here, but by the time we are heading home, it is dark and I am sleepy!
Sunday, 18 August 2013
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