We had never visited Ireland before, so it wasn’t entirely our fault that we planned our two months there a bit, umm, wrong. Sure, we could have read up a tad more, or asked the advice of friends who had been there, but where’s the fun in that? Let’s just fly by the seat of our pants, that’s what I say!
[Not really. Friends will tell you that I’m a touch OCD. Family will tell you that I’m very OCD. My wife will tell you that I’m goddamned nuts. I’m pretty sure my wife is being the honest one in that group.]
If you visit Ireland and intend to hit Galway, Dublin, and the countryside (we were in Cork and Kerry for a month), and you find after reading this blog that your tastes are much like ours, trust me – do the cities first and save the countryside for last.
Dublin and Galway are fun, but they’re no match for the ohmygodletsburstintosong beauty of the Irish countryside. It’s cliche, but it’s true.
As a result, after two weeks in Galway the otherwise lovely city suffered a bit in comparison to the other places we’d been in Ireland.
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Our cottage, which we rented through AirBnB, was quaint and cozy. It wasn’t the greatest value we’d ever had in a rental, but as with Dublin, Galway is apparently suffering from a housing shortage so we were grateful to find what we did.
The place was small but it had pretty views of Lough Atalia, and there was a nice little playground right across the street. Braeden and I put the soccer ball we had bought in Dublin to good use every day, booting it around the slide and swings and screaming “GOOOAAAL” every 5 minutes until the neighbors were scowling out of their windows at us.
The neighborhood wasn’t terribly attractive, but we were just a 10-minute walk from Eyre Square and the heart of the city, so we had easy access to shopping, pubs, restaurants, and other fun stuff. On the days we didn’t feel like walking we took our car and parked it in one of Galway’s convenient garages.
[The car rental, by the way, was the most expensive we’ve had in our 14 months on the road. A little 4-door Spanish Seat sedan from Europcar with a child’s safety seat cost $1840 US for 43 days. Eep. A Nissan March we rented in Mauritius for a week longer cost half that much, around $900 US.]
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Our favorite garage was Hynes Car Park, which was not far from our cottage and right next to downtown. It cost $2.80/hour US to park, so on rainy days (of which there were many in Galway in September) it was a no-brainer to drive our little silver Seat into town.
We spent a fair amount of time exploring downtown Galway, which was small but had plenty to offer: the Spanish Arch, River Corrib, Galway Cathedral, the Latin Quarter, and Quay Street. The music scene in Galway was awesome, and every day we were able to listen to some amazing street musicians play.
The pubs were wonderful, of course, and we visited quite a few for afternoon pints and oh-so-tummy-friendly food. The King’s Head, which turned out to be more of a touristy restaurant than a pub, and Tig Choili were favorites. The latter hosted traditional (“trad”) music sessions daily, so we made sure to stop in to listen over a pint.
Family Visit!
The highlight of our time in Galway, though, was a visit from my sister, Jennifer, and my brother-in-law, Josh. I had been looking forward to seeing them for months, and Braeden was bouncing off the walls waiting for them to arrive.
They were only with us for four days but we covered a ton of ground, saw a lot of Galway and the surrounding area, and had a great time.
The first order of business with Auntie and Uncle was to get them to the Cliffs of Moher. We had visited the cliffs not long before, so we knew the lay of the land. The drive from Galway was about ninety minutes, but much of that time was spent gawking at the stunning scenery (e.g. the little town of Kinvarra and the stark beauty of the area known as The Burren) so the ride went quickly.
The day we visited with Jen and Josh the winds coming off the Atlantic were fierce, so we tilted forward and marched down the path towards the sea.
Whoever designed and runs the Visitors’ Center at the cliffs is on point, because the whole place is very well organized. The building itself is built mostly underground right into the landscape, so there’s no ugly structures to mar the views of the area. There are wide, well-paved walkways that run along the cliffs for about a quarter mile on either side of the Visitors’ Center, which makes it easy to take a stroll and enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime views.
O’Brien’s Tower, a 30-foot lookout built in the 19th century by a fellow named – you guessed it – O’Brien, stands on one of the highest cliffs on the shore. There seems to be some disagreement as to why O’Brien built the tower, with many folks claiming he designed it as a sightseeing platform for Victorian-era tourists, while others insist he was merely aiming to impress the ladies.
It’s a pretty structure, but it’s dwarfed by the epic beauty of the cliffs upon which it stands, so I contented myself with staying outside to take pictures while Juliann and Braeden climbed to the top of the tower.
As if our son would ever, ever pass up the opportunity to climb something.
The walking paths sprawling out from the Visitors’ Center are hemmed in by significant stone barricades to prevent tourists with more balls than sense from getting too close to the edge. Where the walking paths end, however, miles of hiking trails begin, and the trails have no such barriers. We didn’t venture on the trails because we had Braeden with us (and also I would have looked pretty silly slowly edging sideways along the trails a good thirty feet from the cliffs’ edge) but many folks did, and we could even see some not-so-smart thrill seekers sitting right on the edge of the cliff, dangling their feet over the side.
We spent a few hours at the Cliffs of Moher with Jen and Josh, and despite the gale-force winds we had a great time and got some more wonderful pictures. We hopped back in the car and headed back towards Galway, and along the way we got a tad hungry so we pulled over in Kinvarra for some lunch at Fox’s. Josh and I sampled the lamb stew, which was savory and satisfying.
The day after was a bit rainy and overcast but we wanted to do some exploring in the city, so we took the car downtown and walked around a bit. We swung by the Spanish Arch to take some photos, then wandered up the path along the lovely and peaceful River Corrib. When the rain started coming down a bit heavier we ducked into a pub for a pint, then moved on to the Galway Cathedral.
The Cathedral was much newer than most of those we had seen before (built in 1965) but it was quite beautiful and we enjoyed checking out the architecture and the exhibits.
Then we headed back through the city, stopping at Tig Choili for a pint before going home for the day.
Jen and Josh’s stay with us in Galway was brief, but it was so wonderful to have them with us, and the boy loved hanging out with his Auntie and Uncle. WE LOVE YOU GUYS!
Juliann, Braeden, and I only had a few days in Galway after they left, and then we had to pack our belongings, load up the car and head to Dublin where we crashed for the night. The next day we caught an early flight across the Atlantic to Mexico.
Ireland wasn’t at the top of my list of places to visit. I went because my wife had always wanted to see the country of her ancestors. I’m so grateful that we did go, because it’s honestly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. The people are wonderful, the music is joyful, and the food and quality of life there are outstanding. If it weren’t for the weather I might have been tempted to stay for a long time.
But hell, with beer and whiskey that good, maybe the weather doesn’t matter after all, right?!?
Next: Mexico!