WARNING! LOTS OF PHOTOS!
Saturday marked our second day in
Ireland. We woke up to a lovely view of some cliffs out the window of
our hotel. I was relieved to see that it was a clear day so they
wouldn't be fogged in.
After getting ready, we made our way down
to breakfast. Adam had pancakes with coffee, and I had French
toast with tea. It was nice to have a sit-down breakfast even if it
wasn't anything too special.
Then we packed up, and headed out to the Cliffs. On the way, we drove past a castle tower.
We
arrived at the Cliffs around 10:30 and enjoyed the view in daylight.
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| photo by Adam |
The stone guard rails are a little tall, which is slightly annoying, but keeps people safe.
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| photo by Adam |
Unless you're these idiots that climbed over them and were way down by the edge clowning around and making everyone around nervous.
Of
course we also took a lot of photos! It was quite windy and chilly, but
the view was amazing. So beautiful.
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| photo by Adam |
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| photo by Adam |
We warmed up in the Visitor's Center, which is interestingly built right into the hill (you can see it on the right of the photo).
A few hours and Irish
souvenirs later, we were on our way. We took the scenic route through The Burren to Galway.Which of course meant more narrow hedge lined roads with
high speeds
and blind corners. Poor Adam!
Our first stop was at the Kilfenora Cathedral. It was built in 1189 on the site of an earlier monastery.
It's mostly a ruin now, but does have a covered area which houses the Doorty High Cross, dating from the 12th Century. This famous cross was restored and moved inside the covered area in 2003.
There are also interesting carvings.
Our next stop was at Poulnabrone Dolmen. This neolithic portal tomb dates from 4200 BC to 2900 BC! It was fascinating to see something so old.
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| photo by Adam |
We also enjoyed the interesting landscape of The Burren. It's a very barren rocky area.
There were a lot of really cool stone fences too.
Our last stop before Galway for the night was Blackhead, right along the coast. For this drive, we had a tour bus right in front of us. Having often encountered buses coming at us on these narrow roads, it was nice to have one blaze the way for us. I asked Adam, "I wonder what happens when two tour buses meet on these roads?" About ten seconds later, we found out! They get as far over as they can, and then very slowly creep pass each other with about an inch to spare. It was entertaining to watch, but took about ten minutes!
When we finally got there, the view was wonderful!
Then we were off to Galway.
I really enjoyed the scenery and sights on the drive, so I continued to take photos. While Adam was driving. Thank goodness for fast shutter speeds!
The cool thing about Ireland is that it's so old. And there are random ruins all over. Like this one. How cool is that?
Once in Galway, we drove through the city to Salthill and found our hotel. Our room had a nice view of Galway Bay (and a parking lot...).
We relaxed in the room for a bit, and then headed out to find somewhere to get dinner. We got lucky, and Adam had the best fish and chips of the trip at the restaurant we found. We also split Baked Alaska which was quite delicious!
On the way back to the hotel, we strolled along Salthill Promenade. The sun was setting, so the views were gorgeous. This was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole day. And it was (mostly) unplanned! It was just so beautiful.
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| photo by Adam |
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| photo by Adam |
Back in the room, we had a few drinks and relaxed. Traveling is exhausting!
Highlights of the day:
Stef - Cliffs of Moher
- The Prom at sunset
Adam - Cliffs of Moher
- Dinner (best fish & chips of the trip!)
- NOT driving
