Monday, November 18, 2013

Amazing Ireland: Full First Day

We are here. We could stay here. Forever. The troubles of yesterday forgiven and forgotten. After a wonderful homemade breakfast, we spent some time meandering around more of Galway that was missed in our hunger fueled trek the night previous. It really is a beautiful little town.






Good Morning Galway


After taking in the glorious sites of Galway, we made a VERY slow and prolonged journey to Doolin, the next stop on our journey. It would typically be a little over an hour to drive from one to the other...well, with SO many awesome sights along the way, it took us almost 4. Ireland is breathtakingly beautiful, there are castle and abbey ruins everywhere, and then just overwhelming views that you just have to stop and enjoy. There are MANY pictures below, but not many words to use. Just amazingness that is meant to be savored.

Merlin's castle

Trail to the castle

Merlin's Castle

Merlin's Castle

Merlin's Castle

Cranmore Castle

Cranmore Castle

Cranmore Castle

Cranmore Castle

Picturesque Irelane


Dunguaire Castle


Dunguaire Castle

Hole in the wall, gives a small peak inside

Dunguaire Castle


Loving this life

Thousands of miles of these walls




Just checking it all out


Such a beautiful drive along the western coast...


Mini ponies!!!!!

Baby mini pony playing about, it was awesomely cute







Welcome to Doolin
We finally rolled into Doolin mid-afternoon. This is a small town primarily known for their ferries out to the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Mohar. It is very small, a couple of hotels, some quaint shops, and 3 pubs. We went and scouted out the ferries for the next day, and in asking what was recommended to do around town for the evening, we were told to look for a musician named Blackie. As fortune would have it, the pub that we stopped at for a drink had him and his band Foolin in Doolin slated to play that evening. This pub was within easy walking distance of where we were staying, so it was perfect. Unfortunately I cannot get the videos to upload, but they were AMAZING. Classic Irish music that will blow your mind. Check out this YouTube link that I found of them, just so you can have a glimpse. This was our entire evening. We sat right in front of them and enjoyed bantering with them between sets, and I even ended up selling their CDs (all of them) for them during intermission. The band invited us to join them the next evening. It was a fantastic time listening to a fantastic group.