Ireland Day 3: The Left Side of the Road

With Dublin under our belt it was time to explore the rest of Ireland. We took the bus back to the airport and to the Enterprise counter. There was a bit of a line and mass confusion, but about two hours later Zach was driving on the left side of the road. We were touched by an angel when we made the last minute decision to pay for a GPS. If we hadn't I think we would still be lost somewhere in Ireland. 

The car we were awarded was a tiny piece of tin called a Nissan Micra. Fortunately, Zach and I lived to tell the tale of driving this toy car in the mountains, but that comes later. 

Zach was off to a shaky start and he was very relieved when we reached our first destination - Kilbeggen Distillery in Westmeath County.

We arrived a little late for the tour, but we decided to stay and eat at the on-site restaurant, The Pantry, to give Zach a break from driving. 

When we sat down I had to tell the poor guy that he matched the tablecloth exactly. 

We had a leisurely lunch of soup and brown bread. 

After lunch we walked around some of the open areas in the distillery. 

I love a water feature!

Back on the road we saw the first of hundreds of horses and sheep we would see on our travels. Ireland is only about the size of Indiana and not counting our stop it only took us about two and a half hours to drive from one coast to the other.  

We arrived in Galway City and checked into Park House Hotel. After an hour or so of rest it was time to get out on the town. Our hotel was located roughly across the street from Eyre Square also know as John F. Kennedy Memorial Park. 

These flags line one side of the square and represent the 14 Tribes of Galway, which ruled the city in the middle ages. 

Zach standing by a statue in the park designed to represent "Galway Hookers." Hookers are boats people!

We continued through the square to High Street, which is the main pedestrian street in Galway. Located on High Street is Lynch's Castle a medieval townhouse with some very interesting stone work. The building now houses a bank, but it's amazing how well preserved it is. 

After that we walked to Thomas Dillon's Claddagh Gold, makers of the original claddagh ring. The store also has a tiny one room claddagh ring museum. 

This is a letter form Maureen O'Hara from the movie The Quiet Man, which Zach and I watched before our trip.

"World's smallest Claddagh Ring"

We continued our walk past St. Nicholas Collegiate Church, a medieval church founded in 1320. It's the largest medieval church still in use in Ireland. 

The Fishery Tower, a local landmark. 

Then, on to The Spanish Arch, Constructed in 1584, an extension of the medieval city wall. 

Galway Harbour was beautiful with row houses and boats. 

There were beautiful swans swimming in the harbor. We were able to get close and get some good pictures. 

The Wolfe Tone Bridge on The River Corrib. Love that name. 

After sightseeing we did a little shopping on High Street. Interesting story: We went into a yarn shop to ask about sheep fiber for Zach's sister Denise. The shop owner said we would never get fiber past customs and suggested organic yarn instead. When we were leaving the store, a strange man approached us and said he knew a place we could get sheep fiber. As leery tourists, we sensed we were being conned by some black market goods dealer and got out of there quick.  

We had dinner at a pub called The Front Door. That night we learned the hard way not to trust the internet for live music schedules. No music, but a nice corner table, a pleasant atmosphere, and Guinness. 

After dinner we passed The Browne doorway from the early 17th century. It it the doorway to the townhouse of the Browne family, one of the fourteen Tribes of Galway.

Tired from our travels, but not able to pass up live music, we stopped in one more pub. An Puncan was directly across the street from out hotel as you can see in the picture below. 

It was a beautiful drive across the country and a fun day exploring Galway City, but it was time for bed.

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything." - Irish Proverb