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

Ireland Day 2: An American in Dublin

On day two we woke up bright and early and walked from The Westin to Queen of Tarts. This cute little cafe came highly recommended and did not disappoint. Plus - what an adorable name.  

Zach, still a little tired

Enjoying my morning cup of joe

The Full Irish

After we were good and full we hopped on the bus to St. Patrick's Cathedral. For once I didn't plan to take a tour, but when we arrived there was a tour about to start. Meant to be. I love tours!

Ireland is not known for cathedrals, but St. Patrick's is magnificent. Our tour guide was knowledgeable, interesting, and he was the Irish version of Christian Bale crossed with Michael Sheen.  

None of the stained glass windows are original, but some date from the mid 1800s. Each window tells a story. 

During the tour we stopped by this door and two actors in period costume appeared. They acted out a scene from the history of the cathedral when two feuding families reconciled by shaking hands through the hole in the door and "chancing the arm." It's now known as "The Door of Reconciliation." 

This is The Lady Chapel. It is located behind the alter and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Lovely. 

Jonathan Swift is buried in St. Patrick's, next to his number one mistress. 

Then it was back on the bus and onto the Guinness Storehouse. Finally something Zach wanted to do. 

The Famous St. James's Gate

In the 1930s and 40s John Gilroy developed this popluar add campaign. There are still John Gilroy signs all over Ireland. I especially love the ones with the toucan even though it doesn't make a lot of sense with Ireland's climate.

There was even a place where you could be in your own John Gilroy ad. Zach made me pose like the man in the original. Not my finest picture.

We decided to take our complimentary pints in "The Gravity Bar." The bar sits on top of the brewery and has 360 degree views of Dublin.

 Yes this picture took me multiple attempts, but it was worth it. Artsy.  

"It does taste different in Ireland!"

Look at that view! It seemed as if Ireland's rolling hills were enclosing the city. This was also the first time we saw the true green of Ireland. Unfortunately, it doesn't come through in these pictures. 

A snapshot of some of those famous Guinness harp glasses. 

From a famous brewery to a famous distillery. Zach was very pleased to be among his favorite green bottles. 

We had a bit of a wait before our tour so we grabbed a quick lunch in the restaurant. We enjoyed our first and only Irish Coffee. 

An awesome chandelier made out of Jameson bottles. 

Yay, the first of the many scary mannequins from our trip.   

Each room was a different tableau. It's not a working distillery, but we learned about the history of Irish whiskey and the triple distilling process. 

This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip. When we saw it we said, "Look, it's Scooter's grandfather." It was so nice to have another reminder of our little buddy. 

Being shy and not wanting to bother anyone we had to be creative to get pictures of both of us. 

At our final hop off of the bus route stood the Spire of Dublin. These pictures demonstrated the perfect weather and beautiful blue sky. 

For dinner we went to Bobo's Gourmet Irish Burgers. The reason behind this restaurant was twofold. One, when I searched the menu it had the best selection of veggie burgers I've ever seen. Two, "Bobo" is Zach's pet name for me. Feel free to throw up now. 

Our only curry fries from the trip, which is strange because we order them all the time on this side of the pond. My burger was called "The Veggie Dame"...falafel topped with veggies, tzatziki, and creme fraiche. So good I can still taste it. 

I think Zach liked his too. 

After that we had a bit of an awkward experience at a bar we happened upon, after which I told Zach, "That's what happens when you don't stick to the itinerary." The bar we were supposed to go to, The Merchant's Arch, had the best live music of the entire trip. 

The bar was a little crowded, so we shared a table with this lovely couple from Australia. Zach bought them a round and they returned the favor in true Irish fashion. 

It was a long day and we had another big day ahead of us, so it was off to bed with sweet dreams of Irish music. 

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde