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Galway, Kells and Salthill Hotel
Full moon over Galway Bay! Before we left the next morning we took a quick tour of the Galway Cutglass store:
For more information on Galway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway Fore more information on Dun Aengus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BAn_Aonghasa
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August 29th It was quite a long trip to Galway on the west coast. The trip was full of beautiful scenery, but we were happy to see the Galway Bay and our Salthill Hotel that overlooked the bay. Galway is a rather modern city but still full of history. There was a beautiful park with a dedication to JFK's visit in the 1960's.We took many pictures of the city. I loved the storefronts and the street entertainers Buskers at every corner. Larry and I weaved in and out of the little shops and picked up some treasures. We walked down the hill toward the river and met with a lot of the old history of this port town. I was getting tired. We made our way back to the top of the hill and I made myself comfy with a nice Irish coffee and pastry while Larry went back down to the old bridge over the Luane River to explore a old church - the Kells. It was a beautiful day to be in Galway - crisp air, colorful flowers, music and lost of people! I met up with some of our group. When Larry got back, he bought me an ice cream cone while we waited for our coach. The Salthill Hotel was super nice - fancy, even! That night we had a real treat the Rockbarton Inn. It was someone's home that just had 2 rooms to serve food. It was a yummy evening of food and Jameson! Afterwards we walked along the Galway Bay Beach. A peek of a moon shone on the water. Many went to an evening of entertainment, but I was too tired so we went to bed early to get ready for our big adventure to an the largest Aran Island - Dun Aengus. August 30th We got up early and ate our "Full Irish Breakfast." I discovered a little pastry that was really good. We put on our sweatshirts and jackets as we prepared for the ferry to cross over to the island. Thankfully, the sea was calm - no sea sickness! We got off at the harbor and made our way to an inn - the Pier House- to await our van and indulge in some hot chocolate. Our guide had a thick Gaelic accent and spoke Gaelic to the villagers. It was a delight to hear them talk. He took us up a hill to an area with a couple of stores and a nice little restaurant. Larry was very interested in this tour, because at the top of the cliff was an iron age village. Of course, they told us it was another of the famous "20 minute walks" to the top of the cliff. The only good thing that I remember is two teenage girls playing small squeeze boxes and singing. The rest was rocky and very tiring. I finally gave up half way up and went back to the restaurant - after all, the homemade apple pie was calling my name! Larry went to the top of the cliff and relished the archaeology of the iron age village,. He absolutely hates heights, but was able to get on his belly to take a video of the waves smashing the rocks below. When we got back on the van, the guide took us to the ruins of an old church and the holy well of St. Kieran. There were many unusual, colorful wildflowers, many ancient rock fences, and sheep for their Aran sweaters. Back onto the ferry and back at Salthill for the night. We ate at their restaurant and called it a night. |
Dun Aengus - Aran Island
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