Galway- a most wonderful city, and the trip we took to get there

We sadly and reluctantly left Kenmare- we loved it so much!  Our next stop was Galway.  We did not realise how far the drive would be!  2 hours to Dingle to see the cute town on the coast, then 5 1/2 hours to Galway- much of it in the dark, with no clear directions (our GPS was broken!). That we made it is a testament to adaptaility.  We figured we would just aim north and follow the signs:-).  

 Galway was our base to explore the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin (the music town), and the surrounding area.  After the grueling drive, we spent a day in town- car free:-).  Near our hotel was a wonderful pub- O'Connors!  Filled to the brim with old stuff, Guiness and Irish whiskey, and great music, it was our refuge each of the 3 nights we stayed in Galway.  We did not stay in the town center, rather in a "suburb" of Salthill, on the coast.  It took us a day to bond with the city, but by the time we had to leave, we were sad! So here is our Galway trip.

On our way to Galway, our first stop was the town of Dingle on the Dingle penninsula.  Cute as all get out!  On our next trip to Ireland, we will definitely stay here!!!

Fungi the Dolphin adopted the harbor of Dingle!

An odd character playing traditional Irish music!

The pub the town is known for!

The town cathedral

St. George- my favorite Saint!

Rich loved this door!!

Then we drove to Galway!  The town itself is quite large- 80,000 people!  Much larger than the towns we had stayed in, so it took us a bit to get used to so many people, and managing such a large area:-)  (We adapted to it very quickly!)

The 3 of us below the Claddagh Ring- it means Love, Loyalty, and Friednship.
The symbol is everywhere, for good reason!

A drink at O'Connors- Guiness and Whiskey:-)

The Kennedy Bar in Galway- it commemorates the 1963 visit by John and Jackie Kennedy! 

Galway has a really great and walkable downtown.

The main street of Galway!   Like I said- cute!

The harboe and Spanish Arch.

After sight-seeing- an Irish Coffee!

St.Patricks Cathedral- Galway.  John Kennedy donated the money to complete it!  It is the newest cathedral in Ireland- 

Diana and Rich at Eyre Square- the center of Galway

Galway is the base for visiting the Cliffs of Moher!  At 702 feet, they are magnificent!!  They stretch for 8 kilometers (5 1/1 miles), with walking trails at the top, they are beautiful!!!!!  The drive to them is filled with cool sights as well!

Old, ruined castles!

The Burren- a fairly desloate area of rock, which actually holds some of Irelands greatest plants:

Prehistoric buriel grounds

Old churches!

And the Cliffs of Moher- magnificent!!

Don't get too close to the edge!

Blarney- the castle, the stone, and the town

Blarney- just the name reminds us all that we must kiss the stone:-)  Our first stop after Dublin was, of course, Blarney:-).  The largest city close by is Cork- we didn't tour it, but we got lost driving through it, and so feel like we saw it:-).  We decided to stay in the town of Blarney- and glad we did!  It is tiny!  One little street with 2 pubs:-).  Loved it!  There were few tourists staying there, so we got to meet local people- they were amazing!

From our hotel, we crossed the street to enter the Blarney Castle- an old, old ruined castle with the most beautiful grounds and an old manor house still occupied!

Town park of Blarney- across the street from our hotel

Our hotel

Little river that runs through town

Our evening drinks:-)

graveyard in town

Never seen this before!  A sign saying "no drones!"

Rich and I at the castle

The castle is in ruins, but the grounds are magnificent!

Diana in the castle- little rocky corridors!

Rich, as seen climbing the stairs to The Rock

Diana at the Blarney Stone

Me kissing the Blarney Stone

Rich kissing the Blarney Stone

All happy that we kissed the stone:-)

Manor house on the ground!

Hydrnageas of every color!  they are everywhere in Ireland!

Rich in the cave on the Blarney Castle grounds!

Close of Blarney is the cute little town of Kinsale!  It is so colorful!  But they have terrible coffee:-).  We took a day trip here to check it out.  It is worth a quick visit.

Kinsale Castle- this was used as a prison for many years.  It even held American prisoners of war from our War of Independence from England

The Charles Fort, which guarded the Kinsale harbor.  It was an English fort, fairly recently rebuilt.  This year, 2016, marks 100 years of Irish independence from British rule.  It is star shaped so from every point, you have a line of sight to the harbor.