It was a short stay at The Snug at the BH in County Kildare for our first night in Ireland, but we really liked it. Very welcoming, good breakfast options and although we arrived too late to take advantage of it, they had a pub right on site. Can’t beat that. We left after breakfast on Thursday morning and headed toward Galway. The reason we are in Ireland is because our friends from Wells Fargo, Bill and Diane, had let us know more than a year ago that they were planning to be in Ireland and the timing ended up working based on our other travel plans that we could meet them here and spend a couple of days with them. When I found out they would be spending some days in Galway, I was even more hopeful the timing would work out because Galway is very close to what might be my favorite place to spend time in Ireland – Doolin. Anyway, we arranged to meet them for lunch at O’Connell’s in Galway.
It was so great to see them and we had beers at O’Connell’s before walking to Brasserie to eat. Lunch was excellent – Sandy had fish n chips and I had seafood chowder and Caesar salad.
After lunch, we went to Murphy’s Ice Cream. I had forgotten about Murphy’s from previous visits – they are a chain of shops that remind me of Ben and Jerry’s. After ice cream, we went across the street to King’s Head for more beer and visiting. Given the tiny roads, especially out here in the west of Ireland, I wanted to get to Doolin before dark, so we said goodbye and grabbed some groceries on our way out of Galway. We made it to our little Blue Pod just as dark was settling in – around 8pm. We got ourselves settled, mainly figuring out where to keep things in the small space, watched a little TV, and then went to bed.
I can’t pinpoint exactly all the reasons why I am so drawn to Ireland, but if I could only pick one place to go, my answer would most often be Ireland and specifically, the small village of Doolin. It just feels good to be here and I was thrilled to wake up Friday morning in Doolin. For today’s exercise, we parked our car in the village and walked the Cliffs of Moher trail toward the visitor center. I walked it a couple of years ago and loved it. This time wasn’t as great because the trail was pretty muddy in places – always passable, but not as enjoyable as if it had been dry. Also, you can only walk three miles and then the path is closed, so you can’t make it all the way to the visitor center and the amazing views of the cliffs. We heard different stories about why it was closed – some saying there had been recent deaths and others saying that it was because the trail needed some work to make it safer along the edges. So, we turned around at the closure point and headed back into Doolin.
We stopped into Gus O’Connor’s and I had fish n chips while Sandy had beef stew. It’s funny how much better Guinness tastes in Ireland. I mean it always tastes good, but there is something about having it properly poured and enjoyed in an Irish pub.
We spent the afternoon getting some things done at home and then went back into the village and had dinner at Fitzpatrick’s. This time I had beef stew and Sandy had salad and seafood chowder. We walked in the village a little after dinner and then went up to The Attic because it was Culture Night across the country and they had a free concert taking place in the venue. We each had Bailey’s Irish Creams and then ten musicians came onstage and performed for about 90 minutes. There were some good moments in the performance, but overall, we weren’t quite “getting it.” Periodically, the lead musician would talk short emphatic sentences to the audience in a different language (it didn’t sound like it was Irish). Oftentimes it sounded like they were simply tuning their instruments. We’re happy to have attended but we wouldn’t necessarily hope to see the performance again.
Saturday was another day of spending time with Bill and Diane. Before they came to Doolin, we each went for our workouts around the area.
They had hired a driver for the day when they were putting their trip together and offered to have us join them for the day. What a great day it was! They picked us up at 11:30 and we met DC, their driver. He is from Romania and has lived in Ireland for around 15 years. He was fantastic. He was very flexible with the itinerary but also guided us so as to not miss things from a timing perspective.
Our first stop was the Cliffs of Moher. I love every single minute I ever get to spend here and it was fun to be with Bill and Diane since this was their first time being there. They have been taking pictures to try and get on one of the morning TV programs in the US and it was fun getting different pictures with their mugs to hopefully get them on the show.
After our time at the cliffs, DC hustled us to a sheepdog demonstration at a farm not too far from Doolin. I don’t know if I would ever have thought to check something like that out, but it was amazing. The way the sheep farmer would direct the dogs with his whistle with such precision was very impressive. A couple of the dogs are still in training and they were very funny when they wouldn’t do exactly what the farmer wanted. Really loved this experience.
Next up was a quick stop at a neolithic age tomb called Poulnabrone, which we found interesting having just seen remnants of a settlement from the same age in Jordan. DC recommended Monk’s for lunch in the town of Ballyvaughan. Everything was delicious – more salads, chowders, and beef stew. They do have other options here – we just seem to be gravitating to these things at the moment. After lunch, the rain came in and we headed back to Doolin so that Bill and Diane could experience pub life in Doolin. We first went to O’Connor’s for drinks and even though it was late afternoon (instead of evening), we were thrilled to find that a few musicians had settled into the musician’s booth and they were playing traditional music. That was a lot of fun.
We hoped to get ice cream after O’Connor’s, but the shop was closed and so we went to Fitzpatrick’s and got desserts. That was the end of our time with Bill and Diane, but we are so glad we made it happen. Certainly one of our highlights of this year’s journey. Back home in our pod, I watched South Florida hammer South Carolina State and Sandy watched the recorded Emmy’s before going to bed.
Yesterday, we went to McGann’s pub for full Irish breakfasts – two sausages, rashers, baked beans, a fried egg, and chips. We also had tea and shared a waffle. We went back home and I watched Florida State beat Kent State and then we went for a four mile walk around Doolin. In the afternoon, we went for a two-hour drive around the Burren area. The landscape here is quite rocky – sort of moonlike, but different from Iceland. It was a very nice drive along the coast, through the inland area including Lisdoonvarna where the annual matchmaking festival is taking place, and then by Lahinch Golf Course. That put us back in Doolin at 4:45 and we stopped at McDermott’s for a Guinness and a Rockshore Irish Lager. For dinner, we went to Stonewall and had pizza. We went home and I was able to watch the Bucs game live as they beat the Jets. Third game of the season, third one to go down to the last minute, and third win. Not too bad.
This morning was a little sad because it was time to leave Doolin. We headed out at 11, made one stop for gas and then stopped in Dublin to pick up Tom Crean’s bottled beer. We had been looking for it in the pubs, but no luck – I think we have to be mainly in the southwest part of the country to find it at a pub. It’s one of our favorites from past trips here to the Emerald Isle. We checked into our hotel near the airport at 3:45 in the afternoon. We unpacked and then walked next door to Hogs and Heifers for dinner. We both had burgers – Sandy ordered one that was vegetarian, but didn’t realize it was vegetarian, so they were nice enough to cook her a burger patty and she added it to her sandwich. I also had six wings and they were very good. Back at the hotel, I read yesterday’s Irish Independent newspaper and Sandy went for a walk. We then enjoyed our Tom Crean beers and called it a day.
Although the visit was short, it was so great to be back in Ireland. Tomorrow is moving day – staying in Europe but moving south and east. I will of course be looking forward to the next time we find our way back to this beautiful country.
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