Saturday, August 9, 2014 From Tralee to Galway
Bright and
early, Ben drove us 2 hours north to Shannon to pick up our rental car. It was
another bright sunny day. After hugs and goodbyes, Larry and I headed up N18
toward Ennis and on to the Cliffs of Moher. Here we paid 8 Euros to visit the
park and walk on the cliffs, 650 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.
Welcome sign of the Cliffs of Moher
Cliffs of Moher
Well worn pathways lead tourists on a five mile hike along the tops of sheer rock face with the layers of black shale and sandstone. Musicians played a harp and squeeze box during our stroll along the path. Looking south along the Cliffs of Moher has to be one of the most dramatic stretches of Ireland’s west coast. We had a tasty little picnic lunch before continuing on our journey northward.
Well worn pathways lead tourists on a five mile hike along the tops of sheer rock face with the layers of black shale and sandstone. Musicians played a harp and squeeze box during our stroll along the path. Looking south along the Cliffs of Moher has to be one of the most dramatic stretches of Ireland’s west coast. We had a tasty little picnic lunch before continuing on our journey northward.
Kathy wish you could come spot some Puffins for us!!!
We enjoyed a
curvy drive along the coast road in an area called the Burren, seeing castles and old Irish huts.
Burren means rocky land and it was certainly that! Vast limestone plateaus in the northwest County of Clare allowed only a few trees to grow; however, an array of colorful wildflowers were growing in the fields during the summer.
The Burren is one of the best places in Ireland to see butterflies and bird life is abundant. We listened for the cuckoos in the area and watched for some puffins, without spotting one. Although badgers, foxes, wild goats and Irish hare live here, we only spotted cows and sheep which seem to be abundant throughout Ireland.
What amazing abandoned stone homes!
Burren means rocky land and it was certainly that! Vast limestone plateaus in the northwest County of Clare allowed only a few trees to grow; however, an array of colorful wildflowers were growing in the fields during the summer.
The Burren is one of the best places in Ireland to see butterflies and bird life is abundant. We listened for the cuckoos in the area and watched for some puffins, without spotting one. Although badgers, foxes, wild goats and Irish hare live here, we only spotted cows and sheep which seem to be abundant throughout Ireland.
We learned
that there are two types of dairy farms here in Ireland…with one being primarily a milking
farm and the other being a dairy products farm; providing butter, cheese, yogurt,
etc. We followed R479 through Doolin on
to Black Head Point to Ballyvaughan to Kiloolgan into Galway. Stunning views were around every ben in the road. It was an outstanding drive.
Galway was a
bustling city. Of course our arrival time on Saturday evening in August was
probably one of the busiest times of the year. The streets were packed with
tourist as we passed the city center. We ventured on to find a place to park
down next to the waterside scooting right into a space right next to the Galway
colorful row houses. People were out enjoying the last part of the warm sunshine
watching the swans and boats that sailed by.
We strolled along several of the streets taking time to enjoy a break from the left hand driving. We gathered some dinner provisions and traveled on to find a resting spot out of the city in one of the thousand of B and B’s that are all over Ireland. After driving for about 30 minutes along the shoreline, we stopped at an inn in Spiddle that was facing the sea.
Our B and B
The lady of the house, Philomena or Phil, was mighty nice and set us up with a special room with a view of the sea. We enjoyed a couple of hot teas out on the back deck and relaxed for a bit before breaking out our chicken dinners from Galway. What a fabulous day of traveling north in Ireland!
That evening Larry and I laughed so much over some of our days adventures….one was about putting the gas in the car. Our little Yaris gets excellent gas mileage, but we stopped to top off the tank. We couldn’t figure out how to open the gas tank….WHY? We were looking for the release on the left passenger side of the car when we should have been looking on the right hand driver’s side…Guess we were still getting used to the experience of driving on the Irish side of the road!
What gorgeous cloud formations out our back door!
We strolled along several of the streets taking time to enjoy a break from the left hand driving. We gathered some dinner provisions and traveled on to find a resting spot out of the city in one of the thousand of B and B’s that are all over Ireland. After driving for about 30 minutes along the shoreline, we stopped at an inn in Spiddle that was facing the sea.
The lady of the house, Philomena or Phil, was mighty nice and set us up with a special room with a view of the sea. We enjoyed a couple of hot teas out on the back deck and relaxed for a bit before breaking out our chicken dinners from Galway. What a fabulous day of traveling north in Ireland!
That evening Larry and I laughed so much over some of our days adventures….one was about putting the gas in the car. Our little Yaris gets excellent gas mileage, but we stopped to top off the tank. We couldn’t figure out how to open the gas tank….WHY? We were looking for the release on the left passenger side of the car when we should have been looking on the right hand driver’s side…Guess we were still getting used to the experience of driving on the Irish side of the road!
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