What a Wednesday!!!

20/10/10 Wednesday

I have decided that Galway is my long, lost home. I love it!

Well, today started in a bit of a panic, oversleeping by an hour! It worked out okay, though, Brian took his shower as I started gathering stuff together for the day (and had my Nescafe'). When he finished, I hopped in, and Brian went to go talk to Anthony or his colleague Patrick about booking tickets for today on the bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. Luckily it could be arranged for them to pick us up at the B&B, which gave us some time to eat some breakfast and have some real coffee! Brian opted for the Irish Breakfast, while I chose the continental breakfast (I don't eat pork, and the Irish Breakfast was almost all pork, with 2 eggs and toast)... yum!

We were picked up out front of the B&B, and after picking up some other tourists at other hotels and B&Bs, we went to the bus (or "coach") station and switched over to the actual Tour Coach. It was already pretty full, so Brian went to the back, and I sat as close as I could to the front. I sat next to an older American gentleman who didn't talk much, but appeared to be enjoying himself. We sat across from the bus loo, which stunk a bit the entire day. Yay.

We saw our driver, Ray, and the Tour Guide Desmond, who was Ray's father. It was a DELIGHTFUL trip! I loaded up on ginger this time, and didn't feel sick at all! We stopped a lot, getting out to walk around and take pictures, and lots of fresh air. The views were ALL spectacular, and Des was a wonderful storyteller! I took some video of him, and of the scenery, to try to catch a little bit of his character to take home with me! And I took a bunch of pictures -- so many that my camera battery died!

We stopped at the Ballyalban Fairy Fort, which was really the remains of an ancient ring-fort, or perhaps part of a homestead, but, according to Desmond, is now inhabited by fairies and leprechauns, who will run up your pant leg if you're not careful! :). The Fairy Fort did feel very magical and mystical to me...

Burren means "rocky place," I think, and the area is entirely made up of limestone. It has grass and some flora growing in the cracks of the rocks, but no trees to speak of. We stopped at an ancient tomb, called Poulnabrone Dolmen, that was estimated to have been built 5,800 years ago! amazing!

We walked around it (the tomb itself is protected, of course), and were able to take a tiny piece of limestone with us!




We stopped in Kilfenora, the city of crosses, and there were a bunch there! We walked around an old monastery, and Ray explained some of the things we were seeing in the carvings and the layouts of the rooms, as well as tombs and a graveyard. We learned that the St. Patrick's Cross is really a combination of a cross, the Christian symbol, and a circle, a Pagan symbol (I hope I'm remembering that right!).



We stopped for lunch in a pub in Doolin and had some yummy fish and chips! I also tasted my first Guinness in Ireland -- just a sip of Brian's, since I didn't want to jeopardize my happy tummy travels.




Then there were the Cliffs! Oh. My. God. I was awe-struck, close to tears. It was truly an amazingly beautiful sight. Wow.

(I'm only posting a couple pictures, so the rest you can find on my photobucket.com page...)

We eventually headed back to Galway, serenaded by Ray, the driver, as he sang some songs we might hear in pubs. What a great day!

We were dropped off at the coach station, and we walked to Eyre Square. I finally found an ATM to get some Euro cash! Whew! We stopped in a pub for a beer, and to warm up, then walked around some more to find a pub that served food. We also learned that most pubs that serve food won't have live music -- just not enough space for a kitchen in those pubs!

It started raining after our tour, sprinkling, mostly. We got new calling cards, and went to nearby phone booths to check in on the hubbies. These booths smelled much better than the ones in London, but while I was on the phone some random drunk guy walked up, knocked on the glass, then put his cheek/mouth on it... whatever.

Now we're back at the B&B, and may try to get to the Aran Islands tomorrow (Thursday), but we're going to have to wait and see what the weather brings.

G'night!