So, I haven’t posted any itinerary or plans, but I’m back in Ireland.
I’ve actually been planning this trip for a couple of years, but what with one thing and another, I had got out of the habit of blogging about my plans. Something that factored into that is that I’m not here alone – my friend, Penny, is with me. And talking and planning with her kind of scratched the same itch that blogging did, solidifying things and making them real.
We landed in Ireland yesterday, after a very long day of travel, and had a very long day again. We had tried to book accommodations in Dublin to start our trip there, but apparently, there was a traditional dance festival [[Or something similar.]] and there wasn’t a room to be had in the city. So, we took a taxi to the train station, then a train to Galway, then walked through Galway to our guesthouse.
I lay down on the bed for a minute to rest, and pretty much immediately fell asleep. Penny went out and did some scouting of the area, and came back after a few hours, woke me up, and we went out to see stuff. We walked down to a restaurant and had some lunch, then walked back the other way to the Eyre Square area to find the Galway Tours office, and booked a tour of Connemara for today.
And, seeing as we were right there, we took a walk through the Latin Quarter, which is the touristy/nightlife area of the city, and sat down for a rest in a cafe.
After that, we made our way back to the guesthouse and, being exhausted, decided to watch some TV and go to sleep.
This morning, we went on our tour of Connemara. Here are some pictures.
Kylemore Abbey. It’s always the feature of the tour, and I’ve taken lots of pictures of it. This is one more
A Connemara pony in a field up near the Kylemore walled garden.
A nice view of Killary Fjord.
Looking down at Lough na Fuaiche.
The sheep hospital (i.e., a cottage now used to store gear and equipment for the locals to look after their sheep) near Lough na Fuaiche.
A famine wall above Lough na Fuaiche.
A statue of Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne in The Quiet Man, which was filmed in and around the village of Cong.
Inside the old church in Cong. A wild Penny lurks in the corner.
High cross in the old church in Cong.
The ruined Cong Abbey.
After that, it was back to Galway. We had some very nice pasta at a restaurant in the Latin Quarter called Freddy’s, then went looking for the docks of the Aran Island Ferry company, because we’re planning to head down there tomorrow and see about taking a trip out to one of the islands.
Then, back to the guesthouse. I’m pretty done with walking, so I did this blog post, and Penny went out to check out a pub called Darcy’s.
And now, I’m done.