Less than five weeks to go

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With less than five weeks to go, I realize I better get on a bike soon! In the past three weeks I have run two 5Ks so I at least have been getting a little into shape. But as my friend Joan reminds me often, I MUST get on a bike before I go... the next few weeks leading up to departure should hopefully motivate me to get moving....otherwise I'm going to frustrate my companions a great deal ("call me a taxi...I can't make it...OMG another hill???....ahhhh").

Our tiny compact car is officially reserved and ready for three tall guys (I'm being nice to Geoff here) to cram ourselves and our luggage into...that should be an adventure in and of itself! I doubt I will be able to fit in the back seat...

Brian located an awesome B&B in Galway so I think we are planning to hunker down there for two nights while we explore the western areas. I know I mentioned before that a hike in the mountains in that region would be spectacular (weather dependent, of course), and I would really enjoy a day in the Aran Islands. This past summer I read "The Aran Islands" by J.M. Synge. The author lived around the turn of the century, and at the request of his buddy W.B. Yeats, he spent a summer on the Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland and wrote this memoir in 1907. It is a great story about what life was like on these remote islands a mere 100 years ago. Exploring Clifden and the surrounding region would also be a pleasure.

I still need to book our distillary tour near dublin, a guiness tour in dublin, and should probably reserve a room for our final few days in dublin. Sadly, it doesn't look like the US dollar is getting any stronger against the euro...hopefully things will turn around in the next few weeks?

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