http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Ireland , County Galway en-us Wed, 09 Dec 09 08:00:20 +0000 Wed, 09 Dec 09 08:00:20 +0000 Okay somehow i will try to make this quick....First of all I survived my first day of driving in Ireland...Yeah Second of all this place is so charming and picturesque...I feel like royalty on vacation at a country cottage. It's a fairytale and a relaxing night well deserved after white knuckling it all the way from Dublin.I could not have made it without a great copilot either. Warren is http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Connemara/blog-451009.html I have been to the University of Ireland Galway and walked around the campus. It is very nice and all of the kids look nice but talk funny. It is a bit bigger than I expected but much smaller than AM. The kids dress like American college kids with Jeans and AF T shirts. No flipflops because too cold. The campus looks less diverse than AM.You will also love the heart of town which is about 20 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-441314.html Dad's flying to Shannon tonight then driving to Galway in the morning. It will be his first time driving on the left side of ze road...crazy man. I can't wait to hear about his trip and see all the pics Andrew was right...Mom's making sure he takes lots of pictures for meh.Gnarly. Can you tell that Galway's been on the brain http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-441072.html My EncouragementEmail from daddyThe woman who really wants to do something finds a way the woman who doesn't finds an excuse. You found a way which shows desire determination character and tenacity. Let me tell you another secret in life a busy man is recruited for high positions and seldom a man with time on his hands. Why you ask Because the busy man has proven he can multitask and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-440530.html I dropped off my last form to be filled out that I need to make my application to NUI Galway complete. It was almost hard letting it go. I passed the point of no return long ago but this just makes it official. All I have to do is wait for my letters of recommendation to arrive. This is going to be the most amazing journey of my life...yet I can't always seem to get past the negative. Missing fam http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-440529.html Yesterday we took the ferry from Galway to the Aran Islands.... The sea's were rolling and Amber was convinced we were gonna flip the boat. And by boat I mean a pretty goodsized ship. Don't worry we didn't capsize and we got our moneys worth for the ride. We landed on Inish Mor the largest of the three island and rented Mountaibn bikes... more rust buckets with front suspension but at least m http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Aran-Islands/blog-439318.html I have always loved to travel. Spending three weeks in a country was never long enough for me. I love meeting new people eating new foods trying helplessly to learn a new language make relationships with other kids just like myself and helping others. From a pretty young age I have always wanted to see new things and experience life as I never have. When a group of my friends went to Californi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-438833.html Our home for our time in the Connemara is tended by a British couple the Skeltons who have been doing the B B thing for many years first in their native Portsmouth and now in Ireland. We really enjoyed interacting with the couple. While Dave is the front man and the one we interacted with most often it is pretty obvious that Diane rules the roost. Although he is well into his sixties Dav http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Connemara/blog-437150.html On our last day on Manchester we decided to tackle the rail system and go into the city a far better option than driving in It is safe to say that Hong Kong really did spoil us for any future public transport and the rail system in Manchester was neither speedy nor clean We did make it in to the city and back however and had a great time exploring including going on the Manchester Wheel http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-434418.html Things to do in Ireland when you're leavingI've been putting this off for weeks for many obvious reasons. I am travelling and I will be living 18662 kilometers from home. It is an epic move for me but I can't wait. Pictures of Christ ChurchI have to book my flights organise my work visa and sort out my travel insurance.Book Flight from Shannon SNN to Christ Church CHCebookers.ieskyscanner. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-431891.html We got to Galway midafternoon. We started the search for hostels after going to a few to check rates and then the tourist information we decided upon the Kinlay House. It was a really nice hostel and not very expensive either. We got in our hostel and felt the emptiness in our stomach and went for on a search for some food. We found the Irish equivalent of Walmart Dunne's. We first were introdu http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-431412.html We left Galway last Sunday and I have to say I was sorry to go. Galway is a great city welcoming and easy to get to know. The population is now around 70000 if you count the growing suburbs but the feel is of a much smaller place. From our accommodations it was less than a 30minute walk to the city center along very pleasant friendly streets. Eyre Square is a large open square right i http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-421325.html Galway city is one of the most beautiful where one would definitely like to visit and see all the places which are known to be the best attractions of Galway city. You may find various places where one never wants to miss it. Let us have a short discussion on the attractions of Galway city.Galway CathedralGalway cathedral is an amazing building and the dome around it can be seen from miles away http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/blog-420391.html Galway Film Fleadh This past week was the annual Galway Film Fleadh the Irish word for festival pronounced something like ldquoflahrdquo. There was an impressive list of films showing new old documentaries features shorts and old classics. Several of our students attended many of the showings. A few were very moved by a documentary they saw called ldquoThe Coverdquo and were del http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-418369.html This weekend has been amazing. Yesterday Laura Josh Ally and I went to the Aran Islands specifically Dun Aonghasa by bus and then by a very bumpy ferry to see the cliffs there. The weather was terrible and I'm an idiot and didn't want to take up precious backpack room to pack a rain jacket OR real shoes for the weekend so I wore a zipup sweater and flip flops. Sometimes I wonder about my in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Aran-Islands/blog-417900.html Our everlarge group of Americans decided to go to Galway this weekend to explore the city and surrounding western coastline. I am especially glad to be getting out of the city for a few days because although Dublin is a great city sometimes you almost feel like it's an outlier to the rest of Ireland as in not much green lots of foreign tourists and a severe lack of sheep. My friends Josh L http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-417887.html Inis Mor On Thursday we had a glorious day on Inis Mor the largest of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. For Ireland the weather was as good as it gets. About 68 degrees with sunshine and blue sky light white clouds and a refreshing breeze. We took a bus from Galway and then a ferry to the island. There are 14 villages on Inis Mor and the largest is Kilronan where the fer http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Aran-Islands/blog-417442.html Saturday July 4 Galway Connemara National Park. We have been so busy. Irsquom just catching up with our journal. Saturday morning we spent time relaxing around the breakfast table with our hosts Liz and Joe. At 1000 Liz led us into Salt Hill so that Dean could use the pool. It is a lovely facility with 3 pools a gym minigolf midway rides etc. While he swam Liz Jackie Jeff and I http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Connemara/blog-416259.html Galway and Corrib VillageThe Aer Lingus flight from Boston to Shannon was smooth on time and uneventful. We arrived in Galway early Saturday morning the Fourth of July and settled in to our accommodations at Corrib Village. These are apartmentlike suites. Each student has their own room sharing a bathroom living room and kitchen with 3 others. Mike and I have rooms that are ldquoensui http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-416242.html Wednesday June 24 Connemara National ParkTodayrsquos activities were an easy choice we were going to drive back towards the north and see Connemara National Park and Kylemore Abbey. The abbey was practically next door to Connemara so we were almost obliged to stop. As we drove over a bridge on the approach to the abbey I let out an ooooh and ahhhh at the beautiful image of the abbey set on the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Connemara/blog-413854.html