Blogs from County Galway, Ireland, Europe - page 3

Lovely blue skies greet us as we take the train to Galway. A lovely lady named Berna sits beside me on the journey. She taught school for 40 years, and raised a Downs syndrome son whom she wrote a book about. Berna presented me with a copy of this booklet at the conclusion of our train trip. Galway means stony river. In 1477 Christopher Columbus visited here. On arriving, the weather changes to drizzle. We devour bowls of steaming seafood chowder at Hooked restaurant, and then stroll through Nun Island featuring canals and waterfalls. The following day takes us to the center of the city, and grand public park Eyre Square. It is sometimes referred to as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Park as he visited Galway and gave a speech in the square in June ... read more

Zaterdag 7/9/2019 – Verplaatsing naar Galway (80km) Nu zelf als chauffeur een stuk door de smalle kronkelwegen van de Burren. Passages met tourbussen moeten stapvoets.. Je kan kiezen, schuren tegen de bus of schuren tegen de zijhagen. Toch maar een bus Turtle Wax kopen. Na 50km spanning wordt de weg dan toch breder. Een hele opluchting. De camping in Galway is prachtig gelegen en we staan met onze neus vlak aan de baai met uitzicht op de oceaan. Tegen de avond krijgen we gezelschap van een grote groep Franse MH'ers die onze ruime grasplaatsen inpikken op aansturen van de eigenaar. Niet iedereen kan dit appreciëren. Maar 'Business is business' zei Boma. En morgen zijn ze weg. Misschien krijgen we dan wel Hollanders in de plaats. Voor de eerste keer zien we hier een volledig open hemel ... read more

“Whether the weather be hot, or whether the weather be not, we‘ll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not!” - Irish saying The weather is definitely not hot! It was fairly rainy today on the road, but no matter, we still had a great day. We had to leave O’Neills before they served breakfast, but we were still able to have some cereal, coffee, and soda bread (yumm) before we left just after 7:30. We walked to Paddy’s Palace hostel, where we were starting our Paddywagon 3 day tour of Southern Ireland. We set off just after 8 am, picked up a few more people at the other pick up location, and headed out of Dublin. Our driver/guide is Alex, who is a great driver and full of information and stories. ... read more

Day 07 We planed today for some shopping, and checking out some sights that might be of interest. One of the first items was a championship golf course, one ranked among the top 10 in the world. Connemara Golf Course. We were going to shop in their Pro Shop for some things for Mike and Gail, and get to see the golf course that is aired in some of the major championship games. We put in the location, and set off after breakfast to begin our journey. We went on some very narrow roads, some with lines down the middle, and some without lines down the middle, because they were narrow, and bridges on them were single file bridges, where only one car could pass while the other side waited. Lots of pretty country side, and ... read more

Went for a long city walk in Galway today. Still a bit breezy, but no rain, so a good day to walk. Took in all the important historical sites like the Spanish Arch, Galway Harbor, St. Nicholas Collegiate Church (built in 1320, hosted Christopher Columbus once), Lynch’s Castle, the Browne Doorway, and Eyre Square, where JFK spoke in 1963. Circled back past the Cathedral to make sure our car was still there and it was OK. Then back to our place to get ready for dinner. Restaurant Dela for dinner. Farm to table, and they grow all their own produce. Delish! Pot of chocolate for dessert; looked like a pot of dirt, tasted like heaven.... read more