Ireland: Cliffs of Moher & Galway

After our day on the Ring of Kerry, I stayed in that night with Charlotte while the rest of the family went out for dinner in Kenmare. The next morning, we packed up and drove north to the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. The roads of Ireland are quite narrow and twisty, even roads that are supposedly "main roads." I was able to re-route our original driving plan to get us to straighter roads -- which helped out the carsick-prone people on the trip (not naming names). 

We stopped for a relatively quick lunch at a pub before changing roads to head out the peninusla to the Cliffs of Moher. It was a bit overcast, but not overly crowded to enter. We parked and looked around the tourist center for a few minutes before walking out to see the views. The Cliffs have been used as a set in many movies, including The Princess Bride ("The Cliffs of Insanity!") and the Harry Potter films. They are beautiful and green, and seemed a little less craggy than the Cliffs of Kerry. Our trusty umbrella stroller finally kicked the bucket at this location when the foot strap snapped. We made do by using a bungee cord to hold the strap to the side, but we knew it was the final trip since it wasn't comfortable for Charlotte to hold her feet up the whole time.

The tower was built to provide better views of the Cliffs.

Walking the pathway along a cow pasture

 

Loved the various shades of grey-blue

Walking back down the steep paths off the cliffs

Familiar faces down below

After leaving the Cliffs, we made a slow drive back through the countryside and up through Galway. We stayed at a hotel near Oughterard, in County Galway for the next two nights. After all that driving, we were so thankful that the hotel owner was able to get us dinner in the dining room (it was getting pretty close to closing time). We enjoyed talking with the very proper waiter, who served us both dinner and breakfast. The next morning at breakfast, Charlotte was acting like she wasn't feeling well (she didn't eat anything, very unusual) so I decided we should lay low for the day. Paul, Kate, Chris, and Colleen went into Galway and got some good pictures. Tom, Renee, Charlotte and I took a rest and then went into Oughterard to walk around the town, play at the playground, and get some lunch at a cafe. We also scoped out a restaurant for that evening and made a reservation.

After an afternoon nap, we went with the big group back to Oughterard for dinner and enjoyed some tasty Irish specials. Charlotte chowed down on the (very Irish) pasta with butter -- 2 bowls full! Making up for breakfast I guess! We finished the night at the playground again, then Colleen stayed in our room with Charlotte while she slept so Paul & I could play a game of Phase 10 with the rest of the family. We also drank a traditionally prepared Irish Whiskey, which was too much caffeine for that time of night, so I had trouble getting to sleep!

Paul's pictures from Galway

The river running past our hotel

The next morning, we ate a quick breakfast and headed south for the Shannon airport, which was very easy to negotiate. After returning the rental cars and checking in, we grabbed a quick lunch before flying back to London with the whole family.