Ireland Days 1-3 (based in Galway)

As you all read in my last post - we recently spent 9 days in Ireland! It went better than either Steve or I could have possibly hoped. The boys were fantastic (besides some whining from Jack about various toys he saw along the way). Both acclimated well to the time difference (5 hours) on the way there. They were good on the plane and slept as much as one can on a 5 hour red-eye. (In air time was only 5 hrs 5 minutes to Shannon, where we landed). Day 1 - Sunday Shannon - Cliffs of Mohr - Burren - Galway We had planned on driving straight to our hotel just outside of Galway when we landed, but since it was a sunny day (not in the forecast for the week) we spontaneously decided to follow the signs to the Cliffs of Mohr (which we were supposed to visit later in the trip). We expected this to be a disaster since we just got off a red-eye with kids, but the boys ran around and up more stairs at the site than I ever have seen them before! True to the guidebooks, they were spectacular. The pictures don't capture it well due to the way the light was shining but definitely a must-see if you are ever remotely in that neck of the woods. We spent about an hour there.

We then headed up to Galway through an area called the Burren. We didn't get to the "official" national park area due to sleep deprivation and that the road was closed:) We saw some great scenery though and the boys slept pretty much all the way from the Cliffs to Galway. We stopped at a scenic overlook and dozens of cyclists passed us on what must be one of the best rides ever - super super twisty road downhill with pretty much no traffic and gorgeous scenery!

We checked into our apartment and rested the remainder of the day. Day 2 - Galway We started off going to the aquarium, which I believe is the National Aquarium of Ireland. It wasn't anything to visit the area for, but worth a trip since it was literally across an alley from our apartment. The kids had fun, mainly running around a small kid-size "submarine." We then headed into the heart of Galway and walked around the main pedestrian area. There were many cute shops and old old buildings. We had lunch at a local cafe and visted "eyre square" a main public space. There a playground and an "occupy" campsite there as well. We then went to a large supermarket to stock up on food. It was pretty much like a large grocery here except we discovered there is a plastic bag tax there. (No paper bags seem to exist). You had to be .33euros for a regular old plastic grocery bag! Amazing. It was also 1 euro to use a cart! I managed to find Nate-safe snacks and bread and food for all of us.

Day 3 - Connemara Peninsula We woke up and drove off to do a site-seeing tour of the Connemara Peninsula. The weather didn't particularly cooperate and it was quite cool and windy. We started at the Connemara Heritage & History Center which promised tractor ride since we thought the boys would like that!) and had recreations of ancient and just old dwellings. The main attraction was a tour of Dan O'Hara's house which was the actual (refurbished) house of a man who emigrated to the US in the 1840s and (apparently) there is a famous song about him. The guide told stories and lit a fire (or so I am told, I was chasing the boys and enjoying the scenery!). We had lunch in Clifden - randomly next to people from somewhere around Boston (I eavesdropped a few local references). Then we drove the "sky drive" which was gorgeous, even in the pouring rain. Sky Drive

At Dan O'Hara's - harvesting Peet

"Dan's" chickens & View - there were also wandering cows