I really should have worked on this trip report as the days went along, but I didn’t, so you’re stuck with whatever I can pull out of my still jet-lagged brain.
So here we go.
Days One and Two – Travel to Galway
The trip didn’t have the world’s best start. On Tuesday, my mom, dad, and sister were scheduled to fly out early in the morning. They got to the airport what they thought was three hours early, but it turns out their flights were changed and their first of three planes left in just 20 minutes. No way for them to make that. So they went through a bit of a travel debacle that made everyone a bit nervous. My flights still looked good, but I decided to get to the airport early. Ended up getting on an earlier flight to Boston, where I met up with the rest of the family, as well as some high school football players also heading to Ireland for a series of high school football games being played over there as part of this crazy weekend.
The plane ride was fine. I like that Aer Lingus has screens in each seat so I could watch a movie or two. We landed in Shannon around 6am local time, which was 1:00 at home. I was exhausted. We then waited around for a while and had coffee and then headed to the bus to Galway. Let’s just say that exhaustion, coffee on an empty stomach, and a swaying bus ride didn’t make for the greatest combination and I spent the rest of the morning sleeping.
By the afternoon, I felt much better and joined the family in Galway for some shopping. This was the only day that we saw any rain – just on and off spotty showers. The town itself was a lot of fun. Lots of charming little shops and street musicians all over the place. And the rain meant that we saw the most gorgeous rainbows later in the day.
Day Three – The Cliffs of Moher and Trad on the Prom
On our first full day in Ireland, we headed out on a bus tour. Unfortunately, this was the day that we had the worst tour guide. I’m kind of glad that we came upon him first – we didn’t know what we were missing.
This tour was supposed to include a visit to the Burren region, but we somehow didn’t get there. Great job, tour guide.
But we did make it out to The Cliffs of Moher. It was easy to see why this is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Ireland.
One thing that was amazing was the lack of railings or any sort of protection to prevent people from jumping or falling. There were warning signs, but that was it. You were there at your own risk. There were a number of signs with a phone number to call if you needed someone to talk to, trying to prevent jumpers. It was one of those times where we realized just how different the United States is. In the US, there would have been fences and railings everywhere, which would have marred the view.
After the day out, we headed to a show called Trad on the Prom. I knew very little, only that it was a show featuring someone who had been a featured soloist with The Chieftains. Oh my goodness, this show was fabulous. Amazing instrumentalists, great vocals, awesome dancers. It was definitely worth going, and if you are ever going to Galway, definitely check it out.
And that ends the first part of the recap. For my running friends, tomorrow, I will return to running discussions, with the second part of the recap scheduled for Friday.