We land in Galway, a hopping town on the west coast of Ireland. The National University of Ireland is located here. It's definitely a college town. It has a lively nightlife along Quay and High Streets. It also boasts the lovely Eyre Square at the city center.
While in Galway, we opt to take the Aran Islands tour. We tour Inis Mor, meaning big island, which is one of the last Irish Gaelic speaking islands. We set out early and catch the ferry to the island. The sea is turbulent and we rock and roll all the way to Inishmore. It's not a good sign when the crew passes out barf bags.
We spend the day touring the entire island including the Seven Churches and burial grounds which dates back to the 8th century.
We stop for lunch at the finest restaurant on the island (maybe the only restaurant on the island) run by some lovely ladies and where I finally get my traditional Irish stew. It's a frigid and blustery day so the stew hits the spot.
Our bellies full, we make the trek to the Dun Aengus Fort, a prehistoric fort dating from the Iron Age. For the uninitiated, that's 500 BC - 500 AD. (Ok, I had to look it up.) It sits on the highest point of the cliffs of Inis Mor. The view rivals the Cliffs of Moher. I've heard some say it's better just because it's not as touristy. Whatever your opinion, the views are spectacular!
Perhaps the most fortuitous event of the day is meeting our Galway Girl and new friend, Mandy. She's a Yankee traveling alone on business and hangs with us the entire day. She is affable and intelligent and as we like to say in the south, we can tell she's been "raised right." We enjoy her company so much that we invite her to join us for dinner that evening as we celebrate Peyton's birthday.
We vow to keep in touch after we part company and send Mandy on her way. We're definitely feeling the luck of the Irish as we end our time in Galway.
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