Cliffs of Moher - or not

Our plan today was to see the Cliffs of Moher - famous for the spectacular scenery and all of the sea birds.  The fog in the area was as thick as pea soup and we decided it wasn't worth the $27 fee it would have cost us to go to look at the fog.  We were told by a fellow traveler that the fog lends its own special mood to the cliffs, but we passed on it anyway. We had a similar viewing experience once in Newfoundland - cliffs, seabirds, and fog so thick you could hardly see the edge.  The traveler is correct in saying that the fog lends a special atmosphere to the experience - but in Newfoundland the experience was free. 

So we continued on up the coast towards Galway.  The weather improved as we drove north, and we stopped at a castle that was rescued from decay in the 1950s by a wealthy woman who fixed it up for her home.  Not extremely cozy, but as a cabin for weekend getaways, not too shabby!

Our first order of business in Galway was to get a new rim to replace the one that broke yesterday. Happy to report that the Ford garage in town actually had the right rim in its inventory and it took only about an hour to finish the job.  Unfortunately, the traffic congestion is so bad here that it took nearly that long traveling the two or three miles from our B&B to the Ford garage.

The walking streets of Galway are a lot of fun.  Lots of pubs to choose from for supper - the hardest thing was picking only one.  We could walk from our B&B so we didn't have to worry about parking our car. 

We've been putting in such long days that it felt good to return to our B&B early.  Tomorrow we're off to another wild and wonderful part of Ireland.  We are hoping the roads will be more wonderful than wild for the next segment of our trip, but you'll have to tune in again tomorrow to find out if any more tires needed replacing.

We heard today that weather in Galway is very predictable.  If you can see Galway, it's going to rain.  If you can't see Galway it's raining.  We can see it today, so I guess that means we can expect rain!

Things were a bit foggy in the morning

Once we got over the hills and away from the cliffs it cleared up a bit.

Dunguaire castle was built by the O'Haynes clan in 1520 (It takes its name from a nearby 6th century fort).  It was last restored by an English Lady who retired here in 1954.  At one point in the 1600s

150 poets and singers provided entertainment for a year and one half of feasting! 

There is a great medieval street with musicians, entertainers, pubs, etc. in the city.

This pub is over 80 years old.  It was used to entertain Cromwell when he took the city in 1650.

Sandy was entertained by Oscar Wilde and his brother!