Blog By James

View the previous parts here: [1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11]

After our night’s rest in Galway we drove up to Dublin, our final Irish destination before heading back to the states. Once we arrived in town we spent about an hour in traffic and had some trouble finding our B&B. Our patience paid off though because No.31 was an absolutely fantastic place to stay for the last two nights of the trip. We will definitely stay there again the next time we visit Dublin.

Once we were settled in, we went to The Ely Winebar for dinner which had a lovely atmosphere and fantastic food. We arrived just as they were opening for dinner and were some the first people seated. The place filled up soon after we snapped this shot:

Just as we had for most of the trip, we shared an entree due to the weak state of the dollar. We did however enjoy a glass of one of the most delicious glasses of Shiraz wine I’ve had to date. We finished up at the winebar and headed to Foley’s Bar which the owner of No.31 recommended we check out. For what was probably a solid two to three hours, we enjoyed watching the locals come and go while listening to a solo acoustic musician. We both had our first draught pint of Bulmer’s Original that night which I enjoyed very much.

Our goal the next day was to see as much of Dublin as possible. We ended up getting on one of the Dublin tour busses and made the best of it. The bustling morning traffic sped by us as we made our way to the bus:

The bus had a static route that included approximately 20 stops where we had the choice of getting off the bus at any time. We chose to stop off at Trinity College to see the “Book of Kells“, Kilmainham Gaol and of course the Guiness Storehouse. We sat on the top of the bus and although it was quite windy and cold, it all added to the experience I think.

The Kilmainham Gaol tour was very moving and learning what all went on there was incredible. Some of Allison’s grandmother’s ancestors were actually held there.

The Guinness Storehouse tour was lots of fun and once we made it to the top of the building, we took a few shots of Dublin:

And we can’t forget Molly Malone!

After a long day of sight seeing and fun, we headed back to our room and crashed out for our final night in Ireland. We flew back to the states early the next morning.

I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll say it again… This entire trip was one of the most amazing and incredibly moving experiences of my life. To this day I find it hard to believe that it all actually happened. I married the most wonderful and lovely woman in the world while at the same time experiencing some of the most beautiful people and places in the world. I wouldn’t change a single thing.

I love you Allison.

View the previous parts here: [1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10]

After having a delightful lunch in Doolin we made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. It was incredibly windy up there just as it was the first time I visited the cliffs back in ’98. Thankfully it wasn’t raining this time…

We did manage to take a picture of each other at the top. We were just a tad wind beaten by this point:

For dinner we went to the fantastic Pullman Restaurant at the Glenlo Abbey Hotel in Galway before heading back to the Adare Guest House. What an experience! It was an early Wednesday evening and we were the only people there! The atmosphere was incredible, the food was very good and presented brilliantly. I’d love to go there again one day.

One of the tables from outside:

Here is my lovely Alli and I enjoying a drink as we wait for the food to arrive:

After dinner we headed back for a good night’s rest before our drive up to Dublin. The 12th and final posting will be about our stay in Ireland’s capital city… Pt.12

View the previous parts here: [1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9]

After a brilliant morning in Waterford, we hit the road and began enjoying the lovely Irish countryside:

We worked our way up through Tipperary and Limerick, reaching our final destination of Galway later that day.

We had a little trouble finding the B&B at first but eventually we made it and unpacked for a two night stay in Galway. Our short walk to the downtown area looked a little like this:

That night we had a delightful dinner at The Malt House:

The next day we did a lot of driving, beginning with a visit to Cong and Cong Abbey which was just amazingly beautiful:

After visiting the Quiet Man Cottage Museum there in Cong, we took off towards Doolin. The road there was long, curvy and very narrow at parts. We stopped a couple of times to snap a photo:

Once we made it to Doolin in County Clare, we absolutely had to stop at Gus O’Connor’s pub for a pint and some stew. There is absolutely no question that when we return to Ireland we’ll be staying in Doolin for at least one night. Doolin is world famous for its traditional Irish music and when we were there it was too early in the day for any live music.

We took only one shot of the inside of Gus’ and I apologize for the blurriness. The gentleman sitting to the left of the fireplace was there with his pint, just as you see him the entire time we were there. I saw two separate couples at the table to his right, sit down, eat and leave without him moving an inch. Locals that knew him stopped by, talked with him and went on their way. He definitely appeared to be a fixture and who knows how long he was there after we left. It really was a fantastic place.

Next up, the Cliffs of Moher, the spectacular Pullman Restaurant and a little more on Galway… Pt.11