Ireland - Day 6 and 7

Our last few days in Ireland were focused on Galway. What an awesome little city! While I enjoyed the big-city style of Dublin (and think I would have liked it more if our hotel was closer to the downtown area), Galway was charming and quaint and just all-around wonderful. There was a huge section of town that was closed to vehicle traffic and was filled with shops and pubs and restaurants. It reminded me a lot of Spain. While we were there, we met another American named Mark (no joke) from Chicago as well as a few Scots -- Iain and his dad Tom -- who were great fun. Throw a few French girls in the mix as well as a few locals and you have the makings of a good time!

Look, Murph! You have a bar, too!

 We took a few small day trips along the coast. The coastline was amazing.

The livestock in Ireland seems to be cleaner than the livestock in the US. Maybe it's just me, but doesn't she look so clean and happy?

Kik, as soon as I saw her, I thought of you!
Wow. That's sounds bad, but you know what I mean! 

The Cliffs of Moher. Stunning. That's all. 

Don't fall off the cliff! (In case you didn't know that already.)

And don't climb the walls!

I felt like I was standing in the middle of a Wordsworth poem. 

Breathtaking.

If these look familiar, it is because they are none other than the Cliffs of Insanity! (Princess Bride, people!)

Love the lookout tower atop the cliffs. 

That path is only about ten feet away from a straight 214 meter drop down.

Sheep!

We headed to Clonmacnoise on our way out of Galway, headed back towards Dublin. It's a monastic ruin that I'd been dying to see. It was very cool. Espcially given the weather. Which only confirmed the fact that Ireland has bi-polar weather patterns. They change at the drop of a hat. Seriously.

This picture was taken at 1:43pm.

And then again at 2:22pm. Seriously, Ireland? What is with the weather?

A little while later, it was cloudy again.

Murph, you need to go to Dublin so you can take the Quinnster here!