On advice from our b&b host we left Doolin and headed to Galway via an area called the Burren. Just when you think you've probably seen enough stunning coastline Ireland dishes up something totally different. The Burren is this incredibly rocky, primitive landscape that, in its own stark way, rivals the Ring of Kerry. Well worth a visit.
From there we decided to go to Galway. We had the option of going to the town centre or taking in a bog. The later may sound rather unpleasant and lavatorial but it was supposed to be interesting. Indecisiveness would lead us a merry dance, as would the the Irish street signs which one suspects may have been designed by a demented leprechaun with a nasty sense of humour who was currently on a bender. So, what did we do? Drove essentially all the way into Galway and then, for want of an obvious parking spot, and because I rather liked the thought of the bog, drove all the way out again - only to discover that the road to the bog either didn't exist at all, or the dang leprechaun was changing the signs again. Honestly, it didn't seem possible to head in the direction we wanted. So, what did we do? Drove all the way back into Galway, of course, and found a parking spot easily. We could now add some rather less salubrious streets of Galway to those we had seen in Cork - and get to Galway Central only an hour later.
For the record, the old town of Galway is really cool and we had a very chilled couple of hours there before we drove over to Dublin. That night we hooked up with both boys and then wandered back to our hotel in the sticks (the only one that had vacancies in all of Dublin that we could afford - it turns out that there was a major comedy event on this weekend which had led to the shortage of rooms).
The next morning we headed down into Dublin City and did the touristy stuff - Temple Bar, Trinity College where the a Book of Kells is, and the Guinness factory. Following that we spent the late afternoon and evening in a really charming seaside town near Dublin, called Howth. We even saw more seals. Today we headed further up the coast to another seaside town called Skerries, where we had a relaxed breakfast before visiting the local castle (which really was more like a manor) and wandered around the huge grounds admiring the awesome views.
Then, off to the airport (gotta learn to cope with airports if you ever want to travel) where first Tim, then Michael flew out before we hopped our flight to a Cardiff, and a new country - Wales.
From there we decided to go to Galway. We had the option of going to the town centre or taking in a bog. The later may sound rather unpleasant and lavatorial but it was supposed to be interesting. Indecisiveness would lead us a merry dance, as would the the Irish street signs which one suspects may have been designed by a demented leprechaun with a nasty sense of humour who was currently on a bender. So, what did we do? Drove essentially all the way into Galway and then, for want of an obvious parking spot, and because I rather liked the thought of the bog, drove all the way out again - only to discover that the road to the bog either didn't exist at all, or the dang leprechaun was changing the signs again. Honestly, it didn't seem possible to head in the direction we wanted. So, what did we do? Drove all the way back into Galway, of course, and found a parking spot easily. We could now add some rather less salubrious streets of Galway to those we had seen in Cork - and get to Galway Central only an hour later.
For the record, the old town of Galway is really cool and we had a very chilled couple of hours there before we drove over to Dublin. That night we hooked up with both boys and then wandered back to our hotel in the sticks (the only one that had vacancies in all of Dublin that we could afford - it turns out that there was a major comedy event on this weekend which had led to the shortage of rooms).
The next morning we headed down into Dublin City and did the touristy stuff - Temple Bar, Trinity College where the a Book of Kells is, and the Guinness factory. Following that we spent the late afternoon and evening in a really charming seaside town near Dublin, called Howth. We even saw more seals. Today we headed further up the coast to another seaside town called Skerries, where we had a relaxed breakfast before visiting the local castle (which really was more like a manor) and wandered around the huge grounds admiring the awesome views.
Then, off to the airport (gotta learn to cope with airports if you ever want to travel) where first Tim, then Michael flew out before we hopped our flight to a Cardiff, and a new country - Wales.