For more on Ireland, see my posts from Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, and Day 9.
Leaving behind our beloved Dingle was a sad proposition, but luckily there were still lots of Irish highlights ahead of us on Day 10. To get to some of them, we began our day by driving our bus onto a ferry and crossing the River Shannon. We then continued on to our destination: the Cliffs of Moher.
Before arriving in Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher were one of my most anticipated destinations; I had seen how beautiful they looked in photographs, so I figured I would be blown away in person. And, luckily, this turned out to be true: they are absolutely gorgeous. Another thing they are? Quite windy and chilly. Still, getting your hair messed up in the wind is a small price to pay for views like these:
Next up, we drove to the Burren, an area of vast limestone formations. From afar, the landscape looked quite desolate and barren, but up close, it was actually quite fascinating, with tons of flowers and plants peeking through. We met up with local expert Mary Howard, who led us on a short walk around the rocks, sharing her expertise and enthusiasm along the way. The Burren was one of the most unique environments I’ve ever seen!
In the evening, we arrived in the town of Galway, where we would spend two nights. We mostly used Galway as a base to explore other spots in the area, but it was a nice city nonetheless. Galway is Ireland’s most international city, so we decided to take advantage of that and have something other than seafood or pub food. We wound up at Thai Garden, where I had some of the best Thai food of my life – not an experience I expected to have in Ireland!
After dinner, we wandered around Galway a bit, taking in some of the colorful buildings (something I never, ever got tired of photographing while in Ireland) and walking past the park where JFK visited in 1963:
What this day reminded me was that there are so many highlights in Ireland. Just when you visit a place like Dingle and wonder what can possibly come next, you wind up finding even more treasures!
Practical Information:
- Cliffs of Moher: Cliffs of Moher, Liscannor, County Clare, Ireland | +353.65.708.6141
- Burren Guided Walks: Old Road, Fanore, Ballyvaughan, County Clare, Ireland | +353.65.707.6100
- Thai Garden: Spanish Arch, Quay St., Galway, Ireland | +353.91.567.865
I visited Ireland way back in the mid 1970’s. It left me with wonderful memories of a lush country, hearty folks, robust laughter, a musical accent I can never quite capture, and now a yearning to return.
I think the memories you list capture Ireland perfectly today as well – particularly that lovely musical accent. And I myself am also longing to return, even though I’ve only been away for about a month!
Great photos. I enjoyed the Cliffs of Moher and am working on writing my post. It looks like you had the same cloudy weather I did.
Thank you! It was quite cloudy when I visited, but still very beautiful nonetheless!