saturday, july 30:
got up at the crack of dawn (0600) to take a daytrip to galway and the cliffs of moher, clear on the west side of ireland. we didn't realize that the train station was so far and had to powerwalk to make it (we didn't want to pay for a cab). after getting our tix (€28), we hopped on the 0735 train - first one - and it immediately started going - close call! we settled back, chatted, and ate our breakfast of pb&j sandwiches. the rainy horizon turned to cloudy and the landscape became progressively greener. the trip took just under 3 hours and we got to galway with 15 mins to spare before our bus needed to leave for the cliffs of moher. luckily the bus and train stations are one and the same in galway. we got on the bus (€18 roundtrip) for another 1.5-2 hour ride to the cliffs. keep in mind that we were on a tour bus (but w/o a bathroom), and we were on these winding, skinny roads. we'd have to constantly slow down and usually stop whenever any other vehicles would go by.
we went by lots of ruins on the way there ... the scenery was amazing. by the time we got to the cliffs, all of us were feeling motion sick thanks to the horrible road situation. boo. no one threw up though! the first stop at the cliffs was the bathroom. ha. by the time we finally got there it was about 1230 and we only had one hour until the last bus left for galway. we walked up the hill and what greeted our view (josh, ben, jenna, and me) was the most gorgeous scenery you could ever imagine. in my mind, it was just as good if not better than the grand canyon, and that's saying a lot.
the cliffs drop vertically over 200 meters straight into the atlantic ocean. it was overcast and a tad windy so we had to be careful near the edge of the cliff (apparently a few people die every year from falling off). we all took tons of pictures and walked up by the ruins of a castle at the top of the hill. for only being there an hour, we saw a lot - although i'm sure i could've easily spent all day there. then it was a quick stroll through the fits shop and back onto the toilet-less bus for another 2-hour ride back to galway.
the bus was full on the way back and we sat up front to avoid motion sickness. no one on the bus but us talked, so we felt like we were fulfilling our stereotype as loud americans. the way our scheduling worked, we had caught the first train out of dublin and the last bus from galway to the cliffs. then we had one hour before the bus, the last bus, returned to galway. when we got back to the town, we had 3 more hours before the last train to dublin.
for our 3 hours in galway, we walked around downtown and stopped in at a church. everywhere here (abroad generally) seems to be very pedestrian-friendly. it's nice. we went by an outside market where people were peddling everything from sushi to scarves. we thought about eating at a pub someone had suggested but all the entrees were between 12 and 15 euro ... too much for our tastes.
what we did find to eat, though, was chinese food. there was a place not too far from the bus stop, but it didn't open until 5. so there we are, at this hole-in-the-wall chinese place, waiting for 20 mins for it to open. it was rather hilarious and i think the workers were surprised to find that we were so eager to eat there. the food was scrumptious ... mmm i love chinese!
after that we went back to the train station to get our tickets for the train back. we had only purchased one-way tickets in the morning because we were planning to go back on the bus since it left later than the train. but as it turned out, everything in galway was closing so we decided to hitch the train back (it was much quicker).
when we went to get our tickets, the lady behind the counter gave us a puzzled look and said we didn't need to get another ticket! the ones we had were all-day passes! we only would've needed another pass if we were staying overnight, so there was miscommunication when we bought the tickets in dublin. we were all so excited, since we had planned on paying another €28 for tickets back!
right across the street from the train station was a budget rent-a-car ... so i stopped in to say hello. they weren't really that excited to see me but i took a picture of the outside. yay budget! anyway, so we were overjoyed that we didn't have to pay for another ticket so we went to a convenience store and got some snacks for the train ... namely ice cream. it was so good and when we got on the train we were exhausted and full. unfortunately, it wasn't all that comfortable and it was hard to sleep. needless to say, we were all stoked to get back to dublin at about 2145. lots of traveling for just an hour @ the cliffs, but i'd do it again in a heartbeat. galway was cool, too. i wish i would've taken the long weekend there instead of in dublin. c'est la vie, i suppose.
on the way back from the station, we took a short detour and walked by this tall observation tower from which you can look out over dublin. would be fun to go in, but it was closed ... and it cost €. boo. we dropped our stuff off at the hostel, made pb&j sandwiches to finish off the bread, and headed to the auld dubliner pub in the temple bar district. it was crowded but we found a table so we just sat around for a bit relaxing then took a leisurely walk back to the hostel where we promptly crashed. it was a long but amazing day. yay for the cliffs!
awestruck,
grant
