A Trip to County Galway
Last Saturday, rather than spending more time in Dublin, we opted to take a trip to the West coast of Ireland, specifically to see the Cliffs of Moher.
The bus tour we took first stopped through Galway City and we did a walking tour. The town is located on a bay, and the heart of it dates back to medieval times; the buildings were done in durable stone and plaster to survive being burned down by invaders, so many of them still stand today. Our tour guide made sure to point out to us the coats of arms in stone representing the various powerful families of 600 years ago.
He also talked about the architecture of the buildings, specifically the stone rain guards over most of the windows to prevent window frames from getting wet and rotting. He was really into rain guards. Seriously, he spent a significant amount of the tour talking about rain guards.
Because the downtown hasn’t really changed since the 16th or 17th century, its cobblestone streets are pedestrian-friendly and packed with pubs and other small businesses. On top of this, it being Saturday, it was market day and there were stands out around the city offering local produce and delicious smelling sausage. On the whole, the town seemed friendlier and closer-knit than the larger Dublin. The idea of spending a few evenings in pubs, listening to music and mingling with locals was tempting. Maybe I’ll make it back some day.
From there, we drove through the hilly Irish countryside, speckled with cows and sheep, and divided up into small plots by hand-stacked stone walls. When I flew in, the countryside looked like emerald stained glass, divided up into abstract patterns, and now I could see why.
We also drove through the Burren, a series of granite hills left bare by the receding glaciers of the last ice age, which gives you an idea of what’s just underneath the shallow soil covering the rest of the countryside. Apparently most of Ireland’s grassy countryside was actually terraformed to be that way by the farmers; before anyone lived there, it was rockier and not really fit for grazing. So, rocky countryside? Want to graze cows? Stack the rocks to make fences! Boom. Taken care of.
The cliffs themselves were gorgeous, and well worth the trip. I’ll shut up and let the pictures speak for themselves. You don’t really get the sense of vertigo, so if you want that I guess you’ll have to visit.
This trip, I didn’t make it down to County Tipperary, where the Irish part of me (the Ryan family) hails from, or the port of New Ross, where Thomas & Mary Ryan left for America on May 6, 1846. Maybe next time I’ll have enough time to head down there. Funnily enough, the only sign of them I saw was an apple crumble in a convenience store.
Anyway, it was great to spend so much time in Ireland with my friend Taiyo. If you know him too, watch his Facebook for pictures of us soon.
More soon on my time in London.
