Alley wall in Ennis
I spent a few days in Galway on the west coast of Ireland, walking the coastal paths and eating my way through town. Musicians played on every corner and the city was jam packed with tourists. Galway is a party town, which means if your hotel is central (as mine was), you may have a hard time sleeping (as I did).
Galway buskers with a funky and fun interpretation of traditional Irish music.
When I saw this cafe, I knew Cheryl had been here — and sure enough, I found her blog posting about it. It was fun and relaxed with an innovative menu.
Galway Cathedral along the banks of the River Corrib.
The Cliffs of Moher are so dramatic, although it is hard to tell by the photo. The other thing the photo doesn’t show — there were more tourists here than I saw at the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China or Petra! It was a little hard to meditate on nature.
After Galway, I headed south to County Clare, which is famous for its traditional Irish music. I stayed in Ennis, one of the larger towns in the county. It is friendly and charming and maybe has better food than Galway.
A very moving sculpture in the yard of the Ennis Cathedral.
In Ennis, I spent a wonderful evening walking through the cobblestone streets and stopping at the pubs when I heard music. My favorite group was at the pub in my own hotel.
Camino Milagro 
Super-special-terrific photos Kimmie!!!
🙂
Loved seeing these photos! Caitlin and Jack and I stayed in Ballyvaughnan near Galway. We had delicious Indian food in Galway. I have visited Ennis too! I loved all the pubs with traditional Jrish music the kids not do much so I had them wait outside sitting on the curb. 🙂
Ireland is delightful
Looks like a really fun time, Kim! I’m really surprised that you saw so many more tourists on the cliffs than all those other hotspots of the world for tourism. I wonder why? I was overwhelmed by hordes of tourists in Barcelona a couple of years ago. But cliffs on an Irish coast?
Apparently, the cliffs are on the “check-off” list of every tourist who comes to Ireland. The places I listed are all in the Middle East or Asia, areas of the world where tourism has fallen off drastically since 9/11 and then the 2008 economic collapse. Carol Brown and I were almost the only people at the Taj Mahal in 2006. We got photos of it with only us in it!
What a well deserved change of pace for you…take a deep breath & enjoy some r & r! Great work, as usual. Much love from us
I feel like it’s been R&R for about 6 months now! xoxoxox
Your pictures captured such lovely scenes..things I am always drawn to when I travel – the colors, the music and the nature. It’s hard though, to imagine it being so cool when the temperatures in Athens passed 100 degrees! Can’t wait to see you at the end of this journey!
Yes you will love Ireland. See you July 5 xoxox