I said the border crossing into the UK was easy but the border crossing from Northern Ireland (UK) into the republic of Ireland (still part of the UK) was for ill intendent purposes non-existent. At some point on the highway near Killeam the road signs change from mile to kilometres and a little bit after that you see a welcome to something county, Ireland sign. In fact the easiest way to know how you have crossed the border is those annoying messages you get from your phone company when you reach a new roaming destination. The only other hint seemed to be the plethora of service stations just after you cross the border. There didn’t seem to be a huge difference in cost (although converting pounds per gallon into litres per Euro is pretty hard maths to do in your head. Galway was about a four or five hour drive so we tried to stay on more major roads, at least for the first part of the day. Having said that, we took a break in Sligo to walk around the riverside town – (most of the towns here are seaside or riverside – there are a lot of rivers in the emerald isle). Sligo has some charm about it and was a good rest stop. I am a big fan of Sunday roast and this was our last opportunity to experience it. In Ireland Sunday dinner is a lunchtime or afternoon meal, not what we traditionally refer to as dinner. And in many pubs, particularly in smaller towns, the roast is only served for lunch. With that in mind, we headed into the pub in Sligo near where we parked. I had the Sunday roast – the beef which came with potatoes (of course), veges and very good gravy. Yorkies are not really a thing in Ireland. And a pot of tea. Dan had a club sandwich. When we arrived, the waitress told us we could sit anywhere except the front table near the window, She said similar things to everyone who arrived. It turned out she had reserved that table for an elderly gentleman who comes in every Sunday for his dinner. What touched me most about this was the sense of community. There were a few more locals who came into the pub for a chat or to ask about Saint Paddy’s day while we were there. Life moves more slowly in the villages here and one of the things they seem to have kept, at least in part,  the sense of community with the pub at its heart. Of course the Irish ability to talk the leg off a chair and strike up a conversation with just about anyone might also have something to do with it. You are also forever reminded of the impact of the Irish famine wherever you go here – there was a monument to it in the middle of the carpark outside the pub.

From here we veered off the direct route a bit and headed for a drive around a loch to a castle (just like Scotland). The views weren’t quite as vast but they were still spectacular. And prettier. As we came down from a windy road, we stopped just because there was a spectacular lookout over the green valleys below. It was raining (it is Ireland after all) but that just made the skies even more spectacular. The castle (Parke’s Castle) was also worth a stop – It was closed but it (like so many others) was perched on the edge of the Loch – a ferry runs here in the warmer months *(not running today) to get people to the other side of the loch instead of what is likely a 100 k trip. We turned back at the castle and headed towards Galway. [Zombie – The Cranberries – Another track from the Irish road trip playlist. I had gone down a ska rabbithole and hadn’t bought any new music since the mid 80s until I heard The Cranberries’ Linger. That somehow led me to Belly and about a year later Rancid released Time Bomb. The Cranberries don’t make most hipster playlists but I still like them.]

Galway was really designed as a pit stop, staying in a serviced apartment so we could easily do the washing, and relax before the Irish sightseeing started in earnest. Galway itself clearly had a different idea, We got in, got parked in the hotel parking (after a detour in a public carparking tour and got the domestic duties underway and wandered into town to get some dinner. What we were greeted with was the full force of Ireland’s tourism industry. Shop after shop of Irish gifts – everything from t-shirts with terrible puns to a world of Guinness souvenirs. And quite a few jewellers advertising claddagh rings as the quintessential Irish ring originated here. And then you hit the main tourist strip =- a cross between the backpacker haven of Temple Bar – with bunting of various countries’ flags strung across the street and restaurants with Brick Lane or Venice style tout’s. Mercifully very few were holding plastic covered menus – my sure sign that the food is going to be expensive and very ordinary. Not holding out much hope, we consulted trip advisor and settled on an Italian place on the street. We hadn’t eaten Italian so far and while it was a bit on the expensive side, it was also really good. We ordered carpaccio – one of Dan’s favourites and it was really great. So too was my seafood pasta (seafood is pretty fresh most places in Ireland as you can imagine and this was no different. And the salad was amazing and just what my body was craving after all the potatoes. We went to a convenience store at the end of town and while its shelves and floor were piled high with everything you could ever need, they didn’t have washing powder. I had at least a load to go (even if I jammed the washer full as you see students do in the laundromat. In any case, what looked like a cross between an Indian grocery store and a takeaway had some washing detergent up the back. Saved. After a good night’s sleep in a (two bedroom) apartment not much smaller than our house, we headed across he river on the a littel island, seemingly the hub of Galway’s foodie scene. Despite Dan’s doubts, Ireland has an impressive foodie scene (and some places they even avoid the potatoes). Dela, a renowned Galway restaurant, was our destination and it didn’t disappoint. Firstly I decided on coffee rather than tea this morning, which turned out to be a great decision- the flat white was glorious. I had the Dela Fry – the usual, although superior ingredients cooked superbly and with the addition of freshly baked bread and relish rather than soda bread. It did still come with butter; Dan had the bacon benedict which he also rated highly and we shared the breakfast platter (so I could have the yoghurt and fruit (as well as a smattering of the house made granola) and Dan could have the scones (with homemade jam) he had been craving. We though we might have come across a tea shoppe before now but alas no. The scone craving satisfied, it was time to buy some souvenirs. I (naturally) looked in the jeweller’s for some pieces  and chos Countries e a Claddagh pendant in marquisette. I also may have found a coaster of my surname but decided that I would leave it to Dublin where I would invariably find another one, to stock up on family-based souvenirs. We headed out of Galway bound for Limerick with a visit to the Cliffs of Moher planned along the way.

Fridge Magnets – 5     Postcards – 7     T-shirts – 2   Christmas decorations – 3   Countries – 4

Limerick

Our first stop out of Galway was Athenry – principally to see the fields of Athenry – I am a big fan of the Dropkick Murphys version of this traditional Irish tune about a young man who stole corn to feed his family and was sent to Botany Bay, Australia. As it turned out, Athenry itself was pretty interesting, we walked around the Cathedral ruins and also the city walls and castle. It is amazing that city walls that are hundreds of years old just exist as a part of the typography of the town. Thefields of Athenry, however, had all area disappeared in this expanding town, with a cooki-cutter housing development going up between the freeway and the village.

From Astheny we started heading towards the Cliffs of Moher, stopping off to look at yet another castle – the Dunguaire Castle. We pulled over the side of the road and walked back for some pics. And then we headed upward on a steep- and winding road that would have been heaps of fun in the mini. And the scenery was even more pi8cxturesque than tge previous day. I do recommend going north to south in as the scenery just gets more stunning each day. As you get to the top of the plateau the trees disappear – It looks drier up here because it is slightly less green but as it turns out that has much more to do with the fact that there are peat bogs up here where the water sits. You are so high up here that the mist is settling below you. You start to head down a bit as you approach the coastline and the spectacular Cliffs of Moher.

Like so many of the tourist attractions in Ireland, the cliffs are well set up for visitors – the carpark is on the other side of the highway and you walk across to the tourist complex that is nestled into the hill. It was cold and windy so ended up being the first outing for my beanie/scarf/glove combo on this trip.

 Fridge Magnets – 5     Postcards – 8     T-shirts – 2   Christmas decorations – 3   Countries – 4