Whole bus to ourselves (at first).

A kind porter pointed us in the direction of our hotel and the Bread 41 bakery.

Dropped bags off in room, then grabbed tea/coffee before the 1pm showing of Magic Play at Bewley’s Cafe Theatre. We were both thrilled to be in Ireland at last :)

Used Ellen’s euros for coffee 😊

Sitting on the balcony of Bewley’s after the show, listening to a street performer, was one of the most memorable moments.

Stopped in St. Teresa’s church to pray and light a candle for Mikey.

Irish Whiskey Museum! Loved the tour guide who told us about triple distilling in pot stills and about Irish self-depricating humor.

Ran back to hotel to change clothes before dinner 💕

St. Stephen’s Green

First Guinness of the trip! The wrong O’Donoghues 🙈

Then stopped by the Auld Dubliner and Oliver St. John Gogartys in Temple Bar. Neil loved the Green Spot and we heard Country Roads! I was crashing, so we bought a bottle of Bushmills Blackbush to take back to the hotel. The whiskey tasting glasses came in handy!

Best Irish coffee of the trip!

Stopped for lunch at Octopussy. Prawns pil pil, oysters, and enough brown bread to save as a snack!

Lots of spiders tucked away in the nettles. \240Stopped for a brown bread snack and Neil’s best nap in a bush alcove.

The heather was everywhere!

Grabbed a fabulous Guinness at O’Connells and talked about our new marriage! Then Neil tried fish and chips (and mushy peas!) from famous Beshoff Bros.

I wasn’t hungry, so we went to the SuperValu on the way home to grab veggies and dark chocolate. The small kitchenette came in handy at the hotel!

Finally made it to Glendalough. I nearly die on the drive from anxiety 😫 But Neil gets us there safely. Quick visit, but still get to see the church and crosses and a family of deer!

Quick dinner of salad and bread, then off to D…. to beat the sunset.

The B&B was a much-needed respite.

Couldn’t make it to Bru na Boinne, so went to Monasterboice and Old Mellifont Abbey instead.

Continued the drive to Donegal. Roads got much better in Northern Ireland and everything changed to mph! Lunch didn’t sit well 🤢 but made it safely to Clooney and Gortnamana.

Maureen treated us to just a nip of wine, veggies, and garlic bread with Jim and Hugh. Learned about Catherine (Neil’s grandma), Hugh (Jim and Hugh’s father), and Bridget (Maureen’s mom) Callaghan. Maureen showed off her William Morris furniture.

Got to stay in Jim’s house. Stars were beautiful ✨

Maureen called these ballerinas.

Mass at Massmount (St. Columba) across the bay. Visited the graves of many of Neil’s relatives, including his great grandparents.

Stopped at the Callaghan farm. Hugh collected the eggs and showed us photos and the house. Maureen cooked breakfast and wowed us with her poached eggs.

Zoom in… beaches, lighthouse, rocky coast, and islands in the distance.

View from Fanad Head

Jim took us to see Michael Gallagher (pronounced “Gallaher”) and the Gallagher farm where Johnny (Neil’s grandfather) grew up.

Stopped at St. Joesph’s church to pray.

Breakfast at Deli 19. Loved the tea set up. Sausage roll and poached eggs (found a new favorite).

After learning that it was a bad idea to walk Sky Road, attempted to walk Dxxx but got lost. Saw beautiful views of the town and our house from the other side. Met some horses. Neil found a shamrock.

Walk #2 was out to Clifden Castle. Sat on some rocks to meditate and chat 😊 Managed to find the castle and explore. A little tough walking home but we made it! 💕

Practically licked the bowl clean.

Lowrys Pub

Neil’s favorite Guinness of the whole trip.

Live music, but mostly contemporary. The white haired patrons were not thrilled, but the drunk college boots loved it.

Rainy day reading at EJ Kings with a Guinness, seafood chowder, and brown bread 🥰

Then stopped at the SuperValu for laundry detergent and 99% dark chocolate and reading on the couch 💕

The red shack is temporarily closed 😭 Dinner at Olivers instead, lobster and prawn Caesar salad.

Drove Sky Road (along Wild Atlantic Way) and I got super anxious. Sky cleared up a bit for the views.

Clifden Arts Festival begins! Started at McGraths with a father son music duo and a fire. Great for a rainy night.

Then to Lowrys again. Fun musician but I fell asleep 😴

Cooked breakfast, then headed to Connemara to hike Diamond Hill.

The clouds rolled in as we were hiking, so the landscape kept changing.

Neil especially loved the view from the top. I loved the view of the water. We also found some Connemara ponies and some marble to take home.

The ponies we met were in that field.

You can see the rain over the bay.

Kylemore Abbey in the distance!

The clouds kept rolling in!

Heather!

The Twelve Bens

More heather

Started with tea at the Garden Tea House with a view of the mountains and the ponies. 🫖⛰️

Connemara pony

View from the Garden Tea House

Stopped in the Gardens.

The Wedding Cake Tree 😂

Found a hidden bench to sit and read 📚The couple who donated the bench has also spent their honeymoon in Connemara

View from the bench

Quickly toured the Abbey / Castle.

Stopped to pray in the Gothic church.

The lake walk back was also beautiful.

Neil liked the pine tree.

Stopped for dinner at Veldons Seafarer Bar and Restaurant. Met Hugh O’Toole, a painter who had moved there from Dublin. He only paints the Diamond and the Twelve Bens. Shared the recommendation of Bog Road to see the Twelve Bens.

Tried to visit Bog Road on the way home. Ended up at the Alcock and Brown memorial trail (first transAtlantic flight?). Neil took us on a trek down a dirt road.

Rested at home with a bath (whiskey and dark chocolate is a great combo!!) 💕💕

Managed to get seats at Lowrys with another group. Same guy as the night before with Irish classics (Galway girl, Dirty Old Town, Beeswing, etc). Neil asked for Seven Drunken Nights and got the R rated version 😂😂

Late night drunks finished all the toast, read books, and played Zelda 🍻

Low tide in the bay

Lunch at Mannions with Irish BLTs (more like a ham sandwich) and shopping for gifts at Lowrys Gifts (first cousin of Lowrys Bar).

Cooked steaks and veggies from the butcher for dinner 🍽️ Neil even treated me and went out to buy Irish soda bread from Walsh’s bakery.

Finished most of the whiskey and the dark chocolate 💕

The yellow and purple flowers!

Met friends at Lowrys pub who bought us one too many drinks. Saw same singer for 3rd time. Our favorite seats.

Thank goodness for the soda bread and Zelda back home!

Found the real Bog Road… well worth it!

I understand Hugh’s painting now!

Tree tunnel!

Sheep!!!

Where I made Neil pull over earlier

Ferry to Aran Islands. Quick tea and rented bikes from a helpful guy. Wasn’t a great move. Our chains fell off multiple times 😬

Windy but beautiful views. Stopped at the Seal Colony and Dún Aonghasa. I refused to take pictures cause I was moody 😫

Got lost on the way to the Wormhole but a couple helped us out.

Raced back, I cried, and Neil fell off the bike. A Guinness and a sandwich on the way home made it much better.

Head out to the Quays (recommended by Amber in Dublin), which was hopping but a little overwhelming. People watch at Tigh Neachtain instead, then finish at Tig Chóilí with Irish music.

Loved every part of the breakfast. View of the river. Peppermint tea. French toast. Salmon florentine with poached eggs and boxty. My favorite breakfast in Ireland.

Took a slow morning with time to read in the room before checking out 📚 💕

Tea in the garden 🪴

Youngest stone cathedral in Europe. Built in 1960s.

And a mosaic of JFK 😂

Right across from our B&B on the river

Pedestrian bridge to cathedral

1. Galway City Museum 🏛️

Learned about the Irish Revolution and Civil War.

2. Much needed lunch at The Quay Kitchen, Neil got a whole lamb shank. 🍗

3. Charlie Byrnes books for more Irish history books. 📕

4. Stopped by Tigh Neachtain again for the last Guinness. 🍺

5. Spent most of the remaining cash on gifts… Found a sweater for Dad/Rob!

6. Walked past the Hall of Red Earl and the Spanish Arch.

7. Finished with a spice bag from Xi’an Street Food, which Neil ended up sharing with a homeless man. 🍟🥢

One more treat; a four poster bed!

The writing desks were fabulous too.

Packed up, then finished with peat whiskey and tea and a book in the drawing room downstairs. I almost fell asleep in the bath 🥹

Continental breakfast in the dining room

Outside the house

The view from the four poster bed this morning.