The Grain and Grape

We’ve been to Ireland a few times, but never to the Western side of the island. Over the years, we’ve visited Dublin, had a camper van adventure up North, and were at a wedding in County Wexford in the south. With a long holiday weekend, we headed to the west coast of Ireland, to spend 3 days in Galway.

We took a direct 2-hour flight from Stuttgart to Dublin on Thursday night, and then instead of renting a car, we opted for a new experience with a 2.5 hour bus ride across the country. A friend from our local, The Auld Rogue, told us about the CityLink bus, and it was so easy, and so affordable! The bus is a very nice, big touring bus, and runs every 30-60 minutes from Dublin Airport to Galway during the day. We slept a bit on the bus, and woke up in Galway shortly after midnight. Fantastic!

Wild Atlantic way

We scheduled a Kayaking experience for our first day in Galway, but that morning we woke up to terrible weather. Strong winds and torrential rain battered the Wild Atlantic Way, and our tour guide let us know we wouldn’t be able to go out on the river. Definitely a good call under the conditions. This looks like a great tour, taking you past castles, and we hope to be able to take it another time.

We ventured out to find a full Irish breakfast, thankful that Deelys Cafe was open at 07.30. In the rain and wind, we managed to walk around a bit, popping into a few shops for souvenirs and waterproof clothes and hats.

The beautiful Galway Cathedral has a center altar and lovely stained glass. We lit a candle and said some prayers, and then it was back out to the rain and cold. Circling back to our home base brought us through Nun’s Island, an island on the River Corrib with the best homes and gardens, backyards leading right to the water.

The rest of the day was spent admiring the inside of several Pubs and making new friends who were also taking shelter from the weather. The Latin Quarter is pedestrian-only and full of history, pubs, and really lovely shops. Thomas Dillon’s, the original Claddagh Ring shop, is fascinating to visit. They say that the craíc (fun) in the Latin Quarter is the best you’ll ever experience, and they may indeed be right.

Day Tour

Everyone raves about seeing the Cliffs of Moher, so we planned a full day tour to see them as well as a few other sights along the way. Our Lally’s tour guide Dion drove the bus as well as entertaining us all day with stories.

At the Cliffs, we caught a glimpse of the views for a few minutes between the mist and the fog rolling in and out.

Our tour group had lunch at O’Donohue’s country pub in Fanore, a small seaside village in County Clare. We fueled up with a delicious pub lunch of seafood chowder and Guinness beef stew before heading on to the next stop, Aillwee Cave. The cave is very cool to see, and the tour is quick, about 30 minutes long. Not everyone likes caves, and for those who preferred not to go in, there is a good gift shop, a farm shop, and picnic tables.

The tour also brought us to Burren National Park, a fascinating landscape with huge crashing waves spraying the rocks. And our last stop was at the picturesque Dunguaire Castle, not far from Galway. We don’t always love bus tours, but the whole day was fantastic. The landscapes, with constantly changing scenery and weather, were fantastic to see even from the bus window.

Exploring Galway

Since it was the weekend, we made reservations for dinner on Saturday. M. Fitzgerald’s Pub was packed, and there was a traditional (Trad) band playing Irish music. Many of the Galway pubs have the Trad playing most evenings. Some are sing-along places, and others are for the patrons to enjoy traditional music. All of them are good craíc.

A walk after dinner brought us across the river to the West End, a very nice neighborhood full of shops, pubs, and restaurants. John Keogh’s was bustling, with 80’s music playing in the background, a nice stop for a nightcap.

Our last day in Galway we saw Eyre Square, where John F Kennedy spoke to a large crowd in June 1963, and the Spanish Arch, part of the old town wall. Exploring further, we walked the causeway out to the lighthouse, and then along the coast to the village of Salthill. It was a cool and sunny day, and people were on the beaches, and even in swimming.

Micil Distillery is located at the back of a pub in Salthill. Aoife (pronounced Effie) led an excellent tour and tasting. Micil is a small-scale distillery, and it is interesting to see how much can be created and produced in such a small space. We tried 2 whiskeys and 1 poitin (moonshine), a fun experience.

Dinner on our last night was at Il Vicolo, a Sicilian restaurant in an old mill that we had seen advertised on Instagram. With candlelight, stone walls and a view of the water, the ambiance was fantastic and the food just as good. Freshly made pasta with lamb ragu and the catch of the day combined with olives, focaccia, and a nice red wine accompanied by live jazz music, set the scene for an outstanding evening. We chatted about our trip to Galway and all the future travels that we’re dreaming of.

One More Day

The next morning, we took the 0600 Citylink bus back to Dublin Airport for our flight home. We had a wonderful 3 days in Galway, and left wishing we had more time.

If we had one more day in Galway, there are two top things we would do. First, sign up for a tour of the Connemara area just north of Galway, full of wild landscapes. We love the Scottish Highlands so much, and wonder if this would be similar-but-different.

Second, to take a ferry to one of the Aran Islands. Inis Mor (Inishmore) is the largest, closest to Galway, gets the most visitors, and offers the most to see and do. Inis Oírr (Inisheer), is the smallest and furthest, and perhaps more intriguing to us. There are no cars on the island, it’s all walking and biking, and there’s a lot to see and do across a smaller space.

Until next time, Ireland.

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logistics

Flights	Eurowings direct STR – DUB
Bus	Citylink Bus, runs very regularly between Dublin Airport and Galway, be sure to book in advance!
Hotel in Galway	The Residence Hotel Right in the Latin Quarter, lovely staff, great room and location, a lot of noise from the street with windows open, but we slept through it all with earplugs.
Day Tour	A fantastic day out, booked through TripAdvisor, and run by Lally Tours. We saw the Cliffs of Moher, Aillwee Cave, Burren National Park, and Dunguaire Castle. Highly Recommend!
Kayaking	Give it a Go!
Favorite Pubs and Restaurants	Many wonderful pubs, pints of Guinness, and perfect Fish & Chips in The Latin Quarter; we especially liked The Bunch of Grapes and Taaffes Pub. John Keogh’s – a friendly pub in Galway’s West End. Il Vicolo – unique Sicilian restaurant, excellent food and setting in an old mill.
Open-Early Breakfast Cafes	Deely’s Cafe – open 0730-ish, lots of good breakfast choices, including the Full Irish Breakfast. Mocha Beans – opens at 0700, breakfast bagel sandwiches, porridge, and more.

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