When you hear there is a bank holiday coming up, that is the time to jump on the opportunity. We grabbed a group of 15 and booked a place to stay, and traveled down to Galway.
Galway is on the west coast of Ireland, and full of culture and beautiful sights. Walking down the winding streets of the city with medieval-like cafes and pubs felt like I was on a movie set.
Our Saturday consisted of a 12-hour tour, from bus to ferry, to the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher. After getting past the motion sickness of the wobbly ferry, we arrived at one of the 3 islands that make up the Aran Islands, Inis Oirr (Inisheer). This lovely isle is made up of a population of 300, but allowed for a true look into traditional Irish life with a strong community of islanders.
The first thing I announced stepping off of the ferry is, “I want to live here one day… maybe just for a couple of months”.
Taking the tour of Inis Oirr on a horse carriage was a unique experience, and allowed us to see places that would have been far too long of a walk. We made a pit stop at the Plassey Shipwreck, a must see on this island, which has resided there since the 1960’s. Along with the shipwreck, was a world-famous food truck that sells “sausage in a bun”, which was so delicious that in my opinion, it is another necessity to try when visiting this island.
Lastly, the walking the terrain of the island was a sight in itself, with small limestone walls surrounding the fields, while cows and horses graze.
From there we jumped back onto the ferry to tour the Cliffs of Moher, which you can’t really live in Ireland for 8 weeks without seeing. The ferry took us around the Cliffs to view from the sea. It was raining and hazy, and it almost added the perfect setting while we surrounded the Cliffs. We were able to get off and walk up, and also walk up to the top of O’Brien’s Tower, a tower built by Cornelius O’Brien in 1835.
It is a bonus if you look at the picture frames that capture significant items from the Cliffs and the Tower that date back to many years ago. My favorite was a frame that held 2 rings, with a letter telling the story of someone whose grandma always wanted to visit the Cliffs, but passed away before getting the chance. She brought her grandparents’ wedding rings to the Cliffs so that she could finally go to her dream destination, and it was a sad but heartwarming story to read.
Galway and the Cliffs of Moher are incredible places to visit, with magical sights to see and great memories to make. If you have the chance to go, don’t think twice about it.
