June 19th Feast, famine, feast

Today our group drove through the Connemara area, beginning at Galway.  We first stopped at Cong, the town/abbey close to Ashford Castle.  This castle has been renovated by the Guiness family, and now operates as a posh hotel.  In the Cong area we visited the monk's fishing hut, a stone hut built over the river, and walked through the ruined abbey.  At St. Mary's church next door, we saw more of Harry Clark's outstanding stained glass windows.
Traveling on, we saw Croagh (Mount) Patrick where St. Patrick fasted for 40 days during Lent, and afterward drove the snakes from Ireland.  Since there were never any snakes in Ireland, the snake is seen as representative of the devil.
Our group stopped at Aasleagh Falls to check on the salmon run (none yet).  We traveled on to view the memorial for people who died during the Potato Famine. We also saw the Coffin Ship sculpture commemorating the thousands who left Ireland during the famine to find food and work in the New World.
Bud and I had lots of time to explore the town of Westport, and to have some seafood chowder at one of the local pubs.  We have a long ride on the bus tomorrow, so need to sign off.

June 18th Walk in the mist and big band sound

Our tour group took the bus from Galway to Rossaveel, where we boarded a ferry to travel to Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands.  There we took a small van to Dun Aenghus, the stone fortress at the end of the island that hangs off the cliff 300 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.  It was a long hike through the Burren-like rocks to the top of the hill, but the view was worth it!  We took a side tour to see the chevaux-de-frise (Frisian horses) - stones placed on end as a barrier to protect the fort from warriors attacking on horseback.
The mini-bus also stopped at Seven Churches - a cluster of monastic houses and tiny chapels.  We enjoyed seeing the pony carts taking tourists close to the fort.  After our hike, we stopped at Dun Aungusa Knitwear to visit Sarah Flaherty's shop.  Sarah makes everything in her shop. I was pleased to find a pair of fingerless gloves that she knitted in beautiful Aran wool.
We returned to Galway in the afternoon in time to take a walk, shop and go to dinner at Busker Browne's restaurant.  We ate in a quieter area while we watched the Euro 2012 soccer tournament.  Later, we heard a "big band" group playing '50's jazz.  Not Irish, but great fun!

June 17th Moher Cliffs and Rocks

We left Dingle and went to Tarbert, where we took the ferry over the Shannon River.  Our group soon arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, the site of scenes from the Princess Bride and one of the Harry Potter movies.  It's a wild and beautiful spot with an interesting shop and restaurant built into the headland.

Cliffs of Moher

Our group stopped next at the Burren to tour the area with our local guide, Mary.  We viewed fossils, plants and limestone rock formations.

Glaciers ground the land down to the bed rock.

The landscape was like this in all directions of this area.

We drove around Galway Bay to the city to spend two nights.  Our group took a walking tour of Galway, stopping at Eyre Square, Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas, Lynch's Castle, Spanish Arch, and River Corrib.

After dinner, Bud and I walked along the river to see the men fishing close to the Cathedral of St. Nicholas.