From Galway to the Cliffs of Mohar

That Sunday we drove from Galway out to the Cliffs of Mohar. The drive was beautiful but a little disturbing, as the roads were the width of a country lane and we’re barreling along at 50mph. The roads were bordered by high hedges on each side, and Erin got frightened when a cow stuck its head through the hedge on her side as we were driving past.


We’d been told that everyone has to visit the Cliffs, and once we arrived we weren’t disappointed. Imagine it’s about 35 degrees out, the wind is about 60 mph, and you’re standing at the top of cliffs that are a sheer drop down to the wind-torn sea.

For fans of "The Princess Bride," these cliffs were actually used as the Cliffs of Despair in the movie!

Erin spent a lot of time trying not to be blown away. It’s an awe-inspiring place, and we had a clear day to enjoy it. You feel almost like you are at the edge of the world. You stand there and look down and you are 660 feet above the sea and it is a straight drop down. Unbelievably breathtaking! 

Our Second Trip in January: Galway, Ireland

Next we spent a Saturday in Galway, which is about 200 miles away on the west coast. Galway’s a college town that’s solidly middle-class, so good bars, clubs, and stores are scattered all over the place. By Irish standards it's a substantial city, but since it only has about 60,000 people, by American standards it's a smallish town. That was a blessing because it was easy to wander around.

It’s very historic with a medieval town layout and pubs that are a few hundred years old. It's the largest town where Gaelic is regularly spoken -- Gaelic is the original language of Ireland, and is similar to Breton and Welsh.

We listened to a traditional music session in a pub after spending a day putzing around, shopping and exploring.

We had a good time and look forward to going back in the summer to explore the area, which is very beautiful. We think it’s one of our favorite cities.



The harbour is full of swans. There were hundreds of them swimming around having a good time.

Our First Trip in January 2005: Bristol, England

Then we went to Bristol, on the southwest coast of England, to visit Ben, one of Brian’s old friends from graduate school. As you might expect, we had crummy weather – cold and snowy until the last day, when it cleared up. We spent the weekend wandering around pubs, sightseeing, and exploring Bristol, which is an old port city. It's clearly an interesting place and has a different vibe than other English cities.


We also horsed around a little. This photo is taken by the Clifden Suspension Bridge, which is one of the earliest suspension bridges still used for traffic. Ben thought Brian was going to throw him over the fence!