Galway, Ireland

9/12 Today I became familiar with Irish "T&T". It's tea and toilet. On our way to Galway we stopped at a whiskey distillery that was not yet open for the day 😯 It was once owned by Mr. Jameson himself. I also learned one could actually get decaf tea in Ireland! We got to know some of our tour mates that joined us that morning and most were quite nice.
Our next stop was an old monastery called Clonmacnoise. It was started in 545 AD by St. Ciaran. There were a lot of fabulously carved crosses to look at. There were also ruined that had "whispering arches" in the doorway. If one person faced the arch and whispered, the person on the opposite side could hear loud and clear! We also saw the supposed graveside of St. Ciaran, where people left coins. Not sure why, it wasnt supposed to bring good luck. The rain made the whole experience a bit mystical, but you exprct that of Ireland!
We stopped for lunch at a village on the river Shannon. Here I learned you don't get charged for gluten free food in Ireland! I had my first real sandwich in years! Next door there was a super old pub that had just reopened. The owner practically dragged us in and let us take pictures being the bar.
I've been to Galway before but took a bunch of day tours so I didn't really explore the city much. It's just as nice as I remember though, with even more character! There was a walking tour but the guide was very grumpy and walked too fast for many on the tour. Christy and I cut out and went to buy claddagh rings 😉Read more