lunes, 15 de septiembre de 2008

IRELAND: GALWAY AND THE ARAN ISLANDS

I have great memories of the days I spent in Ireland in 2008. The landscapes are wild and fascinating, people is really nice and kind and the towns we visited were charming. I strongle recommend this beautiful island to spend some lovely days.

Landscape of Ireland near Galway
From Galway Airport to our Bed and Breakfast in Galway we could begin to see, from the window of our coach, landscapes of Ireland like this one

Interesting places I visited in Ireland
  1. Galway
  2. The Aran Islands (Impressive cliffs)
  3. Connemara National Park
  4. Cliffs of Moher
  5. Bunratty Castle
  6. Rock of Cashel
  7. Kilkenny Castle
  8. In Dublin:
  • Guinness Storehouse
  • Temple Bar
  • Trinity College
  • Dublin Castle
  • St Patrick's Cathedral
  • O'Connell Street


Friday, 22 August 2008

Galway


Galway in Ireland
After doing the check-in in our Bed and Breakfast we returned to the city centre of Galway to go for a pleasant walk. Before we arrived to the centre, we saw this small green area beside this river. We stopped there to take some pictures

Galway in Ireland
From the same point of the previous photo, but this time looking at the sea, we took this panoramic image, where the Spanish Arch can be seen on the left

Galway in Ireland
Here is me walking along the Shop Street in Galway. That afternoon there were a lot of people in the streets, so Galway was really lively


Collegiate Church of Saint Nicholas in Galway
The Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas is the largest medieval parish church in Ireland. Founded in 1320, this Church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of seafarers

Cathedral of Galway in Ireland
Galway Cathedral is the last stone cathedral of its kind constructed in western Europe. As it was built with stone, this cathedral looks quite sturdy

Cathedral of Galway in Ireland
Another view of the Galway Cathedral. Built in the Renaissance style, the money for the Cathedral was raised by the locals who purchased and donated each stone one by one
Eyre Square in Galway
Eyre Square is a small park rather than a square and the ideal place to meet friends or to spend a pleasant time with children


Saturday, 23 August 2008

Galway - The Aran Islands


View from Dún Arann Lighthouse in Aran Islands in IrelandThis is the view from Dún Arann Lighthouse and Signal Tower, located on the highest point of the island. We had rent a bike but the slope of the track was so steep that we had to walk up
Aran Islands in Ireland
Another view from the same point, but now to the left. This is the east coast of the island. The stone lines which can be seen in this image and in the previous one were the limits of the property of each family


Dún Arann Lighthouse in Aran Islands
This is the Dún Arann Lighthouse and Signal Tower in Aran Islands



Aran Islands in IrelandHere is me with my bike jeje :) Then I think we were already absolutely wet because of the rain. It had been raining since we had rent our bikes 

Cliffs in the Aran Islands
Spectacular cliffs in the Aran Islands. There is no fence or wall which forbids somebody to approach up to the edge, how the man in the image has done. Although it can't be seen, here it's the Dún Aonghasa too, which is the most spectacular semi Circular Celtic Stone fort in Europe



Aran Islands in IrelandUnfortunately the weather was absolutely bad. It was raining and foggy. With this weather we had to go down for twenty minutes up to we were required to leave our bikes. Obviously we had went as far as our bikes completely wet

Aran Islands in Ireland
After riding for a while we reached this place in the east coast of the island. This location is ideal for a family picnic provided that the weather was good


Aran Islands in IrelandIn the same place of the previous image, seals are clearly visible at low tide. This was our last stop. From here we rode up to pier and, after 45 min of ferry and 45 min more of coach, always wet, we reached our Break and breakfast for a hot shower :)


After this rainy day in the Aran Islands, the next day we would visit the beautiful Connemara National Park.

Finally, clicking on the next links you can come back to the other posts about this trip in Ireland:




These are the Bed and Breakfast and Hotels I booked in Ireland:

- Galway

Anach Cuain Bed and Breakfast
102 Father Griffin Road, 
Galway
Phone: 00353 91 588760
Mobile: 00353 86 1733407
Email: anachcuain@gmail.com



- Limerick
Jurys Inn Limerick
Lower Mallow Street, Limerick
Phone (+353 61) 207000
Fax (+353 61) 400 966


- Kilkenny

Banvilles Bed and Breakfast

49, Walkin Street, Kilkenny

Phone: 056 777 0182


- Dublin
Ripley Court Hotel

37, Talbot Street, Dublin

Phone: +353 1 836 58 92

Fax: +353 1 856 11 82




Finally other great cities and countries I have visited are: