Galway and Cliffs of Moher

I was out of bed early for the drive from Dublin to Galway, a city in the middle of Ireland with a small museum and a lot of local stores to shop in and many pubs and restaurants offering authentic fish and chips. Which version of those fish and chips is made with real authenticity I can’t speak to, but I was in heaven when I found out that Ireland is apparently the best place to find cable knit sweaters (my favorite).

Walking through Galway’s city center is like walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans without the public drunkenness. Or maybe it is Bourbon Street meets the boardwalk by Manly Beach in Sydney. It has its own vibe to be certain, a shop ’til you drop line of stores offering everything from those cable knit sweaters to toys to chocolates. Mixed in, pubs. All offering Ireland’s most famous beer.

At one end of this city center, cultures meet and you can find food from India and Thailand and Mexico. Something for everyone. The people walking along speak so many languages it is often hard to pick up on which they are speaking. A couple of Irish troubadours sang and played their guitars adding local flavor to the melting pot of tourism. As a photographer, I always try to observe everything even if it is up. Always look up. You never know what you might find, like this bunny peering through binoculars.

Down one alleyway I stumbled across the St. Nicholas Collegiate Church. It was the exterior windows that drew me in. The window reflected the sunlight that came through a momentary crack in the cloud cover. Only for a moment.

Inside, the church had a brightly colored ceiling and yellow hued walls.

The church was built in 1320 and was dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra, patron saint of mariners.

If you caught my blog about Dublin from yesterday, you know how much I love stained glass windows and stone pillars.

After Galway, we made our way through Ireland’s farm country and hilly terrain during an afternoon where it rained off and on. Each day has been that way this far. Finally, we arrived at the Atlantic ocean on the other side of the island just as the clouds began to clear.

A sunny sky is great for traveling, but bad for taking photos when the sun is reflecting off of the ocean. I went with the flow, however, since locals say that many days are so misty this time of year that it makes seeing the cliffs difficult. I’ll take a sunny afternoon over that any day.

I did get some good shots when I did not have to shoot into the sun, so I am very thankful for that.

I suppose this view was worth spending most of the day on a bus. Tomorrow, I’m checking out the Ring of Kerry in southern Ireland. Looking forward to that adventure with my trusty camera.