catch up! What I did on my holidays
Sep. 15th, 2006 10:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ruthct21My holiday in August started in Discworld then Galway then Sweden.
Mick, Matt and I got a student flat in Galway for a few days (the University now being attended by Martin Sheen!) plus a cheap car rental. We flew over on Aer Arann which was basic, cheap and a lot less fussy than UK airlines.
Weather not brilliant but scenery and food even better than I remembered. Our first evening we ate in a town centre pub in Galway: amazing 19th century decor, florid pictures, extravagant lamps and dark polished wood. A good start.
Next day we explored County Clare which we found pretty bleak. Its main feature is "limestone pavements", flat slabs of limestone supporting thin soil and limited vegetation . Lots of ancient remains, super views on the coast and in the Burren.
Our first proper stop was at Paddy's Oyster Bar in a small village a few miles south of Galway. Oysters were delicious and v fresh as was the seafood salad I had to follow. Couldn't finish. The Guinness was, as I remembered, completely different from anything you drink in England. Coudn't get Matt to sample the Guinness but he did try the odd beer.
We headed for a set of caves, the Bear caves, and did the tour with a voluble guide. Usual fantastic tale about some farmer following his dog into the cave by chance and telling no-one until he needed some money and decided to sell the land..... Apparently there are remains of bears inside. Amazing caves, some very large, some quite low (Jonathan would have struggled!), lots of stalagmites and stalactites formed by the slow action of mildly acidic rain on the limestone, plus a high waterfall. Glad I overcame my claustrophobia sufficiently to go inside. Of course, we completed the tour with tea and cakes at the attached cafe, very nice too.
The next day was a bit brighter so we headed north to sample Connemara, which is much greener and has a jagged coast (to the Atlantic) with lots of inlets and consequent dramatic scenery, plus the chance to see seals, dolphins or even whales. We certainly saw seals, not sure about the rest.
We decided to visit Dan O'Hara's farm, which was advertised as being a restoration of a 19th century farmhouse and associated buildings with information about life at the time. It was worth a visit, lots of interesting items in the museum including original newspapers from major events e.g. the sinking of the Titanic and the start of the Irish uprising in 1916.
After our tour of the farm, we were treated to the account of 19th century life in the farmhouse, the unpleasant practices of nineteenth century landlords and the influence of the Irish diaspora (half the US Presidents so far!!??. Our host then turned to another matter of major significance - poteen or home-stilled whiskey. It was outlawed in 1691 or thereabouts and has flourished ever since. He produced a bottle of alleged poteen with a flourish and offered all present a glass, Matt included: apparently it was 83% proof having been distilled three times. It certainly tasted good.
We finished the day in Clifden, a small coastal town which is clearly occupied by the trendy: adverts for yoga and bellydancing classes plus a fair trade shop. Wandering down the high street, we spotted Foyles Hotel which Mick and I thought had had a mention in a Joyce novel. It seemed a very traditional hotel with a super menu of very expensive food....until Mick spotted a tiny notice at the bottom "early bird special, 5.30 to 6.30 pm, 3 course meal for 23.95 euros." Early birds we were and straight in.
Matt's starter was a plate of mussels, a large dinner plate mounded high. I had crab meat wrapped in smoked salmon. (I'd had some delicious smoked salmon at lunch time in a nice cafe by the internet cafe in Galway so it would have been greedy to have it twice) For the main, Mick and Matt each had half a duckling which was huge and tasty. I spotted scallops on the menu: they were excluded from the early bird deal but I could have them for 3 euros extra. I decided to push the boat out. The puddings were wonderful but we couldn't do them justice.
We drove back replete round the coastal road and got a few more photographs before it got dark.
For our final day we decided to take the boat to Inismore, the largest of the Aran islands, just a few miles off the coast. (You can also fly in a tiny plane which takes 8 minutes but costs a lot more). The boatride took 45 minutes and was very pleasant, wind in your face and a bit of sunshine.
We took a bus tour round the island with a local man who told us everything we could possibly want to know about the islands. They are Gaelic speaking, there's a college there for Irish people to come and brush up their Gaelic. Only 800 people live on Inismore and some of the smaller islands are now uninhabited. The same limestone pavements that we had seen on the mainland plus lots of dry-stone walls, some of them rather casually constructed. Digging out the stones is the only way to provide any land for cultivation and there's not much will grow.
We climbed up to the big hill fort at the top of the island which is at the top of sheer vertical cliffs. It's hard to see how anyone could have caught the occupants unawares! Amazing views but not for the faint-hearted.
Needless to say, we ate plentiful and delicious fish and shellfish, all caught locally and accompanied by a glass of Guinness, and dozed on the return journey.
We then spent barely a day at home before putting Matt on a train south and Mick and I heading for Sweden, which will have to be another story.
Mick, Matt and I got a student flat in Galway for a few days (the University now being attended by Martin Sheen!) plus a cheap car rental. We flew over on Aer Arann which was basic, cheap and a lot less fussy than UK airlines.
Weather not brilliant but scenery and food even better than I remembered. Our first evening we ate in a town centre pub in Galway: amazing 19th century decor, florid pictures, extravagant lamps and dark polished wood. A good start.
Next day we explored County Clare which we found pretty bleak. Its main feature is "limestone pavements", flat slabs of limestone supporting thin soil and limited vegetation . Lots of ancient remains, super views on the coast and in the Burren.
Our first proper stop was at Paddy's Oyster Bar in a small village a few miles south of Galway. Oysters were delicious and v fresh as was the seafood salad I had to follow. Couldn't finish. The Guinness was, as I remembered, completely different from anything you drink in England. Coudn't get Matt to sample the Guinness but he did try the odd beer.
We headed for a set of caves, the Bear caves, and did the tour with a voluble guide. Usual fantastic tale about some farmer following his dog into the cave by chance and telling no-one until he needed some money and decided to sell the land..... Apparently there are remains of bears inside. Amazing caves, some very large, some quite low (Jonathan would have struggled!), lots of stalagmites and stalactites formed by the slow action of mildly acidic rain on the limestone, plus a high waterfall. Glad I overcame my claustrophobia sufficiently to go inside. Of course, we completed the tour with tea and cakes at the attached cafe, very nice too.
The next day was a bit brighter so we headed north to sample Connemara, which is much greener and has a jagged coast (to the Atlantic) with lots of inlets and consequent dramatic scenery, plus the chance to see seals, dolphins or even whales. We certainly saw seals, not sure about the rest.
We decided to visit Dan O'Hara's farm, which was advertised as being a restoration of a 19th century farmhouse and associated buildings with information about life at the time. It was worth a visit, lots of interesting items in the museum including original newspapers from major events e.g. the sinking of the Titanic and the start of the Irish uprising in 1916.
After our tour of the farm, we were treated to the account of 19th century life in the farmhouse, the unpleasant practices of nineteenth century landlords and the influence of the Irish diaspora (half the US Presidents so far!!??. Our host then turned to another matter of major significance - poteen or home-stilled whiskey. It was outlawed in 1691 or thereabouts and has flourished ever since. He produced a bottle of alleged poteen with a flourish and offered all present a glass, Matt included: apparently it was 83% proof having been distilled three times. It certainly tasted good.
We finished the day in Clifden, a small coastal town which is clearly occupied by the trendy: adverts for yoga and bellydancing classes plus a fair trade shop. Wandering down the high street, we spotted Foyles Hotel which Mick and I thought had had a mention in a Joyce novel. It seemed a very traditional hotel with a super menu of very expensive food....until Mick spotted a tiny notice at the bottom "early bird special, 5.30 to 6.30 pm, 3 course meal for 23.95 euros." Early birds we were and straight in.
Matt's starter was a plate of mussels, a large dinner plate mounded high. I had crab meat wrapped in smoked salmon. (I'd had some delicious smoked salmon at lunch time in a nice cafe by the internet cafe in Galway so it would have been greedy to have it twice) For the main, Mick and Matt each had half a duckling which was huge and tasty. I spotted scallops on the menu: they were excluded from the early bird deal but I could have them for 3 euros extra. I decided to push the boat out. The puddings were wonderful but we couldn't do them justice.
We drove back replete round the coastal road and got a few more photographs before it got dark.
For our final day we decided to take the boat to Inismore, the largest of the Aran islands, just a few miles off the coast. (You can also fly in a tiny plane which takes 8 minutes but costs a lot more). The boatride took 45 minutes and was very pleasant, wind in your face and a bit of sunshine.
We took a bus tour round the island with a local man who told us everything we could possibly want to know about the islands. They are Gaelic speaking, there's a college there for Irish people to come and brush up their Gaelic. Only 800 people live on Inismore and some of the smaller islands are now uninhabited. The same limestone pavements that we had seen on the mainland plus lots of dry-stone walls, some of them rather casually constructed. Digging out the stones is the only way to provide any land for cultivation and there's not much will grow.
We climbed up to the big hill fort at the top of the island which is at the top of sheer vertical cliffs. It's hard to see how anyone could have caught the occupants unawares! Amazing views but not for the faint-hearted.
Needless to say, we ate plentiful and delicious fish and shellfish, all caught locally and accompanied by a glass of Guinness, and dozed on the return journey.
We then spent barely a day at home before putting Matt on a train south and Mick and I heading for Sweden, which will have to be another story.
