Today we left the driving to a professional, and I’m so glad we did! Lots of the interesting, twisty Irish roads.

We used the same tour company as yesterday, so we saw many of the same sights as we headed out of Galway. On this tour, the driver provided live narration instead of a taped commentary. He certainly had a point of view (anti-British of course). I’m not certain his facts were 100% correct, but he was entertaining and I enjoyed hearing about his family and their decision to raise the children in the area so they could learn Gaelic. There is a concerted effort in the West of Ireland to bring back the language.

Prior to joining the tour, we had a great breakfast at a small cafe on Eyre Square. My vegetarian quiche was delicious.

The tour meeting point was at a very nice hotel. I slipped in to use the toilets (as they say in Ireland), based on what I saw, I’d be happy to stay here on another trip!

Today was all about the stunning scenery of the Connemara region. We saw mountains, bogs, the only fjord in the Republic of Ireland, mussel farms, sheep, peat being dried, and a lovely castle-now-an-abbey. Driving back to Galway, we could see the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher across the bay. That will be Thursday’s adventure.

Once back in Galway, we stopped at Taaffe’s Bar for live traditional Irish music. It was pretty crowded, so we couldn’t hear much. After a bit, we walked through Latin Quarter and landed back at the Quay’s Bar and Restaurant. They also had live music — this performer was a guitar player, covering American classics from the Eagles to Ben E. King. We have noted that many of the restaurants play American music, especially from the 50s-70s. We asked a waiter about it, and he thinks it may be what the customers want. He did acknowledge that this summer’s playlist is the same as last year’s and he’s already tuned it out.

Tomorrow, we are heading to Ashford Castle for a falconery experience! I’ve never done anything like this before.