Yesterday, we rented a car in Galway. It was Jake's first time driving on the left side of road (but not too far left) and the rent-a-car guy basically gave him a pop quiz before he'd give him the key. "If you're in a roundabout, and don't know where you're going, what do you do? No, stay in it." "What's the Capitol of Ireland? ... That's right, Dublin. All roads lead to Dublin. That's how you'll get out of Galway; follow the signs for Dublin."
We did make it out of Galway and our first stop was Dunguaire Castle, a place Jake had ridden past before on the bus when he was in Ireland 6 years ago. Legend tells that if a couple walks clockwise three times around the castle, it will bring their marriage good luck. Here's us after our final pass.
The whole drive was just gorgeous. One area we drove through is called the Burren. It's called "the largest rock garden in the world" and it's almost completely limestone.
Despite this, flowers and grasses still manage to grow and find the sunlight.
Our big stop for the day was at the Cliffs of Moher (the Cliffs of Insanity!).
We ended up hiking from one end to the other and back again. See the tiny tower at the far right in the previous photo.
That's what it looks like up close! It took us about an hour and a half to go out, and an hour to come back. We got over 17,000 steps in that hike alone!
After the cliffs, we continued south and took the ferry in a car for the first time. It saved us a toll (Jake is morally opposed to tolls) and probably a half hour. And we didn't have to drive! The ferry took us into County Kerry, where the roads are much wider (read: the size of normal roads in America). We finally arrived at our stay for the night, Ballyseede Castle.
