21 Hours in a Castle!

Posted on September 23, 2024 by Pete Guiney

Saturday September 21

My last day in Galway was pretty quiet. I purposely didn’t have anything scheduled for this day, after a busy first two days in Galway. I spent a chunk of the day wandering around. I found my morning coffee spot in the Latin Quarter, as well as a bakery right down the street. It made it hard to choose just ONE morning breakfast treat.

Just look at these options from Truffle in Galway. I was introduced to Truffle on my Food Tour on Thursday with Galway Food Tours. I could not recommend Galway Food Tours enough. While on the tour, my guide also introduced me to Little Lane Coffee (See previous blog post). Here are a couple of morning treats that they offered up!

I obviously went with the Nutella Cronut, and more than a few people asked that I bring one home for them. (That’s not gonna happen) I also grabbed one of those raspberry croissants from Truffle, of course. I figured I would swing by Little Lane on Sunday morning to grab that Cinnamon Bun before I left the city. Much to my horror, this coffee shop didn’t open up until 10:30!! 😫. Can you imagine if Dunks or Starbucks didnt open up until 10:30 on a Sunday! There would be outright riots in the streets! I guess the folks of Galway like to sleep in on Sundays. Brings new meaning to ‘And on the seventh day…’

Sunday September 22nd

I Never Thought Driving Could be so Stressful!

I rented a car (and got taken to town on the price) for the next couple of days for my travels. I was legitimately having anxiety about driving on the other side of the road. To make things a tad easier, I rented a standard transmission car…at a significantly higher price!

Driving around the city was daunting. The roundabouts, downright traumatizing. It’s amazing how the brain reacts to something some fundamentally different than what it has been used to for 32+ years of driving. We’re just going the opposite direction. But have you ever tried brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand? Give it a shot. You’ll be there all night! I finally stopped sweating and got the hang of it out on the open road. I was taking a trip about an hour south for a night at best hotel I’ve ever stay at! (And for those of you that know me, you realize that those words have some real meaning!)

Dromoland Castle Hotel

Dromoland Castle Hotel is about 75 minutes south of Galway. As soon as you drive on the grounds, you quickly realize you are someplace special. My long time friend from Trinity College, Jonathan (Bama) Epstein is the Owner/Operator of a wonderful travel company called Celebrated Experiences. They focus on helping clients create unforgettable vacation experiences in the UK, and have recently expanded to Italy. He connected me with one of his Ireland experts and am I ever glad he did! She suggested early on that I spend a night a castle…specifically THIS castle. It would be a splurge, for sure, but well worth it! The property is absolutely stunning! Words will not do it justice, so I will try with pictures.

The hospitality here was OVER the top! Before I knew it, the bags were taken out of my car, and I had a cup of tea in front of me in one of the many luxurious ares to sit down for tea or a cocktail!

If you’re thinking to yourself…”Wow…that’s pretty fancy for a slug like Pete”…you’re not wrong. But was it special! I can see my mom sitting in one of those chairs for hours, reading her book, having several coffees, and a couple of cigs, when it was allowed to do so. She would have been in heaven.

And now…the room:

It was the best night sleep I had in a LONG time. In roughly 21 hours, I took three showers and a bath. I’ve never been cleaner! It is not lost on me, that I am way over my head here with this room and experience!

However the highlight of my quick stay there was my afternoon fishing on the pond on the grounds with one of the most interesting guys I have met in a long time!

Clem was an absolute GEM!! We spent close to three hours on that small row boat circling around the pond looking for the big catch. I had never fly-fished before and he gave me a master class in 2.5 minutes. I had a couple of nibbles, that I lost because of my inexperience…but then I finally hooked a couple after two hours of circling. It was such a pleasant afternoon out on the pond. Clem was a delight to chat with, and when I finally reeled one in…he was happier than I was! And for the record…I ended up catching TWO beautiful rainbow trout!

What a Great (quick) Stay!

My dad bought a boat for us down in Westport, a year after my mom passed. We didn’t know WTF we were doing. We had no idea how to fish…certainly no idea how to navigate. We had a ‘Perfect Storm’ experience trying to come back from Martha’s Vineyard one time. We didn’t really subscribe to the widely accepted practice of going out to catch the fish as the sun was coming up. We would usually be going out, when the real fishermen were coming in with a boat full of stripped bass! I don’t know if we EVER caught a fish of substance while on that boat.

The fun and exhilaration I had yesterday on that boat…was absolutely amazing! It was so serene out there, and I really enjoyed the conversation with Clem! Finally getting those two fish on the boat was SOOOO AMAZING! 🤩 I didn’t think that one of my priorities once I get back Stateside would be to learn how to fly fish…but here we are!

All in all, the Dromoland was a 10/10. I’m gonna start taking some extra shifts to start squirreling away a couple of bucks to book a longer stay next time!

Check back tomorrow to find out how I did on a horse named Peter! Until that time!

‘Oiche Mhaith’ – Goodnight 🇮🇪

One response to “21 Hours in a Castle!”

sharkexactly983831017c

September 23, 2024

Loving the pictures and your descriptive prose. I remember well learning to drive on the wrong side of the road when we lived in London. It got even hairier when we took our English car on the ferry to France – picture trying to pass a big truck on a small country road in France (they drive on the right side of the road like us) while driving an English car and not being able to see around the truck you’re passing. I still have nightmares about that experience!

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“Ireland is Magical”

Posted on September 21, 2024 by Pete Guiney

Friday Sept 29

My longtime friend from BC High, Jesse MacDonald, sent me a note after I posted a band playing in the street in Galway last night. That band was just one of the many experiences that confirmed the ‘Ireland is Magical’ theory with me. I have heard that theory many times over the years, but as Jesse continued ‘It doesn’t make sense to hear that until you’re there’, and I now subscribe to that notion ten times over. Yesterday was nothing short of BREATHTAKING for me. I booked a tour to check out The Aran Islands, The Cliffs of Moher and a quick stop for lunch in Doolin. I found the tour on http://www.viator.com…a site that offers up an array of fun tours and activities. I used them to book a horseback riding tour in Killarney in a couple of days. I recommend them highly.

Back to yesterday’s life changing experience. A couple of weeks ago, I put it out to the world on the Facebook that I was looking for suggestions for a solo trip to Ireland. One friend suggested I HAD to go to the Aran Islands; I had never heard of the Aran Islands, but I am glad he introduced me to it.

It was about a 90 minute bus right to get from Galway to just past Doolin, where we hopped on a ferry (not like a MV or Nantucket ferry: think Whale Watch boat) to go to Inisheer – the smallest of the three Aran Islands. The ferry ride took 15 minutes or so, and you get the treat of admiring the Cliffs of Moher from afar as we go. Once on the island, we had 90 minutes or so to explore. I elected to rent an e-bike to zip around the island and check things out. A couple of things about Inisheer:
• It is roughly 1.8 miles x 1.2 miles
• There are roughly 300 people that live on the island
• There is a school, a hotel, a pub, a runway and rock walls. LOTS of rock walls.

I was told that the rock walls were built up around the island because most of the land was cover with this stone, and the people living there needed to do something with the stone in order to cultivate the land. It is quite magnificent.

As soon as I got back to my hotel later that night, I found a video on YouTube that is a drone tour of the Island. I highly recommend watching this 2+ min video. It really gives a great view of this beautiful island.
ARAN ISLAND DRONE VIDEO TOUR

The Cliffs of Moher

Breathtaking is really the only word I can come up with to describe this truly magical spot. At over 800 feet tall at its highest point, it is hard to understand this natural wonder. The cliffs are truly majestic, and the pictures don’t do it justice. The sun was OUT yesterday, and it was BRIGHT! A brightness that maybe we aren’t used to in the States, due to fog and air pollution, but my sunglasses weren’t really helping with the piercing sun! Scenes from one of the Harry Potter movies was filmed here at the Cliffs. Finally, a couple that was sitting behind me on the bus got engaged on top of the cliffs! A day they will never forget, I’m sure. I didn’t get engaged up there yesterday, but it will be a day I don’t soon forget either!

The Galway Nightlife

I had heard all about the exciting Galway Nightlife all the way back in college when I was studying abroad in London. Friends gave me recommendations of pubs and restaurants that I need to check out, and the nightlife experience have lived up to all of my expectations. Everyone was just having a great time. There was this ‘joie de vivre’ in The Latin Quarter that I can’t remember experiencing anywhere else! No one was pissed off and angry like you see in Boston (for sure) and other places in the States. I ended up in one of the recommended pubs, Tig Coili…and it was exactly what I was looking to experience.

Tig Coili

The owners of this charming little pub in the heart of The Latin Quarter call it ‘a country pub, in the middle of the city.’ They have ‘Music Sessions’ on a nightly basis and it was everything that I had hoped to experience. These music sessions are basically just jame sessions. Musicians will just come in, without previously making plans to do so, and just sit in and jam with the other musicians that are already there. They set up shop in the ‘Nook’ in the front of the pub, and just play and play and play. It is absolutely brilliant. Check out the Tig Coili website HERE.

Funny story from the pub: I sat down next to a guy who was clearly a fellow American. His wife was back at the hotel and he was just enjoying a couple of pints out on the town. He and I started talking: He was from from Upstate New York and worked in marketing for years. He and I had played a bunch of the same golf courses, so there as an immediate connection. I told him I was from Boston. That’s it. His next question:

”Did you got to Trinity College?” (Hartford, not Dublin)

I told him I did. He then asked me if I knew Jay Monahan (The head of the PGA Tour) and Billy Hogan (The top guy for Liverpool Football Club). Mind officially blown! He told me he worked with both of those guys years ago when his company was a major sponsor for PGA Tour events. It is a SMALL world! My mom would have been tickled to hear that story! When I moved to Kentucky way back int he day, she said she was never worried that I would be lonely in a new place, because as she said ‘you’ll just meet someone over a beer somewhere, and you’ll be fine.’ And that is exactly what happened in Hopkinsville, and it happened again last night in Galway. Fun stuff!

Clearly the band wasn’t as impressed with me as I was with them!

Saturday’s Plan

No real plans in the books for today. Just going to wander around and see some sights. There is a Hurling match later this afternoon that I might go check out. There is a Pizza Place called The Dough Bros that apparently was named the 16th best pizza in THE WORLD! Between, Santarps, Regina’s and Papa Ginos (I’m being serious) in Boston, I will be the judge to see if this Dough Bros place is worthy of the 16th best pizza in the world. I will report back tomorrow!

Hey Galway! Nice to meet you!

Posted on September 20, 2024 by Pete Guiney

Thursday September 19th

I arrived in Shannon around 5:30 in the morning on Thursday. The flight itself was very nice, exceptional service from Aer Lingus. Being in Business Class certainly makes this a lot more comfortable. The flight itself was only six hours or so. I think you either have to try and sleep the whole time, or enjoy the food and movies…but it’s kind of tough to try and do both. After a bus ride to Galway, I was exhausted when I got to my hotel to drop off my bags. All I wanted was to take a quick nap, but my room would not be available until the afternoon. So I walked around this quaint city for several hours and sat down a couple of times for much needed caffeine. The city was bustling early, with students racing to class, and pubs opening up for what would be a busy day thanks to gorgeous weather! I had a food tour scheduled for 2:30 in the afternoon, so I was basically just trying to kill time.

The Food Tour: WOW!

I had some help planning this trip by a college friend of mine, Jonathan ‘Bamako’ Epstein, the owner of an amazing travel company called Celebrated Experiences, based out of Atlanta. I didn’t take advantage of all of their offerings, but they have already made a huge impact on my trip. They arranged for a private food tour of Galway and it was absolutely amazing! I would recommend Galway Food Tours to everyone! A lovely young woman guided me through 5 stops throughout the Latin Quarter and it was fantastic. From locally caught trout, to whiskey, coffee and ice cream, it was a great way to start the trip. Here is where we went:

Ruibin

McCambridges Market

I’m not a whiskey drinker, but they were pretty good. They also provided some local cheeses and meats, all of which were amazing. I learned that the Irish culinary scene is alive and well, and relatively new! Native Irish have spent time abroad then have come back to take what they have learned in their homeland.

Little Lane Coffee Company

Again, I am not a coffee drinker, but they had some great coffee. It is a wife & husband team that own the shop and they are REALLY passionate bout their coffee…going to great lengths to offer up beans that are far superior to their competitors at a similar price.

Ean

From the Gaelic word for bird, this Spanish inspired bakery, restaurant and restaurant is a cozy little spot with BIG flavors! They offered up two small dishes that I probably would not have ordered if I were there on my own. I can’t even describe one of the plates, but the second one was a taster that include an anchovie, an olive and a jalapeño pepper and WOW was there some flavor. Add in a great Spanish glass of wine, and this was a great stop on the tour.

Murphy’s Ice Cream

Murphy’s Ice Cream

Anyone that has had an ice cream with me, knows that I am pretty basic and usually order the same flavor from my all-time fave spot, The Ice Creamsmith. I tasted the Dingle Sea Salt and eventually had a scoop of the Fresh Irish Strawberry and they were both tremdous. Rest assured, I will be back there again to try out a couple other flavors! What flavor would you pick? (Answer below in Comments Section!)

Of course I had to grab a couple of pints on day 1, and they were as good as I imagined they would be! I stopped by The Kings Head pub on High Street. Apparently the Kings head is only 800 years old, so they know a thing or two about thirsty visitors. I reckon I will stop by for another pint before I leave on Sunday AM.

My Favorite Thing of the Day
(Really my 2nd favorite thing) The food tour was clearly the favorite part of my day on Thursday. I loved the bustle of the streets in the Latin Quarter. The sun was out, so people (and plenty of tourists) were sitting outside of the ubiquitous pubs in the city, having a coffee, a pint, a butt or all of the above. I was tickled by how many street musicians there were in the neighborhood. It seemed like there was someone playing the guitar every hundred yards (meters) or so. Young kids, old timers. They just added a really nice soundtrack to the hum of the busy streets.

Etc…

After a VERY long day…I called it a night early and hit the sack. It was a fantastic first day and have already fallen in love with this charming little city. Frida’s agenda includes a boat cruise to check out the Cliffs of Moher, the Aran Islands and lunch in the sea side town of Doolin. Stay Tune! Have a great Friday!

2 responses to “Hey Galway! Nice to meet you!”

kellydayroberts

September 20, 2024

Pete – You definitely have to go to The King’s Head for a pint on Sunday before you leave. They have an incredible (and very long-running) jazz session on Sundays.

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Tim Guiney

September 20, 2024

Sounds like a great introduction! There is no doubt that Irish cuisine has radically improved over the last 50 years or so with, as you say, a lot of European influence. I could go for the Dingle Sea Salt

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Pete's Wanderings of Ireland!