Day 5 - Galway, Ireland

Today was a non-driving day, very excited!  We spent the day exploring the city centre of Galway.  Galway is a beautiful city, dating back 800 years.  "Galway" means stony river referring to its position to River Corrib.  Galway is also referred to as the 'City of the Tribes.'

We spent the early morning/afternoon walking down Quay Street and the Latin Quarter of Galway.  The streets are lined with shops selling Irish wool and ceramics, pubs, and restaurants.  We stopped for pastry and coffee at Griffin's Bakery, which is very cute bakery just off Quay street.  The bakery is 135 years old  and serves a variety of breakfast pastries, breads, and sausage rolls.   The history is quite facinating, check it out:  http://www.griffinsbakery.com/history.php  

During the later part of the day, we boarded the Corrib princess, which departs from Woodquay for a leisurely Scenic 90 minute cruise on Lough Corrib, the second largest lake in Ireland.  This lake covers 100 square miles.  Known as one of the cleanest lakes in all of Western Europe there are a lot of fisherman interested in catching Trout, Pike and Perch here.  Lough Corrib is connected to Galway City by the River Corrib which flows into the sea at the Eglington canal. This canal was opened in 1848 and this made it possible to sail all the way from Galway Bay up the river Corrib.  In 1954 the canal was closed and the remaining steel bridges were replaced by permanent ones.  The cruise boasts fantastic scenery and an abundance of wildlife. On the east bank you have Menlo Castle. The Castle was originally built as a house by the Coleman family in the 1500's and was taken over by the Blakes in the 1600’s.  There were many historical sites.  In fact, Lough Corrib is said to be one of the largest Archaelogical sites in Galway.  Among the sites, you will also notice the "Mute Swans."  They were originally introduced into Ireland as source of food in the 13th century, but of course it is now illegal to kill them! 

After the cruise we walked back to the hotel and relaxed before heading to Martine's Restaurant.  A small restaurant located off Quay street, boasts beautiful 35 aged steaks and a wide variety of wines.  To be honest, living in Chicago has spoiled us, so while the food was good, the winning part of this trip was the atmosphere.  In a small little room, we enjoyed dinner by candlelite and irish lace pillows. 

We finished the night at Daile Pub, listneing to Tom Petty and U2, while drinking a few Guinness!  From what we were told, Guinness helps you sleep! 

Till tomorrow,
XOXO
J&J