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Today we left Killarney for Galway. I have previously been to Galway with Jason, Anne and Joe so I was looking forward to stopping at a place that was somewhat familiar to me. Along the way there, we stopped at the Cliffs of Mohr. The Cliffs are on the west coast of Ireland and are known for their magnificent views. I went along the path to the right and stopped at some of the same spots I had previously been to with Jason, Anne and Joe. It was so fun to see the lookouts again, but it made me miss them!
On the way to Galway we stopped at the Burren. The Burren is a span of landscape along the coast that has been formed from years of settlement of sea creatures on the ocean floor, which then turns to limestone. As the limestone was gradually exposed, it has formed cracks and crevices from the hot sun. There are a few hearty plants that can live in between the cracks. We stopped and I got some great photo ops, especially one of me planking.
That night we had dinner in Galway at Martines restaurant. After eating we went to a local pub called the Crane Bar. The Crane Bar has Irish music each night starting at 9:30 pm. They were amazing! So much fun to listen to. They had flutes, acoustic guitar, banjo, fiddles, and a bag-pipe type of instrument that you play with your elbow. This instrument is called a Uilleann and is very difficult to play. You have to squish the bag with your elbow to pump air into what looks like the body of an Irish flute (a reed) while your fingers are covering various holes to get the right pitches AND your opposite wrist is controlling a switch which allows you to play cords if you wish. And if you can believe it, this guy was also singing at the same time. The flute player in the band had family in Mankato and visited some 40 years ago. Such a small world.
I had Bulmer's to drink that night, which is an Irish hard cider you can buy on tap. It was so good and cheap for a pint. We had a fun group of people there watching the band play and I think we all had a great time.
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