Sligo & Galway: A Taste of the Local Life

(We've added these maps to all of our previous Ireland posts to help give you an idea of where we have been each day. Enjoy!)

This post is for July 2nd - Happy Birthday Alex!

A&J: We woke up and had an early breakfast at the Adtardman House and enjoy our last few looks around the magnificent house and property. Then we headed 20 minutes east into the town of Sligo. We spent some time wandering the streets and shops in the city center.

Almost every morning with our breakfast, our hosts serve coffee in a cute little metal teapot. Alison really wanted to take one home, so we stopped into a local kitchen store to buy one. Sligo is known for influences on traditional Irish music, so we headed across the street to a music store. We had a great conversation with the man who owns the store about Irish music and County Sligo. He looked to be in his mid 30's and had his adorable toddler son running around with a bag of animal crackers. We really enjoyed learning more about Irish music, and he even allowed us to listen to some tracks from two CD's before we purchased them. We are glad that we waited until we got to Sligo to buy some Irish music. We were able to purchase music from two groups based in Sligo from an authentic Irish music store, rather than a touristy gift shop in the larger cities.

From Sligo, we drove two hours south to Galway city. We got there around 1pm, so we spent a few hours exploring the city before checking into our B&B. Galway is known as a good place to shop because they have several pedestrian streets. We purchased a cute pair of boots and some cheap jewelry for Alison and then headed a few blocks over to St. Nicholas Cathedral. The cathedral was huge with all stained glass windows. The windows were amazing with their vibrant colors and detailed Biblical depictions. What was interesting, was several of the windows and other decorations had a bit of a modern touch, which we didn't expect from such a traditional looking Catholic church.

From the cathedral we headed back to our car and over to the Branches B&B in East Galway. We got terribly turned around after a few round-a-bouts and it took us an hour to find a B&B that is a 5-minute drive from the city. We reserved a last-minute room at this B&B and ended up with a tiny double room that they usually rent as a single. However, the owner, Mike was very understanding and gave us a reduced price. After settling in and updating the blog, we caught a bus into the city to grab a late dinner and listen to some music. We went to the King's Head Bar, but we too late for food service, but right on time for beer and the second half & overtime of the Uruguay/Ghana game. What a finish! Due to how late the game ran, we were not able to stay for the band that was setting up because we had to catch the last bus back to our B&B. After a wet ride home with some bus route confusion, we made it back get some sleep.


Thanks to everyone for your thoughtful messages and prayers. At our halfway point in this trip, we have enjoyed all of the ins and outs of Ireland and have been having a wonderful time together on our honeymoon. Please pray for our continued safety and for good weather tomorrow as we will be heading to the Aran Islands for the day and can only travel by bike.