Into the West

Galway, Connemara and the Pullman Restaurant

Friday 3^rd October 2008

Today is my birthday. Ray was bringing me down the west for my birthday treat. Was working today so got on the road quite late but the trip down didn’t take too long. I like driving to Galway. Prefer driving down in the day time but it was dusk before we got on the road. It didn’t take us long to find out accommodation. We stayed in the Abbeyview B & B which is in Busypark opposite the Glenlo Abbey Hotel. We were going for dinner the following night in the Pullman Restaurant so didn’t want to stay too far away from it.

We pulled up outside the B & B at about ten o’clock. The B & B was lovely. I would stay there again. We walked across to the Glenlo Abbey Hotel to have a drink before going to sleep.

The hotel is gorgeous. It’s the only five star hotel in Galway and looks fabulous. The grounds were lit up as we made our way over to the bar. We didn’t go into the main part of the hotel but walked around the back. We saw the Pullman Restaurant come into view and had a quick look. It all looks fairly amazing and magic in the night lights.

After a couple of drinks at the bar by a very dedicated barman and a quick chat to him about Hitchcock we went back and crashed out in our B & B.

Saturday 4^th October 2008.

We woke up early to lashing rain. We didn’t expect anything else. It still was not going to take away from our weekend. Ray was awake a lot earlier than me as a bunch of American tourists had been up at the crack of dawn having breakfast and since B & B’s are houses he could hear every word and kept him awake for ages. This is the drawback of a B&B. I had earplugs so slept ok. Should have brought some spare. After a big B & B breakfast we took off. We drove from Galway to Headford and then up to Cong Village and Abbey. Just before we got to Cong Village we came upon Ashford Castle. We drove through the main entrance and the driveway alone must have been a mile long. The view was fabulous (even in the rain). We came to a visitor car park and parked the car. There was a bridge to cross before you can enter the castle. A few photos were taken. There is a sign before you go into the hotel that says “Resident’s only”. Ignoring the sign we walked in and had a look around the castle. The lobby was richly decorated and complete with chess board and chairs ready for a game. We were going to have some hot chocolate but decided to leave it and get some lunch later in the village. The views from the castle out onto the lakes are gorgeous and the castle comes complete with boat to bring guests around the water. Its all very fairytale like and on a summer’s day this place would be buzzing. We left there and went to the village of Cong. This is where the quiet man was made and this is their main form of tourism. There is a quiet man everything down here. Quiet man pub, coffee shop, house, tour. They fairly milk it considering how long ago the film was made. We saw the house and were wondering what the tour was about but it was over for the day and wouldn’t be on until the following day. Ah well. We were walking around the village and got an amazing smell of turf. We came upon a small restaurant with a small sign outside and “DJ Eamo” was threatening to play that night. We went in and got some food. Honestly the food was gorgeous and very unexpected for a tiny place in the middle of nowhere. Ray couldn’t resist a dessert and I couldn’t resist an Irish coffee. Both were top notch. I don’t remember the name of the restaurant but would go there again if I was ever in the village of Cong. It’s a small town village with a small town attitude (after living in Tralee, I totally get it). The people are hardworking folk and tourism is a big income for people in the village. I liked it and would eat in the small restaurant rather than Ashford Castle if I was ever in that part of the world again. We didn’t visit the Abbey though but saw the outside. Ray stuck his head in. It was actually more of a ruin and in the rain we weren’t that bothered to run around. After the village of Cong we went to try to find the Glebe Stone Circle. It dated from the Neolithic Period and supposed to be part of the Fairy folk world. We were driving around trying to find it and actually passed by it twice. After a slow reverse down a very dodgy lane we parked and got out in the pouring rain. Spying a small sign “Glene Stone Circle” we made our way up to it. We had to climb over a wall into what was private property by the looks of it. Shuffling our way through grass, mud and cows we came upon the magic circle. I don’t care what anyone says and if you believe if folklore or magic or not, this place has an aura about and its very peaceful. Driving along we decided to head to Kylemore Abbey. We had great fun trying to get to this place. We drove by Cong Woods, Lough Nafooey, Leenane, which is a small village located beside Killary Harbour, Ireland’s only fjord and location for the movie “The Field” and is home to dolphins and mussel farms, and eventually came upon the Abbey. We went totally off the beaten track, through Joyce country, and at one stage got a little lost and had to backtrack to a small shop to ask for directions. I love getting in the car and driving around and trying to work out where we are with a map. The west of Ireland is fabulous, even in this weather it was gorgeous and this was when we were seeing it at its worst. We could imagine the gorgeous sunshine and when the countryside was at its best. There are sheep everywhere here and had to be cautious in case one of them ended up under the car. After our little detour we came upon Kylemore Abbey. Honestly I have never been as gobsmacked looking at a building coming into view as I was today. Its apparently Ireland’s most romantic building built in the late 19^th century is the Monastic home of the Benedictine Order of Nuns. There is a neo-gothic church and also and a Victoria walled garden. We were too late for the gardens but we had half an hour to check out the part of the Abbey that was open for tourism. They only have a tiny section open for public tourism, the rest is off limits. It is or was a boarding school and wow, would I have loved to have gone to school there. It too, overlooks water and it’s a building very much like I would imagine Hogwart’s to look like. There is a small café and tourist shop selling the usual Irish goodies and I love these shops. Yeah they are touristy and gimmicky but so am I. After our trip to Kylemore Abbey, we decided to make our way back to Galway as we had a dinner reservation for 7pm. On our way back, we rang ahead to make our booking for 8pm as we were about an hour and a half drive away from Galway. This included a drive through the Inagh Valley. Home of fairies and goblins, the romantic valley of Connemara had views of peatlands, the Twelve Ben Mountains and apparently full of Irish folklore and local legends. After reaching our B&B and cleaning ourselves up we headed over to the Pullman Restaurant. The Pullman Restaurant is gorgeous. Its an actual carriage off the old Orient Express. There are two carriages. They were also used in Winston Churchill’s funeral and also the carriages used in the film “Murder on the Orient Express”. The whole set up is very cute. The carriages are set up exactly the way they would have been back in the day. There is a small sound system making train noises and every so often the sound of train whistle can be heard. Its brilliant. There is jazz music playing very low with very attentive waiters, full wine list (including kir royals) and a gorgeous menu. I thought the food was lovely, Ray wasn’t too mad about his. The ambience is what your paying for though and would recommend it. Afterward we were tired after our day’s running around and we were going to try a tiny pub up the road or for convenience sake pop into the hotel bar and have a nightcap. We decided on the hotel as we probably would have stayed in the little pub till all hours. It looked like one of those dangerous pubs that the craic would be good and you wouldn’t be able to leave. Think we were asleep before our heads hit the pillow.

Sunday 5^th October 2008

Woke up this morning and the sun had come out to say hello. At breakfast we were told that tourism didn’t happen yesterday because of the rain and everyone who had stayed there with her had spent the day indoors. What a waste! So it wasn’t the best day but you have to adapt. We had a great day yesterday, saw loads of sights and then were rewarded with a gorgeous day today for our activities. Today we headed down to Spiddal. Ray had never been there before. I had been a couple of times and it’s a gorgeous part of the world. We stopped on the pier. I was freezing so Ray, being the gentleman that he is, gave me his coat and I looked hilarious. We sat on the pier looking at the water enjoying the sunshine for what seemed like ages. Afterwards walked around the little village of Spiddal. Ray brought me for lunch in ***. Great seafood restaurant. Its very small town, very cute, very country. Food was great, people were like something out of a story. Very stereotypical villages having their Sunday pints. Then drove out to what is like a craft market. We went into a music shop and got a CD of Irish music. Unfortunately the rest of the craft shops, bar one or two, were closed and I remembered last time I was here was on a Sunday too and the shops were closed. I love Spiddal. Everything is written in Irish and there are some parts here with Irish is freely spoken. I heard a conversation last time I was in the craft shop with a girl who was speaking very school Irish to a local who only spoke fluent Gaeilge. It was lovely to hear and sad that it is such a dying language. From Galway we were driving back to Dublin and we went through Athenry. It’s a little medieval town and we stopped to have a look at their castle. The castle was very small and cute and we were the only tourists there that day. There was wooden stairs that bring you to the entrance and we were shown a short film about the castle, why it was built and the history of Athenry. It was very interesting. Afterwards Ray went in to make a bet in the bookies and then we went on our way back to Dublin.

p.s. We found out a few days later that Ray won over 300.00 on the bet he made in the bookies so we plan to hit Lisdoonvarna in a few weeks. Watch this space.