Places I've Been/Things I Have Done

GALWAY:

I stayed at Barnacles Hostel - http://barnacles.ie. It is a great location, the staff is really friendly and very helpful, it also serves a small breakfast.

Pubs Visited: The Quays, Dáil Bar, The Front Door, Tig Cóilí - Of course we had a good time in each 

The first time I went we did a Free Walking Tour. It had a lot of information about the city and its history; it was about 2-3 hours.

The second time I went we did the Cliffs of Moher Tour. It was AMAZING!! This is the company we used - http://www.galwaytourcompany.com/gtc/daytours.jsp. It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been!

WESTPORT:

I stayed at the Boffin Lodge Guest House - http://www.boffinlodge.com. The staff was extremely helpful and friendly, the breakfast is great (you get to choose), and the rooms are really nice.

We climbed Mt. Croagh Patrick! Oh man, are you sore afterward. It is a great climb and has gorgeous views! It is a must do if you are going to Westport.

We didn't go out to any pubs because we were exhausted from the climb, especially since I fell at the bottom :(

So we are going to go back to have a proper night out :)

CASTLEBAR:

There is great shopping!!

I have gone out to Rocky's and Cox's pubs. We had a great time in each as well :)

They have a nice movie theater - it's different from the ones in the US, but still good.

TULLAMORE:

I stayed at Loughreys Hostel - http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland/county-offaly/tullamore/hotels/loughreys-hostel

There was a street "festival" going on so we walked through that and listened to some Irish music. It was great!

We walked to the Charleville Castle - http://charlevillecastle.ie. It is a long walk to it and long walk once you get on the grounds. It was closed when we were there for renovations but it is still a gorgeous castle.

DUBLIN:

I stayed at the Sandymount Hotel - http://www.sandymounthotel.ie. It is great! It has a restaurant and a bar, the staff is nice and helpful, the rooms are great!

We went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade!! It was absolutely amazing to be there in that environment on that day! It was a once in a lifetime experience!

Had a great night out in some pubs... can't remember the names :)

MORE COMING SOON!

INISHBOFIN:

I stayed at the Inishbofin Island Hostel - http://www.inishbofin-hostel.ie. The rooms are nice and the staff is helpful.

The island is AMAZING!!! Another one of the most beautiful places ever - we sat there just looking around us! Definitely going back again!

While we were there, the Inishbofin Arts Festival started - http://www.inishbofin.com/arts_festival.html.  There was a lot of good traditional Irish music playing in some pubs (we went to The Beach).

LIMERICK:

I stayed at the Courtbrack Accommodation Hostel - http://www.mic.ul.ie/Courtbrack . It was great - the staff was very friendly and the rooms were really nice for a hostel. It had a huge kitchen and a TV room!

We went to the Hunt Museum - http://www.huntmuseum.com - not gonna lie, I was disappointed with this place. The website made it seem like there would be a lot of interesting pieces in the exhibit, but unfortunately it was just okay. There were some impressive artifacts, but not enough to make me want to go back.

We then walked around Limerick city which is very nice. It is a big city (by Irish standards) and has a lot of great shops. We stopped at the Arthur's Quay Park and had lunch. It was really nice because it is right by the River Shannon and has a great courtyard. We then went to King John's Castle which is nearby, it is also very cool!

ADARE:

We just went to Adare for a couple hours - it is about 30 min. from Limerick. It is a really small town. We walked around to see the shops and stopped in Adare Park and relaxed for a couple hours as the weather was gorgeous! Adare Park has beautiful walks and pathways with a gazebo and beautiful nature all around.

BUNRATTY:

We went to Bunratty to see the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park - http://www.shannonheritage.com/Attractions/BunrattyCastleandFolkPark/. IT WAS AMAZING!!! It was honestly one of the best places I have been in Ireland. The castle has everything set up the same way it would have been when it was in use. The folk park has old, traditional Irish homes and set up as well. It is so exciting to walk around the park and see what it would have been like back in the day! A must-see if you travel to Ireland!

BELFAST:

We did a 3-day tour of Northern Ireland (Belfast, Derry, & Giant's Causeway) with PaddyWagon Tours - http://www.paddywagontours.com. The first day we went to Belfast. We did a Black Taxi Tour, where they showed us the Protestant Side, the Peace Wall, and the Catholic Side. We spent the night in Belfast and headed to the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge and Giant's Causeway the next day. The 2nd day we also went to Derry, where more of the conflict takes place. We spent the night there and headed back to Galway and Dublin the next day.