Leaving Galway was tough on us. We only briefly walked through the city and could only do so much. The weather was perfect and the city gave off such a warm feeling. We ate a good breakfast and then cleaned the apartment a bit. When you rent the Airbnbs it's a good idea to leave the place in good shape. We write reviews about them, but they also write reviews about us. It would stink to be on the blacklist and not be able to rent whatever house or apartment you want.
Remember that construction site we mentioned yesterday in the view from the porch? Well, since it was Monday, the workers got to work nice and early. We were awakened by industrial jack hammers ripping an old foundation apart at 7:30AM. There is nothing like hearing the cacophony of a 100+ year old foundation being dismantled and hauled off. We were so happy that Saturday and Sunday were peaceful.
Katherine doing the final "load up."
The morning sunlight making its way into the apartment.
Driving from the far west coast in Galway to the far east coast in Dublin only takes two hours and fifteen minutes. So, we decided to stop in the city of Athlone. I know Athlone by a folk dance we teach our students at school. The song is The Bridge of Athlone and I needed to see the bridge in person. It's about halfway to Dublin which makes it a great place to stop for lunch. We also found out that in the center is a pub named Sean's Bar. The Guinness Book of World Records lists it as the oldest bar/pub in the world dating back to the 900's!
Parking was a little fun as well. The town center was full of cars and we directed ourselves to a lot nearby. We parked in the underground deck that had a mall just above it. While walking out, our GPS signals were distracted and not making good contact. I was staring at mine trying to get another app to work. Just then, a local man stopped to see if I needed help. I told him I was good and we had things together. He pleasantly just asked where we were going and I said, "We wanted to see the beautiful bridge." He then directed us how to get there on a walking path and wished us a great day. How nice!
The Bridge of Athlone with St. Peter and St. Pauls church on the right.
We stopped to feel the magical powers of the bridge.
The church with Athlone Castle on the right from around the year 1210.
We found it! Sean's Bar from around the year 900. They had portions of the original wall on the inside on display, but the coins that were found buried in the construction are on display in a Dublin museum. Talk about ancient!
We had a quick sip in Sean's Bar with a total history lesson by the manager. He had been to Tampa and is coming back in a few months to talk to distributers about getting his whiskey to the USA. He told us that the city of Athlone is where whiskey originally came from, with 8 years of research by the historical foundation to back up the story. They had even traced the dissemination of the drink to Scotland and Newfoundland and then everywhere. Wowza!
From there, we walked back to the parking garage, loaded up, and drove out on the way to Dublin. I needed all navigators on deck. We made it this far without damaging the Stonic, so we need to stay focused.
Katherine got rooms for us at one of the Dublin Airport hotels. They cost a little more, but are really close to the terminals, making the international departure a little less stressful. We did not want to miss the flight the next day.
Complete with mini balcony
We had a reasonable dinner at the hotel's restaurant and chatted about how great the trip was. Tomorrow, we will have a hotel breakfast, return the rental car, and depart. Andrew, Katherine, and I will head back to Las Vegas, and Margaux will fly to England to visit a friend for a couple days.
Margaux got upgraded to a suite all to herself. It was complete with a secondary key card swipe, king bed, huge bathroom, and sitting area. Party time!
No comments:
Post a Comment