Hylands Burren Hotel Ballyvaughan

... 30th.<br><br>Next I'll spend 3 weeks in New Zealand, mostly on the South Island, and fly from Auckland to LA on May 22nd. <br><br>After a final 3 weeks in America I will fly from New York to London on June 17th.<br><br>I have bought and scrounged everything I need to take, and I have typed up more notes than I can handle. I'm very excited to finally be so close to going, after years of planning and hoping!! <br><br>My next post will be from India!!!<br>

... to the highest edge. <br><br>Of course, our group would be determined to cross this edge and we marched our way along the Atlantic in a way that I have never walked the shore before. The boys were more determined to hike further, so us girls stayed behind to capture the moment. Little did we know they had bigger plans to depants and show the world. I guess it was for the best we stayed back. <br><br>Galway was a different ...

... Guinness, the transportation of Guinness, Guinness advertising, the history of the company, the tasting lab (where you sampled the flavor after watching all the ingredients mixed), an "Alcohol IQ test" section, a pour-your-own-pint area...and finally at the top, a "gravity bar", which was essentially a big circular glass room that gave you a view of the whole city. That is where you were able to get your free pint. I've got to say ...

... the carlsbad caverns, but i guess thats me just being spoiled. Then we went on to the Cliffs of Moher and what a beautiful site! I have to say that we could not have picked a more perfect day! It was a bit cloudy when we first got there but the sun came out quickly and It was absoloutly gorgeous. In Palos Verdes we have alot of cliffs, but they really have nothing on these bad boys. They were absoloutly HUGE! (215 meters high to be exact) It was ...

Unfortunately I've left detailing this entry very late, and as time goes by one forgets a lot of the detail... 28 March - Friday Once we'd woken up we headed into the hotel to have a breakfast... We made our selection and sat down at our table. Breakfast arrive without the juice, sausages and mushrooms, and when we queried this they informed us that they had run out. When paying they wanted to charge us the full price of the breakfast!!! My mom ...

I was not planning on this trip to the castle but it just happened. Last night one of you friends talked about a Castle that they saw up the river aways right near the NUI Galway University. So, Mike and I went to check it out today but the castle ended up being on the other side of the river. So head off to the other side of the river to find the castle. The castle ended up being much closer to our apartment then we everythough.(1.5 miles) So we walked down ...

... of the most embarrasssing incidents of my life so far ...... we were out in pub with some friends and towards the end of the evening (so drink had be taken by then you understand) we spot our best man (home from London) and another good friend (home from New York) and we discover they have been to their 20 year school reunion and are in our pub for a last drink. We know loads of the people they are with and we are chatting away, then I am talking to someone ...

... long Matchmaking Festival, known throughout Europe. It used to be a chance for farm boys to meet wives, but now it's an excuse to party. However the two times we've driven through town, all we've seen is old married couples wandering around. Perhaps the young ones are sleeping it off... Once off the Burren, the rain cleared, and we enjoyed a spectacular coastal drive back to our cottage. Seeing a few cars at a pull off, we walked to edge of these huge cliffs and watched ...

... to keep us going on the trek back home. We even stopped to look into a small gall**y, hung with paintings of the local rocky islands. "I'd like to live th**e" I said, pointing at a small wooden bothy in front of the waves. 'Then I'm sure you will one day won'tcha!' And that's what I liked about the Irish. Th**e was a friendly positivity to their ways. Once they decided that they liked you, it was just like you had known them for years. What a cracking day in Galway.

... Irish rainbow! We walked around and bought some postcards at the visitor center. It was crowded here but very majestic. Our bus then took us up the CLARE COAST and also taking in the BURREN. We stopped for pictures at CORKSCREW HILL which is exactly what it is named. A road winding up a hill. We could also see GALWAY BAY in the distance. We passed by DUNGUAIRE CASTLE which was built in 1520 by the O'HYNES. We didn't stop although I wish we would had. Next was RATHBAUN FARM ...