Galway and the West Coast of Ireland

You know you are off to a good day in Galway when you are eating this otherworldly brown bread at Anton's Restaurant.  This stuff is so good we had breakfast here two days in a row.  We have learned that Irish brown bread is a staple of almost every meal in Ireland, in addition to potatoes of course.  But not all brown breads are created equal, and Anton's bread is exceptionally delicious!  We begged the staff for the recipe, but their lips were sealed. They did seem very appreciative of our emphatic praise of the bread and sent us off after the second day with an entire loaf on the house.  So very kind!

We took a day trip over to Spiddal, a coastal town about 45 minutes up the winding scenic road from Galway.  On our way, we spotted houses with real thatched rooves!  Apparently they provide very good insulation, but it can be difficult to insure a house with a thatched roof as they are highly flammable. 

The drive along the Atlantic was absolutely beautiful and as you can see, Ireland had quite a rocky coastline. 

Spiddal has a small craft village that we explored.  All the crafts are authentically made in Ireland, if not right in the town of Spiddal.  Here is a loom used to weeve Irish wool.  

The rocky shoreline was gorgeous, I had to take photos!

Old rock walls are all over Ireland.  We passed a bunch of them on our train ride from Dublin to Galway and here they are again on the coast.  

Everyone keeps telling us that the weather is never this good.  They had a terrible winter with tons of rain and serious flooding.  It's often cold and foggy if not raining, so it is probably reasonable to state that it was the five of us that brought the blue skies.