Last night, the music ended earlier than we were told, but the throngs of people streaming by our window and the background music playing as the roadies tore down the stage lasted well beyond the predicted 11:30. We finally fell into a fitful sleep in spite of the constant noise.
The hotel finally lived up to its brag in the morning. It bills itself as located in a quiet and serene location but I would beg to differ. It was quiet this morning however.
Today was mostly a travel day. After breakfast we hoofed it up a steep street to the bus stop in Clifden, dragging all our luggage behind us. Then Citylink bus 923 to Galway, a 1.5-hour bus ride through some very picturesque rural Irish rangeland. There is a lot of sheep in Ireland! In Galway we picked up bus 761 to downtown Dublin, two and a half hours of mostly Irish freeways. Dublin was considerably warmer than the west side of the country, so we all shed a layer or two upon stepping off the bus. Then it was a 0.4 mile walk (with luggage) through the heart of downtown Dublin to the Tara Street Train station, where we hopped on the green train heading north towards Malahide. Then another 0.4 mile walk to our final destination: the Grand Hotel.
Perhaps the most posh places we’ve stayed in yet, the Grand Hotel lives up to its name, with an expansive marble lobby and imposing building.
We spent some time strolling around the town, checking out various places to eat. We found an Italian place that looked amazing but then noticed it was closed on Mondays. We ended up eating in the hotel bar. Which was OK as they didn’t serve just the normal pub fare. The Creamy Chicken, Chorizo & Sundried Tomato Linguini was delicious.
Deb and I checked out the leisure center after dinner and spent some time in the hot tub. Perfect for weary travelers just starting the journey home.
Tomorrow will be five hours longer than a typical day as we had back to Chicago and then drive home. We’ll be glad when that segment is over.
No comments:
Post a Comment