Glasgow

We flew from Dublin to Glasgow and took the train to the city. Our accommodation was in an Ibis hotel which proved to be very cheap and in a quiet but convenient location. We had only 6 days but we got to see a lot of the main attractions including the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum which was a fantastic collection of displays. I really enjoyed the Charles Rennie Mackintosh display which led us on a trail of his buildings scattered in the city. We enjoyed breakfast in the Willow Tea Rooms which were designed by Mackintosh. Also The Lighthouse showed models of his designs which were often built with glass. We discovered the archetect style was called Art Nouveau which we had heard of but hadn't understood the style.

Other interesting places we visited where the Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis which is a large burial grounds behind the cathedral covering the hill. Here we found large memorials built by friends of the deceased. 

Across the road we visited the St Mungos museum of Religious Life and Art which displayed the main 6 religions in the world and information about each one. It was fascinating to learn about the differences and the similarities of these religions being, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhism, Hindu and Sikhism. After 911 representatives from each of these religions decided to meet each year for a dinner to help build understanding between the faiths. 

We walked to the Peoples Palace & Winter Gardens which had a lovely glass house attached and interesting information on the social and political actions in Scotland over the years. Out the front a large fountain showed the main commonwealth countries with a side depicting Australia (farmer and wife with sheep). 

Food is pretty cheap here with lots of deals in the pubs e.g. Vegetarian breakfast only £2.50 each and included eggs, to tomato, bake beans, hash browns and tea or coffee. Cliff has caught a cold but it hasn't stopped him getting out and about. We have found some lovely cafe as well with old world atmosphere. 

We caught the bus to Edinburgh to visit Merrin (friend from theatre who lives in Belgium but holidays in Scotland). We had a great day looking around the city and got to meet her husband Alister for a coffee. Really liked Edinburgh with its tall buildings, tartan shops and huge statues. 

Walked around the city which has some interesting buildings and visited the Merchant City which was holding a festival. We looked at stalls and brought food to sit and listen to the bands playing. We got to hear Casual Sex made up of some young musicians who sounded very good. During the day we had a drink in a wine bar called Boudoir which had purple drapes and booths. 

County Galway - Gort

Moving further up the western side of Ireland we made our way to a smallish town of Gort. Actually we were staying at a farm about 5k from Gort with only a pub and a church. It seems these two go well together in Ireland. A really nice guy named Barry owned the property along with his two dogs Alfie and Tiffany and a cat (name forgotten). He also had a few horses and a pony grazing on the green paddocks. 

We used the cottage as a base to travel to Galway which was lucky for us as they where hosting the Fringe and an Arts festival. We saw art from students at the university and some from a local arts society, buskers in all shapes and sizes and a play put on by the Galway University Cube Theatre called This Is The Day. It was a professional performance and well written script about a women caught in between her childhood fantasy about her First Holy Communion and the reality of life as an adult. The play had snappy dialogue mixed with black humour, set in a church. 

Galway has a University so lots of young people and a vibrant and bohemian atmosphere. We also saw some strange things like men standing and fishing in the main town river for hours and never seeing anything caught. Pubs and shops are full of posters and decorated with quirky items. 

The writer Yeats lived in the area of Gort and with Lady Gregory at Coole Park. She did a lot to nurture Irish art and was a great friend to many of the greats e.g. George Bernard Shaw. We visited Coole Park which has a mixture of woodlands and wetlands in 400 hectares. As the weather has been so warm 30c every day there were lots of families in the park picnicking. We also saw deer grazing and photoed the autographed tree with carvings of the great writers and artists that found this area inspiring. We had a drink in Lady Gregory Hotel which was very classy and up market hotel just out of the town of Gort. 

About 130 k away we travelled to the Connemara National Park and Clifden. In Recess we saw the statue of 'the big man' and a plaque saying in 1887 on this day nothing happened here, which was very much in keeping with the Irish humour. In the National Park we walked some of the trials, I did a small one whilst Cliff continued up to the top of Diamond hill. The towns surrounding were filled with craft and art shops which we found tempting. 

Travelled to the Cliffs of Moher (sounds like something from The Lord of the Rings) in the Burren area. The area was more rocky and barren with a huge car and bus parking area near the Cliffs of Moher. Very spectacular scenery looking down on the sea from the cliffs over 200 metres below. We had brought our lunch so we sat looking over the cliffs eating our picnic. As usual in Ireland you don't go far without hearing folk music and it was lovely to hear the harpist playing while looking out over the cliffs. The visitors centre is built into the hill and houses displays about the area. Very impressive. 

Drove to a town called Ennis for the day to take a look. It was a very hot day for Ireland in fact the weather here is very warm as they don't have any air con or fans so hot day and night. Apparently the weather is so unusual everyone is shocked as it mostly rains all year round and we haven't seen any for just on a month now. Cliff got a hair cut which is all I can remember about the visit. 

Drove across Ireland to Dublin airport to drop off car. A bit stressful trying to make sure we found our way. Free shuttle to hotel and overnight stay to relax before flying to Glasgow. Scotland here we come.