After a cloudy start, the weather cleared and we decided to make another attempt at seeing the Cliffs of Moher. It was a much easier drive without the fog and took us ten minutes less. It was definitely worth the drive. The sheer cliffs are breathtaking. There is an observation tower next to the parking lot along with an information center, souvenir vendors and some bad musicians looking for tips. Our tip was to pursue another career. About two miles further down the coast was a small castle. At least it looked like a castle from where we were. We, of course, had to make the hike to see it. The walk along the cliffs, often closer to the cliffs than I’d like, was beautiful. It was indeed a castle and at the end of our walk, at least the remains of a castle. We relaxed on the soft grass next to the castle. The see breeze and crashing surf were very soothing. After resting for about twenty minutes we started the 45 minute hike back to the car.

All of that walking worked up a serious hunger so we walked into town to do something about it. Some stuffed chicken fulfilled the need for food but left us mighty thirsty. We began quenching that thirst at Busker Browns which is down an alley containing some foofy shops and cafes as well as some of Galway’s finer restaurants. We witnessed one of the ugliest Guinness pours ever here. Instead of waiting for the stout to settle, the barman poured some of the thick head off. We call this alcohol abuse. Our second stop was the Dew Drop Inn on the corner. It was a little dive with an eclectic mix of items on the shelves. Along with old liquor bottles were an iron, some lanterns, boots and baked beans. One of the pubs that was recommended, Taaffe’s, was next. As advertised, there was some live trad. There was also a lot of customers including this one fucking doink who didn’t care if he stood in everyone’s way or if he bumped you with his bag. We killed him. Our next stop was a place called Garavan’s. Not very impressive when the pub’s highlights were a photo of the ’94 Irish national team and a “No Dogs” sign. Two doors down was The Snug. On our way in we noticed that Seinfeld was on the tube but for some reason it was switched off shortly after our arrival. Our pints were served to us by a barman with an interestingly shaped head. We decided to call him “The Shelf.” Probably the most interesting thing about the bar was that it shared the bathroom with the previous pub. To get to it you walk out a door, down an alley behind the previous bar and up a ramp. After pints at Murphy’s and Séhán Ua Neáchtain we popped into The Quay for last call. We obviously weren’t the only ones who thought of this as the place was packed. We talked with a woman from Milwaukee and a delivery guy from Wales while there. The guy, who had a sweating issue, told us about how fans for teams are often aligned by religious denomination. He was also nice enough to buy us around which we agreed later we didn’t need. We definitely weren’t walking home so we hailed another taxi.