We hopped in the car after breakfast, and no this was not early in the morning. We seem to be taking our time getting out of the door these days, but we are totally loving the pace. We did, however, pack our lunch to eat on the way to Galway.

With no real itinerary in mind and no place booked for the night, we headed out to see what the day would bring.

About an hour or so into our drive we got to the city of Oughterard and saw signs for the Aughnanure Castle. We decided to stop and check it out. The weather was perfect, and the castle was completely uncrowded. With plenty of green grass surrounding it, the kids played a few rounds of tag before we headed inside. There was also a very friendly dog that just pranced about the grounds and liked to chase after the kids.

Aughnanure Castle

Panoramic view of the castle, typical Irish tower house, and the remaining watch tower.

Aughnanure Castle

Banqueting Hall details

Aughnanure Castle

Party in the Banqueting Hall.

Aughnanure Castle

Kian climbing the spiral staircase

Aughnanure Castle

Kian attacking the enemies from the "murder hole"!! This was a small hole in the ground that lead to the first floor right behind the front door.

Aughnanure Castle

Kian peering out of the small window inside the castle

Aughnanure Castle

Kian and Hannah in the 'secret chamber'. According to the sign, the purpose is unknown, but some believe it might have been used for short term prisoners.

Aughnanure Castle

Kian and the "Castle dog", Cara.

Aughnanure Castle

Hannah on a platform on one of the outside walls

We had fun exploring the castle. There is no furniture, but perhaps this was better as we were able to go through all the rooms and check everything out.

After our visit, we figured that to keep everyone happy we better eat our lunch. We have this characteristic in our family that when we get hungry, we get very very cracky! It somehow applies to every single one of us, without fail :)

Since we couldn't eat on the castle grounds (there was a "NO PICNIC" sign), we just hung out and ate in the parking lot. Clara (the dog) was very interested in our meal and really wanted to share with the kids.

With everyone's stomachs filled up, we continued our journey south on the west coast. We arrived in Galway around 4PM. We parked the car and started walking. From what we saw (and we happened to be there during the art festival period), Galway is very lively around Shop Street and Eyre Square. We saw lots and lots of street performers with good quality acts and music.

Galway

A lively & lovely city

Galway

Street Performer #1 - Totally mesmerized the kids and he was actually pretty funny with his jokes for grown ups :)

Galway

Street Artist - Sand dog! This guy was amazing...

Galway

Lobsters walking/dancing down the street.

Galway

Poor Hannah was terrified of the giant lobsters and kept screaming, but we found this funny since there was nothing really scary about them...I know I know parents of the year award =P

Galway

Street Performer #2 - Playing guitar kind of like August Rush!

Galway

Street Performer(s) #3 - These guys had another mesmerizing act, but with music and dancing. Hannah loved them and did not want to leave.

Galway

Street Performer(s) #4 - Harp & Accordion. I believe there was a movie about this duo that was being shown everyday during the art festival from 1-2pm at a theater nearby.

We enjoyed our walk, but remembered that we had no place to stay yet, so we started back towards the car and got side tracked by an Irish Tea House. A cup of tea was just what we needed.

Cupan Tae

An Original Irish Tea Shop

Cupan Tae

Decorations inside the shop

Cupan Tae

Dreamy Creamy Galway Tea - "A fanciful blend of black tea, roasted coffee beans, jasmine flowers and natural aroma. With a subtle coffee flavour, this is what dreams should taste of."

Cupan Tae

Kian adding a few sugar cubes to a cup of Sweeeeeeet Mama - "The sweetness of honey bush and apple spicily combined with a hint of fennel, the delicate taste of cinnamon and the light freshness of nana mint, rounded off with an extraordinary character of green mate"

Cupan Tae

Some jams for sale in the tea shop

Cupan Tae

Hannah following in Kian's foot steps. They both loved the tea and had a second cup.

We headed out of the tea shop and started our walk back to the car...this time suddenly the sign of the Barnacles Hostel grabbed my attention. Just to check it out we went inside and I asked if kids were allowed to stay and they said yes. Ok then, let's try out a hostel stay just to see what the big deal is.

The best part about the hostel was that it is right on shop street. Shop street is a pedestrian only street with lots of shops and restaurants. So we were right in the center of it all. We got a private en-suite room with 2 bunk beds. This amused the kids greatly!!

Barnacles Hostel (the green building) on Shop Street in Galway

After we dropped off our stuff in the room, we walked a bit more and then decided to go to Thai Garden for dinner.

The atmosphere was very authentic and the food was very good but admittedly the prices were much higher than we expected. In the end, though, we were really in the mood for some Thai food so we enjoyed every bite :)