June 23rd: Cliffs of Moher, The Burren, Galway

I have one word for the Cliffs of Moher, and these pictures will give you a clue:

 The wind was so intense that at one stage Jessie pretty much blew away. Sadly, I was busy fixing my hair (having a very bad hair day at the Cliffs) and only noticed when she had to drop and roll to stop her endless flight. I did run after her and had to perform the same drop-and-roll technique to avoid becoming airborne myself. Luckily, Talc caught all of this on video, thus preserving on DVD for posterity what a very hapless parent I am. The wind was a mixture of fun and scary.
Visitor center had a fabulous subterranean virtual reality film of a bird flying over the cliffs. After a stop at the liscannor rock shop, where Jessie was in heaven and bought many supplies for her jewelry making, we headed north to The Burren: weird limestone plateau in North Clare. Miles and miles of moonscape, now dotted with tiny wildflowers, including the wild orchids we hoped to find...

 This is how the mountains of The Burren look from faraway: a grey expanse of rock. Really odd experience driving through this landscape after the lushness of Cork and Kerry.
And here are those amazing Cliffs of Moher:

Sunday night we fetched up in Galway, where we got truly lost for the first time on the trip. One of my favorite cities, it seems to have morphed into a disappointingly messy arrangement of cheesy shops surrounded by characterless suburbs. Only the pedestrian heart around Shop Street seemed to have retained its character. though of course this is forever diminished by the sad loss of Kenny's bookstore. Neachtain's pub is still there and we took a look.Lots of street musicians, live music in pubs, and great restaurants, all lively and going till well after 11pm dark. 
Next stop, our night in a castle!