galway

We’re back!!! We just got back from the most amazing honeymoon I could have ever imagined. When Dylan and I were planning our wedding we came up with five things that we wouldn’t give up because of cost, our honeymoon was number one. We decided as a couple that the time after our wedding celebrating the fact that WE GOT MARRIED was worth more than a couple bucks in the bank account.

Ever since we started dating it was always a joke that we would “honeymoon in Ireland,” you know, “if we ever got married.” Then Dylan proposed and the joke became a reality, but when it actually came time to plan our honeymoon in Ireland we had no idea what to do or where to go, we just knew that’s where we wanted to be.

In the end we decided a road trip would be the best way to see the Emerald Isle (driving in Ireland will be a separate blog post because that’s a funny story), starting in Galway. Galway is exactly how you picture Ireland, picturesque streets, traditional live music, drinking, dancing, the food, all of it. It’s exactly how we pictured Ireland and it did not disappoint, if there was a place I wish I could spend more time in it would be Galway.

We flew with Norwegian Air into the Shannon Airport and stayed in the cutest little AirBnb on Lower Salthill, it was right by the ocean and about a mile from Shop Street. Our first day in Galway was a little hazy, we landed at 7am and we were so jet-lagged, but WE WERE IN IRELAND! So we couldn’t let a little lack of sleep stop us. We decided to stop by a cute little breakfast spot close to our flat to try and wake us up a little. For the life of me I cannot remember the name of the place but what I do remember is that the food was good and the coffee was delicious. That’s probably one of my favorite things about Europe in general, not a single place has crappy coffee. It’s not like America where it’s a gamble, it could be great or it could be the worst watered down cup of cheap disappointment you’ve ever had, it’s always perfect. Oh, and see that little cup of cream? How cute is that? Almost every place we went to in Ireland serves there coffee cream like that.

When the coffee wasn’t strong enough we decided to do as the Irish do… start drinking! The first, and our favorite, bar we went to was Monroe’s. When the waitress came up to us Dylan ordered what she thought was the best beer they had and I asked her to make me the prettiest drink she could think of (for the gram, duh), she did not disappoint. They had a super awesome band later that night too, 10/10 recommend.

The next day, after a good night sleep, we got up and decided to hit Shop Street! Shop Street is exactly what you think it would be, a street full of shops (and restaurants). It was so.much.fun, I could have spent all week there. Weaving in and out of the cute little small shops and exploring brands that I hadn’t ever heard of. Plus the area looks like it was taken straight from a Harry Potter movie and it makes it feel a little more magical.

Later that day we drove out to the Cliffs of Moher. It was recommended to go later in the day because there would be less tourists, which made sense as to why we probably passed every tourist bus you could think of while we were driving out there, but there really wasn’t anyone there! No lines for anything made the experience so relaxing. If you do go out there, go after 4pm, but be careful driving out there at that time because the roads are skinny and the tourist busses don’t move over.

The Cliffs are about an hour and a half drive from Galway, which is funny because they’re really only about a 24 mile drive (Irish roads are windy), but the drive is really half the fun. Skip the tourist bus and rent the car, plus the views on the way are breathtaking and you can stop at every single one and stay for as long as you want.

Finally we made it and you guys, The Cliffs are absolutely, without a doubt, breathtaking. Photos and videos truly don’t do them justice, there’s nothing like it. I could stare at them all day. I probably took over a hundred photos trying to get something that resembles how they look in person and you just can’t.

The only downfall of the cliffs? It is so freaking windy out there. But hey, the true show is them so who cares if the selfies aren’t that great, am I right?

On our final night in Galway we explored as much of the night life as we could get in, everyone had live music and every band was worth listening to. I don’t think we walked into a single place and thought “this band sucks.” It was all so upbeat and fun, people were laughing and dancing and having a great time at every single place. I also tried as much beer as I could, which if you know me you know that’s a success, I’m a wine drinker and in all honesty I really just don’t care for beer, but hey, when in Ireland.

We’re small town people (like a town of 148 people small), so we don’t really get to experience a lot of movie night life (does that make sense? like what you see in the movies or how they portray it on tv) which is why when we came across The Skeff Bar I thought it was so cool that there were two bouncers outside guarding the door to the three levels of partying going on inside. Naturally I told Dylan that we had to go there and it was not a disappointment. It was so cute inside, it had a 1920-1930’s feel with a modern crowd, I don’t really know how to explain it but it was so cool.

We loved every part of our trip but there was something about Galway. We chalked it up as our favorite city in Ireland (it was hard, but it has something traditional that Dublin doesn’t). It was the absolute perfect start to our once in a lifetime trip and we can’t wait to go back.