Day Four: The Sun Does Shine in Ireland (and I have a burn to prove it)

In my defense (re:  the title) I wore sunscreen, but I didn't do such a good job reapplying it.  It turns out that every time you go out in this part of the country (maybe all of the country) you need to bring sunglasses and an umbrella; and if you're going to be outside for any length of time, you really should bring a rain jacket or something similar and wear sunscreen.  Thankfully, the burn on my face was not bad, but I get so nervous because you constantly read how bad sun damage is for you.  Anyway, I'll try to talk (write) less about today and let the pictures do most of the talking.  Sometime before this course started, someone started a Facebook page where people could all post, discuss, plan, etc.  There are 35 people in the course and 20 of us made plans to do a day trip to one of the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher.  So on Sunday, our first free day, we got up early and somehow managed to find our way to the correct meeting spot.  That in itself may have been a small miracle.  The bus was a little late picking us up, but eventually, it came and a couple of stops later, off we went.  I think all but five people on the bus were people from our program.  We rode some bumpy roads on a hot bus for about an hour and a half to a town called Doolin where we boarded the boat for one of the Aran Islands.  The boat ride (which was just over a half hour) was a little rough, thank goodness for Dramamene!  We got off the boat and went exploring.  We stopped at The Seaweed Cafe.  I recommend the smoked salmon bagel. Then we walked up to a castle, took some pics, visited a cemetery, and by then it was time to get back on the boat.  I could have used another hour on the island.  I kind of regretted that I didn't do the horse drawn carriage ride because that took you around the whole island, but given that I'd just sat on a bus and a boat for over three hours, the idea of sitting some more did not appeal to me. Back on the boat to see the Cliffs of Moher--beautiful.  Then back to the bus to drive to the Cliffs of Moher.  It was warm and sunny, great views.  We also climbed O'Brien's Tower and peeked in the souvenir shops.  Then back on the bus to return to Galway.  A few of us went to a place called McSwiggan's for dinner.  I had some chicken special that was delicious.  It had cream cheese and bacon in it. I'm not a huge bacon fan, but it was still great.  It even looked pretty.  I kind of wanted to take a picture of it, but I didn't want to be "that girl."  After all, it was a nice restaurant.  Then we met up with some more people from our group and had drinks to celebrate Chris (one of the guys in our group)'s birthday.  Okay so much for not talking too much, but here are some pictures from the day.  They include the bus and boat rides, the island, the Cliffs of Moher, and drinks for Chris' birthday.  I took a picture of The Matchmaker Bar because I got a kick out of the name.  Our tour guide said that they do matchmaking there every year so perhaps if you're looking for the love of your life, you can head there.