On the road to Ireland

Most of today was spent in the car! We left Liverpool at 5am, before the sun had risen. Although there were a surprising number of young people in the streets after a fun night out, the traffic was very light and we found our way to the Mersey tunnel without any problems. We made the 150km trip to the Stena ferry terminal at Holyhead in Wales in under two hours and were in very good time for the 8.55am ferry.

Sunrise on the way to Holyhead

The three-hour ferry trip to Dublin was very pleasant as we enjoyed breakfast in the Stena Plus lounge. Once in Dublin we disembarked in the car and navigated the 225km journey across Ireland to Galway by 3pm. Twice we discovered that the motorway we were travelling on was a toll road and, since we had no Euros, had to pay via credit card. Ian noticed quite a difference in the driving styles between England and Ireland. In England, drivers were meticulous about keeping to the left lane on any road unless they were overtaking. Before he realised this, on two occasions when Ian was in the middle lane drivers flashed their lights at him to indicate that he should move to the left. Once we were aware of this, it made driving much easier because one could anticipate what other drivers were going to do.  There seems to be no such practice in Ireland where driving was much more like Australia - survival of the fittest!

In Galway we were met by our Irish landlady, Cathy who was organising our 'welcome pack'. This basket contained such items as smoked salmon, eggs, juice, chocolate biscuits, a gourmet loaf of bread, pasta and pasta sauce, salad greens and fruit. A lovely introduction to Irish hospitality! We went for a walk through the city streets which are only a short distance from the apartment and, taking our host's advice to leave the car parked here, picked up some leaflets about day trips by bus from Galway. Ian had made a booking at Rouge Restaurant before we left Melbourne and we enjoyed a delicious French meal there before walking home.

Ian with some distinguished companions in Galway