The Cliffs of Moher

February 16, 2007

"Don't believe the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing---it was here first."

--Robert Jones Burdette, U.S. Clergyman and Humorist, quoted by Evan Esar (1949)

"The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall, One and All."

--Jimmy Cliff , "The Harder They Come" (1975)

Hey, it's hard to find good quotes and good music about cliffs. We went the Cliffs of Moher today and spent about 3 hours there, give or take, and I was overwhelmed by their beauty. They rise out of the Atlantic are are between 700 and 1200 feet above the water. Anyone who doesn't believe in God needs to see these before making that decision. This was me and Melissa's favorite part of the trip. I'll stop blabbing and let the pictures speak for themselves:

And let me tell you, the pics don't really do it justice. We head on toward Galway, and observe the cows sunning themselves on the rocks along the Atlantic Ocean. Gene, who had obviously been keeping an eye out for this, finds a pub named O'Brien's (my mother's maiden name). It is beautiful inside and very large. The service is the absolute worst we've had in Ireland. We ask the bartender about a well a mile up the road that we had stopped at. It is now a wishing well. You can guess what I was wishing for as I tossed in my coins. She has no idea what we're talking about. The well is right on the main highway and there isn't a lot either leading into town or the town itself. We ask the bartender (who is allegedly married to the owner of the place) what the best Irish whiskey she has is. "I don't know. This one is the most popular." I try another tact. "What is your most expensive Irish whiskey?" "I don't know", she responds. At this point, I'm incredulous. Ben and I finally convince her to take down a couple of bottles from the top shelf and we choose one for her to pour. The service is so slow and bad that even Gene makes fun of her after we leave. I guess the O'Brien's were meant to be served, not to serve others. :-) Here's one of Meg and I:

We head on to Galway, where we go to the Marless House operated by Mrs. Mary Geraghty. I think Gene is tired about us bitching about the B&B's, because he makes a point of mentioning that Chris (our travel agent) really likes this place and stays here all the time. Hey Gene, I just call them as I see them.

Turns out Chris is right. Mary greets us warmly. Both Mary and her husband are very engaging and have what James Joyce called the "gift of gab". We talk for nearly an hour with them in their kitchen before going out of the evening. The showers have both Americanized controls and most importantly, great water pressure. The breakfast is very good. Highly Recommended.

We head out to dinner after a couple of drinks at Sonny's which is a crowded but neat pub. None of us can decide where to go so we end going for pizza at a place called Finnegan's. Rule of Travel #183: Never eat pizza at a place in Ireland that advertises on trash cans. We didn't notice that last little part until we left the place. The best part of the meal was water. We head back to the B&B a short time later.

P.S. You know they always talk about the local color when you visit a place? This picture was taken from the front seat of our vehicle: