The other side of the road

Well, yesteday we rented a car in Dublin and set out for Galway. I'm not going to lie to you...I like a good challenge now and then, so the idea of conquering the roads and learning to drive on the left side was both intriguing and a little nerve-wracking. Upon inspection, the clutch, brake, were all in the same spot as I'm used to, and the stickshift has the same gearing configuration. So that was good news! But it is pretty interesting sitting on the other side of the car--which leads to humerous moments like going to the wrong side of the car to get in, reaching for my seatbelt at the MIDDLE of the car, and instinctually wanting to shift with my rigth hand--But the concept of sticking to the left side of the road, while still requiring a fair bit of mental energy, has begun to sink in. (Moms, don't worry, we haven't had anything resembling a close call yet!)

We took the car immediately on the highway, abiding very closely to the 120km/hr speed limits, and set out for Galway. Dublin is on the eastern coast of Ireland, and Galway is exactly opposite on the western coast. However, Galway is a much smaller, and very quaint town. We spent last night finding our B&B and then finding a spot for dinner and some fine Irish music at the local eateries. We got a wide range of music, from the American cover band (yes, Marvin Gaye with an irish accent) to the fiddle/accordian folk jam, to the traditional Irish folk session (a couple guys singing the folk favorites while everyone sings along). It was a lot of fun and we stayed out far too late. But all in all a great time.

Today, we are spending the day in town before we head to the ferry for Inis Mor. More navigating the roads along the coast, which should be fun!