Day 36 - Friday 31st August

Although we reported a problem with the air conditioning twice last evening, it still was not working. I found it too hot and didn't get much sleep. The buffet breakfast at the hotel was also a disappointment - not much choice and poor service.

We checked out at 9:30 and went to the nearby Bunratty Folk Park. This is a village within the grounds of Bunratty Castle that showcases 19th century life in Ireland. We looked through most of the site and Suzy spent some time in the specialty shops.

At about 11am, we set off to drive to the Cliffs of Moher which is a spectacular coastline between Limerick and Galway. The cliffs are about 8km long and rise vertically out of the sea.

When he reached the Cliff of Moher, it was immediately obvious that it was a top tourist site because of the way the site was laid out.

The car park was in a field across the road from the site and was large enough to cater for hundreds of cars and dozens of tourist coaches. There were three boom gates with attendants to collect the entry fees for the car park.

When you walk back across the road, you notice a series of shops tastefully built into the hillside. Further on, you get to the visitor information centre which is also built into the hillside. The visitor centre is a two-storey building with information, exhibits and cafes.

There are two paths leading from the visitor centre. The one heading south takes you for a walk along the top of the cliffs. The path heading north climbs up the hill to give you views back to the cliffs. The best views are from O'Briens Lookout which is a castle-like structure at the top of the hill.

After admiring the view and climbing to the top of O'Brien's Lookout, we had lunch in a cafe in the visitors centre.

When we returned to our car, it made a beeping noise when I turned on the ignition. I eventually realised that the petrol gauge was on empty. I asked one of the attendants at the car park entrance where the nearest petrol station was. She said we should go to Doolin, the next town north which was about 10km away.

Naturally we were worried that we wouldn't have enough fuel to get to Doolin and so it was a big relief when we pulled into the petrol station. To my surprise it only took 43 litres (in a tank with a capacity of 50 litres). So we must have still had plenty of petrol after all rather being completely empty as the gauge indicated.

While I was filling up the car, Suzy went to a woollen shop next door to the petrol station.

To get to Galway, we decided to take the scenic route along the coast. This area, called The Burran, is a rugged rocky area with little vegetation. We even saw a group of mountain climbers practising their skills on one of the rock faces.

The TomTom successfully led us through the Galway traffic to the Radisson Blu hotel where we'd booked to stay for the next two nights. It's in a pleasant location next to the lake and close to the centre of town. The hotel is quite large and has a multi-storey carpark underneath.

After settling into the hotel, we went for a walk through the town. It's a popular tourist spot. The main shopping street has lots of character and has been turned into a plaza. I'd started to wish that I'd brought my gloves and beanie because it was cold and windy.

Suzy had found an Italian restaurant (The Venice) on Trip Advisor that had good reviews. Although the restaurant was on a side street, it was easy to find because there was a man wearing a sandwich board in the plaza advertising the restaurant and pointing to its location. The restaurant was quite OK but not brilliant.