Travel Tuesday

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I know. I know. I should probably change Travel, Wine, and Dine to A Blog about Ireland and Sonoma, because I am fully obsessed with both places and could blog about them day in and day out. One of the reasons I decided to do away with paid blog ads was because I just wanted to blog about what I wanted, with the hopes that someone would find it interesting. Spilling my heart and camera and iPhone into a blog post and being able to share favorite places makes my day, so I hope you don’t mind a couple more Ireland posts. There’s a lot of healthy cooking on its way. . .

Today for Travel Tuesday, I thought a drive through the West of Ireland countryside would be a nice little getaway for the brain. It’s going to be 20 degrees for the high in Boston today, and I am certainly thinking of travel.  Sit back and enjoy some views from Connemara, Westport, and Barna, all places I recommend visiting when you base your Ireland trip in County Galway.

Keane's Pub

{Keane’s Bar, at Maam Bridge}

 

Keane's Pub Maam Bridge

The booth at the front of Keane’s Bar, located in Maam in Connemara, is the perfect spot for gazing out over the hills with a hot whiskey after a long hike in the Irish countryside. red berries

Connemara

{Driving through Connemara in the West of Ireland}

Connemara {Foggy Connemara, where the sky meets the mountains}

Barna {Barna beach day}

 

O'Grady's Barna Pier {O’Grady’s Barna}

Thatched Cottage {Thatched Cottage in Barna}

    Connemara Beaches

{Beaches in Connemara in the West of Ireland}

Matt Molloy's Pub Westport

{Matt Molloy’s Pub, Westport County Mayo}

 

Barna

{A sunny day in Barna}

O'Grady's Barna

{Lunch views from O’Grady’s in Barna}

seafood chowder Ireland

{Seafood chowder at O’Grady’s in Barna}

Tags: Barna, Connemara, Galway, Ireland, Nature, outdoors, scenery, Travel, travel blog, Travel Tuesday, views

I have two true favorite times of year to visit Ireland, though I would of course take a trip there any month I could. I love Ireland in March and April; Spring is a beautiful time to be in the Irish countryside, with the lambs and daffodils popping up all over.

My other favorite time of year to visit Ireland is over Thanksgiving. It hasn’t gotten cold there quite yet, so there are plenty of opportunities for walks and hikes and outdoor pints, and the Galway Christmas Market, in recent years, has made the city an even more vibrant and festive place to be during November and December.

chimney cakes

The market is chock full of delicious food and beverage treats, with a Paulaner beer tent and pavilion being one of the main focal points. The tent offers big steins of various Paulaner beers along with a good buzz of chatter and fun.

Paulaner beer tent

Prost!

Paulaner beer tent

crepes All of Galway is decorated for Christmas, and it seems like the entire town is an extension of the Christmas market.

Galway Christmas Market

Galway at Christmas

And the market offers plenty of fun and rides for kids of all ages. It was even more fun this year, with our three year old nephew giving us an excuse to ride the carousel and train and to look at some of the handcrafted ornaments and toys for sale. This is the place to buy your gifts, simple, enjoyable, and beautiful pieces made by artisans rather than mass-produced items we are often used to.

Galway Christmas Market

crafts from the Ukraine Galway Christmas Train

flowers in Ireland

Flowers in November, like these around the market in Eyre Square, are not uncommon in Galway. My mother-in-law’s roses were in full bloom. I am jealous of their lengthy gardening season!

Galway Christmas Market lights

macarons

macaroons

colorful macarons

gluwein

Whether you visit the Galway Christmas Market in the day or night, you’ll find temptations for the eyes and the palate, from brightly colored macarons and savory crepes to German hot dogs and artfully made ornaments. It’s easy to spend several afternoons or evenings wandering and enjoying the music, smells, and sights, especially while warming your hands with a hot spiced gluhwein.

Do you have any favorite holiday events or markets that are part of your traditions?

Tags: crafts, European Christmas Markets, Galway, Galway Christmas Market, gluwein, holidays, lifestyle, Travel, Travel Tuesday

Happy Travel Tuesday! We leave for Ireland in a month, and have a trip to New Jersey to visit family in between then and now so I am feeling good about feeding the wanderlust these days. We’re also still reminiscing about an amazing Sonoma holiday over Labor Day weekend, so today I thought I would share some out and about photos, places I didn’t necessarily photograph in-depth and pretty pictures I caught along our travels. Enjoy!

Napa roads

{Napa County Road and the bluest sky}

 

Hog Island Oyster Company

{Hog Island Oyster Co. – get ready for some shucking!}

Sonoma Coast

{The Magnificent Sonoma Coast}

Girl and the Fig, Sonoma

{Chocolate and Fig Salted Caramel Trifle at The Girl and the Fig}

Passaggio Tasting Room, Sonoma {Passaggio Wines new tasting room in Sonoma – I love Passaggio Wine but was not bright enough to check the tasting room hours and showed up on a closed day. From what I could see, it is beautiful.}

 

Russian River Valley sunset

{Russian River Valley sunset from our Flipkey Sonoma home}

Truett Hurst

{Sun-baked Dry Creek Valley land in August – I LOVE the heat.}

Truett Hurst

{Cooling off at Truett Hurst, one of my favorite Dry Creek Valley wineries}

Truett Hurst

{Truett Hurst Sauvignon Blanc, riverside}

Dry Creek General Store

{Dry Creek General Store – a favorite for a cold beer, Dry Creek Valley views, great sandwiches, and people-watching}

Holdredge Pinot Noir

{Gorgeous Pinot Noir, Grateful Dead memorabilia, and rap music at Holdredge – so.much.fun. Who says wine is snobby?}

Napa Valley Sunset

{Sunset as we left Napa Valley on our last evening}

Tags: California, California wine country, Food, Napa, Napa Valley, Restaurants, Sonoma, Sonoma County, Travel, travel posts, Travel Tuesday, wine, wine blog, wine blogger, wine tasting, wine travel, winery

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