Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking in Galway, approximately 1.5 hours; walking in gardens.
In the hotel dining room, the full Irish breakfast includes choices such as a variety of eggs, bacon, sausages, tomato, potatoes, cereals, fruit, toast, pastries and jams, milk, juices, coffee, tea, water.
We’ll board a motorcoach for a field trip to Galway, the cradle of Gaelic culture in the West, with our Group Leader. Galway is often referred to as the “city of tribes” as it was once home to 14 famous merchant families. Upon arrival we’ll enjoy expert-led walking field trips through Galway city. Grandparents will see historic landmarks including Galway Cathedral and the Spanish Arch, while grandchildren explore the city in a fun, educational way with their group leader. We’ll regroup at the Galway City Museum for some time for independent exploration. The museum houses a variety of permanent and temporary exhibitions featuring archaeology, the local area from prehistoric times to the present, arts and crafts.
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions.
From Galway, we’ll travel onward with our Group Leader by motorcoach to Coole Park. Now a nature reserve spanning more than 1,000 acres (400 hectares), it was the centre of the Irish Literary Revival in the early 20th Century, the home of Lady Gregory who co-founded the Abbey Theatre with W.B. Yeats. The house that provided hospitality to many who shaped the literary movement is gone, but the seven woods celebrated by Yeats can all be found within its confines. Here we will be able to trace our fingers across the historic Autograph Tree, its bark deeply engraved with the initials of many of the authors who helped Ireland rise to literary prominence during the revival.
Hotel plated meal.
We’ll enjoy an evening of traditional Irish music and dance.