Blends With Savanna Grasses

I landed in Dublin to a beautiful sunny morning. I have to say, the Irish are splendid hosts. The leader of the Dublin SQL Server/.NET user group and fellow MVP, Niall Flanagan, met me at the airport. We enjoyed breakfast together and took a tour of the city center. We even got out for a walk in one of Dublin's two beautiful public parks.


After breakfast, it was off to the train station for a 2-3 our ride out to Galway. Niall was very knowledgeable and helpful with the travel plans. He had all of the train schedules on hand and put me on the best one. On top of that, he knew all of the tricks for the business travel - for example, there's only one spot on the train with power outlets, and I got it thanks to him!





The countryside was lovely. But jetlag got the best of me and I snoozed most of the time. I did wake up in time to see some adorable sheep with their lambs and lots of cows. I didn't realize that so much of Ireland was devoted to agriculture.



Although a bit flatter than Tennessee, Ireland reminded me a lot of TN with it's beautiful hues of green and earthtone and occassional rolling hills. I think my favorite feature were the hand-stacked stone fences that abounded around the countryside.


Galway itself is a picturesque and lovely little town (pop: 65,000) with a strong artistic flair. Tonight, after my presentation to the local user group, I hope to visit the famous King's Head pub. But in the meanwhile, I have a tour of the area scheduled to see all of the beautiful countryside including the Cliffs of Mohr, the Burren, and the magical Kylemore Abbey.

One things for sure about the Irish - they LOVE their beer. In the picture at left, those are all of the empty beer kegs from the preceding weekend ready for pickup. Now that's a LOT of beer!

Labels: Travel