Wednesday March 21
After the fun, lazy day riding a bus through Kerry National Park all day, we were ready to get into Galway and see some nightlife with people our age and tour around the pretty little port town. We arrived around 10PM after a layover type thing in some random small Irish town where we danced in the train station and getting crazy looks from people.
A block from the train station, our hostel was really easy to find because Galway is very open and spread out. There was also a giant "Kilnay Hostel" sign outside, so that was a hint it was there, too. We walked in and it was surprisingly super modern, secure, and just all around cool. Dropped our stuff off and headed out to a bar with live music. We refused to go to a dance club or a bar that did not have live music (and we were successful with that goal the entire trip), so after recognizing some acoustic songs outside one of the bars, we went inside.
The Skeff bar was full of American students, and we found a little booth in the corner and with some pints in hand, we sat and listened to music for two hours! A few guys from New York or something came over and literally pulled us up from the booth and danced around. It was such a fun place and wasn't blasting rap music... this made me miss the country bar in Ames a little bit, actually.
They brought us to another bar, The Front Door, where there were six different levels that felt like a saloon/pub. Big wooden accents, brass handles and picture frames everywhere; I felt like we took a time machine a couple hundred years back. Galway was clearly a study-abroad destination because every person I met was either from the USA or the UK, except the one guy that started speaking Italian to me (since I studied in Italy), and I still to this day cannot speak good Italian. We realized we both spoke spanish (Emma helped me out because she did, too), had a nice convo, dipped out of that quickly and found the other girls chatting it up with some Irish people. Sleeping from waking up early (yes, 8:00AM to us is early), and headed back to our hostel. Good night Galway!
Thursday March 22nd
Another pb and j sandwich for breakfast with coffee, we really had no idea what there was to do in Galway. I was kind of getting tired of the bigger city areas, and really just wanted to relax since it had been a week into spring break. There were many streets filled with shops, such as TK Maxx (not TJ Maxx), department stores, and fast food. They had Pizza Hut, Subway, and lots and lots of pubs. Kind of like suburban Minnesota, except they had some historical things, too.
Near our hostel was Eyre Square, a huge grassy area where people were laying out and walking around. There were huge maple trees, plenty of dogs, tulips, and giant iron sculptures. We made our way down just about every street, stopping into little shops and just being really care-free. Lunch was at a restaurant that reminded me of a place in Uptown. Had minestrone soup and garlic bread- it was cold out but the sun stayed around all day long!
My favorite part of Galway was spending hours near the boat docks, main pier, and along the beach. We dangled our feet over the wall of the pier, watching a huge flock of swans swimming around in the ocean. Fishing boats were way off shore, but the seagulls swarming around made it obvious what they were doing.
Emma, Caroline, and I walked to the beach where there was nobody there. A man was playing fetch with his giant labrador (made me think if Ricky or Dad was doing the same with Allie), but we had the rocky/shell-filled beach to ourselves. I had to stick my feet in the ocean since it's my favorite place to be. VERRYY CHILLLY but so worth it!
On our way back into town, we passed the church that Christopher Columbus made his farewell to Europe speech in before going to America. Still can't believe the history some of these places I've visited have, and they don't even seem that old!
Near there, all of the girls wanted to get Claddaugh rings, a silver band with two hands holding a heart in the middle. I was not really into getting one because, depending on if the ring is upside down or right side up, that shows to the world if you are single or dating someone. Not something I felt like advertising, so I made it my goal to get a rugby shirt before leaving Ireland. I would get much better use out of that than a ring (I lose jewelry like its my job, too). We also passed the first cupcake shop I've seen since being abroad. Always up for cupcakes, so I got myself a vanilla red velvet cupcake and it was quite delicious!
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