I woke up today at 5am. I took probably the coldest shower of my life this morning…I packed up my bag and got ready to head out to the bus station. We walked about a mile away to the bus station. Dublin at 6:30am is so quiet. It was a very different view of the city. Lindsay, Megan and I caught the bus to Galway at 7am. We holed up in the back row and settled in for a 3 hour ride. The scenery was beautiful. Fields of green, old rock walls, countless sheep, horses and cows flew by as we traveled. I slept for a little while, but I was enjoying the scenery so much I didn’t mind that it was early.
We got into Galway around 11am. The bus stop was right outside the Galway Hostel so we decided to just check and see if they had a vacancy. All the online reservation systems had told us Galway was all booked up for Saturday night, but we decided to try anyway. Fortunately they had 3 beds available! We booked them and then headed out to explore knowing we at least had a bed to sleep in.
We got into Galway around 11am. The bus stop was right outside the Galway Hostel so we decided to just check and see if they had a vacancy. All the online reservation systems had told us Galway was all booked up for Saturday night, but we decided to try anyway. Fortunately they had 3 beds available! We booked them and then headed out to explore knowing we at least had a bed to sleep in.
We roamed around and saw the Galway Cathedral, the river Corrib, the Salmon Weir, the shops on Main Street, and then we found this outside farmer’s market. We walked through the market and found really cute hats! We all bought hats, rings, and sweaters in Galway…not all matching, but it we all had the same idea in mind of what we wanted to buy. We didn’t really get to eat breakfast since we left Trinity so early, so we went and found a place to eat lunch. We went to King’s Head which is a really old pub/restaurant established in 1649. I had potato and leek soup, traditional Irish brown bread and we each got a pint. I am getting spoiled on good International beer.
After lunch we went and saw where the town Claddagh used to be. It is the town where Claddagh rings originated from. None of the original town is there since Galway took it over, but they still pay tribute to the town. We saw Nora Barnacle’s house and the Spanish Arch. We had quite the time trying to find Nora’s house. It was very small and hard to find so we ended up accidently traipsing in people’s backyards trying to find it. Whoops! We roamed around for a couple hours and then, realizing I’d been up for almost 12 hours, I decided a coffee stop was necessary. Lindsay had to charge her camera battery too. We found a little local café, sat and drank a cup of coffee and just talked. It has been wonderful getting to know my 2 travel buddies. They are awesome girls! I made the observation that if you buy coffee instead of a latte 5 times, you will save 5 Euro and that is a beer! Now I cannot live that statement down…it is just a smart observation! It’s called living in Ireland frugally…
Afterward we walked along the river and somehow started to sing Backstreet Boys songs. It was quite fun. We got really excited when Lindsay exclaimed “Look at the Koi fish!” but unfortunately it was only an orange and white traffic cone…way to go Lindsay! I really wanted to buy some Irish music so we found a local music shop to go in and ask for recommendations. I got a CD which I have yet to listen to but hopefully the guy made a good recommendation!
So the streets are really crowded in Dublin and Galway and apparently in Galway if you want someone to move out of your way, you come creepily close behind them and say “Beep Beep” in your ear…yes that happened to me…I couldn’t stop laughing…
Around 5 or so we got caught in a gnarly rain storm and in order to get dry we found shelter in King’s Head. We got dry while drinking a pint…we had a lot of fun being silly. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. After it wasn’t monsoon-ing outside, we walked down to McDonagh’s to get dinner. It was this great seafood place! Galway is known for their amazing seafood, so we had to stop in to the locally recommended place! We ordered the most amazing mussels! Oh they were heavenly…
After dinner we started our search for trad music…everywhere was packed because of the shoddy weather. We finally found a place called Monroes across the river. They had a little bit of trad music and a lot of intoxicated old local Irish men. They were a bit ridiculous and apparently love the San Francisco 49’ers and they love to try and steal hats…they did not succeed.
Tiredness set in and we had to be awake early again to catch our bus to Connemara and Kylemore Abbey, so we set forth back to the hostel. We got ready for bed, which is always interesting since the bathroom is so small. I didn’t bring flip flops so I was definitely wearing PJ’s and hiking boots in the bathroom… Also, since I wasn't about to actually spend Euros to rent a towel...I used my PJ shorts as a towel. Yes I am classy...
We went to bed to the wonderful sound of the pub below us. We were so tired we did not care at all. I passed out the second I fell asleep (with my wallet under my pillow and my camera held like a stuffed animal…it was a hostel…)
After lunch we went and saw where the town Claddagh used to be. It is the town where Claddagh rings originated from. None of the original town is there since Galway took it over, but they still pay tribute to the town. We saw Nora Barnacle’s house and the Spanish Arch. We had quite the time trying to find Nora’s house. It was very small and hard to find so we ended up accidently traipsing in people’s backyards trying to find it. Whoops! We roamed around for a couple hours and then, realizing I’d been up for almost 12 hours, I decided a coffee stop was necessary. Lindsay had to charge her camera battery too. We found a little local café, sat and drank a cup of coffee and just talked. It has been wonderful getting to know my 2 travel buddies. They are awesome girls! I made the observation that if you buy coffee instead of a latte 5 times, you will save 5 Euro and that is a beer! Now I cannot live that statement down…it is just a smart observation! It’s called living in Ireland frugally…
Afterward we walked along the river and somehow started to sing Backstreet Boys songs. It was quite fun. We got really excited when Lindsay exclaimed “Look at the Koi fish!” but unfortunately it was only an orange and white traffic cone…way to go Lindsay! I really wanted to buy some Irish music so we found a local music shop to go in and ask for recommendations. I got a CD which I have yet to listen to but hopefully the guy made a good recommendation!
So the streets are really crowded in Dublin and Galway and apparently in Galway if you want someone to move out of your way, you come creepily close behind them and say “Beep Beep” in your ear…yes that happened to me…I couldn’t stop laughing…
Around 5 or so we got caught in a gnarly rain storm and in order to get dry we found shelter in King’s Head. We got dry while drinking a pint…we had a lot of fun being silly. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. After it wasn’t monsoon-ing outside, we walked down to McDonagh’s to get dinner. It was this great seafood place! Galway is known for their amazing seafood, so we had to stop in to the locally recommended place! We ordered the most amazing mussels! Oh they were heavenly…
After dinner we started our search for trad music…everywhere was packed because of the shoddy weather. We finally found a place called Monroes across the river. They had a little bit of trad music and a lot of intoxicated old local Irish men. They were a bit ridiculous and apparently love the San Francisco 49’ers and they love to try and steal hats…they did not succeed.
Tiredness set in and we had to be awake early again to catch our bus to Connemara and Kylemore Abbey, so we set forth back to the hostel. We got ready for bed, which is always interesting since the bathroom is so small. I didn’t bring flip flops so I was definitely wearing PJ’s and hiking boots in the bathroom… Also, since I wasn't about to actually spend Euros to rent a towel...I used my PJ shorts as a towel. Yes I am classy...We went to bed to the wonderful sound of the pub below us. We were so tired we did not care at all. I passed out the second I fell asleep (with my wallet under my pillow and my camera held like a stuffed animal…it was a hostel…)
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