Dublin, Day 4: Galway

A group of eight students, including me, made an overnight trip to Galway this past weekend. Galway is on the western coast of Ireland (Dublin is on the eastern side of the country). We road over on a coach (a nice bus); it took about three and a half hours. I was tired from getting up so early, and I slept most of the time. When we reached Galway, we set about searching for the Bed and Breakfast that Ben (the student who coordinated most of the trip) had booked. The place was called Dun Roamin, and it appears that the older Irish couple who runs it had simply turned their house into a bed and breakfast. The owners of Dun Roamin were extremely friendly, asking us where we were from and what our plans were.

After checking in and setting down our luggage, we went to the nearby beach. It was surprisingly warm. Even the water wasn't completely ice-cold, though it wasn't suitable for swimming, either. It was, however, extremely windy. We wandered around the beach a bit, took pictures, and dipped our toes in the water. Then we walked back to the Bed and Breakfast before setting off for downtown Galway. One of the things I liked about the place that we stayed was its proximity to the city center. It was about a 15 minute walk.

Downtown Galway is a wonderful place to walk around. There's a small park, and a section where the roads are pedestrian-only. There are a number of shops, pubs, and restaurants. One of the first things we saw as we entered that part of town was several guys carrying a really drunk man on their shoulders. He was wearing England colors, and they had just won their World Cup match, so perhaps that was why he was drunk. There were many street performers around, some good, some not so good, and some downright awful. One group had a small kid along with them, and he was singing into an amplifier. Off-key singing is cute and endearing when it's a small group of kids all singing without amplification. This was just grating. We also saw some guys playing music and doing some sort of combination fake fighting and dancing.

We wandered in and out of shops in the area. Most of the girls wanted to shop for clothes in the bigger clothes stores, which I don't quite understand. Why use up valuable time and money shopping for clothes when you can do it back home? I've been trying not to buy anything that I can get easily in the States, since it's probably cheaper due to the currency conversion rate, and I won't have to lug it home in my suitcase. I did pick up a nice Ireland T-shirt at a souvenir store, but besides the stamps I've bought, that's about it. The pictures I've taken will be my souvenirs. Still, the downtown area was quite fun. I'd love to go back to Galway sometime.

As the evening progressed, it got pretty cold. I hadn't dressed warmly enough, so I headed back to the bed and breakfast to put everyone's purchases away and change my clothes. Alas, I wrapped myself up in a blanket, intending to warm myself up for a few minutes...and promptly fell asleep until I was awakened by everyone coming back around midnight. I was a bit bummed about missing the traditional Irish dancing and music at the pub, but I'm not sure how much I would have enjoyed it. I saw a video of the girls dancing, and it looked extremely crowded and noisy, which I don't tolerate well. Shannon (one of the students) even ended up with Guinness spilled in her hair.

To be continued...