Galway!

Another weekend, another trip. Going to Galway this weekend was a great idea! We didn't even really decide we were going till the beginning of the week! It was really nice to see more of Ireland. Galway is on the west coast and we took the train there so we definitely go to see a lot more of the countryside.

We spent Friday just doing our own little walking tour. We saw the church where Christopher Columbus stopped on his way to the New World. We walked along the pier. We stopped in the shops. Ashley, Kaitlyn, and I bought souvenirs: Claddagh rings! They were originally made in that area. The ring is two hands holding a crowned heart. It's really pretty. We felt bad for dragging our friend Ryan to all the jewelry shops though but it was worth it.
Friday night we made our own pub crawl! We visited 6 different pubs around Galway! It was a good mix. We had some good traditional Irish music at a few of them. Overall, they were less crowded and cheaper than pubs in Dublin.

Saturday morning we did something amazing! We ate the full Irish breakfast. Now this is not for the faint of heart. It was a lot of food. Let me see if I can remember: tea, orange juice, toast, bacon (kind of like Canadian Bacon), a fried egg, fried potatoes, mushrooms, half a tomato, baked beans, sausage, black pudding, and white pudding. We were so full afterwards. None of us wanted to eat till dinner.
After breakfast, we wandered through the farmers' market and then walked by the river up to the Cathedral. Even though it was really foggy out we decided to walk out to Salthill to go on the promenade by the sea. We didn't have much of a view but it was still fun.

Ireland was playing Italy in rugby that afternoon (they just started the Six Nations tournament. It's a pretty big deal especially since Ireland is the defending champ from last year) so we headed into a pub to watch the match. I'm starting to feel like I have a little bit of an idea of what is going on in a rugby match though it still looks a little chaotic to me at times. Ireland won the match and we chatted with a nice Irish guy throughout the game. Irish people will talk to Americans about anything and they often seem much more interested in current American events than any of us are.

So that was the weekend in Galway. It's been a good start to the week here in Dublin. We watched the Super Bowl last night at O'Connell House. This weekend I might head to Tralee and the Dingle Peninsula with some friends and then next weekend I am heading to Stockholm. Hopefully a weekend just in Dublin at the end of the month!