Galway

I just returned a few hours ago from my first weekend trip in Galway! The weather was about as nice as you could ask for in January and we really had a great time. Galway is about halfway up the coast on the west side of Ireland. It's about 90,000 in population, but really felt smaller in the city center where we stayed. The town had a laid back atmosphere with great shops, churches, and scenic areas. Our trip began early on Friday morning when we left our apartment and made the long journey to Heuston Station in downtown Dublin. Since we are so far out from the city center it took about an hour and half to get there, but we made it in time to catch our 9:10 bus to Galway. The trip took about 3 hours, but there was a lot to look at along the way and I wasn't bored. When we got to Galway it was about noon and we went straight to our hostel to check in. We stayed right off the city center in the Claddagh Hostel which turned out to be a decent place. The staff was very helpful and nice, but the room was the smallest thing I've ever seen. There were 4 of us staying in a room that wasn't large enough for all of us to stand at the same time...so getting ready was quite difficult each morning and night. Luckily, we weren't in the room except to sleep so it wasn't terrible. After checking in and dropping our bags off we decided to explore the main part of town and walk to the Bay/ocean. It was a very windy day so it hard to walk around on the coast, but there was no rain at all which made it fine. The coast was really pretty and there was a great walking path that we used to see a lot of Galway Bay. We got to feed some swans, go to the Galway Museum, walk on the beach, and do a little shopping downtown in the afternoon. Later that night we chose random pubs to walk into that were playing traditional music and we really made some good choices. At the Taaffe we got to see some fiddle players and at Monroe’s Tavern we saw a harmonica and an instrument close to the bagpipes. People were Irish dancing at Monroe’s and that was really fun to watch. After enjoying a few Bulmer's we were ready for bed and called it a night.

The next day, Saturday, we signed up for a 7 hour bus trip that took us around County Clare and County Galway. The main attraction was the Cliffs of Moher which were amazing. The view was clear despite cloudy skies and we were able to see a lot. The wind was of course intense and there was spray getting us wet from the ocean, but I think that it was the highlight of my trip to Galway. On our way to the Cliffs of Moher we drove through the Burren. I had never heard of the Burren or seen pictures so it was really surprising to me. It's about 250 square kilometers of rocky, hilly, and pretty desolate land. There were few houses and towns and most of the land was used for grazing sheep and cows. The land was pretty in it's own special way, but is definitely not typical Irish landscape that most people think of. As we went through the Burren we stopped at Aillwee Cave and took a tour there too. The cave was about a million years old and was formed by an underground river while the glaciers were melting. The cave tour went through some pretty narrow places and I ducked the entire time- claustrophobia would have been an issue if the tour would have been longer than a half an hour. I think it was worth seeing though. On the bus tour we also stopped in Doolin for lunch, at many castles and manors, and at an old tomb. I think the bus tour was a great way to relax, listen to the tour guide, and see as much as possible in one day.

On our last day in Galway we went to the outdoor market in the morning that had food, clothes, and touristy gifts. There was some great fruit and bread, but I couldn't buy anything to take back to Dublin because it would have been a hassle. After the market we found a little cafe and ate an Irish breakfast minus the black pudding. People in Galway were really friendly and I think it was great being there off season so it wasn't as busy. I think living in Galway would be really enjoyable, but I still liked coming back to Dublin. I think I may come back to Galway if possible, because I still have to go to the Aran Islands off the coast. The wind made it unreliable for us to go, because if the winds get too high they stop the ferry and you can get stuck out on the island. Needless to say, we didn't want to get stuck on an Aran Island so we decided to stick to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren.