Great Galway

Traveling to Ireland was a one of the best trips I have ever had. I was able to see the gorgeous west coast of Ireland as well as the metropolitan center of Dublin. Ireland is very a special place to visit because of the landscapes, pubs, and music!

I traveled with the Harlaxton school group from February 9th to the 13th. The group left Harlaxton Manor by 8 p.m and we traveled by bus to Holyhead, Wales. We arrived in Holyhead around 1:00 a.m the next morning to board a ferry to Dublin. The ferry was much more comfortable than the bus and I took the opportunity to get some sleep. Unfortunately there were some young boys on the ferry that were running around and rough housing. I am not sure where their parents were or why they were on a Ferry at 3 a.m in the morning. I ended up not getting very much sleep. The ferry reached the dock in Dublin around 6 a.m. We boarded the bus again and went to a hotel to have breakfast. This was a short stop because our destination at the moment was not Dublin, but Galway on the west coast.

Halfway through the bus ride to Galway, we stopped at Clonmacnoise. Clonmacnoise is the cross roads of central Ireland and was founded in 548 A.D and developed into a major center for Christianity and trade. Arriving in Clonmacnoise there was a thick fog, but the sun was still shining strong. This gave Clonmacnoise a very surreal feel.

This is a cross leading to the entrance of what used to be a monastery. Clonmacnoise was attacked often by invaders and some of the buildings were destroyed.

More crosses by a tower which over looks the River Shannon.

A gravel walkway through Clonmacnoise. Clonmacnoise has the largest collection of early Christian grave stones in western Europe.

After visiting Clonmacnoise, we boarded the bus for the last time until we arrived in Galway. Once in Galway the school checked into the hostel that we were staying in. Immediately once getting into the room I crashed. After driving across the width of two islands and crossing one sea, a nap was much needed.

My nap refreshed my body enough to make it through the rest of the day. My roommates, a few others and I walked about the streets of Galway in the search of food. We eventually came across a Mexican restaurant where I had a chicken caesar burrito. It was a different take on what I normally think of a burrito, but it was good tasting and fairly cheap at 7.50 Euro.

One of the streets in Galway that was about a block or two from the main pedestrian center.

After eating it was time for more wondering around the streets of Galway. Galway is a great town to walk around in because there are good shops and plenty of pubs to stop into. Along the streets are performers or also called buskers. In Ireland it is possible for these buskers to land record deals and become stars. Some examples include Damien Rice and Glen Hansard of the Frames and Swell Season. If you have a moment take the time to listen to the buskers you may be surprised that some them have great talent and passion for music.

Once the sun settled and it became night, it was time to check out the pubs. We ended up in this one pub in the main town center that wasn’t too crowded. There was a group in the pub playing live Irish folk music. It was the perfect tune to drink a chilled pint of Guinness too. Guinness straight from the tap in Ireland is one the most wonderful drinks I have ever had. It is extremely smooth with its signature flavor. It made me take things a little bit slower and just enjoy the atmosphere. After my Guinness, I wanted to complete what I considered the Irish Trinity of beers: Guinness, Kilkenny Irish Creme Ale, and Smithwick’s Alre.

Just the three pints rounded out my night because I had to wake up early to go to the Cliff’s of Moher. The next morning we boarded the bus at 8 am to to take an over 2 hour ride to see the cliff’s. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy and foggy in the morning and it stayed that way at the cliffs. At the cliffs the wind was very strong coming off the Atlantic Ocean.

Looking onto the Cliff’s of Moher. A fake touristy tower is what is seen perched on top of the cliff that is there mostly for aesthetics.

The Cliff’s of Moher rise about 400 feet over the Atlantic Ocean. These cliffs are the largest cliff in western Europe. I am presuming that the fjords in Scandinavia are larger. The Cliffs of Moher are also 1 of the 28 finalist for the 7 new wonders of the world. The cliffs are very impressive and on scale that is hard to capture in a photograph.

This a shot of the cliffs looking south. The waves violently crash against the cliff sending up a spray of water droplets.

We stayed at the Cliffs of Moher for over an hour and then boarded the coach to drive to Doolin. Doolin is a small village about 15 minutes away from the cliffs. We ate lunch at a pub here were I had a beef stew that was cooked in Guinness. Sitting down in the pub and eating a warm lunch was very satisfying after being exposed to the strong winds at the cliffs. After we were done eating, we walked to pier where could get up close to the Atlantic Ocean.

This was on our walk to the ocean. The sky really started to clear up after lunch.

There was not a beach at Doolin because its shore was a bunch of smooth and slick rocks. The strong waves crashing on the shore left sea foam in between the rocks.

The stop in Doolin was brief because we still had to make a bus trip back to Galway. We arrived back in Galway in the late afternoon. After checking back in the hostel and getting reorganized, a small group of us walked to Galway Bay to see the sun set.

This is a shot from walking to the bay. Two old wooden boats were washed up against the ledge in the marina.

The sun gracefully set down in between some clouds in Galway bay. The colors coming off the hills, sky, and water were a treat to see.

In the center of Galway bay is small island with a causeway connecting it to the mainland. I was not able to figure out what was on the island because it was gated by security. It reminded me a lot of Alcatraz in San Francisco. I had a great time watching the sun set because I was with good company. The only thing that bummed me out was that I didn’t bring a jacket. The temperature felt great at the hostel, but on the causeway the wind was much stronger coming off the bay. My hands and ears began to get very chilled.

After watching the sun set behind the clouds, we walked back over to the main part of town where our hostel was. Along the way we stopped into an Irish pub to have the most appropriate drink to have when cold, an Irish coffee.

The Irish Coffee was amazing. It had Jameson mixed with the coffee and topped with fresh cream and cinnamon. Nothing feels better than a warm drink after being out in the cold.

It was refreshing hanging out in the pub sipping on Irish coffee and chatting with some locals. The people in Ireland are very welcoming. Soon enough it was time to have dinner. Our small group of people split up to find places to eat. Three people and I had a caving to find a place to get curry. We walked around for about 20 minutes and decided that it was time to call a quits. We eventually settled on going to eat fast food cheeseburgers. They tasted just fine and were cheap which was a good thing. Ireland is not the cheapest place to travel through even though they are on the Euro.

Once were done eating, we walked over to an ‘Off License’ convenient store where they sold a 20 pack of chilled bottled Carlsberg for 18 Euro. It was the best deal in town for cheap beer. All four of us put in 5 Euro a piece and in return we each had 5 beers. We took our case back to the hostel were we could drink them in the lounge. Most people in the hostel gave a surprised look that we rolled up with a full case of beer and had the intention of finishing it in. After about an hour of drinking and talking, we head back out the door to go out to the local clubs. It was a very fun night and we didn’t get back till late. Which was somewhat of a problem because we had to get up early to ride in the coach to Dublin.

Galway was a great city to visit. There is plenty of scenery to see and places to walk. The streets and pubs are both filled with great live music. Also, the locals were very nice and helpful made sure we enjoyed their city. All these things made touring Galway a pleasure.