We ate breakfast at the hotel for one last time, then headed to Galway. We drove through a place called Connemara, which was a huge valley formed between mountains on each side, with various lakes and parks. It was completely undeveloped and absolutely incredible. At one point, we passed a large lake, and the guide informed us that the German U-Boats used to hide down there because it was a strategic point, and deep enough. That was surprising, because in all honesty it wasn't that wide and it seemed so improbable. It was absolutely breathtaking. I was slightly annoyed because the fog was upon us again, until I said something to the girl next to me. She laughed, and said, it's Ireland, it's not about seeing everything you can possibly see, it's about noticing how beautiful what you can see is. Well, what do I say to that? She was right, I need to start being more appreciative of what I can see instead of trying to see everything, even metaphorically. For some reason, this one just stuck with me, pretty powerful stuff.
We arrived in Galway around lunch time, and were set free,
so we headed directly to our hostel to unload our heavy bags. The hostel was very cool, and apparently one of the best in Ireland so I set the standard too high for expectations. They had a pool table, TV's, a large kitchen for everyone to share, breakfast provided in the morning, and a movie room with a vast collection of movies. The living room was open until 5 am, and we were encouraged to come back after going out to meet some of the other guests. Kelsey, Brian, John, and I shared a room packed with 4 bunk beds, but a decent view out the window, so I wasn't complaining. Plus, the hostel was right in the middle of all the action in Galway, so it couldn't have been any more perfect. We set out for lunch, and found a pub with a great lunch special so we were sold. There was a slight chill in the air, but our table was in front of a crackling fireplace. Ideal. We got a coke, "chips", and a sandwich as part of the deal, so I ordered a chicken and basil pesto sandwich on ciabatta bread, and loved life. After we finished eating, We headed down to the Galway City Museum where they had a huge wooden sailboat suspended from the ceiling taking up all 4 stories. From there, we had a cool view of the river and the Spanish Arch. When we left there, we went to the Galway Cathedral and couldn't have timed it better.
When we walked in a vocalist was playing the harp, and the sound of it was echoing through the massive structure, and this only improved when she started singing. I went in and lit a candle in the front of the alter for my grandparents, and Jim, as well as my family back home. It was one of those striking moments. I wasn't the only one it hit, and we all sat down and just listened for at least 20 minutes to this women singing without saying a word. Remarkable, especially for our group! When we left, we saw another church, but after our first cathedral, this did nothing to stack up and we left as soon as we entered. We left around dinner time, and decided to save money by instead buying frozen pizzas to cook at the hostel rather than going out to eat. We bought a couple bottles of wine as well, but didn't realize a corkscrew was a necessity. We laughed a lot, but eventually a french man got so frustrated watching us that he came over, took a knife and the bottles from us, and used the knife to pull the cork out so flawlessly. He looked at us and the wine, and said "This is not good, you know right?". Well, there went our attempt to be classy. Now I was looking forward to it! We met a group of South Korean kids staying at the hostel, and talked to them for a while. They gave us some "happy water" that they had. It wasn't happy, or fun, or anything I will ever take a sip of again. We later headed out to a cool old pub with a large music stage and a live band playing cover songs of everything we knew. There were a bunch of other kids from our program there too, so that was even more fun to see everyone out. We arrived back at the hostel later, and I met a couple of guys from Dublin in the living room, and we talked for a while before I was too tired and crashed.
The morning I woke up at 9:59, and breakfast was complimentary until 10. I don't think I've ever ran that fast in my life, but I made it and that's what counts. I got a little bit of everything, with a huge smile on my face! I was the only one who made it, so I went back and lounged with them in the room until housekeeping came to kick us out. We walked through Galway, and stopped at a massive open market where they picked up breakfast. I bought a couple of pizza bagels for a euro, and they were well worth it! This market had everything, from sweaters, to produce, to woodcrafts and meats and cheeses. We had to catch the bus back in the afternoon, and we had checked out of the hostel, so we went to the McDonalds and ordered Shamrock Shakes so that we could set everything down and relax for a couple of minutes. We caught the bus out of Galway, and like that my Western Ireland excursion was over. Hopefully I will make it back someday, and Galway will be at the top of my to-do list!
PS While I was awake for the ride to Galway the entire time, this is what Brian had to deal with:
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