We left Friday night around 6pm and make it to the hostel in Galway around 10pm. The hostel was really nice. We had to climb up these very very steep stairs. There were hand painted murals on the walls, one was a girl sitting on a windowsill looking out at the water in Galway harbor, another one was a old looking gate of an inn, with one candle lit in the corner. It was like beckoning wearing travelers into the inn. Upstairs in the hostel, there was the reception, big dining area with tables and chairs and a mural on the wall. Down the corridor was a kitchen area. I've never seen a hostel before or knew how they worked. Apparently you can bring your own food and use the kitchen to cook all your meals. The rooms of the hostel are dorm style, we were 8 to a room, complete with summer camp style bunk beds. One big bathroom for girls at the other end of the hall, boys as well. After arriving and settling in, we headed out to the pubs! We only had about a 3 minute walk to the downtown area of Galway. The street where the strip of pubs were located was cobblestone, it reminded me a lot of Nantucket actually. We went to the King's Head pub which was great! It was huge, for a pub, complete with live music. The lead singer was a women with a great voice and she sang tons of popular songs so we could dance and sing along. We found a place to sit near the stage to hang out and put our coats down. Almost at the end of the night, a guy randomly got on stage and started making a speech. We didn't really know what was going on but after a few minutes, we realized he was....proposing to his girlfriend! On stage, at the pub! We're not sure, but he was pretty gone at that point, his speech went something like this, "I've know you for 8 years, I met you in gym class and you made me sweaty, will you marry me?" Haha, it was great and unexpected all at the same time. Of course his girlfriend said yes, she gave him a big hug (no kiss?) and everyone cheered. We got back to the hostel around 2am, pretty late considering we had to wake up the next day at 8am.
Saturday we woke up at 8, had a breakfast of cereal and toast and headed out for Inis Mor, the largest of the Aran Islands, famous for their wool sweaters and 'Gaeltecht' or Gaelic-speaking region. It took about an hour to drive to the ferry. It was a really great ride to the ferry because we got to watch the sun really hit the sky. We drove along the beach as well; our introduction to some beautiful Irish scenery. At 10:30am we got on the little boat to take us to Inis Mor. The water looked a bit choppy because it was windy, but I thought it'd be okay. I'm pretty used to boats, going to Nantucket and all. I made the mistake though of sitting in the front of the boat and it was quite rocky. Back and forth, up and down, hitting waves. I was not a happy camper. Thank goodness it was only a 40 minute ride. Getting off the boat, I got a wonderful wiff of fresh sea air. It was nice to be back on an island again. The air was so crisp and fresh. Right at the dock was the bike rental place and we all rented bikes for the day, only 6 euro. Then we headed off to go exploring. We were hungry and wanted to find some place to eat, but the only thing we came across was a SPAR and a little coffee shop. There were two cats hanging around outside, they were so cute! I had to pet them, of course. One of the cats had some sort of tumor or something on its nose, so we said the cat was Jewish, it had quite the Jewish nose. So, not being able to find a place to eat, we just decided to keep biking. The bike ride was wonderful! We saw cows, goats, horses, dogs and cats. I can't even describe the landscape, it was gorgeous. The Aran Islands is exactly what you think about when you imagine Ireland. Stone walls everywhere, beautiful green fields, rocky coastlines and everything. About ten minutes into our ride, we got hit with a terrible hailstorm! It only lasted about 5 minutes but it was so painful I had to get off my bike and run for cover. It was a really rainy and wet day, especially riding on the dirt roads through puddles. By the end of the day my pants were soaking wet. We stopped so often to take pictures as well it was just so beautiful. We biked for about 45 minutes down the road, looking for this stone ruin, I forgot the name. After a while, we were tired, wet, cold and hungry and decided to just head back into town. We took a path along the beach. It was quite long but a lot less hilly, less difficult to bike. We saw cows and goats along the way. The animals seemed very intrigued by our presence and walked right up to us. About an hour later, we were back in town. We went to the little coffee shop for some tea and bread and cheese. After that, we returned our bikes at the pier and went shopping at the Aran Island Sweater Market, complete with handmade original Aran Island sweaters. The shop was beautiful, I got myself a really nice button down sweater and a few things for my family as well. Apparently, different Irish family clans created different patterns on the sweaters. So, depending on the patters, you could tell what family someone was from. They had lots of those family sweaters which was cool. Of course, I didn't think Cooke would be there, it's pretty much an English last name, and if Irish, from the North.
At 5:00pm it was time to head back to Galway. At this point it was so windy, and freezing. The water was horrible and I was not looking forward to the ride back. It was going to be miserable. Luckily, Jeremy had some dramamine and I took one without question. We also sat at the back of the boat, right above the motor, the stablest part of the boat. The ride wasn't actually that bad on the way back. Back in the hostel by 6:30. At 7:30pm we had a group dinner at a pub/restaurant downtown. It was really really good, I had Irish vegetable soup and lasagna. After dinner we went to a pub called The Quays (pronounced 'Keys'). That was nice and low key. We found some tables away from the crowds and the bars and just chatted most of the night. I was exhausted from our trip and was happy to head to bed.
Sunday morning, today, we woke up at 9 and had to be on the bus by 10 to head to the infamous Cliffs of Moher. It was a two hour ride to the cliffs in County Clare, but the most scenic ride through the Burren. It was indescribable. We drove right on the coast, seeing beautiful rocky beaches, beautiful water and enormous crashing waves. The Cliffs of Moher were absolutely breathtaking. I've dreamed about going there for as long as I remember and it was almost surreal to be there. The Cliffs seemed almost too perfectly crafted. It was freezing and so windy but BEAUTIFUL. We spent about a hour there.
We then started to head back to Dublin. We stopped in a town called Bunratty, famous for its Bunratty Castle. We headed to a local pub for some good pub grub. I had fish and chips, a classic of course. The pub was really quaint with a fireplace and everything. Around 4:30pm we hit the road and got to Dublin around 8pm tonight. All in all, it was a wonderful trip, I saw the most beautiful parts of Ireland. I met some more American students studying at Trinity as well. It's nice to come back home to the apartment, but kind of sad to be back in Dublin. One cannot go to Dublin and say they've experienced Ireland. The West is really where I feel most at home, its so open, fields and landscape for days. I will visiting the West often and always. Great weekend, and for 95 euro a great experience.
I'm so glad you loved the West because when I come out to visit you that's where we're going, fyi :)
ReplyDeleteAlthough with any luck a tad further north than where you were- to County Mayo... we shall see.