We landed in the Dublin Airport around 5 a.m with little to no sleep. Cranky due to a lack of sleep, we found the bus station and boarded our gobus that would take us to Galway. We both attempted to stay awake during the 2.5 hour drive across the country so we could see the landscape. Alas, it proved to be impossible but we missed nothing. We could have been on the Garden State Parkway for all we knew, for the highway was not built through the stunning scenery we would see in the coming days.
We arrived in Galway around 9 a.m. and attempted to check into the hotel early. Our room was not ready but they let us leave our bags at the hotel so we could go explore Galway. It was a beautiful Sunday morning and the concierge recommended heading down to an area of Galway called Salthill. Before heading out, we stopped for some homemade scones and they proved to be the best ones of the trip.
Mmm a homemade scone and Americano. How Euro.
Salthill is a lovely seaside region of Galway. A boardwalk borders the small, rocky beach that lines the coast. Galwayins…Galwayites….Galwayidens...Residents of Galway! like to spend their Sundays walking on the boardwalk with their families, lovers, dogs, or by themselves, so we were able to get a grasp of the population of this small city. The sun was shining and we enjoyed a walk on the beach before soaking up the sun while sitting on a boardwalk bench.
While I had punched my jet lag in the face and was crazy awake, Kathryn was not nearly as lucky. The lack of sleep had really caught up with her, and after taking a short tour of the shops on Shop Street in Galway, she was ready to go back to the hotel for a nap. I was not averse to taking one as well. Hoping to enjoy a short nap in our own beds, we headed back to the hotel. Alas, we were rudely surprised that we had made a mistake during our booking and the room had one double bed, instead of two. (I’m pretty sure the concierge thought we were lesbians. Oops)
After a nice three-hour nap in which we were forced to sleep in the same bed, we were ready to join the final day of the St. Patrick’s Day weekend festivities. Our concierge recommended going to Tig Coili, a local bar that was famous for its traditional Irish music. We headed down there, hoping it would have music, Guinness and food, for we had not yet eaten dinner. Alas, the only thing this bar had was Guinness. There was no food to be had, and the music was faint, if nonexistent. However, the bar did have Irish men. And here enters Leo! Leo became our new Irish friend from Dublin. He was visiting Galway with some friends for St. Patrick’s Day and he loves Americans!
We joined Leo and his friends, and headed to the Dáil Bar where they did not have traditional Irish music but at least had a band that we could hear. After hanging out with Leo for a while, we met three men from London (I am now coining that title for my future TV sitcom). One was from New Zealand, and the other two from outside of London. While we only remembered one of their names, Alasdair, we enjoyed hanging out with them and hopefully I will meet up with them when I am in England this summer!
Yes Ladies, creepy, older men do exist in Ireland and they may actually be more handsy than those in America.
Alas, our first full day in Ireland had to come to an end at some point. We needed to be up early the next day for our tour to Connemara and left the bar around midnight. Overall, it was a wonderful and full day, despite not getting much sleep and not eating dinner. Til next time!
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