A Weekend in Galway

It’s been awhile since I passed for under 16.  Sure, people may have mistaken me as being in high school or even having just completed my first year of college, but it’s been quite some time since someone’s thought I was 15…or younger.  On the train ride from Portarlington in County Laois to Galway, I showed the train conductor my children’s ticket, and he didn’t even bat an eye.  It was 20 Euros for the children’s ticket and 40 for the adult.  I’m glad I chanced it and bought the children’s ticket.  The train ride was lovely.  I hadn’t ridden a train since being in Ireland, and the experience was much better than I expected.  The seats were roomy, and it was a smooth ride.  Plus, I had a great view of the Irish countryside as we zipped along.  The best part is that it was cheaper than the bus.  Galway was ready for me when I arrived at noon.  In fact, it was crying out of happiness.  Thankfully, I had a backpack cover and Northface jacket to protect my belongings and body for my walk from the bus station to the hostel, and getting there took less than five minutes.  I stayed at the Sleepzone, just of off Eyre Square, the main square in Galway.  It was a great location, and the rooms were clean, as was the self-service kitchen I had at my disposal.  The only problem was that check-in wasn’t until two, so I had to find something to occupy my time for an hour and a half.  Luckily, I had seen a shopping center along my walk, and I went back there to kill time.  As an American, I’m too hesitant to leave my bag in the luggage room, and I’m too cheap to pay for a locker, so I toted my weekend backpack along with me on my shopping excursion.  It wasn’t too heavy except for my laptop, but by the time I was done shopping, my back and shoulders were screaming.  I found a few little gifts, and I even bought a very cute, modest bathing suit for only seven Euros – what a steal.  At 2:30, I came back to the hostel to regroup and check into my room.  At first I didn’t have any roommates, but after reading for 45 minutes, I had met a girl from Maryland named Megan and a girl from Quebec named Gabrielle, both of which I thought were nice.  We all were traveling on our and agreed to hang out together for the night but wanted to have rest time first.  There is something about rainy weather that seems to wear people out.  I laid in bed, just enjoying doing nothing on my own terms for the first time since I’ve been in Ireland.  At around 4:30, we dragged ourselves out of bed and walked to the nearest grocery store to buy food for dinner.  It was absolutely down pouring by that time.  I bought meat and wine to contribute, and once we got back to the hostel, we worked together to make meat spaghetti for dinner.  It was delicious, and I really enjoyed having women my own age to get to know.  Megan is a seventh grade English teacher in Maryland, and Gabrielle just graduated college and will be starting work as a police officer in Quebec soon.  After dinner, we did dishes and got ready to go out to a few pubs.  The first place we tried was recommended by the guy at the front desk and was called Tig Coili.  It had great music, and we met a few nice, older men to talk to.  The one I spoke to for a few minutes noticed that I was wearing an engagement ring and wanted to know about my fellow.  I loved telling him about Brendan.  After I was done and ready to leave, he said, with a wink, that he would be looking for a wedding invitation.  At that point, Gabrielle decided to walk back to the hostel because she was wet and miserable, so Megan and I continued on to the next pub.  Along the way, we stopped at a candy shop and a few other stores.  Neither of us bought anything all night, including any beverages, which made the memory all the better.  Along our walk, we went by a restaurant and pub called Kelly’s.  We heard great music coming from outside, so we decided to go in and check it out.  We must have walked in on the tail end of an engagement party because it was all set up for the new couple, but the only people in the pub were the three guys making music.  One had a guitar, another had a banjo, and the third had a drum and accordion he alternated between.  We sat at the bar studying them for a few minutes before walking over and complimenting their music.  They were clearly flattered by the attention and proceeded to play for us for the next hour.  They were really nice guys and invited us to go for a pint with them at a bar next store.  We accepted, although neither Megan nor I drank anything, and had a blast sitting at their table as they played for the stand up only crowd.  At around ten, we left to walk back to the hostel, both agreeing that it was one of our best and most memorable nights in Ireland thus far.  I then talked to Bren and my family before going to bed for the night.  I slept like a baby because I had prepared myself with ear plugs and an eye mask – the two most essential items when staying at a hostel.  Without both, you wake up irritable and mad at your roommates and every other loud, drunk person at the hostel.  We also had two French girls in our room, but I didn’t meet them until I woke up at nine on Saturday morning.  It was still raining, of course, and even after I got ready and ate breakfast, the wind and rain persisted.  Gabrielle and I were set on exploring the city, wind or rain, so we left around eleven.  The first famous site we saw was the claddagh.  It’s gold plated and located on Priory Road.  The hands portray friendship, while also clasping the heart to donate love, topped by the crown to signify loyalty.  We also stumbled upon a stand set up to support the Palestinians being ousted by the Israelis and a market outside St. Nicholas’ Cathedral.  We then walked along the River Corrib until we got to the Spanish arch.  The Spanish arch is one of the most famous symbols in Galway, but I found it a little disappointing.  The area surrounding it is called the Latin Quarter to commemorate the Spanish landing there in the 1500s, but no one speaks Spanish, and the people who have businesses there say the term ‘Latin Quarter’ is more of a joke and a way to get tourists in.  Along the Galway Harbor, we saw quite a few swans, a bird that was surprising, along with several seagulls.  Gabrielle and I then walked to the Galway Cathedral, which was stunning.  It was grandiose and even better than I expected.  We took pictures outside and then gave the inside a peek, but we walked in on the middle of mass, so we didn’t take any pictures.  From there, we decided to do a little shopping along Shop Street.  I found the most perfect dress for my bachelorette party for only 10 Euros.  It was from an upscale designer store having a huge sale, and it’s black velvet with one shoulder and sleeve.  It fits perfectly.  I was so excited about the dress that I called Brendan on skype as soon as I got back to the hostel.  I unfortunately woke him up, which curbed his enthusiasm, but I got to talk to him, so I guess that’s what really matters.  After eating my lunch of peanut butter and jelly, I went back to my room to take a nap and read my book.  I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and enjoyed just having nothing to do.  In some ways I’m upset that it rained the entire time I was in Galway, but in other ways, it made the experience more relaxing because I didn’t feel the need to compulsively drag myself from one place to another.  At six I walked to the grocery store to buy some yogurt and vegetarian cannellini and ate it while playing war with Gabrielle.  We then left the hostel at 7:45 to go see the movie Bridesmaids at a nearby theatre.  There were parts that were a little raunchy, but we laughed almost the entire time.  We walked out of the theatre, both agreeing that we would have turned around and watched it again.  I think the people around us felt similarly, as the entire packed theatre waited until after the credits to leave.  When we got back to our hostel we found out the movie was so popular because the main male actor, Chris O’Dowd, is from Galway.  At 10:30, I then skyped with Brendan for a little while and then went to bed.  I woke up at 9:45, 15 minutes before check-out, thanks to Gabrielle tapping me on the shoulder and telling me I had slept through my alarm.  I hurriedly got ready and packed up so I could check-out without a late fee tacked on to my bill.  I then took my time walking to the Galway Cathedral for mass and arrived 30 minutes before it started.  I spent 20 of those minutes writing in my journal and the other 10 enjoying the organ music.  After mass I walked back to my hostel, stopping at Subway for a sandwich, and sat down to enjoy some free Internet for skyping with Brendan and my parents before walking to the train station to return to County Laois.  Along the way, I walked through Eyre Square, Galway’s sorry excuse for a park, and fought cigarette smoke the whole way.  At the train station, the train conductor gave me a little harder time about my ticket, asking me when my birthday was, but I had prepared the answer of July 4, 1995, and he let me pass.  Although Galway wasn’t my favorite city, and it rained almost the entire time I was there, I really enjoyed my first weekend of traveling entirely alone and making new friends.  I gained a lot of self-confidence and enjoyed just being with myself.  I think I’m a nice person to be around, and I feel lucky to have this opportunity to get to know myself better.