Galway Part 2

Hi everyone!

I am terribly sorry that it has taken me this long to post, but it really was out of my control (see previous blog). Now that it has been over a week, I am hoping that I remember what happened! I will take things one day at a time in my mind and try to go chronologically for the end of my tour with Ky. Here goes!

SO last you heard from me, we had gone on tours & met cute boys... sigh... :)

The day after the Burren/Cliffs of Moher, Ky & I did a self-guided tour of Galway city. It is a beautiful place! We went to a catholic cathedral first and I was impressed with the architecture, but there were many borderline altars for some saints that kind of creeped me out... then we went to a church of Ireland cathedral and it had such a sweet, inviting environment. It was a great mix of past & present with old stained glass and folding wooden chairs instead of pews.







We kept getting lost and spend a good while looking for a castle that was supposed to be right in the centre of the city - turns out we had passed it a billion times but that it had been transformed into a bank! Just inside the doors, the walls were covered in pages & pages of information on the history of the place. I learned that the term "lynching" comes from an irishman named "Lynch" who decided that because he was responsible for the well-being of the city, he made himself judge, jury & executioner. The first time Lynch filled these roles was when he tried, convicted & executed his own son for something that today would have been quite trivial. He was not a mean man - it was the law - and he was devastated by the decision that had to be made (so says the stories) - but nonetheless, that's the origination for the term "lynching." Cool, eh? :)

There's your lesson for the day!

Also while we wandered the lovely city of Galway, we went to the Claddagh Ring museum/store. It is the only store that still uses the original molds from the 1700's for the rings and it is the only seller approved by the Irish government for authentic Claddagh rings, so of course, I bought one! :) FYI: for anyone who is curious about the rules of wearing a Claddagh, the only rule is the direction in which you place the ring (heart pointing toward your arm = married/in love, heart pointing toward your fingernail = single/available) -- there is no rule about which hand or which finger on which to wear the ring...

Later that night, we made plans to meet a couple Swiss girls in my room at a pub for traditional irish music. Ky and I arrived early because we had gone out for supper and we wanted to get a seat. It was a cute pub, but way crowded! There was a(NOTHER) older man who came over and introduced himself to me before Ky sat down and he came back later on in the evening and chatted us up for a minute or two. What is it with me & Ky and men old enough to be our dads/grandpas??? oh well!

It got too hot in the pub, so Ky & I were leaving just as the Swiss girls showed up. We gave them our seats and met them back at the hostel later. It was too early to go back, so Ky & I went and sat by the river at the Spanish Arch and enjoyed the swans for a while and to Eyre square where I saw my 1st passing out drunk adult. It was sad. I nearly cried watching this 50 yr old man wobble halfway through the square (a giant square-shaped park) and hit the ground and just lie there. I don't look forward to witnessing that again...

LAST DAY in Galway:

We took another tour, yay! This time, it was to the Aran Islands. We bused for 2 hrs to the ferry point and rode the ferry to the islands for over an hour. Arriving at Inis Mor ("inishmore"), we were bombarded by men with vans who would take us on a tour of the island. Ky and I had been a little concerned about riding a bike all over the island - but had begun to seriously consider it because there was stuff we wanted to see that was too far to walk when this cute old man approached us and asked us if we wanted a tour; it was the same price as a bike rental, so we jumped at the chance! :)

We saw the 7 churches (see picture below) & seals & the gaelic school & the smallest village on the island (about 8 houses) & dun aengus. Dun aengus was an ancient fort built on the coast of Inis Mor. Over the centuries, part of the island eroded into the Atlantic and half the fort went with it, so dun aengus is now half a fort and a cliff. There is no barrier between the public and the cliff, so Ky & I went to about 3 ft from the edge of the cliff, lied down and looked over it. THAT was craziness! It felt like the ground was tipping us headfirst into the sea (view = pic on right)!










Dun aengus is also the place where I received a "get out of jail free" card in Ky's books... there was this really cute, broody, black-irish fellow who worked in the entrance to the fort that Ky found... interesting... :) So while she was in the bathroom, I went back into the bldg and asked him if I could take his picture. I knew she wouldn't let me do it if I'd told her, and I didn't embarrass her by saying I was taking it for her! Actually, what I said was, "I am obviously a tourist, and we have decided that you are the epitome of what an irishman should look like, would you please let me take a picture of you???" And he burst out laughing and gave me permission! See picture below:
okay... so he's not so broody, but he's cute & irish and I made him laugh out loud! :)

After the tour, we arrived back at the port village and wandered around the stores (Aran Sweater Market was cool) and then sat on a wall looking out to sea and took photographs of people passing by... we did NOT, however, take pictures of the brave old man who decided that it was a good idea to go swimming at a very public beach at a very populated port and change his clothes in the wide open spaces! :) Besides the shows we got (before & after the swim), we also thought he was brave for swimming in the ocean at all! The water doesn't get above 50F!

And that, I believe is the end of our Galway experience. :)

Look for a Sligo update in the next couple days...