Galway Girl

Galway, we only had you for one night, but the memory of you lingers still.  We began our recent jaunt in Ireland with landing in Dublin, and then driving 2.5 hours, on the opposite side of the road, on the opposite side of the car, to Galway. It was most certainly worth it.

We stayed at the  Park House Hotel right kind of in the middle of everything in Galway city. The hotel was great, the staff was nice and the rooms were HUGE by European standards. Which wasn't a big deal to the Nolandians, because we like being sandwiched together, but it was a nice surprise nonetheless.

We quickly rinsed off in the shower to get off that travel yuck, and then changed our clothes and headed out. We knew we had super limited time, so we were on a mission.

I think we did well. We started out at McDonagh's for fish and chips, and were not disappointed. We strut on over to Naughton's which is praised again and again all over the internet for being one of the finest pubs in Ireland. Not very touristy at all, a fair price for a pint and great music to boot.

After that, honestly, things get fuzzy. We bought claddagh rings, since Claddagh is not a place anymore, and Galway claims to have been the first to make them anyway. We had...more pints? Maybe? Then we had smoked salmon? A lot of delirious laughter? I'm not sure. But, we did wander around the streets, my favorite exploradora pastime, and got a feel for the Spanish arches and the Latin Quarter and the fishing past of this delightful little place.

We awoke the next morning with only time to grab a bite of breakfast before we started our drive down the wild coast of Ireland, but we were sad to go.
And, we can't wait to come back.

xx See you back for our drive down the coast, and our life-altering experience at the Cliffs of Moher.