On Friday after the acting class with Donal, we hopped on a bus and went to Galway for the weekend! It was a two and a half hour bus ride but was well worth the trip! Walking to the hostel we walked through the Christmas Market that had many booths, lots of food, and many rides. This train below would take you around Galway. After we checked into Snoozle's Hostel some of us went back to the Christmas fair.
As I mentioned before we walked to the hostel along the large pedestrian shopping area.
Next to the hostel is the famous McDonegh's Fish Restaurant. They have the best fish and chips! Some of us had dinner there. There are two sides to the restaurant. On the left (where we ate is basically fish and chips to go or eat in. Some had chicken) on the right is a fancier sit down restaurant. More expensive.
Part of the menu on the fish and chips side. Wide variety of fish.
Across the street from the hostel is The Quays pub and bar. There is a sister pub in Temple Bar in Dublin. This was taken from the window in my room. I overlooked where all the action was.
Below Papa Rich is my favorite pub in Galway. Usually it is quiet and full of locals. Musicians arrive around 10 pm and play. Nice to have an Irish coffee and sit by the fireplace. This time it was packed; body to body people being loud. I walked in and immediately walked out. The place has been discovered by more tourists. Not the same!!!!
Marlee, Anna, Amanda, and Arielle went to the Cliffs of Moher and other sites on Saturday. Some of their photos are below.
Others stayed in Galway and shopped, went to the farmer's market where, along with food, crafts were being sold. Some went back to the Christmas Fair, and most went to the ocean and explore Galway Bay. Below is the river that flows through the city and goes out to the ocean.
These photos are from Ahnika and Julie who went to the sea!
Ahnika is wearing her new hat she bought at the farmer's market from a woman who uses vintage fabric to make hats.
Photos from the Cliffs of Moher tour. I told the girls who went that they need to see the movie Ryan's Daughter directed by David Lean who did Laurence of Arabia and Doctor Zivargo. These films deal with water, desert, and snow in that order! Great films.
Yup! I did it again. I bought another handmade Irish sweater from Anne at O'Maille's. I have bought at least 10 or more sweaters from Anne. This was a color I did not have. Didn't need it, but I had to have it. I look at it as an investment. These handmade sweaters are knitted by ladies on the Aran Islands. Many of them are in their late 80's and 90's. They are dying off or cannot knit as many sweaters anymore. They are becoming scarce. The younger generation is not knitting! It is a dying art. The quality of these sweaters is fantastic. Heavy and you do not wash them. Self -cleaning because of the lanolin in the wool. The quality is so much better than the machine made sweaters. These are the real thing. They were originally made for the fisherman to wear. Each family had their own design or cabling. If someone drowned at sea, they could be identified by the design on their sweater as to which family they belonged to. Some of the ladies maybe will knit one sweater every 6 months where in the past they could do 6 or more in that time. So if you go to Galway go to O'Maille's and ask for Anne. She'll take care of you!!!!
A church I passed by. Great stained-glass window.
Galway has many, many street musicians. All kinds of music. Fun city!
I took these from the bus on our way back to Dublin on Sunday! A good time was had by all.....I am doing one more blog on Ireland to cover the acting showcase and our last days in Dublin. Stay tuned.
THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!!
