Adventureland

So this weekend I didn’t go on any planned trips or anything quite so regimented as the Cliffs of Moher trip.  Instead, I explored Galway with my roommates.

Friday
On Friday I woke up at around 11am and meandered into my kitchen to cook some eggs for breakfast.  It’s actually strange, I keep telling my roommates that I can’t sleep in here.  Ok, I know both of my parents are rolling their eyes thinking “You can’t sleep in?!  11am is enough of a sleep in!”  But at home if you let me (and a few times they’ve made the mistake of letting me) I could sleep until 2 or 3 in the afternoon!  Here, I wake up at 10 or 11am on the weekends and I can’t fall back asleep because when I try I have this overwhelming feeling of guilt!  I mean, I’m in Ireland for goodness sakes, I can’t just spend all day snoozing!!! 

Anyways, Caitlin had appointments in town that day so she was out of the apartment.  When Maria woke up we looked at each other and decided there was no way we were allowing ourselves to stay cooped up in our apartment!  1. That’s dull.  2. I’m kind of in Ireland to maybe do things?  How horrible would it be to come home and have all my friends and family ask about Ireland, and I say yeah well it wasn’t that different…I slept, ate, went out, went to school etc…  Yeah, I’m not so much thinking that’s going to fly.  So, Maria had to go to the grocery store.  But instead of just walking straight down the road to the Dunnes down the street (Dunnes is a large chain here, almost like a Target or WalMart), we decided to go on an adventure!  Ok, adventure might be a bit too strong a word, but we decide to go exploring at least.  

We walked up the road, in the direction of Salt Hill, which is one of the more high end areas of Galway.  We walked past a bunch of middle school girls in uniforms just getting let out from school, and down through neighborhoods.  Finally we saw a building we had recognized from our bus tour.  It had been one of the pick-up locations and we knew it was right next to the beach.  So, we decided to go check out the beach!  Keep in mind that it’s about 30 degrees Fahrenheit here, so no bathing suits were involved! 

We ran across the road through the oncoming traffic (crosswalks aren’t a huge deal here), and carefully slid down the slippery seaweed covered steps onto the beach.  You could see that the high tide essentially covered the entirety of the sand, so there was a TON of seaweed (gross!), and seashells (awesome!).  Maria keeps a seashell collection at home, so she immediately locked in on the huge piles of seashells that covered certain areas of the sand (I started calling them “seashell graveyards” because there were just so many in a couple of small areas).  I enlisted her help finding the prettiest and coolest shells and I ended up getting some real beauties! I have tiny bright yellow, bright orange, green, and a couple of striped brown shells, and then one larger one (no idea what kind of organism lived in them, and I don’t really want to know).  

The Famine Memorial

The view was spectacular from the beach, there were a couple of boats going through the water there, so we got to watch them chug along past, and there was an island with a light house tower that was so covered in fog that you could just barely make out its shape.  After we had stared and gawked at the sea for awhile, and taken a picture of a group of French students who were also there, we decided to continue our exploration by hiking through mountains of seaweed to a small grass area just past the sand.  When we got there we saw a large pointy boulder strategically placed in the middle of the grass.  When we got closer we saw that it was actually a memorial for the Great Famine (1845-1852) that caused so many Irish people to emigrate to the United States.  The Memorial stone reads:

“The lighthouse you can see in the distance is Mutton Light.  It is the last light of their homeland seen by the many thousands of refugees who fled the Great Famine through the Port of Galway 1847 – 1850”

This was a bit sobering and for a while Maria and I were quiet as we continued to walk around the small park.  But, we couldn’t let that damper our mood too much, because our exploration was not complete!  Maria still had to go to the grocery store so we decided to try to go to the one in City Centre, so we would have to find a new route home.  We took off walking along the coast in the direction that we hoped was where Galway City Centre was.  Thank goodness I had paid attention on the bus ride to the Cliffs of Moher and hadn’t just fallen asleep which is my usual custom, because we actually found our way!  As we walked up to the city, we passed a small harbor where there were some boats moored, and we saw a HUGE gaggle of swans (I know gaggle is used for geese, not sure about swans but they seemed the “gaggle” sort).  I went up closer to look at them and take a picture, and omigosh they came right up to me, and started kind of fighting as if they thought I was going to feed them!  Maria warned me to move back, because apparently swans are vicious birds??!  Um…maybe the poster bird for love (you know you’ve heard of those Tunnel of Love swan boats) shouldn’t be vicious?  Just a thought…

After our little adventure, Maria and I walked into City Centre and went to Dunnes.  Maria picked up some stuff she needed while I grabbed the fixings for our dinner.  Our apartment had planned to host a girls’ night with a Mexican theme!  So, I whipped up some ground beef, fried some flour tortillas (they don’t sell corn here!), heated up some beans, and mixed together some homemade guacamole.  Maria had never tried Mexican food before, so I did my best to make authentically American Mexican food (yes I know cheese, and beans don’t actually go on true Mexican tacos, but hey I can’t make carnitas like a pro yet so cut me a break).  Our friends Nicole (from USC), Jess (from Canada), and Kelsey (from Pennsylvania) came over and we annihilated those tacos!  Our friend Logan came too (even though he’s a guy) because he lives right door and he usually ends up at our place for food.  After dinner a group of people decided to go out to the pubs on Shop Street in City Centre, but my roommates and I stayed in and watched “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” instead.

Saturday

Saturday morning, Maria had to work on an assignment for her university in Malta, and all of our friends had gone on the Connemara bus trip, so Caitlin and I decided to strike out on our own for an adventure to see the Spanish Arch.  Now the Spanish Arch was built in 1584 and was originally an extension of the town wall from Martin's Tower to the bank of the Corrib (a measure to protect the town's quays).  

So off Caitlin and I went to discover the wonders of the Spanish Arch!  We expected something kind of grand, intimidating, threatening even….fail.  We found a dark stone wall with two short and narrow tunnels, one barricaded with a metal gate.  We were disappointed to say the least!  However we didn’t let that stop us from our fantabulous day in the foggy city of Galway.

We walked along Shop Street, trying to decide what to do with ourselves, when we had an excellent idea!  Caitlin had wanted to get a tattoo for years, and had been thinking about getting it here in Ireland to commemorate the trip, so she decided why wait!?  We had already scouted out a few tattoo shops a couple of weeks ago, so we went straight to Pink Tattoo and only 60 euro, and half an hour later Caitlin had the word “Strength” tattooed on her wrist.  The people at the shop asked me if I wanted them and I had to just laugh at the thought, I told them that my mother would either cry or say “I brought you into this world, I will take you out” and that my father would just come after me with sand paper.  What do you know when I told my mom about Caitlin getting a tattoo she said, “I brought you into this world, I can take you out!”

The rest of the day was pretty quiet, but I still felt pretty accomplished after seeing the Spanish Arch and helping Caitlin get her tattoo.  Life is about making your own adventures, right?

Sunday
Sunday was shopping day!  I have been looking at my meager assortment of clothes and thinking to myself that not only do I look hopelessly American (and not in a good way), but that I just don’t have enough clothes for 6 months here!  So, Caitlin, our friend Nicole, and I decided that it was time to enhance my wardrobe. We hit the streets.

This time when we walked down Shop Street we were a bit savvier than our first day in Ireland, we stayed away from the tourist trap shops, and the flash signs promising discounts.  Instead, we went to the places that all the locals shop: Dunnes, Penneys, Oasis, and Neu Look.  Here we found tons of local Irish people buying their own favorite fashions for fabulous prices!  I left with a pair of cream-colored flats, a sweater, a skirt, and a couple of tops.  All in all, an extremely successful shopping trip (sorry men-folk if that just bored you tears, but hey I don’t even like shopping!). 

Then while we were out shopping, our friends decided to have an impromptu potluck dinner.  I ran into the Dunnes and grabbed a loaf of French bread and some brie and bought it along as my contribution and prepared myself for the feast of a lifetime.  The last time we had a potluck like this, I left with a food baby in my stomach.  But omigosh this was like nothing I’ve ever seen!

Appetizers: Guacamole, chips & salsa, caprese salad, and bread w/ brie
Main Courses: Pesto Pasta, Fish Filet, Egyptian Chicken Pitas, and Pizza Bagels
Sides: Potato Salad, Fruit Salad, and Spinach Salad
Dessert: Apple Pie

There were about 10-15 people crowded around a small kitchen table and then sitting in the living room devouring more food than I’ve ever seen!  There’s just something wonderful about great food and good friends.

This weekend was really about finding my own footing in Galway.  The only way I’m ever going to feel like a true Galwegian (yes, that’s what they call themselves) is if I put myself out there and go explore!