Elise's Irish Adventures: I've made it!

Hi everyone!!

I made it! I've officially been in Galway since yesterday afternoon. Since then I'm mostly been running errands and trying not to get lost, but I'll start from the beginning.

My journey went relatively smoothly. There was a delay before my first flight but I made it to my next one just in time. When I arrived in Dublin, it was sunny and 50 degrees, and it felt like a gorgeous spring day! I had all of my documents ready to go through immigration, but they only asked for my passport! After the fastest trip through customs, my suitcase was the first one I saw, so I headed straight for the buses that run all over Ireland. On my way I passed the Church of Our Lady Queen of Heaven, because only in Ireland is there a church at the airport! When I got to the buses, the express bus from Dublin to Galway had just left, and they leave every two hours so I had some time to kill. I was exhausted from traveling but it was only 9:30am so I headed back into the airport to get some coffee. Of course I got a coffee with Bailey's Irish Cream, as I'm finally of age! They even put cocoa powder in the shape of a shamrock on top.

When it came time to get on the bus, the sweet old bus driver handed me a bottle of water and a newspaper for the road! The bus ride took 2 and a half hours to get across the entire country. Ireland really is quite small (three Irelands could fit into the state of Minnesota!).

The bus ride was a great way to get a taste of the Irish countryside. I know the saying goes "the grass is always greener on the other side", but have never seen grass look so green, and I highly doubt that grass can be any greener anywhere else! The only way I could tell it was January was that the leaves had all fallen off the trees. It was a unique sight to see bare trees among green fields. I also got to see a lot of cows, horses and sheep on my ride. It sounds silly, but I swear the animals are more beautiful here than at home. Maybe my excitement just had me seeing them through rose colored glasses! Another thing I noticed both at the airport and on the bus is that all signs are written first in Irish (very commonly called Gaelic, but Gaelic actually refers to a group of languages and Irish is one of them!), and then in English. While I've only heard people speak English, it is cool to see the country keeping their cultural language alive! I want to visit Connemara and the Aran Islands while I'm here, where they speak mainly Irish.

I've only been in Galway for about 28 hours, but it feels much longer! I spent yesterday afternoon and today running errands and getting getting moved into my apartment. My roommates are still home on holiday break, but I did learn that the girl I'm sharing a room with is from Spain and the boy in the single room is Irish. I can't wait to meet them, and hopefully my roommate can help me brush up on my Spanish! My apartment is right in the city centre, and right next door to a T K Maxx (no that's not a typo, it's actually called T K Maxx here!). My apartment is on the 2nd floor (really the 3rd floor, as here it goes ground floor, first floor, second floor, etc), and I have a lovely view of the Galway Cathedral!

I met up with some girls that are also here from Madison last night for dinner. We went to McSwiggan's pub and I had a delicious roasted chicken with smoked bacon and chips (here chips are actually fries, and Irish bacon is more like ham). After dinner, we took a stroll around the city, and ended up at the River Corrib which runs on the edge of town. The river was so rough that it looked like you could go whitewater rafting down it! It was beautiful to walk with the river on one side and a stone wall on the other separating the river from the city. We ended up at the Galway Cathedral, which is just as beautiful at night!

Today, I got up and went grocery shopping, and then went off to explore the city. I stumbled upon a path lined in stone walls that lead across Lough Atalia, a lake that separates Galway from the nearby town of Renmore. As I was crossing the lake, I noticed a lone cow just hanging out by the water on the other side!

After exploring the waterfront, I ended up at McDonald's because they are the only place I've found so far with free wifi! A very intoxicated woman sat down next to me and started talking to me, but with her slurred accent, I had no idea what she was saying! Regardless, I love how friendly the Irish are. I'm heading off to eat some fresh seafood for dinner from McDonagh's, which has won numerous "Best in Ireland" awards! I've included some more pictures below.

Until next time!

Elise