At home, I’m known as more of a hermit who never leaves their apartment or really hangs out with people, so it surprised even myself when I decided to spend a weekend with my new friends in Galway!
Getting There
After I decided to travel with Nick, Craig, and Simon, we booked bus tickets from Cork to Galway. There is no express bus so we were resigned to the nearly four and a half hours we’d have to endure. It didn’t take long for everyone else to fall asleep, but somehow slumber just didn’t come for me.
At some point, I struck up a conversation with another UCC student sitting near us and she gave us some great information and advice about studying here. When we got to the stop for Limerick, she stood up to get off. Looking back at me, she pulled a bag of sour cola gummies from her backpack and gave them to me: “You need these more than I do.”
It was very sweet of her, but I soon felt super bad about it. Why is that, you say? Well, dear reader, that is because our bus driver was amazing and let us hop off of his bus and onto another bus at the stop: the Limerick – Galway express! It only saved us an hour in the end, but that was an hour that we got to spend in Galway instead of crammed onto a bus!
However, once we switched buses, Nick realized that he left his water bottle on the original bus. I talked him out of buying a new one on Amazon.com, but more to come on that later!
Friday: Beginning the Adventure
We rolled into Galway right before 4:00pm and decided to go straight into wandering the city. Our first stop was Esquires Coffee, where Craig and Simon got drinks. Nick and I were taking photos outside of street art and the area in general.
Locating our hostel, we walked by it and towards the River Corrib. The water was very violent and fast, which probably wasn’t helped by the rain coming down. We crossed the river and started walking alongside it out near Nimmo’s Pier, but my alarm went off before we got too far.
When Nick told me that he’d left his water bottle on the first bus, I’d resolved to meet the bus in Galway and get it for him. I set an alarm on my phone to remind me to go back to the bus station and pick it up. So, when it went off, I turned around and took a solo adventure back. (Nick definitely offered to walk with me, but I really needed some alone time!) Long story short: I got the water bottle and returned it to Nick, who now owes me for his hydration and for not having to buy a new one!
We went to a restaurant called Papa Rich Street Food Kitchen for dinner soon after. When you think Galway, Ireland, you think tofu tikka masala with homemade chips, right? Because I definitely do now! It was really, really good, especially dipping the chips into the tikka masala! Simon ordered a Tiger beer and let me try some of it, so I guess I can now say that I’ve had some beer that I didn’t totally hate.
From there, we went and checked into our hostel. After we got our rooms sorted out, we decided to take a breather. On the way to the restaurant, we’d run into Other Nick and his group, who we were meeting up with throughout the weekend. They said that they’d send word on when and where we should meet up for the evening, so we waited for that call to arms.
We went out with them to the King’s Head, which was cool. The pub is over 800 years old and was apparently given to a man who actually cut off a king’s head, according to the hostel desk attendant. Their signature red beer wasn’t my thing, but we still had a great experience. I got to hang out more with Other Nick’s friends, like Melissa, who I think will be a great friend of mine!
From there, we all went to another pub called Hole in the Wall for cheap drinks. We hung out there for a while, but soon Nick, Simon, and I left to find food. That journey ended at Supermac’s, which is like a conglomerate of restaurants, and I got a nice milkshake like I wanted!
The rest of the group joined us and we all walked out to go to another pub. However, I was pretty feeling pretty tired and anxious from trying to be extroverted, so I called it a night and went back to the hostel. I figured I’d need the rest before the full day ahead of us!
Saturday: A Day of Fun
We started out our day with free breakfast at the hostel, which was definitely far from impressive. I had toast and something that I think was supposed to be coffee. I managed to survive, but I don’t think I could live on that everyday!
We walked over to Eyre Square Centre and explored the shops there before electing to visit the Galway City Museum. If you know me, you know that I’m not the biggest fan of museums. I can walk through them, see everything, and then be done, for the most part. I was expecting to have to people watch to escape boredom, but then we found out that Other Nick and his group were upstairs so we skipped most of the stuff I wasn’t interested in on the way up to meet them.
Our group sort of absorbed the new additions, or maybe they absorbed us. I’m not sure. Either way, we walked out of the museum and to the Spanish Arch right outside. I wasn’t very impressed by it, but maybe someone with a better appreciation for the history would be. It was right by the pub that Ed Sheeran visited in his Galway Girl music video apparently, which led to a greater discussion about where in Galway you could go see those locations. We checked them out over the course of the day.
Anyways, after the museum and the Spanish Arch, we set out to explore the city together, heading towards the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas. We went inside and checked out the beautiful architecture inside and out. It was lovely. I especially liked the metal dispenser of holy water!
When we left the cathedral, we all walked over to the St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church. Nick wanted me to take a photo of him and the Other Nick outside, which was amusing. Our group wandered through a market to get there and then visited the church. It wasn’t as impressive as the Galway Cathedral, but still nice and elegant.
From there, we determined that lunch was our next stop. We wandered over to McDonagh’s, which is known for fish and chips. I don’t eat fish, but I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s good time so I went back to Eyre Square Centre and bought a savory crepe. It was pretty awesome, actually, so I definitely don’t regret leaving my group for a while!
I met back up with them for us all to visit the Hall of the Red Earl, a medieval archaeological site. The site contains remnants of Galway’s first municipal building serving as the town hall, a courthouse, and a tax office. We checked that out for a while, and the tour guide told us some interesting things about Thor and his hammer (symbolic in a way I never needed to know). After we finished with that, my group went on to Salthill. I checked out some souvenir shops and then met back with them in the hostel.
After hanging out at the hostel for a while, we all set out in search of dinner. That ended up being Dough Bros for pizza with McDonald’s for dessert. (Pizza and a hot fudge sundae with caramel? Yum!) You’ve definitely got to fuel up before going out to the pub!
We’d all decided that we wanted to visit the Crane Bar to enjoy some trad (traditional Irish music). Our first stop was a cheap pub called the Roisin Dubh (the Black Rose). We had some drinks and then went to enjoy the music. We got there before the larger space upstairs with more music opened, so the majority of our group left to go to another pub down the street. Nick, Simon, and I stayed at the Crane Bar for drinks and to listen to the music they had downstairs.
Our group rejoined us later and we all made our way upstairs. The trad was lively and the drinks were strong, so just what you want in a night out. We spent a few hours there before heading back to the hostel for the night. It was a great night, and I’m glad we had the opportunity to all hang out and get to know each other better. I didn’t expect to have such a good time, considering I’m an introvert, but I did!
Sunday: The Last Hurrah
Simon went to mass at a local cathedral, so that left 3 of us to scavenge up some breakfast. Nick, Craig, and I wandered around and ended up in Caffe Nero. We did some research into the best places to get a traditional Irish breakfast in Galway while we nursed some much needed coffee. One restaurant that kept coming up was the same Esquires Coffee from our first day. What really excited me about this place was that they had a full vegetarian Irish breakfast!
Naturally, we decided that we had to go there. We wanted to hold off for a while so the meal would last us through the trip back, which we’d agreed would be sooner rather than later, so we went to the Eyre Square Centre. All I bought was a US to Ireland adapter for charging my phone on the go, but it was fun to look around for a little while. It wasn’t very long before hunger got the better of us and we walked over to Esquires Coffee, though.
You have no idea how excited I was when my vegetarian spread came out: beans, toast, a roasted tomato, mushrooms, veggie bacon, veggie sausage, an egg, and hashbrowns. (I’m so hungry just thinking about this!) It even came with a free tea or coffee, so I got an entire teapot with my meal! When I’m being fancy and trying to relax, I take my tea with milk and sugar, which my dad thinks is disgusting, but I loved it with my amazing breakfast! The three of us all agreed that it was the best meal we’d had in Ireland thus far.
Simon met us outside of the restaurant and we tried to decide what to do next. We’d exhausted most of the highlights of Galway, so we decided to leave for Cork. However, we had just missed the bus so we went back to the Eyre Square Centre to kill some time in a warm, dry place. We spent about an hour there and then walked back to the bus station. There was no magic express bus this time and I still couldn’t sleep, but the four and a half hours seemed to pass pretty quickly and then we were back to Cork!
My Tips for Visiting Galway
⇾ Unless you have tours planned, events in mind, more money than I had, etc., Galway won’t take a whole weekend to get through. If I were to go again, I’d make it a day trip. (Or maybe spend just one night there so I could still enjoy an awesome vegetarian Irish breakfast at Esquires Coffee before returning to Cork!)
⇾ I recommend staying at Barnacles Hostel! It was fairly cheap for clean accommodations and free breakfast. There was a mix up with our booking so the four of us staying there weren’t all in the same room, but the desk attendant apologized and comped us bath towels! While I wouldn’t say that breakfast was particularly filling or anything, it was nice to be able to get some toast without having to leave the building. The hostel is centrally located so we never had to walk far to get to anything we wanted to see or do!
⇾ If you’re looking for a claddagh ring, Thomas Dillon’s Claddagh Gold is definitely a major draw. They’re the oldest jewellers in Ireland and the original maker of the claddagh ring. There are some beautiful rings in there, but they have some ugly price tags. I recommend McCarthy’s Jewellery on Shop Street! They have an impressive selection for impressive prices. The shop attendants were very sweet and helped me to choose the perfect ring.
⇾ Plan in advance so you can visit Connemara and the Aran Islands! I didn’t do that, but I really wish I had. They’re supposed to be absolutely beautiful locations, and I hope I can visit them in the future!
⇾ Take time to admire the beautiful street art! There are so many fantastic pieces lining the city’s walls. One of my favorite things to do is to find street art everywhere I go, and I really recommend it!
This is today’s song! Definitely not an unexpected choice, but you have no idea how many times I heard this in Galway. Actually, I heard it there for the first and probably the fiftieth times! Thanks for reading!