I just have to say that one of the first things that awed me during this trip was the fact that we were in Galway in just under three hours. That means that I went across a country in under three hours. In Canada, I can barely get to Kingston in that amount of time. In Europe, I crossed a country. Not something I’m used to saying.
We got in alright and our hostel was super easy to find. It was also a pretty nice hostel. I mean, the shower never actually had hot water but the beds were clean and there was a desktop with free internet downstairs. I think our room had eight people in it and it was actually fully booked every night. That’s pretty good for off-season, eh. I’m sure during the normal season it gets pretty hectic though.
The other nice thing was that we found a tour company which was actually operating during off-season. So that’s what we did for Saturday and it was utterly fantastic. It basically went out to Connemara and Cong which meant that we got to go through the mountains. Our driver was named Michael O’Malley (fantastic name, eh?) and he was pretty funny. The nice thing about this tour was also that we got to go on all the little roads and see the best of the country side. Like at one point we were climbing the mountain on a road barely big enough for a car. Our driver, Mike, was fantastic though. He was just ringing off stories while swinging the bus around corners with one hand on the wheel.
The first stop we made was Ross Errily Friary. It was an almost surreal place. I’m used to going to historic sites with big signs and planned routes and fancy ropes. At Ross Errily there were two locks. One was to the main gate and one was to the bell tower. The rest of it was virtually open. We could go wherever we wanted in whatever order and spend however long we wanted. We just got to be with the place. Further, it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. We were just driving down a dirt lane-way surrounded by farms and it was at the end. There wasn’t even a proper car-park, only a semi-circle for buses to turn around. I don’t really know what else I can say about it. It was just an ethereal place.
As we drove, history just kept popping up. There was the stone circle in the middle of farmer’s field; the oldest cross in Ireland in the middle of the intersection in Cong. Even Cong Abbey was left open so I could just wander in and out. It really was surreal.
The final place we visited was Kylemore Abbey. It was a school until last year and I can only imagine it being fantastic. It was sunny the whole time too and it was setting just as we were leaving. It did get cloudy as we drove closer to Galway but that’s alright. It is Ireland, after all.
When we returned to Galway city Bry had some homework to do so we found a pub. I had fish and chips and a pint of Heineken and watched Aston Villa beat Man C 1-0. I think that sounds like a fine evening, eh. It felt really fitting.
We didn’t have the whole day on Sunday but we did manage to get to Salthill and then back into Galway city to see the Cathedral. Then it was back on the train to Dublin.
So there you have it. My first weekend across the pond was filled with a little bit of everything. I played the role of the student in Ross Errily and Cong, the citizen in the pub, and the cliché tourist with my camera constantly roped over my wrist. So Europe, what else have you got in store?
With love from Ireland,
Haley
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