Galway Adventures with Jane

The only reason I was actually able to finish my castles paper and turn it in a week early was because Jane came to visit me from Scotland, and I needed to be free to spend time with her and show her a good time in Galway. I was really glad she was able to make it out to Ireland - of course because I hadn't seen her in a long while and I missed her, but also because I was the only one of my friend group in Ireland who didn't have a friend or family member come visit them during the semester. It was a little sad to a) not have the same little reminder of home and b) not have anyone to show the city to. I've been living here all semester, but there are still always things you don't really find time for until you have someone whom you want to impress (or at least ensure they enjoy themselves).

Wandering down by the bay

Jane and I did end up having a lot of fun wandering through all the cobbled, ankle-twisting streets and exploring down by the bay - something I hadn't done too much of on my own. We walked through some places I hadn't even seen before (I'm a little ashamed to admit). We strolled through Shop Street a bit, wandering in and out of a few souvenirs shops, and we stumbled upon a man sitting in the street, hand-carving slates with beautiful Celtic designs (which I believe all came from the Book of Kells). Later in the day, we wound up down by the Spanish Arch, but instead of just sitting somewhere at the little port (like I had always done throughout the semester), Jane wanted to continue further out to explore more of Galway Bay. After frollicking through fields and along a sort of cement boardwalk along the Bay, we found a lovely bed of rocks which we climbed over and sat on to eat some apples with that delightful aftertaste of salty air. On our walk back, she picked dandelions and proceeded to craft me a crown of flowers. (I wore it during the rest of the afternoon, but I did draw the line at her proposal to hold hands and skip.)

The next day, Jane and I planned a trip to the Aran Islands. Jane had been there once before six years prior, but she only saw one of the smaller islands and she was eager to visit Inis Mor with me. We woke up early (re: 7:00 am) to walk into town to catch the bus that would then drive us an hour away so we could catch the ferry to Inis Mor (another 40 minutes). Although it's the biggest of the Aran Islands (the name translates to "Big Island"); it is still fairly small - I think it's only around 12 square miles.

Soaking up the beautiful landscape

We had the option of either hopping in a sketchy tour van or renting a bike for the afternoon. Because it was absolutely gorgeous weather, we opted for the bikes. I warned Jane that I hadn't ridden a bike in years and wasn't sure I could safely handle biking 9 miles around the island, but she thought I'd be fine. Before venturing forth though, I insisted that we stop for lunch (of course), so we found an outdoor table at one of the little restaurants overlooking the docks. I sat down thinking I would have to order fish (being on such a little island and all), but I wasn't really feeling the heaviness of fish & chips and it was either that or a mixed fish chowder (I've had it before elsewhere in Ireland... and I must say, I'm really not a fan. It's too weird having so many different kinds of seafood all blended together). So I ended up going with a non-fish item off the menu: The marinated Cajun Irish chicken breast with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions on garlic-toasted ciabatta bread. It also came with a small mound of lemony couscous and it was absolutely delicious. Om nom nom. During the meal, the weather was so nice and warm that I could shed all my outer layers and roll up my jeans to maximize my sun exposure (something I haven't had much of all semester, as you might imagine). 

After eating, we hopped on our bikes and started exploring the island (and working off a little bit of the lunch). Like I said in my castles post though, I didn't end up taking too many photos because my camera hardly does justice to Ireland's beauty. Here are just a few to give an idea of what it was like:

                                            

*     *     *

I'll feel a lot better about leaving Galway now that I can say I've really done and seen a lot in the city. Before Jane's visit, I was starting to feel slight pangs of remorse about not going into town more often and not experiencing enough new places. The pangs of remorse have now mostly diminished, I'm happy to report.