Friday, February 20th
After my classes on Friday, Marine and I caught a bus to the city centre for our 3:15 bus to Galway. When I say "caught a bus" I really mean caught. I feel like we are always running to the bus stop and sometimes we have more than enough time before it leaves. We got to Galway around 6:30pm and checked into our B&B. There was a mix up with our booking, so we got a room with two double beds and a single bed for the price of a two person room. After we settled in we walked into town (less than a ten minute walk). There were some pedestrian roads with lots of restaurants and we found one with entrées for under 10€. You know it's Ireland when the special is ham and turkey with potatoes and vegetables. That's what I got. There was more food than I could handle though.
I recently got in touch with a friend from a running camp, Aim High, I went to in 2009. My friend, Ed, from the camp is living in Galway and going to school there so after Marine and I ate dinner we headed to Ed's apartment. We stopped into a Buddhist store to stay out of the cold and the guy in the store told us all about the different Buddhist items for sale there. They had giant crystal singing bowl that you can't play too loud because it can cause some sort of head damage.
When we got to Ed's we met his French roommate, an Italian girl who gave me tips on traveling in Italy, a Dutch girl, and another French girl who's name was also Marine. Marine was very happy to have people to speak French with. We had a great time and talked for hours.
Saturday, February 21st
The next morning we had an Irish breakfast at the B&B. Actually, I had almost two full Irish breakfasts and Marine had bread and coffee. Our diets work out great together because I never have to waste bread and she can't eat eggs and meat in the morning. Our bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher left at 11:30am, so we walked around town for a little bit after we ate. I desperately needed sunglasses because I didn't bring any with me from the States. It's the one thing I always forget, but I found a cheap pair at DUNNES. We went into one of those shops made for tourists. I haven't been in one yet because I'm trying not to be a tourist in Dublin, but who cares if I'm a tourist in Galway? Marine and I like the same sweatshirt in the store and there was a 2 for 40 deal. We ended up going back the next day to get them. We had some time to kill before the bus still so we stopped into a Brazilian coffee shop. It reminded me of Key West because its bright tropical decorations and outdoor seating area.
On the bus to the cliffs, there was a couple in front of us being nauseously adorable with each other. Between that and the bumpy twists and turns, Marine and I were both sick to our stomachs. I insisted on sitting towards the back of the bus because you can see out of more windows, but it was a rough ride back there. We went up a road nicknamed the Corkscrew. There is a joke that the roads are so twisted because Irish people were drunk when they made them. The driver risk us the real reason was because if the roads were straight it would make the horses resistant because they don't want to start a long journey. The roads twist to trick the horses into thinking the end is near. Another tidbit of history: the DRY stone walls were built with no cement during the potato famine to divide up land. The land in Galway isn't good for growing much so we passed a ton of grazing animals on the way up.
The Cliff of Moher were gorgeous and cold and wet and windy. My pictures make it look like we visited on a perfect day, but I just don't have pictures of the hail and rain. We were hiding behind the stone barriers at one point because it hurt so bad to be hit in he face my the hail. The views are too incredible to miss. It makes the whether bearable and it passes quickly. We went on a trail along the cliffs and jumped the stone barrier to a man made foot path on the edge with no barrier. We aren't criminals, everyone does it. It was really muddy and scary at times but we made it back alive. I think my shoes are goners though.
The Cliffs of Moher have had several movies filmed at them, but the most famous are the Princess Bride and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. We went to the Burren for a quick stop on the way back, which is in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1. When I saw that scene in the movie I wasn't aware that it was in Ireland, but I really wanted to see it in person, and I did.
When we got back to the city we went to a pub to sign up for a pub crawl with Ed. There was a total of six of us- earlier that week there was 300 in one night. I think we set a record for the smallest pub crawl. We had fun anyway. They bring you to 5-6 pubs and each one is a different style.
Sunday, February 22nd
We had planned on spending Sunday morning on a free walking tour of the city, but it was pouring. Instead we went shopping for some boots because mine couldn't keep the water out. We briefly visited the two cathedrals in Galway. As we headed back towards the bus stop we found a crêperie to eat at. I had camomile tea and soup. Marine was excited to fill her craving for some French cuisine.
Monday, February 23rd
I left for the Garda National Immigration Bureau at noon to get my student visa. Americans don't need a visa to come to Ireland, but they only stamp your passport for 90 days. I need the visa to get back into the country after March because I will be traveling to other countries. Unfortunately, it costs 300€. When I got here a little after 12:30pm I was 128th in line. I realized they were only getting through one number every 2.5 minutes. I was told by other people who had already gone through the process that it can take 4-6 hours. I planned ahead and found some gluten free places to eat in the area. I went to a crêperie called lemon crepe and coffee co. that serves buckwheat crêpes. I got one with Nutella, bananas, strawberries, and whipped cream. I'm not the biggest fan of buckwheat, but this was amazing. I ate outside at the restaurant because the inside was very crowded. As soon as I finished eating it started to down pour and I headed back to GARDA. It was raining so hard that I decided to wait it out in a doorway because whether passes here quickly. It was clear in less than ten minutes. I spent an hour total away and when I came back, the queue moved less than 30 numbers. The place was filled with screaming kids so I'm glad I brought a book and headphones. They only had four windows open so I didn't get served until 5:45pm, and then I had to wait to get fingerprints done and for the card to be processed. I ended up getting home close to 7:30pm.
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