Galway

Doolin

To have Doolin as a heading on a blog about Galway is odd, right? Oh, well! When I left Skibbereen, I drove through Doolin. That’s where the Cliffs of Moher are. I didn’t find where the walking route was, but I liked driving around and getting lost a bit; those Irish roads are as twisty as it has been rainy. I parked at the Doolin pier and just watched the waves crash in for a while. In the distance, I noticed a stone tower.

Tim had told me that these towers were built to provide warning if Napoleon invaded Ireland in the 1810s. Unless this tower had another purpose? That’s possible! In any case, I hung around Doolin appreciating the fury of nature – the water and the wind. And then I proceeded to Galway.

New Years

I knew arriving at Galway on December 31st meant it would be nuts that night for New Years Eve. It was. What I like about Galway is there are essentially two streets that cross each other and everything you need is there. SO many pubs!

Before the real shindigs started, I got a couple of pints at Skeff. That place has been open since the 1850s and still has original woodwork details. Skeff offers not one, not two, but four bars. For lunch, I visited Thirteen on the Green. I think Thirteen was one of my favorite pubs in Galway. The staff were extremely personable. The food is solid (try their burger!) and priced affordably. I wasn’t there for New Year’s Eve, but it was chill every time I visited.

As 9pm approached, I found myself in a beer garden of sorts. I held a pint of Murphy’s in my hand and walked around the Caravan set up. A band was gearing up to play and there were tons of people eating from a food truck. It looked delicious, but I was full from supper. I leaned against a post and just took in the atmosphere. And that’s when an Irishman bumped into me. He looked me up and down and said, “That’s a nice fu@#king pint!” And that’s when I met Evan, James, Keanan, and the crew. These guys were doing the 12 pub crawl with a rule at each one. I joined them when they were eight deep.

We wandered Galway drinking with our left hand in Freeneys, in the bathroom at Tig, and unable to use any names at Murphy’s. We arrived at The Front Door and that’s where I lost my boys. I never found them and spent the countdown in a line to get into Skeff. Not what I was hoping to do, but I had a lot of fun with them…even if they haven’t answered my texts since.

John and Tabea

I decided to take it easy on January 1, not because I was hungover (I wasn’t). Rather, I thought it would be a good day to journal while everyone else was hungover and occupied. I got through a few pages before I laughed at something someone said next to me. One laugh leads to another and I enjoyed a night with John and Tabea.

Those two were absolute hooligans leading me to believe Tabea was 31 and whatever other ridiculous things. John introduced me to spice bags. Holy smokes! Delicious and just spicy enough for a kick, but not a Chuck Norris kick. We headed to Barr An Chaladh for one beer. Well…one beer led to….however many we had and a missed cinema movie. Worth it!

Connemara

Galway is nice to walk around and explore. If you’d like to take a break from drinking, visit some of the areas around. You can take bus tours to the Cliffs of Moher or the Aran Islands. I drove to Connemara National Park. Initially, I was going to visit the Kylemore Abbey, but I wasn’t in the mood. Instead, having not eaten more than two bananas and a bag of chips (literally) I hiked Diamond Hill (all 4.7km). It was beautiful and well worth it. The pictures don’t do this justice.

I appreciated the sun peering out for me as I reached the peak. The fresh air was needed. It was windy and perfect. I’ll definitely be returning to the gym when I’m home, that’s for sure! The hike included a lot of slippery stone steps. So be careful if you do it, but do it!