The next day, we grabbed some coffee and breakfast and then headed towards Galway. We had a few planned stops, one of them being Kilbeggan Distillery.
We heard the history of the distillery and made traditional Irish coffees, but my favorite part was getting to speak candidly about Irish culture with our tour guide, who was actually a French immigrant who married an Irish gal and never left! I think we all enjoyed learning about someone who has been in Ireland for over half their life and never planned to leave - and why! He remarked that people were so much happier and friendlier in Ireland. It was a lovely cultural exchange, and it was a great surprise to be the only four on the tour so that we could have this type of conversation!
Next, we needed some lunch, so we were frantically looking for something nearby, but there were only small towns with very few proper restaurants. We stopped at what looked to be a promising pub, but it wasn't open mid-afternoon. Matthew and I charged into what appeared to be a cafeteria-style restaurant, full of locals. We enjoyed a quaint little lunch and giggled amongst ourselves at what an odd establishment we were in, yet thoroughly enjoyed our time there!
We then headed to Athlone Castle, which is perched above the Shannon River. It was a nice break from the car and we wandered through the exhibits and read about the history of the castle, which dated back to the 12th century.
Of course, we had to stop at Aldi for the essentials! We agreed that with our home exchange, we'd take advantage of the full kitchen and Matthew's egg-making skills in the mornings. We surreptitiously shopped, looking at and then buying a lot of Irish treats and drinks. Why are grocery stores so quiet in European countries?
It was getting close to dinner, so we parked and walked around Galway at last and were recommended a really nice place for dinner 😆 It turned out to just a kind of average pub, but we still partook in all the traditional foods like clam chowder, fish and chips, and soda bread. From another recommendation, we found a spot for some live music and listened for a while, drinking in both the spirit and atmosphere of this bustling town of Galway at night.
The thorn of the day was certainly when we sat in traffic for over an hour trying to get to our Home Exchange for the evening. It was a two-lane road and some kind of accident had us trying to take a backroad that turned into a lot of people trying to do the same. It was definitely an adventure and Matthew fearlessly drove us over bridges, roads, peat and narrow gravel pathways only for us to turn around for our own safety.
We were greeted by our hosts' brother, who lives right next door to our Home Exchange. He gave us a wealth of information and was so kind and welcoming. Had he not been heading out of town the following day, I think Matthew would have found a new best friend for the entirety of our stay!
No comments:
Post a Comment