Entries about galway

First, we drove to Gort na Coiribe, where Daniel lived when he was attending National University of Ireland, Galway. The houses are student housing during the college terms, and holiday rentals in the summer. We had thought about trying to stay there but their minimum stay was slightly too long. However, it was nice to see it again. We took some pictures in front of the flat where Daniel lived, and then went over to Dunne's Stores across the street.

Years ago, Daniel had told Catherine of a brand of juice called Fruice. She never believed it was real for some reason. At Dunne's Stores, the truth was revealed.

We turned down a side street while trying to find a place to park, and encountered this banner. We have no idea what the actual intention was of the people who put it up. But it seemed like a nice "welcome back" from the people of Galway.

From Dunne's Stores we walked to the University, along the route Daniel would take when he was here. These are a couple pictures of the River Corrib from the bridge.

The old Quadrangle building at NUIG. THis is the most photogenic building on campus, but Daniel didn't actually have any classes there when he attended. However, it was a nice spot to take some pictures and look at the historic part of the campus.

Just past the campus, a canal that runs beside the campus and a view of the cathedral. This was the route Daniel would often take to go to lunch.

The Galway cathedral. It is not as old as it looks, having been built in the sixties. It is a beautiful building, deliberately built as a sort of Irish-Mediterranean (especially Spanish) hybrid to emphasize the historic links between Galway and Spain. It is quite large and has a variety of artwork, including stained glass windows and murals on the walls. We used a paper "self-guided tour" booklet to tour the cathedral, then went on to lunch.

On our way, we saw this evidence that someone doesn't know how to read a sign.

When Daniel was here before, he and his friend Adrian would often visit An Tobar Nua, a small cafe in Galway. We went in to have lunch there. It was started by an American, and the food seems to reflect that, as some menu items that are not particularly common in Ireland are available here.

Us at An Tobar Nua.

Ran into one of Adrian's friends and heard some amusing stories.

DInner/snacks at Monroe's Tavern, right across from An Tobar Nua. It's one of the places Daniel went on his twenty-first birthday, and we were happy to go there now.

Catherine tried a beer called "bogman" in commemoration of her adventures in the bog in Glencolumcille.

The beginning of our "pub crawl" in Galway.

A view towards the cathedral from the Claddagh.

Some buskers playing the song "Wagon Wheel" as well as some traditional Irish and American songs.

Drinks at The King's Head, a popular pub in Galway.

From Breaking Bad?

Drinks at Sally Long's at the end of the night. Pubs seem to close fairly early here.

Capital Turkish Kebab House for some chips to finish the night.

The relatively empty and quiet street late at night. From here, we got a taxi back to our room and headed to bed to rest for our trip to the Aran Islands!