Wednesday

We left Derry after a great night at the pub listening to Trad music and dancing. We were onto our next destination, Galway, the place immortalized by the song "Galway Girl'" (which apperared in the major motion picture, "P.S. I Love You"). This day was basically a day of travel,  stopping briefly in a few small Irish villages to eat and stretch our legs. Being that we had much time on the bus, the males on the trip thought it would be a great idea to "hunt" for the Galway girl. Being I was the only guy who was not single, I was the group's wing man. The challenge was to find a girl with black hair and blue eyes, but more on this later. 

We arrived in Galway, which is known for its shopping and party atmosphere. We walked around through the shops, along the river and to the Cathedral, which had a mosaic of President JFK on the wall. Galway loves the Kennedys; there was a bust of JFK in the town as well. After about an hour or two of exploring, we headed back to the hostel (one of nicest ones we had stayed in), showered and went out to the local pub for food, drinks, Trad music and to see traditional Irish step music. Upon leaving the hostel, "The Hunt" was on. Although there was a grand effort on the single men's part, they were unable to find the Galway Girl. I, on the other hand, did find the Galway Girl waiting for a bus when I walked back to the hostel by myself to call it an early night.

While at the first pub, we sat in a boat and ate veggie soup and local mussels, which were delicious. After watching several performances of the dancers, we moved on to another pub "The Spanish Arch," where we continued to listen to a band play Trad music. I spent an hour there and then left and returned to the hostel.

The walk back was amazing.  It was a crisp, clear night where music was seeping onto the cobblestone streets from the pubs. The street musicians were performing with vigor and I stopped and listened to a male and female duo for three songs and then tipped them 5euro. I was feeling so great I stopped at SuperMac, Ireland's version of McDonald's, and had an ice cream cone before returning to the hostel and hitting the hay for a nice sleep.