62. Galway

Where: Galway, Ireland
When: April 8-10, 2001
With: Loren, Doug, Jon, class trip

Ah, the days of film, when photography and the documentation of a trip was limited by how many rolls you had on you. And during my class trip to Ireland, I only had about ten rolls with me. At the time, people thought I was nuts for having so many! It's funny to think about how many photos people take now and running out of film is a horror kids today will never truly know.

Anyway, I say this because my photos (and as such, my memory) of Galway are so limited, despite having spent two nights there. And it is a shame, because Galway was so beautiful. While it is a decent sized city in Ireland, it still feels small and quaint with tons of shop-lined cobblestoned pedestrian streets, all sitting along a beautiful river. It had the perks of a city with the charm of a village.

Although, in fairness, we didn't spend a ton of actual time exploring here. Our days were packed with day trips around the area because there is a ton to do just outside of they city. So we only had one night to really enjoy wandering around.

However short my time in Galway was, it did show me this amazing gem of a man busking on a side street. He was singing and tapping his feet while playing his instrument and I just thought he was something out of a movie (literally, the second Austin Powers movie had just come out and Fat Bastard was my sister's favorite character at the time). After this trip, when I became obsessed with Ireland, I bought a book on Ireland, and lo and behold, this guy was on the first page. I guess he's a celebrity?

Anyway, I have such a positive memory of Galway, but definitely didn't spend enough time here. With its ideal location for exploring other parts of Ireland and its fame as an artistic, historic, and gastronomic highlight of the country, I must make a point to return some time.