Ireland: Branching Out (but Only a Little)

The next day, we did a bit more exploring.  Evan and I walked to and from Spiddal, taking time to stop at several different spots.  We had pizza at a tiny shop owned by an Italian.  We walked onto the pier to gaze at the eerily "floating" Aran Islands.  We browsed the tiny craft stores in search of a hat for me (it was cold!).  We even stopped in a pharmacy to look for an ACE bandage, since my foot was, with no explanation, extremely painful.

Delicious, authentic Italian pizza -- in Ireland! 

The reflection of the sun on the water made the Aran Islands look as if they were floating.

The rest of the afternoon, we lazed around the cottage.  Bobby was cooking a feast, since J.P. was coming over for dinner.  During the preparation, it began snowing big, slushy, wet flakes, which we enjoyed for a few minutes before going back inside because it was too wet.  Eventually, the table was set, the meal was cooked, the water was poured, but J.P. wasn't there yet.  Thirty minutes late, we heard a knock on the door, followed by a shouted, "Let me in!  It's f*ing cold out here!"  When I opened the door, J.P. walked in, his arms barely managing to hold 4 bottles of wine.  I guess it's good to be friends with the bartender.

Cheese makes everything more delicious.

Dinner was delicious, and the company was entertaining.  We convinced J.P. to come to the Galway pubs with us.  This turned out to be the best accomplishment of the night, because we ended up splitting off from the larger group, with just 4 of us going to J.P.'s favorite places with him.  I'm convinced that he knows all of the pub owners (as well as a good proportion of the workers) in Galway.  He kept us well supplied with Guinness throughout the night, as well as pizza.  One of the funniest moments of the night was when he decided that we needed another pizza at Monroe's.  Instead of waiting for someone to come and take our order, he simply got up, went behind the bar, and walked into the kitchen.  A few minutes later, we had a steaming hot pizza in front of us.

Galway at night -- it was snowing now and again throughout the evening.

Guinness at Monroe's

The next day, we were supposed to go on the Cliffs of Moher tour, but Evan's alarm didn't go off, so we missed the bus.  Whoops.  We made the best of the day by going into Galway, shopping around, having pasties, and seeing the new Harry Potter film.  That night, we went to Hughes's, the students' favorite Spiddal pub.  The local residents were playing traditional music in the corner.  I thought I was in heaven.  That was the one thing I knew that I wanted to do when I was in Ireland: go to a local pub with local musicians playing traditional music.  It was even better than I could have ever expected.

Christmas shoppers in Galway