Tuesday 2 April 2024

Still no rain, so off to Galway today. We have a walking tour booked for 11.00 am, thanks to Lady P's research. This is one of those conducted by a university student and they are either good or bad and while they are “Free,” a tip at the end is expected. We’ve used them all over Europe and the US and have found them, in the most part, to be great.

Our guide Ana was a pixie. Five foot tall, dyed red hair and Spanish by birth. Nonetheless, she was very good and told us some remarkable history and legends of Galway. Lovely accent. We tipped.

Galway is a university town. In the 70's this would have meant drugs, sex and rock n roll. Now it's allegedly a little more subdued, with emphasis on music and culture. I think that's an Irish joke. But, it has a good youthful feel about the town. 

I have posted a photo of Patrick O'Connor, a famous Irish writer. Oh, gosh, you say, not another? They're all bloody poets or writers, indeed to be sure. Anyway the funny story relates to the Irish, not just Irish university students', tendency to be a bit naughty after a few drinks.

Old Pat was originally made of stone and placed carefully in the city square, which incidentally, is surrounded by pubs. As a joke, on some  Saturday nights, late in the piece, some lad or lass would chop off Pat's head and place it somewhere else in the City Square. Hilarious! 

So the city fathers took away the stone statue and replaced it with one of bronze. That's the photo below.  It seems that it is much harder to cut off old Pat's head in bronze than stone. Pussies! Haven't they heard of battery powered angle grinders?

After the tour we adjourned to Tig Coili Pub for a pint and free wifi. Then across the road to Taaffes Pub for a sandwich lunch and then, feeling refreshed, we wandered about the town, found a butcher for some meat for a curry then headed home.

It is noteworthy, that all day we had lovely weather with intermittent sunshine and only as we approached Moran’s Seafood Bar, not far from home, did it start to drizzle.

After some wonderful local oysters, fresh from the Atlantic shore and a glass of Chardonnay, a nice couple sat next to us at the bar. The bar, you say? Yes, even at 3.30 pm the 100 seat place was crammed with people having long lunches, early tea or just like us, topping up. Hence no spare tables but American style sit at the bar and eat and drink. 

After our oysters and some pub conversation, we headed home along roads that obviously had seen a big dump of rain - but not us, not yet, fingers crossed.

Tig Coili Pub. That is not Flashy's drink, in case you are wondering.
On the way home. Local oysters.
An Irish artist. The dogs are sand. She is real.
Ana the pixie
Padrig O'Connel statue
Typical Irish bar
Potato is still popular in Ireland
Zoom in. This is about the only foreign restaurant in Galway. It's Thai. It serves wine and tapas. An only in Ireland moment.

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