The Pretty Little Galway Girls

Two hops and Leprechaun skip and this Irish lad is back. My how many adventures I have been on these last five days in Ireland. Megan, Maggie and I (the Galway Girls) traveled to Galway for two days and Dublin for three days. I now, unfortunately, am sitting on a train heading back to Salzburg. However, I’m ready to be back home with my group and get back into a routine. Our last week has been filled with windy cliffs, shopping, pub crawling, and soul-filling live music. As they’d say in Ireland “buckle up Lads” as I tell you about my whirlwind of a week in the luckiest part of the world:)

Day One:

After a little frustration with Aer Lingus, we arrived in Dublin. We met up with friends Max and Jake from our Salzburg trip and had some breakfast. I, of course, had hot chocolate and my first piece of FRENCH TOAST since I’d been gone! This made me so happy. Cheers to this group as it was a really fun morning and the pick-me-up we girls needed!

After this we hopped on a train to Galway (about a 2.5 hour trip from Dublin). This was Megan’s first train ride so we definitely documented the experience:)

When we arrived in Galway our ears were treated with some incredible live music. There are artists in the street everywhere. It was so nice to walk around and listen to love songs being sung: “You look wonderful tonight” Convinced this might become my first dance song?:). Mags did a great job with the Airbnb and we were in a little apartment right by the FOOD:). As I type this blog it becomes more apparent to me that the thing I’m enjoying and talking about the most is the food. Should I be concerned? That evening we went to a little pub and Maggie had her first Goats Cheese Salad. This was DEFINITELY not her last as she proceeded to have one everyday we were in Ireland as well as getting Megan and I addicted!

Later that evening we went to a few pubs including Quays and Monroe’s! Fun night and great end to a long day. Megan tried her first snakebite! And Mags and I had our first Snakebites with Guinness...I’m not a fan!;)

Day Two:

This day was incredible but also really long as well. The girls and I ventured to the Cliffs of Moher and my goodness it was BEAUTIFUL. Not gunna lie, the 2.5 hour bus ride there was really shaky and not my favorite, but the views were so worth it!

It’s really hard to describe the feeling these Cliffs give you. The wind here is INSANE. But it’s not an annoying wind, it’s a cleansing wind. Good for the soul, refreshing and relaxing! Its the place I’ve always been looking for when finals or school are getting too tough and I need a real break. We walked around the cliffs for 3 hours. Then went to the cafe for some soup to warm us up for the long bus ride home.

That evening we finished up our day with another little pub and some live music. The pub was called 1520 and we tried a delicious drink that was mixed with Elderflower water. It was super light and delicious. We listened to two amazing artists for two hours and I ended up making a playlist out of the songs they were singing.

Day Three:

We got up early in the morning and each of us did our own thing. I went shopping for some Christmas gifts (unsuccessful), and peeped my head in a bookstore for awhile. I’m a big reader so it was lovely to see a bookstore that had books written in English. I almost bought one, then thought about my rather large collection at home and decided against it. I have this weird habit that whenever I stop in a bookstore I must always find my favorite series “Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children”. I have yet to find a bookstore that doesn’t have it. Made me feel like I was at home when I found it in the tiny Irish bookstore!

We took the train to Dublin and settled into our hotel. Found again, another Pub and Maggie peer pressured me to try the Goats Cheese salad. Not a good idea, I was addicted within the first bite and the rest of my Euros went quick whenever I saw this salad. We three girls chatted for three hours in the pub that night and it was one of our most favorite memories of the trip.

Day Four:

We took this day a little easier as traveling had really caught up to us. We headed out to an outdoor shopping center. We ate some food, experienced some spookies (per Halloween), and strolled through some bougie stores. There was also a man playing a piano out on the cobblestone streets! Really fun to listen to him as he sang some of my favorite songs.

I found an ice cream shop that had Soft Serve Ice Cream!!!!!! All I’ve seen here in Europe is Gelato. The name of this place was Teddy’s...my Grandpa musta known I was missing home a little extra that day and decided to warm my soul with a soft serve cone covered in SPRINKLES! Yes Grandpa, I splurged for a medium:).

Since it was spooky season we headed out to the pubs for the evening after a quick power nap. Our first stop was Whealans and then to Ryan’s! They played some good jams and everyone was singing at the top of their lungs. We ended our adventure that night at Eddie Rockets with some milkshakes and Mac and Cheese bites. That night those Mac and Cheese bites tasted like the best thing in the world...hmmm:).

Day Five:

GUINNESS TOUR DAY! This was the main thing we did on our final day in Ireland. This tour was incredible and we got student prices so we were really happy.

What makes Guinness so special is that Arthur made his own specific yeast. They also roast their barely at 232 degrees Celsius. This is what gives Guinness its deep rosey red color. The bitterness you taste in Guinness comes from the Hops being boiled in water for a very long time. When made, the Guinness smells like melted caramel. However, as proven by my taste buds, it does not taste like melted caramel at all:). The only four ingredients are barely, yeast, water, and hops. And those four things folks are what makes Guinness worth billions. Hmmm I think I should start making something like this?

During the tour I became an officially certified Guinness pourer. Yes, I even have a certificate to prove it. But, sad to say, I only took about ten sips from my pour before I was certain it just wasn’t the taste for me:).

That afternoon we went to The Brazen Head for lunch. This is the oldest Irish pub in Ireland. This was super cool, but staff were not nice. Definitely more of a tourist place. However, goats cheese salad was delicious...again:)

That evening we went to an Evensong at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Oh MY goodness! This was incredible to experience. It was a choir of eight singers, seven males and one female. They brought me to tears their harmonies, entrances, dynamics, and emotions were so lovely. Choir is something I hold very close to my heart and it’s been awhile since I’ve gotten to experience something like this. This was one very special moment for me!

We finished our trip with one final dinner. We girls went to Copper Alley bistro. It was a little pricier, but we all decided it was well-worth it. This was the perfect end to the perfect trip.

Well lads, that about sums up my trip to Ireland over this wonderful mid-term break I have had. Ireland was one place I had ALWAYS wanted to visit. It was the answer to the question, “If you could go anywhere, where would you go?” Guess I’ll have to think of a new answer now. How fortunate I am for this incredible journey I’ve been on these past two weeks.

Lessons I have learned from my Ireland Adventures:

1) Goats Cheese salad NEVER gets old

2) If a piece of jewelry is silver and will not tarnish it will say “925” somewhere on it

3) Just buy the green corduroy jacket. It makes you look like a badass!

4) A trip centered around food is never a bad thing:)

5) Apparently my “student ID” does not signify that I am a student???

6) Never forget your Dramamine on the ride to Cliffs of Moher

7) Maggie makes a great Monica Geller when she says “I know”

8) Meg’s green sweater she got could probs walk on its own by now

9) Spaghetti Carbonara is NOT spaghetti

10) Three hot chocolates a day never hurt anyone

11) Even after you do the Guinness tour, the beer still doesn’t taste good

12) Seriously there is no limit to the amount of Goats Cheese salads one can consume

13) One Vodka Red Bull is probably enough

14) Accounting students exist in other parts of the world too..WHAT?

15) Not doing your homework to enjoy an experience is totally okay. Be a person before a student and you’ll enjoy life a lot more!

Well, as they say, “thanks a million” for reading this blog lads. I’m not for sure when I’ll be back next as things are going to kick into high gear again here soon. But, little sneak peak: since there is no thanksgiving here it is already Christmas season in Salzburg. That means the Christmas markets will be up soon! If there are things people really have their eyes on, let me know! Catch you on my next adventure!

With Love Always,

Abbey Jean