Galway

I started off St. Patricks day walking to the store with Lindsay to gather goods for our meal later that morning as to get a better look at the nearby area of Galway. It was a clear sunny morning with clouds in the distance and the smell of fresh pastries from every shop. The locals were drinking early and the tourists were flooding in a line of green towards the parade route on main street. I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere full of songs and laughter as me and Lindsay poked our heads in some nearby health and garden shops. We met up with Sean and Clara at our hosts apartment and began preparing pancake batter, bacon strips, egg and viggie mixes, asparagus, potatoes, and ofcourse my own fried apples. Coffee was sparce, so the crowd joined in drinking Jameson neat. We had to leave for the parade before we finished cooking, so we put all the dishes to the side to finish after the noon celebrations. We watched the stream of bands, singers, and political statements for a while before ducking into a nearby pub named Garavans and having a few pints while we watched the rest of the grounps pass by outside. We headed back and finished our meal and cleaned the kitchen before the start of the Ireland England Rugby game at five. We scrubbed and put away everything we could, doing out best to have the place cleaner than when we arrived. We headed back towards town to start a pub crawl during the game. We started at a roudy place called Fibber McGees, and then next door to Richardsons. We stopped in just about every pub we passed until we got to a place serving hot fish and sandwhiches. We went aroound the downtown area meeting up with different friends and trying ouut different pubs. We made it a late and easily forgetful night, but was a great way to celebrate the local culture and see some great live music.
When I got up Sunday I went for a long walk through the city and around to the bay while listening to a few favorites on my Ishuffle. I followed the path along the river canals into the bay and under the spanish arch. I walked up one side of the bay and down the other through the coast line nieghborhoods overlooking a calm clear horizon into the atlantic. At one point I stopped into a large catherdral and listened in on a morning mass, enjoying the loud chorus of voices in each song and rehersed prayer. I admired lines of gardens full of daffodils, tupips and hyacinth sparking the shoreline with colors. I sat in some various spots overlooking the water and the town and considered the changes I have made so far on this trip. I can't help but aknowledge the calming truths and the realities about getting by and making a life clearer that I ever have. What qualifies goodness and good work, what pushes one forward and what pulls them back, how to find a smile in the most fearful of spaces and how peace and happiness are forces that can only be shared once found. I made some good conversation about traveling and education over a few pints in a pub before I found some lunch at an Ittallian bistro. I met back with the others and headed off to find another hostel for our last night, which we had come across a common one called Kinlay right across from the train station. The beds were not too cheap, but they did the job for a night. We all had an amazing time revisiting our favorite pubs and enjoying a bottle of Tullamore Dew with the local chinese take away. We all had fun meeting the locals visiting from all over the country and sharing stories of our travels. I finished the night chatting with the three girls I had a room with while we shared the remainder of our whiskeys. I passed out late and woke up early for thier complemetary breakfast to plan our day. I met Clara in the dinning hall and collected our belongings to store until we caught the train. Lindsay was saying her good byes to friends for the morning while Sean, Clara and I walked around the shop area, got a good breakfast and saw a few sights. In one booksotre we stopped by had a display of James's Photography books, Vanishing Ireland, which was nice for us all to get to see. before getting our last pint and heading to the train we walked through one last street fair where I found a beautiful wooden pocket sized pipe and clara found a bibliography of the Red Hot Chili Peppers for only three euros who I will be seeing in Dublin the 26 of June with my best buddy. I couldn't help opening it immediately and soaking in every work about each members highchool years and influences that have led them to be one of the greatest and most followed rock group today. It was a long tiresome trip back, where we all ate and collapsed early, exhausted from an amazing three nights in Galway.