OFF TO GALWAY!

We were Galway bound via train this morning!  Patte and Mike got settled in for the two hour ride!

And so did John and I!

We had reserved seats, with our names in bright shiny lights!  (No one was taking our seats, by golly!)

We picked up some very non-Irish sandwiches to eat for lunch along the way!

And we sat back and relaxed the rest of the journey!  Once in Galway, we checked into our “quaint” BandB!  There was a pub and a dining room in it, where we can all enjoy complimentary breakfast each morning.  (In the dining room, NOT the pub, of course!) 

After unpacking and getting settled in our “tiny” room, we joined Patte and Mike to head downtown for a food tour!  Have I mentioned that it was an absolutely gorgeous day in Galway?

Our tour guide, Sean, was a proud Irishman, gave us lots of information on Irish history and on Galway itself!  His first lesson of the evening was the meaning of CRAIC AGUS CEOL, the Gaelic words for FUN AND DRINK.  This was to be the theme of the tour!

The first stop was at a darling pub called Screene’s, where we all had a bowl of AMAZING seafood chowder, homemade brown bread with homemade butter,  and a half pint of Murphy Beer!  (Loved it all!)

We stopped here and there along the way while Sean told story after story about being Irish!  He was hysterical and depicted a true cheeky Irishman!  Our main course was served at the Skeffington Arms Hotel, that housed a truly gorgeous dining room and pub called Skeff’s.  The hotel was established in 1850 and, according to Sean, hadn’t changed a bit!

We enjoyed a plate of bacon (ham), cabbage and mash, homemade brown bread and a Smithwick’s beer (Irish pronounce it Smithicks).  Again, everything was oh soooo good!  We learned that if we asked for a pint of “Special”,  we would get a Smithwick’s with a Guinness finish!  (Only in Ireland!)

Sean taught us a bit of Gaeilge or Gaelic (the traditional language of Ireland that he spoke fluently).  However, the  only Gaelic he taught us, unfortunately, were curse words!

We continued meandering towards the Latin District and stopped at Murphys for a bit of salted Irish ice cream.  (YUM!)

The final stop of the tour was at a pub called Fitzgerald’s where we would experience a “Baby Guinness”.  They were shots of (OMG can you say DELICIOUS) Kahlua topped off with Baileys!

It was truly the PERFECT ending to a wonderful food tour!  The four of us walked back down through the popular streets of Galway looking for a pub with local Irishmen playing their Irish tunes.  We looked up the place where we had gone with Tim and Susan three years ago that was jam packed with locals and fabulous Irish music playing.  It was called (we thought) Barr An Chaladh (Gaelic name, perhaps?) and it was only about a block away.

They promised us music at 9:00PM, so we ordered a Smithwick’s and waited.  Let’s just say we were NOT expecting a young, talented, Irishman who played the guitar and sang AMERICAN MUSIC!  But that was what we got!

Tomorrow you can bet we will be in search of a pub that has some locals playing real lively Irish tunes before we leave here!!!  With that said,

                                                                Good Night, Galway!