The Galway Hooker

Day 32: Friday November 11th, 2011

That morning I walked to the small and quaint Galway Bay, the wind and gray clouds making it irresistably pretty and cold. The bay is known for its typical sailing boat, the Galway Hooker, created to ward against the harsh conditions. There’s also a local beer named after it, an important fact I didn’t know the night before when John told me to order a Galway Hooker.

I also stumbled upon a really old Spanish Arch and some ruins with so and so’s family crest. That kind of thing happens every other hour in Europe. I spend the good part of an hour looking at the menu’s of every restaurant I pass, which is something I do in every single city or town when I’m not sure what else I should be doing and it’s too early to eat. It’s a great way to work up an appetite.

Around this time I stumble into Taylor (again) on the street, and she joins me on my stroll through Galway. We head to the Ring of Claddagh “museum,” which is simply one room with a lot of old pictures and rings and a plodding seven minute audio story explaining the origin of the Ring (it’s a traditional irish ring used to express friendship, love or be used as a wedding ring). Thank God it was free; that said, the elderly couple running the store couldn’t have been nicer. The ring usually has two hands holding a heart mounted by a crown and the origins of the ring are foggy at best and have two different silversmiths purported to be its creator. Buy your loved one a Claddagh today! The museum was in the back room of a store that sold some of the original rings, or so it said.

After that, we went to Fitz’s Fish ‘n Chips and I don’t think I need to tell you what we ordered (chicken nuggets). Greasy motherfuckers.

Galway is a cute little town made up almost entirely of shops and pubs with live music. There really isn’t much to do besides drink there, which sheds some light into the Irish lifestyle. While Dublin has tons of cool pubs with live music too, it lacks the character and even authenticity of Galway and many of the other little Ireland towns scattered throughout the country side.

Before I left for the bus, I checked my e-mail where I got a write up of Galway by Kevin, who had all sorts of insight into the city that I couldn’t use including a pub where his uncle plays music. Fuck. Next time. I forwarded it to Taylor, in hopes that somebody used it. As for Taylor, we made our goodbyes and wished each other luck. She was on her way to Spain; I was on my way for Amsterdam after some more Ireland. But we promised to stay in touch. She returns to our story on Day 51. Stay tuned.

And so, I’m back in Dublin. I meet up with Team Germany from Belfast. There was Lucia and Janina from before and two newcomers: Hilke and Jasmin. Hilke was a very cool punky redhead and Jasmin was a fun, talkative flirt. Because Lucia gets to decide everything, and as I mentioned before, she only eats asian food, I took it on myself to somehow turn it into a positive. I wasn’t going to go to another buffet. I did some research and found a decent Malaysian place called Nyonya Malaysian on tripadvisor.

Lucia likes to eat food she can’t have at home, which is an admirable trait, but she has it misplaced. You don’t go to Dublin to have Malaysian food. You don’t really go to Dublin for food, actually. But, I have to give Lucia some credit: she and Janina came on a tour with her school, yet she opted not only to fly into Belfast early, but to leave Dublin late, maximizing her travel. I can dig that. Anyways, the restaurant was kind of expensive, but it was actually pretty good. I had gulai (a curry dish) and some of everyone else’s shit, my favorite part of eating with girls.

Afterwards, I went to Temple Bar with Lucia and Jasmin to see some live music. Soon, Jasmin called it a night, leaving us two behind. Oh sheeeit. But.
Lucia has diabetes, so she doesn’t drink. She’s also intensely religious. She’s also real cute and a lot of fun, with an intense side that suddenly rears its head. She wrote a poem in the middle of the bar, the content of which I promised not to disclose, but it was serious shit, leaving me to order another Guinness. We walked home together, and as we were staying at the same hostel, you might think I’d go for it. You’re wrong. When it came down to it, I kissed her on the forehead.

Yup.

I won’t argue how stupid that is, but the poem and circumstances therein made it a very confusing and weird end of the night. And, the next day, I found out that it was actually one of the smartest things I’ve ever done.

Next: Dublin sightseeing and a lunch/dinner date with Lucia.