Galway, Ireland

The weekend after I went to Newquay, I went to Galway, Ireland to visit my sorority sister Vanessa. She is there for grad school as well. I flew from London to Shannon, Ireland and then had to take a hour and a half bus ride to Galway. There is no other way there. Vanessa met me at the bus station and we walked through the town center towards her apartment. Let me point out that it is not really her apartment. She was living with three other girls in this small place which wasn't in the safest of neighborhoods, so they all eventually moved in with their boyfriends, who just so happened to all live in the same place. The boys' place was in a much nicer area. When I first got there we ended up ordering pizza and hanging out around her place. Later when he boyfriend got back from studying for his exams, we went to a pub and had a drink. The first night wasn't too exciting. I lucked out and the whole time I was there, there was a free bed for me to stay in.

The second day we went shopping and walked around Galway. Vanessa showed me her school and we met up with a few of her friends and talked with them for awhile. While we were heading to her school we stumbled upon a really cute cafe. It reminded me of a flower nursery. You could buy some flowers but also eat and drink tea. So we order a pot of tea for each of us. Her school is really pretty. There is a lot of grass and trees, and this really weird yellow sculpture that her and her boyfriend were making fun of. That night we tried to make plans to go out, got ready and everything, but ended up hanging out with Vanessa's roommates and never actually made it to the bar.

The next day Vanessa had to work, so I went to a place called Salthill. It was about a 10 minute bus ride. When I first got there, I found a cafe and had some tea and read a book. In Ireland, when you ask for tea, they don't give you just a small cup of it. They give you a huge pot. I managed to drink the whole pot I had, but had to pee so badly afterwards. That's what I get. After that I walked along the beach and sat on some rocks and read a little more. Then wondered the town and headed back to Galway. Once I got there, I walked around a bit then went back to Vanessa's apartment and hung out with her roommates until she got back from work.

The last day there, Vanessa had to work again, so I woke up a bit early, got ready and then headed into town stopping to get a few souvenirs for myself, my parents and Dan. I met up with Vanessa at her work for lunch and then headed to catch the bus back to Shannon Airport. This weekend was a lot of fun. I didn't do too much, but I really enjoyed my time there. I wish I had more time to go back again. Vanessa is coming to London again soon and then we are heading to Croatia for the weekend. This Tuesday I am heading to NY for two weeks. I won't have time to make it down to Maryland though, which makes me sad. While I am in NY I am going to try and pick up shifts at Ruby Tuesday where I worked when I lived up there. Dan's brother is graduating so we are going to that. We are also going to the Bronx Zoo and a Yankee's Baseball game. Plus my friend's wedding. So it will be busy. Love and miss you all xoxo



Galway, Ireland