Galway, ya

Ireland is about the size of Indiana (thanks, ancestry.com!)

Yet in all my visits we've only seen places South of Dublin. I suppose Galway is also South of Dublin, but it's North of where I'm staying in RosVegas and on the West coast.
My cousin and I left midday Saturday for her friends house in Galway. It took almost two hours with the shitty weather and shotty directions. When we arrived there was tea and apple tart waiting for us. I love the care put into food here. People whip meals up like it's no big thing. Portion sizes are huge, but everything is fresh, a lot of it is local (if not at least from Ireland) and typically made from scratch. And the ice cream comes in rectangles.

It was a nasty day out, but it cleared up when we headed for the beach:
I don't see anything in these pictures but the spot on my lens
And the frigid breeze
There was a market in town with bread, pastries, olives, meat, cheese, wine, veg, fruit...can I tour the world visiting food markets? Is there a job opening for that?
Please?
We got ourselves a brownie
(after tart and ice cream?! I can only imagine what I would think of my diet if I took pictures of everything I ate everyday..)
Galway streets reminded me of Salem, Mass
But with a lot less trenchcoats
It's a touristy place, but quaint and clean and bustling
We stopped for an early dinner at a fish place called MacDonald's for some cod and chips. I've eaten a lot of fish since being here: "vegetarian" badge revoked.
This guy might be famous! We're unsure if it was really him, an actor on "Fair City" an Irish soap opera. There are only three channels in the house...
And then a night out for a goodbye party for cousins friend who is moving to England today. She and all her sisters are a ton of fun. England is lucky to have her. We started at a pub in town and then a taxi (and free rickshaw ride!) to a dancy dance club club in Galway city. There was a big crowd that came out for her, but my cousin and I still managed to lose everyone on the dance floor. You just can't expect us to pay attention when we have the moves like Jagger. And somehow this wound up being the beginning of the night.

Both places had live bands, to which my cousin and I spent hours disappearing into dancing until we realized everyone had gone to continue the party at home. We left to join and then, like adults, had a mild after party at the house where someone was reciting Yeats and Joyce. Never mind the shattered chandeliers, broken curtain rods and a barely standing coffee table dance floor. Or the Irish step dance off and exercise sessions. Never mind it.

A lot of people are leaving the country for work elsewhere; England, Canada, Australia. If my cousins follow suit I would have less reason to consider staying. Unfortunate, but then again you would not have to twist my arm too hard to move us all to Aus. Someone needs to peruse their food markets, too!