Reading Week was a sophisticated way of telling us Trinity students that we had a break from classes in late October. A few friends and I thought it grand to trip to the West of Ireland in hope of some relaxation.
At 7am on a Monday, we boarded the Eireann train at Heuston Station en route to Galway. The night had yet to transfer its duty, and in passing time, we read and talked quietly and sipped on our coffees in our cart as we trekked through the Irish countryside. It was beautiful. IMG_0887
We arrived in Galway and dropped our stuff at the hostel we were to stay at for the night and began our walk around the seaside city. Beside the River Corrib, which cuts through the city, is Galway Cathedral. It is designed with local grey limestone and the interior ceiling is lined with what resembles stained Irish oak. It is not a church to the likes of those in Italy that have elaborate molding and designs with famous paintings, rather, it is a simple and relatively bare church. It has a medieval look to it, which perfectly fits Irish history. In addition, there is a mosaic of John F. Kennedy engraved into one of the walls within the church, providing us all with a little chuckle.
After a brief walk, we headed to Mcdonagh’s, a local fish and chips restaurant, to grab lunch. It is the best fish and chips I’ve eaten since my time here and I would recommend it to those traveling to Galway in the future. We walked some more around Galway and then returned to the hostel for a brief nap before we went out for the night. We ended up in the Front Door, a pub in town, and indulged ourselves with a few drinks. We laughed and talked about our bus we had booked for the morning to a seaside cottage in the nearby county of Clare. It was a class night filled with excited anticipation for the trip ahead.
