Into the West

Shop Street in Galway city

It seems to be the law of the universe that the minute I decide to be adventurous and invest my time get out and find the most interesting things to write about, that I get a job and haven't had a chance to run off to exciting events. It's a good kind of irony though, and I still have evenings and weekends to frolick and explore.

Before I began work I got the chance to go on two little escapes: the first was to Galway for an overnight trip (and the second will be talked about in a later post). I am well acquainted with Galway, though I'm usually in the heart of Connemara and not the city, and so I was happy to wander about and find the interesting nooks and crannies that I hadn't seen before.

Galway in like a more compact Dublin- still a lot of shops and pubs and restaurants but within a very manageable distance of one another so there's no stress trekking form one side of the city to the next. I had a very relaxed amble around on Saturday afternoon after a pitstop in The Skeff pub in Eyre's Square, and  peeked into a infamous bookshop, called Charlie Bryne's Bookshop to breathe in the smell of old books and examine their selection. Moving on I headed to the Cathedral and glimpsed at a beautiful wedding going on at the time. There was the most interesting stain glass there (unfortunately I couldn't get a good picture) and the priest there was more than happy to explain about the different artists who submitted work and the meaning of each window. For a relatively new building (it's 50 years old this year), it was very beautiful.  The rest of Saturday was spent eating and chatting with friends and taking it easy.

Charlie Byrne's Bookshop

The Cathedral

Sunday was the day I really wanted to explore but quite stupidly I had forgotten that all the vintage and charity shops were closed on Sundays. Bah! I did still manage to find some interesting shops none the less, which reminded me that I shouldn't be spending my time in a city just looking for old clothes (I do that enough when I'm at home). At the weekends there is always a lovely street market off Shop Street that has a variety of treasures- my friends and I wandered into an amazing cheese shop beside it, I wish I could have bought a whole wheel of cheese! One of the most quirky places we found was Dungeons and Doughnuts, a table top board game shop that also sells the most delicious looking doughnuts I have ever laid my eyes on. I had to indulge in a lemon meringue shortbread doughnut- all my favourite desserts plied on top of one another, what a dream! The shop was also inside an old mill, so it had quite an eclectic feel. I would definitely go back again for a doughnut and a browse of the card games.

Street Market

Cheese shop (beside street market)

Dungeons & Donuts

My choice from D&D

After that I stumbled upon a Sunday Craft Market in the Roísin Dubh, which is normally one of the best venues for gigs in Galway. I was delighted to find it and spent a bit too long looking at all the stalls, I get way too invested in checking out all the hand crafted bits and bobs people make. The last shop of interest was The Wooden Heart, a completely charming children's toy shop with more traditional toys for children that was completely nostalgic and heart-warming. Finally the afternoon was wrapped up in Griffin's Bakery on Shop Street, with tea and cake and a lot of laughing and nattering. They have a cute tea room as well as a bakery and certainly catered for an Afternoon Tea sort of vibe.

The Roísín Dubh Craft Market

Griffin's Bakery

Galway is an excellent city for having a very relaxing weekend, it is full of life and culture, with buskers in every street and advertisements for art and film festivals. Because it is so small it seems to get  the balance right between cosiness and liveliness. I'm definitely thinking of going back soon and taking a second look at some of the things I couldn't cover that weekend (and get to those charity shops!)

Until the next time,
A

*Two useful links I used when planning where to go:
Lovin' Dublin article about Galway
This Is Galway website