Life is for Living

Another beautiful day in Galway! First, some friends and I walked down to Shop Street where they hold a local farmer's market every weekend. And, unlike many of the markets I tend to find back home, this one stays open until the sun sets! There is a variety of tents with crafts, fresh bread, local produce and fish, and much more! We keep hearing about these infamous homemade doughnuts sold at the market, but we have yet to come across them! The past two weeks the Doughnut man hasn't shown, but hopefully I'll be able to tell you all about their deliciousness after next weekend! Third time is a charm, of course!

After the market, we made our way back towards Claddagh and The Long Walk. We walked further on the trail where the fields are, and ended up at the entrance to a small island with a lighthouse. But, right before the lighthouse there was a beautiful bench sitting at the entrance. I had actually been looking for this bench ever since I came to Ireland. This bench is a big part of the reason why I chose to come to Galway. I had known I wanted to study abroad because of the stories I had heard my older cousins tell me about their adventures. When they came to visit Galway, they were stunned by it's beauty. They walked the same trail I had this morning and found this bench with the intricate circles and the saying that reads, "Life is for Living." My cousin told me that if I ever came to Ireland, then I would have to find her bench and think about her being here in that same spot 5 years earlier. The quote spoke to her and it really spoke to me, too. Life is not about going through the day to day motions, it is about living and experiencing the world, just as I am doing.

Living is also what my ancestors did when they fled Ireland during the Great Famine and came to America. The island that I mentioned above with the lighthouse is called Mutton Island and that lighthouse is the last piece of Ireland they saw before their journey. If my ancestors had not chosen to take that journey, I wouldn't be here today to even write this blog. You can walk the length of the bridge to the lighthouse, however, the island itself is closed to the public. Continuing down the road, there is a small park with three stones dedicated to the captains and crew as well as all the men and women who took the leap of faith during the famine and came to America. The stones explain the significance of the lighthouse and lists the names of the hundreds of ships.


At this point, you enter an area of Galway known as Salt Hill. We didn't get to explore too much of this village, but we do know that it is famous for it's beautiful ocean views and casinos! Yes, I said casinos! There are also beautiful villas and hotels for travelers to stay at. We passed the Galway
Aquarium, which we unfortunately did not go into because we were STARVING. But, right passed the aquarium, we found a little bar called Olso's. It's Galway's only  microbrewery and home of the famous Galway Bay beer! We walked in and were able to taste a few of the options and I ended up with a DELICIOUS chocolate milk stout called Burried at Sea. They had a great deal going on where you could get a pint of beer and a burger for only 10 Euro! I had a chicken burger with caramelized onions that was AMAZING! It was a great deal and so delicious AND we got to try the local beer! In addition, there was a massive screen playing the day's rugby game. I wonder if they'll air the Patriot's game tomorrow night at 1 a.m. here? Hey, a girl can hope!

That's all for today! Tomorrow I am traveling up the coast of Galway to a place called the Burren, so keep posted to find out all that it has in store!