Galway for the weekend!

Hi everybody!
I just got back from being in Galway for 3 days! It was a great trip and I already want to go back.
The group I went with consisted of myself, Elizabeth and Claire (my roommates), Marissa, Becca, Kayla, and Abbie. We got a train Thursday morning and got into Galway around noon. Checked into our hostel and got some lunch at a pub. After that we walked around the town and some of the girls did some shopping. Then we went to a pub that my professor recommended to watch the Irish play Spain in soccer. The pub we went to was called the Roisin Dubh and it had the game on a big projection screen and the entire room was full of fans! Unfortunately, the Irish lost to Spain 4-0. Sore subject. But it was still a fun night.
The next day we went to the Aran Islands! We took a bus to a ferry and then the ferry to the island. The Aran Islands consist of 3 small islands and we went to Inis Mor, which is largest of the three and about a 40 minute ride off the coast of Galway. Once we got there we rented bikes to ride around the island. We stopped by a sweater shop and I bought a hat that was handmade on the island, it was cold/windy so I needed it! Then biked along the coast for about 40 minutes stopping to takes pictures like every 10 minutes. After we worked up an apetite we stopped at a really good cafe. Then we looked around at the 3 shops that were there, which mainly consisted of sweaters. After that we walked up to look at Dún Aonghasa which is on the cliff side of Inis Mor. It's basically a semi circular fort that looks over the Atlantic. It was really cool and had a great view. There was no railing or anything keeping you from just falling off the cliff, which was really high, so that was kind of scarey. But we all survived and did some exploring around the fort. Then it was time to bike back down to the ferry. Good thing we left in plenty of time because the entire bike ride back was just uphill or flat. I was dying by the end of it. So we rewarded ourselves with some ice cream before we got back on the ferry to Galway. Later that night we decided to do a pub crawl! A pub crawl is where you meet at specific pub, we met at The Skeff Pub, with a bunch of other tourists and there is a guide that takes you from pub to pub. It's a great way to see a lot of the good pubs, get in for free, and get free stuff! It was a great way to meat people from all over and see a lot of pubs in one night!
The next day we went to see the Cliffs of Moher. A bus picked us up near the train station and we were on our way! The first stop we made was at a family farm where we got to bottle feed a lamb, learn about some of their farming techniques, and hiked up to the top of this huge limestone hill where we had a great view for miles! The family that owned the farm had been living there for over 300 years and all of their ancestors were buried just a couple miles away. It was really neat learning about their heritage and how they all managed to stay living right around the farm. Then they let us all come into their house and eat homemade pies and cupcakes. They taught us some Irish songs and how to play hurling. Seriously some of the nicest people ever and I've already decided thats where I want to live! The bus came back to pick us up and the next stop was the Cliffs of Moher. It was SOOO windy at the top of the cliffs but the view was amazing. We walked around the cliffs for about an hour just in awe of the view. Seeing the cliffs was definately my favorite thing so far and I really want to go back! Then it was time to get back on the bus and head back into Galway. We stopped for lunch and a few other spots to take some pictures. We got back into Galway around 5:45 and our train left at 6:05 so we made it just in time!
Once we got home it was pretty much time for bed after a long weekend!

Moral of the story: I love Galway.
HP