A mixed bag: my last trips in Ireland

The thought of how little time I have left in Ireland makes me feel a little sick — as I’m writing this, the countdown is down to less than two weeks. I have a new understanding of what it means to be a mixed bag of emotions. So, for these past weekends I’ve been trying to make the most of the time I have left by making some quick trips to the places in Ireland that were still on my list.

Here’s the quick rundown:

Cork and Killarney

A story I was working on about Irish attitudes towards Jews brought me to Cork for interviews (they went fabulously — I’m saving those stories for a separate post). Since I made the journey as far as Cork, I decided to take advantage of it and see Killarney as long as I was venturing outside Dublin. Funnily enough, I planned the trip so last-minute that I overlooked the location of the B & B that I booked before I left. It was a good 10 miles out of town, and consequently I didn’t really see any of the town of Killarney at all. What I did get to enjoy, however, was the peacefulness and serenity of the surrounding countryside. I took long walks and enjoyed the quiet for the evening and morning before heading back to Dublin to continue work on my story.

Galway

I had been hearing Galway’s praises pretty much non-stop since arriving in Ireland, so when Emily suggested we take a last-minute trip there last weekend I couldn’t say no. We took a non-stop bus from the Dublin city center to Galway , which took less than 3 hours. We spent that night and the next day exploring before returning in time to meet Emily’s friend from home.

We both wished we could’ve had more time there, but I think we did a pretty darn good job to seeing most of the city in 24 hours.

Our first full day began with the greeting of an unfamiliar friend — the sun! We decided to take advantage of our luck and walk along the river a short way to Galway bay. We breathed in the sea air and basked in the bright, yellow light for a good part of the morning.

Next stop was the Saturday market. There were tons of stalls filled with fresh fruit and vegetables, homemade bread and jams, flowers, crafts and other fun trinkets.

We got a few gifts that  I won’t disclose for the sake of a good surprise. I did make one purchase for myself — a gold bracelet taht called to me from an antique stall. The place caught my attention right away, with odds and ends displayed proudly in shallow, open boxes, guarded by a man with an Sherlock Holmes pipe in his mouth that I don’t believe he was actually smoking. The guy explained that the bracelet was from an African tribe located somewhere near the Sahara Desert. I didn’t know if I should believe him but regardless, the bracelet is pretty cool. I’ve worn it every day since.

After shopping and moseying for a few hours, we were getting pretty hungry. To my delight, we found a great place with fresh, native oysters for our final meal in Galway. It was at The Spanish Arch restaurant, named after a monument nearby. I had to have Emily document the moment I had been looking forward to for far too long.

Nom nom nom. The seafood stew was pretty darn good, too.

Soon after our late lunch (and afternoon tea, which has become a habit), we hopped the bus back to Dublin. Now, the party is really over — I’ve got my last final in one week! Do I even remember how to study? Anyone who’s still reading, think happy thoughts for me.