Galway

Thursday, September 24, 2009 marks the day that the American students at DBS set off for our trip to Galway and the Aran Islands. Once in Galway we walked around the city centre for about two hours before going back to the hotel for dinner. After dinner a group of us went out to find a pub and we settled on Richardson’s which had live music and it was a great atmosphere for sitting with a group of friends and just enjoying each other’s company. I found that my drink of choice is Bulmer’s Cider, which half of us drank while the other half drank Guinness to commemorate Arthur Guinness Day. The group consisted of Brady, Patrick, Laura, Chris, Charity, Nicky, Kyle, Jon, and me. Friday we traveled two hours to Connemara where we got to tour Kylemore Abbey and the gardens down the road from it. The scenery on the way to the Abbey was the Ireland you see in pictures. Absolutely gorgeous mountains and valleys with structure that you can tell the glaciers cut into the earth. I didn’t even know what to do with myself other than sit in my seat feeling complete awe for what I was seeing. Kylemore Abbey was constructed by a man named Mitchell Henry. There is a miniature cathedral built near the Abbey which was constructed in memorial for Mitchell’s wife who died from Nile Virus while on holiday in Egypt. Their mausoleum are even further down the road. There is also a walled garden which I then went to check out and it was absolutely incredible, I really wish my Dad could have been there to see it. I found the experience to be enjoyable but little did I know that our trip to Inis Mor the next day would surpass it by far.
After dinner in the hotel on Friday night most of us went to a Rugby game, Connacht vs Ulster. An explanation of the teams real quickly: Ireland is divided into four provinces Leinster in the east, Munster in the south, Ulster in the North, and Connacht in the west. So being in Galway we should have been supporting Connacht but the Ulster team was staying in our hotel so we were ok with them beating Connacht 30-6. Charity and I actually ran into four of the players in the elevator earlier in the day and she girlishly asked them what time the game was, it was quite hilarious. I must say, even though I’m not a real sports person I was extremely impressed with the skill that the players required and I loved every minute of the game. The atmosphere was something else for sure. We got to the game a few minutes after it started so we ended up in the standing room, but everyone in the stands across the field were chanting “Connacht, Connacht” for the better part of the game. At the one end of the field some primary school rugby teams were the most exuberant observers and at halftime they got to go out on the field and have a go against each other. I didn’t take my camera to the game but I do have a Connacht flag, they were giving them away at the game, and it’s going on my apartment wall when I get back to Clarion.