Galway, Ireland

Irishmen totally love to trick people. They’re pranksters, the lot of them. Three of them spent like 25 minutes discussing the “leprechaun problem”. When I told them it sounded like they were oppressing a minority population, each of them chimed in, without skipping a beat, that I “just don’t get it.” They all love calling me “American,” against my wildest protests. They call their behaviour craic, a ‘being Irish’ of sorts that’s similar to the Israeli pride and attitude I’m familiar with, and it consists of being a total joker and causing mischief at every moment.

Galway is loaded with several times the amount of craic Dublin has. Where Dublin is Ireland’s metropolis, Galway is the stereotypically jovial little brother you envision when you close your eyes and think of the country. Buskers line the cobblestone streets and the whole place just feels quaint. Though only a town of 70 000, it’s still the third largest city in Ireland. Bounded by the west coast, it’s the home to many tourist attractions and natural wonders… such as the cliffs of Moher:

Surrounding Galway is what’s known as the Barren – a string of never-ending rolling hills made entirely of limestone. If you didn’t know (I didn’t), limestone is extremely permeable to water. In the cold winter months, any water absorbed in the rock freezes, expands, and splits the rock into smaller pieces:

Thus, these mountains, from the wear and tear of thousands of winters, have turned into thousands of smaller stones which make up a beautiful landscape:

 
Galway had  much more to offer than plain tourist attractions, however – the pub scene is brilliant. (Did I used to say ‘brilliant’ before I left home? It’s so hard not to get swept up in their madness here…) I don’t mean we partied hard and drank harder than in Dublin – it’s just a different atmosphere. There’s live traditional Irish music everywhere, often lead by patrons who’ve brought their tin whistle or fiddle to the bar:

Even more incredible is when one of the other patrons decides to sing. Someone just gets a feeling, stands up, and starts singing a song. It’s amazing how immediately people around them react to it, shushing people around them until the entire bar is silent. And this happens all the time, maybe twice or three times an hour! It’s very similar to how the tamtams self-organize on Sunday mornings at Mount Royal park, and it really does reaffirm to me that music is a universal language.

When I first got into London or Dublin, the first question I asked was, “where is the best meal I can get around here? Which place has the best Irish Stew?” My question has always been met with confusion.  I now realize that this is a very Montrealer (Canadian?) kind of question. We’re very obsessed with the “best” smoked meat (Schwarts’z), the “best” midnight poutine (La Banquise), the “best” shish taouk (Boustan)… but this mentality apparently doesn’t leave Montreal. And… to be honest, that’s kind of disappointing, because one of the things I wanted to find on this trek was more delicious food (as if we’ve exhausted all of the ones in Montreal).

What I have found (so far)  is this traditional music scene. So, fine, nobody in Ireland knows where to get a good burger – but everyone knows which pub has the best music. These gems can be found, you just have to know how to ask the right questions.

Another interesting thing to note is that I’ve stopped buying fast food. I thought I was being frugal by eating for 5 Euros a day, but I was just putting crap in my body. (Even Subway is crap if it’s all you eat!) So I went to the supermarket and bought a loaf of bread, a bag of potatoes and a dozen hot dogs. It now only costs me like 80 cents a meal, cutting my cost by another third! The only thing that sucks is that I’m going to get sick of eating the same thing every day, but if you’re lucky, people will trade food with you. Some guy traded a hamburger steak for 35 cents worth of potatoes! I had myself a feast!
It’s also forcing me to learn how to cook, but the guys living here all have experience and cool tricks to make a quick meal!

There were other tours, and actually so much more to see. It’s interesting that I never heard of any of these places until Phil told me of them on the plane. (Thanks Phil!) If I could do it again, I’d have spent 5 days in Galway and 2 in Dublin, instead of vice versa! This city has really taught me to go with your gut and see smaller unknown towns instead of sticking to the metropolises.

Now it’s time for…. IRISHISMS!!?? (This needs a more evident title. How about:)

IRISHISMs

They have self-serve beer taps, with a digital display all over the place:

Pear flavoured cider:

Right now, I’m no the train towards Dublin for a few days to spend St. Patrick’s day. Ankita’s cousin Apratim will be joining me, and hopefully we’ll make our way to Belfast for a day or two to see what (British / Protestant) Northern Ireland is like. I’m supposed to land in Paris on this Saturday (the 20th).