Introducing Galway

Thursday, July 8, 2010
4:00 p.m.

Now that I am in Galway, I feel like I am actually in Ireland. Arriving a few days ago in Corrib Village – a University accommodation for NUI Galway – I was deceived by the sunny condition outside the window. I was immediately shaken by the intense wind and chilly temperature when I stepped off the coach; the temperature must have been at least 10 degrees colder than in Cork and Killarney. We had some time to get settled in our rooms and freshen up before taking our routine walking tour through the campus and city. For the first time, I had to break out my long-sleeves. Walking through town and hearing of our upcoming plans was solely overwhelming. I had found my niche in Cork and even being in Killarney for a few days I felt comfortable. Galway’s streets were complicated and intertwined, full of new shops, museums, restaurants and people. I thought to myself, great, now I have to become familiar with this brand new city when I finally had become comfortable with the previous ones. I thought I was ready to move on to a new place, but I realized how much I missed the sense of being at home in Cork and Killarney. To make matters worse, and a lot chillier, it began to rain after the tour of our surroundings. And, it didn’t stop.

Fast-forward three days.

My feeling of being overwhelmed is slowly dispersing. It has continued to rain on and off since I arrived, but I am used to pinning my hair back to tackle the winds and carrying my rain jacket with me - just in case it starts to downpour - everywhere I go. I made it through my first class in one of NUIG’s buildings and have familiarized myself not only with some of the street names, but the schedule for the complimentary shuttle that comes every hour to the village and picks up every half-past the hour downtown. (The walk from Corrib Village to downtown is at least 30 minutes, so I am more than happy to have the shuttle for when my hands are full or I don’t feel like walking). Yesterday was free of classes and meetings so I was able to accustom myself with more of what downtown has to offer. I made my way to the Tourist Office, where I picked up a guide to Galway City and County, walked through one of Galway’s most lively streets, Shop Street, and roamed the shopping square, an indoor mall packed with department stores, grocery stores, boutiques, bakeries, coffee stands and more. I picked up enough groceries to last me until next week then made my way to Mister Beans, a compacted area full of fresh produce, herbs, jams and coffee located on a small ramp outside of the main entrance. Now that we’re back to having our own kitchen, I was more than excited to purchase some fruits and vegetables to cook with. I decided on peppers, tomatoes, onions, apples, strawberries and some fresh basil. When I got home, I made a bagel sandwich with a fried egg, cheese, spinach and tomato.

This morning we met as a group at a wonderful Spanish restaurant and tapas bar called Cavas. A review named it one of the most “innovative and interesting Spanish restaurants in Ireland at present.” We met to eat lunch together and listen to a guest speaker/Irish poet name Ailbhe Ni Ghearbhuigh (her first name is pronounced “Alva”). I was more than impressed with my meal. Victoria, Kelly, Eryn and I all ordered two tapas each to share with everyone. I chose the Spanish goats’ cheese wrapped in sweet peppers on toast with olives and the sautéed spinach with raisins, pine nuts, olive oil and garlic. Among the other tapas we shared were deep-fried potato cubes with spicy tomato aioli, wild French mushrooms with garlic and organic Spanish cider, and braised lentils with saffron, cumin and vegetables. Not much more can be said except for that everything was absolutely delicious.

After lunch I ventured off on my own for a bit. The streets were much more crowded than a few days ago; street vendors set up tables, musicians and magicians performed for money, and a mixture of cultures could be spotted all over. I went back to one of the department stores to buy a cheap, small purse then grabbed a coffee at a place that caught my eye the first day I was here, Butlers Chocolate Café. This tiny café glistened with a large selection of chocolate truffles and sweet-smelling coffees. The spotless glass drew me closer to observe the wall of chocolates. I had heard that with every purchase of a coffee, you would receive a free truffle. Although it was supposed to be a plain chocolate truffle, the employee allowed me to pick any one I wanted. He recommended the white butter praline, so that’s the one I chose. The outside was sugary, buttery and crunchy while the inside was filled with creamy milk chocolate. The chocolate melted in my mouth and was a great pair to my skinny latte. It was so tasty I might make it a habit to go to the café every day, but only if I’m able to choose anyone I want again.

Between being satisfied with all the food, more familiarized with the town and entertained by all the diverse people, today was a good day. It gave me reassurance that I will like this city just fine, if not even more than the rest.