Off to Galway for the weekend!

Friday [6/27/08]:

This morning was an early one. We were up at 5:30AM to pack some last minute things before taking the 7:10AM train from Dublin (Heuston Station) to Galway for the weekend. We purchased the train tickets the day before so it was nice to not have to wait in line for tickets the morning of the train. Shockingly enough a round trip train ticket from Dublin to Galway set us back 47 Euro each (approx. $75 USD each). That makes for a pretty expensive weekend already!

Once we grabbed some seats for ourselves the train we both threw on our iPod’s and shut our eyes while the train whisked us off to Galway. Just as we passed the last stop before our final destination we heard a loud bang as we crossed a railroad crossing. Within a couple of minutes we were stopped dead on the tracks with no train stations in sight. Since we were seated in the last train car I ran to the back of the train to take a look out of the windows. Down the tracks in the distance I could see something but it was hardly visible due to the fog. Within ten minutes the conductor came on apologizing for the delay and that there was a minor accident on our rail. After about a half hour we found out that our train actually clipped a car while passing through a railroad crossing. Pretty scary! Our train was scheduled to arrive in Galway at 10:00AM but we ended up spending about an extra hour or so sitting on the tracks so we didn’t end up arriving in Galway until about quarter past eleven.

As we arrived my uncle was there to pick us up. We jumped in the car and headed off to his house in Ballinistack where we hung out, chatted and had a great traditional irish breakfast that my aunt cooked for us. After spending a few hours there we headed off to my cousin Michelle’s apartment which is located about five or ten minutes drive from Galway city center. Once we arrived Liz and I headed up for a nap because we had been up since 5AM this morning and we knew that we’d have a long night ahead of us. Friday and Saturday nights in Galway usually end up in starting to drink at around 7 or 8PM, heading out to the bars around midnight and staying out until about 3 or 4AM. I warned Liz ahead of time!

After our nap we woke up and got dressed for the night. We headed downstairs to the living room where my cousin Michelle, and Colin were hanging out. They picked up some liquor so we had a few drinks before we headed out for the night to a bar called the Rosheen? It was packed! You could hardly move in the place. Colin and Michelle insisted on buying us round after round of drinks. Before we knew it we had put down Vodka Redbulls, Jagerbombs, Rum and Cokes and more. I don’t know how they do it!

After the Rosheen we stopped into a chipper (take out restaurant that sells fries, and other fast food) and grabbed ourselves some of the worst french fries that Liz and I had ever experienced in our lives. Colin insisted that we try his favorite type of fries which were called Garlic Cheese Chips. Once we got home and opened the box we were horrified. They were french fries that were covered with cheese and garlic mayonnaise. YUCK! Needless to say we ended up having a few before handing them over to Colin.

We headed to bed around 3:30AM and didn’t wake until 11:30 the next morning. Neither Liz or I are used to this craziness back home!

Saturday [6/28/08]:

This morning Michelle, Colin, Liz and I headed into town to grab some lunch because breakfast was far over at this point. Colin decided to take us to an Italian restaurant called Milano’s in Galway and what a great choice it was. We had a great meal there before heading off to Connemara for the day.

Michelle was nice enough to take us along in her car down to a town called Roundstone.

On the way there was much scenery to be seen. The ride was filled with green hills, windy roads, rivers, ravines and random sheep roaming the streets.

At one point we jumped out of the car to try to take a picture with the sheep but they ran off quickly. It didn’t help that Liz was trying to call them by screaming BAHHHHHHHHHHHH over and over either. We laughed and laughed on the rest of our way to Roundstone.

Once we got to the tiny town of Roundstone we stopped into a pub called Ryan’s where we had a few sodas and cappuccino’s.

The word around town was that Jennifer Anniston and Owen Wilson were actually in town shooting a movie. We weren’t sure how true it was until we overheard someone talking about Owen Wilson being in a little book store that was right next to the pub that we were sitting at. Liz and I were really curious so we headed down to this closet sized book store. In the photo below you can barely see a person sitting in a chair through the door way, that’s Owen Wilson himself. As you can tell, Liz made a valiant effort on this one to take a quick paparazzi-like photo of him.

As soon as we walked in Owen Wilson was right in front of us. He looked up quickly and then proceeded to get back to what ever he was reading. Liz and I pretty much just acted like we were looking at books while we scooted by Owen a couple times. We thought about asking him for a picture but decided we wouldn’t bother him. It was a pretty cool experience, although I would have died to have the opportunity to meet my girl Jennifer Anniston! Within 25 minutes or so Owen headed off with a few people and our day in Roundstone pretty much ended too.

We headed back to my cousins place where we once again took a nap so that we could rest up before a big night out in the city. When we awoke Michelle and Colin were downstairs with a few friends. We hung out and had some drinks and some food while laughing, joking, and watching some really funny video clips on YouTube.

At around midnight we headed out to Halo a very popular nightclub in Galway. So popular that we waited about 20 minutes in line to get in before we were turned away due to the club being full to capacity. The night wasn’t over just yet though. We all headed off to a club called Karma which is located just down the street from Halo. Once we entered you could feel the heat wave from all of the bodies in the place. It was so packed that everyone was stepping on each other and you would simply expect to be pushed around every few seconds or so. We had a lot of fun and danced the night away until about 2:30AM.

After Karma we headed to Supermac’s where we grabbed some food before getting a taxi back to Michelle’s apartment.

Sunday [6/29/08]:

This morning we woke up around 11:00AM and Michelle dropped Liz and I down to the Galway train station so that we could catch the 1:20PM train back to Dublin. We took the earlier train because we wanted to get back to Dublin to pack for our trip to Spain tomorrow afternoon. Plus the EuroCup Final football match between Spain and Germany was on so I wanted to get back, relax and watch the game.

After our 3 hour train ride back to Dublin we finally arrived back home to my uncles house. We were relieved and starving! My aunt was nice enough to cook us a chicken for when we got back. We got right to it, and chomped on half of it before filling our stomachs. We did some last minute laundry and Liz headed up to bed for a nap while I worked on my website for a bit. As I was working I was also watching the EuroCup Final football match between Spain and Germany and Spain WON! I have a feeling Spain is going to be one fun place over these next few days and we’re going to be right in the middle of it! I can’t wait for the fun, and the sun in Alicante. Off to Spain tomorrow afternoon, will post again soon…

Adios!