Random Trips Aren't Always a Bad Thing

I woke up this morning frustrated. I had not received a call from my friends going to Crough Patrick, and could not get in touch with them. Naturally, I assumed they went without me, so I went back to bed for a few hours. I then got up with the intention of going to Clifden for the day. A bus left at noon near the Tourist Information office, so I headed into town to catch it. I got to where I thought the bus would be, waited, and waited some more. Finally, I called the coach company, who said that I was in the right spot. Seconds later, I watched as the bus drove past me.

I was so upset, I was almost on the verge of tears. I'd gotten it in my head that I was going to travel that weekend, see something new. And when that didn't work out, it really upset me. I immediately went into the Tourist office, and asked one of the girls there where I could go for a day trip. She suggested two places - Spiddal, on the coast, and Athenry, a small village with an in-tact city wall and a castle. She then changed her mind and said it'd be better to go to Athenry, since it was directly on the train line to Dublin, and ran so frequently.

Since the train didn't leave for another three hours or so, I got a bagel at a shop and sat down in Eyre Square to read Harry Potter. Dorky, I know, but I didn't want to go all the way back to Corrib Village and the weather was nice. Well, up until it was time for me to leave. I got on the train just fine, and road the 15 minutes to Athenry Station.


When I got off the train, I wandered around in a sort of daze. I had no clue about anything that was in this city, or even where anything was. So I just walked around the station until I saw a sign, pointing South, that read "An Lar" (which means City Centre). Deciding that was the best course of action, I walked down a narrow road toward the city, and was greeted by a little old lady who smiled and said "nice weather today". I knew from then on that this was going to be a nice town.


After a little ways, I spotted the town's castle and church, as well as the North Gate, an archway that used to be part of the original city walls. I decided to head to the castle first, and was greeted by its friendly employees, who offered to turn on the informational video for me. They also gave me suggestions and a map of things to see in town, as well as stuff to see in other parts of Ireland. It felt really home-y. The video was decently interesting, but enjoyable nonetheless. When I got back outside, it had started to sprinkle. It would continue to do the off-and-on rain all day long.


One of the ladies that worked at the castle suggested I go see the ruins of the old Dominican Priory in town. To get there, I had to pay 10 Euro as a deposit for the key. It was pretty neat, actually. I trekked across a small park to the Priory, unlocked the gate with the key, and walked around inside. There was no roof, yet it still felt like a church. You could just imagine the gorgeous stained glass windows that used to stand there, and the marble floors. It was definitely worth the trip, even if it was raining while I was there.


After returning the key, I walked around through town, and headed to St. Mary's Church. It actually no longer functions as a church, but instead the "Athenry Arts and Heritage Activity Centre". It sounds really cheesy...and that's what it was. I walked in and was almost knocked back by the grotesquely cheery colors and costumed mannequins. Lucky for me, they were just closing, so I saved myself from getting a bad experience in the city. Instead, I just walked around the church, snapping photos.


By this time, I had gotten rather hungry and slightly cold and wet. So I found a cozy little pub and ordered some soup and a Smithwicks. I sat down at a table and watched Irish Football (a strange combo between Rugby, Soccer, and Football) while I ate the soup. It was fantastic! After I was done, I meandered back to the train station, while talking and catching up with Mom on the phone. It was good. Oh, and you can see the rest of the day's photos here.

When I made it back to Galway, I met up with Ruth, Dani, Josh, and Bryan. The five of us walked to a Tex-Mex restaurant called Cactus Jack's, where we ate dinner with Dani's parents, who were visiting. It was as close to Mexican food as I'll get over here, I think. Which means it was quite delicious. From there, we took her parents to Bierhaus, and just sat around drinking and having a good chat. It was a lot of fun. We were exhausted after a while, though, and ended up just going home and going to bed. I'm really glad I got to take a random trip today...else I think I would've gone mad!