I mentioned it before in talking about the glory that is Kai Café in Galway, but Galway really just fell perfectly into the trip. We had been cruising the Irish countryside up until this point in the trip, but arrival in the larger city of Galway cued our moment to ditch our little "Blackcurrant" and take to the city by foot and a few taxis (the bus system is not the most user-friendly). It was the perfect transition city between small town comfort to city vibrance since Dublin would be our last leg. Although there are some historical tourist spots in Galway, they were nothing that you can't miss, like the Cliffs of Moher or the Guinness Storehouse. This fact alone made Galway the perfect way to spend a weekend in Ireland and the perfect mid-trip break from that constant must-see feeling ingrained in first-time-somewhere travel.

Galway came highly recommended from all of my Ireland sources and it just was not hard to understand why. The city is young, lively, and you just feel like "Yep, I could spend a year or two here." The city is surrounded by water between Galway Bay, Salthill, and the salmon-filled Corrib River running through the city. All this water means an abundance of fresh seafood, from salmon to oysters and cod to mussels, there's no shortage of sea-salty treats. The food in Galway just blew us away; we felt constantly plagued by tough decisions about where to dine.

Our biggest Galway indulgence was surprisingly not food (although it's a VERY close second), but the nightlife. Blessed with uncharacteristically sunny weather in this normally rainy town, everyone took to the streets to celebrate in full. The pubs were packed from mid-day to close and the famous pedestrian area, Quay Street (pronounced Key Street) was nearly un-walkable. We also had our first club adventure of the trip here at Halo, which carried a hefty 10€ entry, but did not disappoint (and in all truthfulness, I'm really not a club goer, despite me always finding myself there).

Quay Street

This pub, Séhán Ua Neáchtain (said "Knock-tins" by the locals) was wildly popular and it was obvious why with it's topsy-turvy interior and Quay Street corner location. 

Lauren and I were continually told we were "cheap dates" when someone asked us what we wanted to drink and we replied a Bulmer's. We thought on the contrary since this famous Irish cider costs 5€+ per pint.

homemade donuts by a New Yorker at the weekend market

Feeling unwelcome in Galway ;) (It was near impossible to feel unwelcome in Ireland.)

delicious Taco Fries at Kettle of Fish, a fast-food seafood join in Galway

crew at Halo

Our second night out, we met an Irish lad from Cork who was in town with his family (see Halo group photo above) for the Galway Film Festival. Michael, a director, would be premiering his film How To Be Happy the following day. A very short night's sleep later, we found ourselves at the film premiere on Sunday afternoon before we headed out to Dublin. How's that for random?