GALWAY WALK AROUND - Day 8 - October 8, 2023
It felt good to sleep in until 7:30am this morning. It’s still pretty dark at 7:30 and with the ever present overcast, there’s not really a sunrise.
Karen and I went out this morning in search of the perfect Irish cardigan sweater for me. With football season coming up this fall and winter, I need something to lounge around in while sitting in front of the TV.
We found it at a shop a few blocks away from our hotel. They’re sending it to our house, so it should arrive before we do.
On the way to the shop, we walked along the River Corrib through the Spanish Arch. The arch dates back to 1584 and is a remnant of the wall built to defend and protect the Galway shipping quays. The wall originally had cannons pointed out toward the bay.
The River Corrib is one of the shortest in Europe. It is also one of the swiftest. This morning it was really flowing fast. The water has a brownish tannic color to it, and looks pretty foreboding. Although we didn’t see anyone on the river (other than some swans paddling in a calm shoreline eddy), it is apparently a popular whitewater kayaking area.
After that, Karen picked up some clothes at a local department store to complement what she had brought along.
We met up with Laura and Paul a little while later and walked over to Eyre Square, where the Sunday morning outdoor market place was in progress.
From there, we walked through the Latin Quarter (where the buskers were already out in force), over the River Corrib into the West End area.
We stopped at Galway Cathedral and then came back down the ‘Long Road’ past some charming homes along the river.
This evening, we walked back to the West End area for dinner. Earlier in our trip, Karen had searched the internet for the best Irish beef hamburger. The number 2 ranked best burger in Ireland is in Galway (winner of Lucinda O’Sullivan’s ‘little black book’ award - the number 1 place is in Dublin).
Nestled on a street lined with Indian and Turkish restaurants is Handsome Burgers. The line of people waiting to get in was an encouraging sign.
Karen came away from dinner with a burger ranking much lower than Lucinda - just average in her opinion. I, on the other hand, had the ‘Bad Bahji Burger’ (a nod to the international influences in this seaport city) with house made chutney, spinach and feta cheese. Mmmm good! The Irish ice cream chocolate shake was even better.
We walked along one of the canals and back over the river to get to our hotel and prepare for tomorrow.
NEXT: Donegal, via Sligo?
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