Day Three in Ireland: Derry to Galway

Hey Guys,

So waking up on day three in Ireland was rough!I was so hungover and getting on an uncomfortable bus when I already felt like vomiting wasn't really that appealing...This morning we had to say goodbye to Jarren and Jodie as they were going to join another Paddywagon group which was doing the 10 day all Ireland tour. I really liked these two young, cool pharmacists from Australia and wished they were staying on our tour but we cuddled and said goodbye.  

We drove through the enchanting Sligo visiting the sacred grave of  poet WB Yeats. WB Yeats was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for literature in 1923 and he has written countless famous poems. His grave is one of the most famous self-written epitaphs in the world. It is found under the shadow of Ben Bulben Mountain in the cemetery of St. Columba's Parish Church at Drumcliffe in Country Slingo, Ireland. It is said that very few people leave the cemetery without pondering the epitaph's haunting words:

Cast a cold Eye

On Life, on Death

Horseman, pass by!

The epitaph of WB Yeats

St. Columba's Parish Church

We also stopped and visited the beautiful Glencar waterfall which was very pretty. As we drove on I saw lots more stone houses which I loved and already southern Ireland as it seemed more relaxed and how I imagined Ireland to be. Lee told us along the way that only 4% of the whole of Ireland speak Gaelic but they have to learn the traditional Gaelic language until they are 18 at school. We stopped at a small little coastal town called Strand Hill. It is known as a surfing town and had lots of cool little surf shops as well as fish and chip shops. As we travelled along through the lush green country of Ireland the bus felt so quite as Lee didn't play any music and I was so used to music on the Contiki coach. There was wi-fi on the bus though which was random however it used to cut out if too many people got on it at once which sucked.

Glencar Waterfall

Glencar Waterfall

Me in Strand Hill

Anna outside the pub we ate at for lunch

Galway:

This night we were staying overnight in Galway, Ireland's party capital. Galway is known as arty and bohemian and is legendary around the world for it's entertainment scene. Students make up a quarter of the city's population and the town is full of brightly painted pubs which are thriving with live music on any given night. Cafes spill out onto cobblestone streets filled with a frenzy of fiddles, banjos, guitars, bodhrans, magicians, painters and jugglers. Gallway city centre is tightly packed between the east bank of the Corrib River and Eyre Square. 

When we got into Galway we went straight to our hostel 'Sleepzone' for the night. It was definitely the best accommodation we had on the trip. This hostel had everything and was so clean and modern and I would recommend anyone travelling to Galway to stay here! I was rooming with Justine, Luke, Ryan, Cris and Anna and after we unloaded our bags we decided to go and explore a little bit of Galway. I really liked the vibe Galway had and it seemed so welcoming as we walked along it's cute little streets. We went into the centre where we saw lots of students chilling out in the sun and relaxing and then got photos underneath the Spanish Arch- what remains of Gallway's city walls. We also bought some souvenirs and wondered around to see parts of Lynch's Castle which is now a bank.

The Spanish Arch

Walking through Gallway

Gallway- Eyre Square

Anna, Cris and Ryan along the Carrib River

That night we went to a really traditional Irish pub which had two young Irish dancers performing literally right in front of us. The dancing reminded me of river dance and I was amazed at how fast and high they moved their legs. There were so many people in the pub which also added to the atmosphere and we all had a good time sitting amongst lots of Irish locals. We walked all the way down into Galway central and stopped at another really fun Irish bar where you could hardly move and listened to 3 man band who were playing traditional Irish music, it was amazing. The band was so good and they also played some Johnny Cash songs which reminded me of my sister Ashleigh because she loves singing his songs when she's drunk ha Everyone was going to another pub but I wanted to go to a club this time. Two of the girls from Adelaide wanted to go to one as well so we all decided to leave the small group of people who were going to the pub and we headed to a club called Carbon. On the way there Jenna, Emma and I got stamps to get into the club for free and we followed uni students who showed us which way to go which was nice. The music was soooo good and the club was cool and we ended up doing shots at the bar. There were so many young teenagers there that were so drunk and were bumping into everyone which was the most annoying part of the night but the girls and I still had fun. 

Me with my 2 for 1 drinks at 'Carbon' nightclub in Galway

Jenna and Emma at 'Carbon' nightclub Galway

Ryan, Alice, Emma and Jenna

The amazing 3 man band in Galway

Cris eating some yummy Irish stew

Cris and I loving the Irish music

Irish dancer

Gaelic writing on the girls toilet

Crazy Cris

Justine, Cris, Ryan and Kelly

Luke, Me, Anna, Vicky and Jeremy

Irish dancer

When I got back to the hostel with the girls that night I ran into Luke and Cris who were in the communal kitchen and Cris and I decided it would be a good idea to steal someones food out of the fridge and eat it lol We were sitting and eating someone elses food whilst having drunk chats until it was pretty early in the morning. The wifi was really good at this hostel and I decided I would Skype Brad and mum back home in Australia. It was so good to talk to Brad who was on his recess break at school and he also put me onto talk to my aunty Dixie who works in the front office at the school. I told Dixie about everything I'd been up to and it was great to hear her voice but made me miss her and my old school in Wellington. Brad the bastard also put me onto Brent who is my very cool and easy going Assistant Principal who knew I was drunk but was laughing at me and I was also asking him how PBL was going back at WPS. He also put me onto my best friend at school Jody who talked to me while I was pissed and it made me miss our early morning conversations on the computers at school :( I loved talking to them all but couldn't believe I'd talked to so many people at my old workplace when I was drunk lol Lucky I work at the best school in NSW!ha 

I was still in a talkative mood so I also called mum at the Pharmacy where she works in Wellington! It was so good to hear her voice as it always was and she was laughing at me chatting away. Nothing beats talking to your mum! After stealing people's food from the kitchen and talking for ages on the phone to people back home I decided it was time for me to go to bed!

Love The Skype Calling Backpacker

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