The Last Hurrah for Crinkly - Euro tour (9/7-?) Day 12 Rest day in Galway (9/18)

Spend the day just chilling doing research and what not. Go to Dough Bros pizza which was awesome and had some delicious crust. Then I went to Monroes pub which is well known for live music as well but they didnt have any space inside even for 1 so they sat me outside by a window they couldnt open to let me hear the music as it would have made the people inside cold. Raining kinda hard and its a decent walk back so I flag down a cab and go from there to get back to the place to head to bed.

Check em out. Very good and pretty centrally located

Sitting outside cause theres no room inside and they cant even open windows so people outside can hear. Kinda lame :)

The Last Hurrah for Crinkly - Euro tour (9/7-?) Day 11 A day of culture for all of Ireland so I might as well join (9/17)

Have breakfast at the hostel which like most hostels isnt much but was definitely more than the place in Dublin. I wonder if this is a result of covid health measures or just standard practice here. Take my hiking pants to a local seamstress to get holes fixed, then head back to the hostel to do some yoga sessions. Work up a sweat so take another shower then go check out the inside of the cathedral and continue on the way to check out the university grounds right there. As I walk back towards town I stop and get a juice from a lil shop on the border of the university. 

Some street art to enjoy

Crinkly wanted to go inside so here we go

Beautiful inside but there was a mass of some sorts happening so couldnt stay long or walk around

Crinkly found another entrance so might as well check it out

Nicer vantage point

Tis an impressively huge church

Made it onto University campus... Crinkly is going back to school

Its weird that the vines are concentrated as such.

Crinkly found another mural

Crinkly finding a church at the end of this cool lil alley

The alley in question

Some more awesome art

Just gives you all the warm fuzzies huh?

Crinkly found it, we are in the Latin quarter

One of the walking streets of the quarter

Turns out this pub here is a representative for the Galway Bay brewing company so I tried some of the beers.

Crinkly hanging out with a friend

Crinkly feeling at home at this new location

A bolder friend of Crinkly, also from Ireland. This place had a great selection and looked like their food would have been pretty tasty too.

Such a beautiful country

Looking back on the dam in the river

Some of the art by the guys I met in their studio... I dont care for tattoos but these were awesome and their canvas work was also pretty amazing. Definitely look into them if you are near

These are the guys. Was great talking with them during their open house.

Old church thatll be hosting a rave tonight

Our tour guide taking us around Galway

Nearing the end of the tour. This lady doesnt like my pictures :)

One of the old timey boats from the region. 

Those are some beautiful sails. I also apparently didnt keep any of the videos I took of the performance here unfortunately.

Some dusk reflection pics

I was loving the view with the moon shining in the background but hard to capture.

Moon!!

Was awesome just sitting there listening to nice music, letting the sky get darker and watch the transition of the moon with the sails there. Probably too many pics but I like them so deal with it :)

Church rave

Found a pub open after all was said and done to grab a beer from and watch a lil of the game that was on (its nice being in normal time zones with soccer games)

A little example of the music/light show at the church

Little impromptu concert in the square with some dancing

Juice in hand, walk down to the tailor to get my pants then walk around before grabbing a craft beer from dew drop. Tonight is the annual Culture night where everywhere in Ireland has local artists displaying their skills for the community. Near Dew drop, there is art in the windows but it is blocked by the tables which I am wondering whats the point if people cant see it? After that I head over to bierhaus for some other local craft beers which was a pretty cool place. Time to keep moving so I go down the road to a tattoo studio that is participating in the culture night as well and they do some amazing art and the guys themselves are really fucking cool so I sat there and talked to them for like 20 minutes. Then head over to the gourmet offensive for an amazing veggie dinner before meeting a tour guide for a historical walking tour about the artists of the city and the impact they had on the city. After the tour ends, head to the concert at the pier where their historical boats are housed which is pretty to see and with the beautiful music is awesome. The last event for the night I was planning on seeing was the light show at the church behind tigh coli which for me was a bit disappointing. I was walking around and came across some random music and dancing in the Eyre Square which was pretty cool. Have a pint at 13 on the green while watching a game and then head back to the place for bed.

The Last Hurrah for Crinkly - Euro tour (9/7-?) Day 10 Finding my galway girl (9/16)

 Chill at the place for a little bit before its time to walk to the stop in town. Once I get there, it starts sprinkling a little bit and the only cover is a tiny tree so I put my bags under it and wait for the bus which is late. Finally gets there, but there is no wifi. Head down to Galway, which once it gets in to town, the rain stops which is nice. Walk to the hostel (savoy) to drop my bags off in my room then head out to go walking. 

Big cathedral in town

I need to figure out how to take cloudy pics.

Ok but only because sly puffin says so

Second cousin twice removed's shop in Galway

Rock on Garth

See the Cathedral and check out the west side of town before wandering into the Galway city history museum which seemed interesting but was only open for 30 mins or so once I got there so had to go. Then had some delicious dinner from Pasta house nearby the hostel before heading to Tigh Coli for some trad music (what they abbreviate their local traditional music to) which that is the place to be based on talking to people and reviews online. Had to sit near the stairs until a spot opened up closer to the stage (pays to get there early and be a solo traveler). This group didnt do any vocals which is fine as the music was still amazing but vocals def add another level of beauty and complexity to the songs. While there met a couple locals who were all amazing and friendly; one dude was a plumber who spent some time in the states and was just an amazing dude, the others were an older group of ladies from the area and just wanted a place to have a couple drinks so let them sit and we chatted for a bit. I will say it again at some point but I absolutely love the friendliness and nature of the irish people; there are fantastic people everywhere but these mofos just take it up like 10 notches. After the music is over, I close out and head back to the hostel for shower and bed.

The Last Hurrah for Crinkly - Euro tour (9/7-?) Day 9 Conquering or at least teasing my fears (9/15)

Have breakfast at the place while getting ready for the day before Noel drops me off at the train station. The ticket over to Westport which is almost as expensive as the ticket to Ballyhaunis from Dublin and like half the distance. Get in and have some time to kill so I walk around a little bit to see some of the city before catching my bus. The whole area is beautiful (town and nature) Bus stops mid route to change drivers and I guess there was a failure of communication in the handover as the new driver overshoots my stop so I tell her to stop and I walk back a bit to get to my place to start my trek up the mountain (croagh st patrick). Its an absolutely beautiful day which helps during the hike. This hike is no joke, consisting really of 2 parts; the first part is steep but with some pretty decent footing, the second part is even steeper with some of the most unsure footing I might have ever encountered. 

View from the train on the way to the coast

Moo Moos

Waterford is a beautiful town

Peak rising in the distance... up we go soon

Love all the buildings made out of the stone... 

Found the main square

All these towns look the same but different its really interesting...

Crinkly enjoying some reflective water pics

Crinkly likes this view and I cant blame him

One more pic before we go get our bus out of town

Crinkly  walking back to the area to start the hike looking at the feat ahead of us

Crinkly taking some pics with his horsey friends

View of the water from the street level, there will be higher views soon me thinks.

Found the starting point finally, lets do this

Crinkly ready to get this show on the road, get those steps

Ahh yeah Crinkly liking these views already

Crinkly having second thoughts... keep going fool

Crinkly meeting Sheep friends

View inland after the first challenge up

Crinkly found a pile of rocks... oooo the view behind the rocks.. yeah thats nice too :)

Crinkly loves the little islands sitting in the water all around. 

Ok time to start tackling phase 2

Crinkly is liking the views inland as well

This phase is not nice is it Crinkly?

Crinkly saying the views down below are worth it up here

Crinkly was proud he made it to the top

Just so everyone knows Crinkly didnt take my camera and do this hike without me, we both made it :) 

There was also a little church up on top of the mountain (which makes sense if its a pilgrimage) 

We walked up that didnt we crinkly...

These guys followed us up... gotta follow them down to see their route... or not

Crinkly taking in the view one more time before we start heading down.

Alright Crinkly, lead on

To give an idea of the gradient I am struggling with

This was where I got down from the hard part and just took some me time 

I wonder if its possible to get used to this view. So beautiful!!

Oh croagh patrick... you beautiful challenging beast... was fun

Ahhh back at the start... Feels good

Crinkly checking out the famine memorial with the mission of the day in the background. There are a ton of these famine memorials all over the country (makes sense considering the impact of it to the people and the trajectory of the country).

Monastic ruins near the coast.

Better look at the grounds from the beach cause of course Crinkly wanted to go to the water.

Crinkly enjoying the view out over the water

Another amazing view... thanks Crinkly

Found yet another cousin's shop in town

Dinner of champions cause champions drink mango lassis

Found my cousins brothers shop

Sky clearing and making for some awesome light play with the buildings

Backside of one of the huge churches in town

Just enjoying some sunset time before our bus leaves

Made it back to Ballyhaunis for a drink to celebrate the long but eventful day and watching a match on tv. 

The church by night

Because its Ireland, the whole way up you stop and talk to people going both directions; hell at a couple times, I just decided to walk with people at their pace to give me a break but to also help take my mind off of the ordeal ahead of me. On the second part, I get to a point which I knew I would have trouble with on the way down but I kept going up to eventually get to the top which has some amazing views but is also a bit of a wind tunnel which cuts right through the clothes I have on; combine that with how sweaty and wet I am and yeah I got cold fast. After done enjoying the views, I start my way down and I get to the part I knew would give me fits and sure enough, I struggled massively because of my fear of heights; so much so that a little bit after I finally got past that part, the emotions caught up with me and I started crying a bit and had to get off the trail and find a place to meditate to help calm my nerves and recompose myself. Turns out an older couple that I had passed on my way down at the hell part, saw me and we wound up talking and commiserating (she also was having similar fears which is only natural in that scenario I feel) which helped a bit; people generally are helpful and amazing creatures. Eventually walk the rest of the way down and go across the street to check out the famine memorial (there are a bit of these here cause that was a huge part of the country's history) and abbey which has some amazing views of the water. Bus gets there and their card reader doesnt work. Drops me off in town and then I walk around a bit more before going into Bridge street fast food for a much deserved fish and chips with a mango lassi which was amazing; I love mango lassis. Walk around a little bit more until its time for my bus back to the place. The driver is 15 mins late to start the drive. Everyone gets on, we head out and everyone gets off on the first stop except me. I eventually get back into town and stop and have some beers at a different pub in town then Noel comes and gets me as the road to his place isnt safe to walk on at night (no sidewalk). Shower and get to bed.