Galway-Aran Islands

On May 18 we woke up at 8:20 and caught the 9:25 bus out of Cork to Galway. We have truly become travel warriors. Here's an example. Grace and Laura wanted bagels (they are food twins) from the bagel place that opens at 9 in Cork, so we went to the bus station, everyone dropped their stuff, I watched it while they ran there to be the first in line as it opened, got the bagels, and made it back to the station before the bus left. It might not have been completely necessary but we still tackled it successfully.

Grace eating her bagel with Nutella on the bus

After a four hour and twenty minute bus ride we arrived in Galway. First order of business was buying ferry tickets so that we could reach the Aran Islands that night. Check. Second order of business was finding a post office to mail Laura's stuff at. Check. Third order of business was shopping.

Galway is pretty much the jewelry capital of Ireland and all three of us love jewelry so it was bound to be a fun and expensive day. Grace and I got matching trinity rings and Grace also got claddagh earrings that had the trinity. Laura got a little treble clef pendent too which was so cute. We also got many gifts for people and had a great time shopping.

Matching Trinity Rings

And then it was time to go to the ferry. We hopped on a bus that took us to the pier about an hour away and then slipped into the ocean to go over to the Aran Island of Inishmor. When we got off the ferry at Inishmor it was raining which was a bummer but we put up our hoods and found our hostel, called the Artist's Hostel (also the only hostel I could find on the island). However, when we got there we were told that the three of us would not be able to stay in the same room like planned because the owner's nephew had stopped by the hostel and he needed a place to stay with his two friends. No, she did not split up his group of three, just ours.

The bar Ti Joe Watty's was just a three minute walk from our hostel so we headed there for dinner and craic. Laura and I both got the vegetable soup with brown bread (typical Irish fare) and Grace had the chef's special pasta. Grace and Laura also split dessert, which became a theme throughout our travels.

We wanted to wait for the live music which we hoped would be traditional, but instead we got "music and comedy" from this very small man who had a Napoleon complex and kept telling the patrons to be quiet. The best part of his show was easily the "disco accordion." He basically had a beat going and just jammed out with his accordion.

Our roommates (the hostess's nephew and his friends) were also there and a little over-served. But they hadn't been actually over-served, they had brought a water bottle full of vodka and pre-gamed at the hostel. His name was Richard and he was really classy. He did come over to our table and chat with us but he was very drunk.

Disco Accordion!

We eventually went back to the hostel because we were exhausted from the fast-paced schedule I had made. Grace and I shared a bed in one room and Laura was in another room. After a little while Richard came back from the pub and we had a pretty funny conversation with him. Then his one friend came back and sat on our bed and talked to us for a while. We asked them where the third friend was but they said that they didn't know. Eventually Grace said that she heard him come back. Apparently he forgot the hostel he was staying in and ran around the island twice trying to find it. At least they provided us with some entertainment.