Arriving in Galway

Sunday October 6 was sunny with blue sky.  High of about 16C.  We were on the move from Dublin to Galway.  We took Light Rail Transit (LUAS) to the Heuston Train Station to catch the 11:40 a.m. train to Galway.  The tram took about 15 minutes and we had lots of time to board the train.  It was a very pleasant trip to Galway- about seven very short stops along the way.  We arrived on time at
2:05 p.m.

Beautiful country en route from Dublin to Galway

Lots of green

Old ruins

Galway City is the only major urban centre on the Wild Atlantic Way.  It has a bohemian feel with lots of narrow colourful shop-lined streets filled with buskers and old pubs.  However, it also has an increasingly sophisticated food scene that celebrates local produce.  Galway has been designated the European Capital of Culture for 2020 and tiny flags noting the designation are flying in all the streets. The population of Galway is about 80,000 and a quarter are students.

Typical street in Galway with flags noting the 2020 Cultural Capital designation 

We are staying in an Airbnb on one of the small streets right in the city centre.  It is perfectly located, yet quiet.  It is on the top floor of a small building.  One walks to the top of a stairway and then goes outside to a lovely garden area and then enters a building.  There are a few guest rooms, a shared bathroom and a large kitchen and living room area.  It is called the Zen Den.  The hosts, a young couple, were away for a few days on holidays and a young woman who helps out and lives in the Airbnb is minding the place.

Zen Den

Common living room and kitchen- very clean and tidy

The Zen Den-- we enter the door on the left-- other rooms are on the right side

Fortuitously, there is a wonderful coffee shop that we had read about around the corner.  Coffeewerk + Press, features Scandinavian coffees and has a design store on the second floor.  The owner also owns a toy store and a print shop.  The place opened about four years ago, and has a large local following.

Outside of Coffeewerk 

Lovely inside-- Itook the picture after the lineup had been served

We had read in our guidebook that there was a small Market that operated on Saturdays and Sundays, just a few blocks away.  We headed over to check it out.  There were mostly crafts (some good, some not so) and a few food booths.  Apparently, there are more food stalls on Saturdays.

Galway Market sign

We stopped at one booth and I bought a necklace for myself and one for Ailín (belated birthday gift). Maura, the jeweller was originally from New York but moved to Galway after visiting her grandmother about 30 years ago.  One of the patterns on the silver necklace was fennel from her garden. Maura was also helpful in directing us to some restaurants, pubs and places we might want to visit.

Maura - Ocean Moon Designs - she is the jewellery designer 

More booths with St. Nicholas Church in the background

Maura had suggested we check out the West Side of Galway just a few minutes away across the River Corrib.   We later heard that the Corrib is the second fastest river in Europe.  I would definitely believe it.  The water was quite high and raging.  We also noted sandbags in front of many establishments near the river.  There had been a storm a few days before we got to Galway and it looked like flooding could be a serious issue in the town.

Crossing the Corrib

Very fast and choppy water

The West Side has a number of quiet residential streets and then a few streets with wonderful restaurants and pubs.

Quiet Sunday on the West Side

More colourful houses

Maura had told us that Hooked had some of the best fish in town.  It looked quite homey and good.  We shall return.

Hooked

Great sign for Trad Music

We stopped in at Tartare, just as some live music was finishing.  The Galway Jazz Festival which ran from October 2-6, was just ending the day we arrived.  We didn't stay as we wanted a savoury rather than a sweet and they just had pastries at 5:00 p.m.

Tartare's

The music scene- just finishing an afternoon jazz session

Crossing back - a panorama

We stopped at Sheridans Cheesemongers wine bar which is upstairs from its cheese shop.  The cheese shop had just closed but the wine bar was open.  There is no wine list but the bartender helped pick us a nice glass of wine and also prepared a small cheese board with sheep, goat and cow cheeses.  We hadn't had lunch and wanted a bite to eat before we went to dinner at 7:00 p.m.

Our wine from the bottle on the right

Delicious cheeses and bread

Friendly wine bar on a late Sunday afternoon

We had made reservations for dinner at Ard Bia at Nimmo's, which a number of guidebooks and articles had recommended (our Airbnb hosts and Maura had also recommended this restaurant).  We were meeting friends who live just outside of Victoria, British Columbia, whom we had had lunch with on our trip to Victoria in August.

Tom and Debra had been travelling in France and Spain for the past month and were just spending two nights in Galway before heading to Dublin and home.  Sunday night was the one night we overlapped.  The restaurant is located in the 18th century Custom House near the Spanish Arch.  Ard Bia ("High Food" in Irish) serves wonderful modern Irish food using local ingredients.  It also sells local food products and is decorated with works by local artists.  It was a fabulous meal.

Tom, Debra, moi and Ailín

Tom and I had monkfish with chorizo and clams and white bean stew in a tomato sauce- superb

Debra and Ailín had sea trout, squash and potato gratin in a wonderful sauce

Yum

Tom and Debra

For dessert, Tom and Debra shared soda bread ice cream with chocolate mascarpone and coffee cake and Ailín had a gorgeous apple and blackberry crumble.  I had the blackberry sorbet that came with the crumble.

Soda bread ice cream, coffee cake, etc.

Crumble

It was the best meal we have had on the trip so far.  Everything was delicious and very flavourful.  The restaurant was full, but quiet and we were able to hang for a few hours.  Galway is definitely a foodie city.  It was also great to catch up with friends from the west coast of Canada in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland.