Last Day in Galway

October 11, 2019

Thursday October 10 was windy with the odd rain shower, but most of the day was clear. Typical Galway weather, with a high of 15C. We decided to have a reasonably chill day in Galway.

We went to Coffeewerk + Press for a coffee and sat upstairs where they have a design shop. The shop is the passion project of Daniel Ulrichs, whose family have run a toy shop in Galway since the late 1970s. Initially, he set up a company to publish postcards and prints by local artists, which they still exhibit. He expanded the business to open the coffee and craft shop about three years ago. They have ceramics, glassware, books, blankets and other small gift items. One can sit in the bay window and have a coffee.

Upstairs in the design shop at Coffeewerk

Folks hanging out at the shop

This is where our flat is but it is at the back of this building-- very quiet at all times

We stopped at Hazel Mountain Chocolate, just up the street, which has craft chocolate made in Ireland. We had a few samples and bought a dark chocolate bar.

Counter with treats and hot chocolate

Ailín checking out the chocolates

We made a stop at the AIB Bank located in Lynch's Castle, where we had stopped on the walking tour. The Bank has done an excellent job of preserving the building. There are a number of photos and displays outlining the building's history. The old fireplace dated 1627 was in the entrance area to the Bank.

1627 fireplace in entranceway

Inside of Bank

We walked by Nora Barnacle House located near St. Nicholas' Church. Nora was the wife of James Joyce. Joyce stayed in the house numerous times when visiting his in-laws.

The street with Nora Barnacle's House

Nora Barnacle's House with plaque-- the house is open periodically, but was closed when we walked by.

We walked by the other side of St. Nicholas Collegiate Church. Apparently, the iron fence had been moved from Eyre Square.

St. Nicholas

Another view

We checked out a very small artisan perfumery called Cloon Keen. It was a beautiful small building on a busy street, with lovely candles and perfumes that picked up scents from the Irish countryside. A bit pricey but fun to check out.

Cloon Keen Arisan Perfumer

Inside of store

Lovely scents and candle holders

It was time for lunch. We went back to Ard Bia, where we had dinner our first night in Galway. We shared a wonderful pumpkin and cumin soup and a lovely lentil and squash salad (with burrata on the side for Ailín) and homemade pita bread. It is a wonderful restaurant that also has a number of local provisions and lovely scarves and blankets for sale.

Lunch at Ard Bia

Reading the latest Brexit news

Window looking at the Corrib River (noir filter)

Lovely salad

We then decided to walk up one side of the Corrib River to the main Cathedral. The Corrib really is fast moving and a bit daunting.

River Corrib

Looking back

There is a small river beside the Corrib

The Galway Cathedral is a relatively new building. In 1941, Galway County Council handed over Galway Goal to the Bishop as a site for the proposed new Cathedral. The Goal was demolished and the foundation stone was laid in 1957. The Cathedral was officially opening on August 15 1965. It was the last major stone church built in Ireland.

Galway Cathedral

Beautiful domed ceiling

History of the Cathedral built on the site of the Galway Goal

Stained glass windows

Gabriel Hayes-Stations of the Cross

The Nativity by Adam Pomeroy- depiction of Mary and the newborn Jesus

We walked back on the West Side and stopped for tea at The Secret Garden. They have a variety of teas that they will mix--- we had a lovely tea with sage in it (good for my lingering cough).

At The Secret Garden

There really was a secret garden- just a bit too cool outside for us.

Many teas at the Secret Garden.

Our final destination of the day was a visit to The Tweed Project- an interesting story. We had picked up a booklet for a series of events taking place in Galway on October 12-13 (starting the day after we were leaving town). It was called Architecture at the Edge and had a number of talks and workshops in and around Galway. One talk was going to be by the founders of The Tweed Project which create handmade, on- off pieces that combine beautiful Irish fabrics with modern tailoring. There was a picture of the two founders wearing some interesting tweed tops and pants. I checked out the website where there were some interesting clothes. The talk was going to be at their atelier. We had seen a number of The Tweed Project's blankets and large scarves around town, but hadn't seen any of their clothes. I sent an email to Aoibheann, one of the founders asking whether it would be possible to visit her atelier.

She replied and we set up a time to drop by. Aoibheann was very interesting. It turned out she owns the Ard Bia restaurant, which explains why the restaurant was selling their scarves and blankets. Her home was also beautiful. I was able to try on a number of items and ended up buying a tweed scarf and a grey linen dress. Aoibheann was very trusting- as we had to go back to the restaurant to pay, as she did not have a credit card machine. They are presently working on a Georgia O'Keefe collection.