Gimme Moher Galway

Note to the reader:  this post is best read while listening to Ed Sheeran’s hit song “Galway Girl” on repeat.

I think it’s safe to say that every true American with absolutely no Irish heritage whatsoever LOVES St. Patrick’s Day, and I am no different.  Naturally, as soon as I moved to London and realized my close proximity to Ireland for this blessed day, I booked a hotel (I’m not joking, I booked this in September).  Most people assume that if you are going to go to Ireland for St. Paddy’s, you will go to Dublin.  Well, I’m here to tell you, that is NOT cheap, so in the interest of saving some cash and (hopefully) finding more Irish people than Americans, I chose Galway.  I regret nothing.  Galway.  Is.  Magic.

Flight:  London —-> Shannon.  Decided to treat myself and got RyanAir Plus, you know, so I could bring more than a change purse into the cabin.

Drive:  Shannon —-> Galway.  There’s a bus, but I won’t lie, I hired a car, because sometimes I’m very lazy.

I spent a day in Galway alone before my friends arrived to explore the adorable little town.  It’s not a big town, so it didn’t take long and I also fit in a nap.  Okay, it was two naps. Stop judging me, I told you I’m lazy!

Let’s take a moment to appreciate this town.  I’m obsessed, and you should be too.

And now, a step by step review of our St. Patrick’s Day.

Step 1:  Eat full Irish breakfast.

Step 2: Take a ridiculously long time to get ready because the hotel hair dryer is the equivalent of a human just blowing on your hair.

Step 3: Stop at convenience store to buy bitchin’ headband.

Step 4:  Hit the first pub, O’Connell’s, which you think is a tiny little pub, but then you find out it has a HUGE outside area which is amazing.

Step 5: Officially start the day right with a delicious pint of Smithwicks.

Step 6:  Go back to convenience store for another headband because your friend already stole yours.

Step 7:  Go have a couple beers at the hotel with Wilson because he can’t go to the bars.

Step 8: Document matching headbands then go BACK TO THE PUBS.

Step 9:  Be in a pub in Ireland when Ireland Rugby officially wins Six Nations.  Partying ensues.

Step 10:  Leave that pub like a boss with your to-go cup and move on to the next.

Step… Let’s just say… 11 – 16:  Wander to every other pub you feel like because they are all amazing and you must see them all.  Talk to 100 drunk strangers on the way.

Step 17:  End up in another pub you think is tiny, but then find out you are actually in NARNIA and the pub NEVER ENDS, and stay there FOREVER.

Step 18: Make new friends and start a “bum bag” club.  I miss you, Kevin.

Step 19:  Finally leave Narnia to go get pizza.

Step 20:  Immediately go to McDonald’s because your pizza was terrible. Then admit defeat and go back to your hotel.

There aren’t too many photos of the day’s activities, because beer, but you get the idea.  Take my word for it, it was a great time.

Now, if you’re already going to be in Galway, you’d be crazy not to go see the Cliffs of Moher.  You can either book a tour from Galway and take a bus for a day trip, or if you want to have massive anxiety like me, you can rent a car and drive on the WRONG side of the road and WRONG side of the car for the first time ever.  Spoiler alert: we all lived.

We picked the car up on Sunday and drove through 34,762 roundabouts to our hotel in Shannon near the airport.  Being the day after St. Patrick’s Day, we decided to spend the rest of the day watching tv in our beds and gearing up for Monday.

It takes about an hour and only 15,891 roundabouts to get to the Cliffs of Moher from Shannon and it was worth every spin around the roundabout.  Bring that student ID and your entry will be €6 each, then you’ll spend about €15 on a new hat because you forgot yours.  Bundle up, because I’m here to tell you, wind is real and it is fierce at these cliffs, but it was worth every bit of wind smacking you in the face.

Note to the reader:  Please now switch to the hit Britney Spears song, “Gimme, Gimme More” and listen to that on repeat for a bit. 

UN. REAL.

Pro tip: get there early in the day before those tour buses start rollin’ in. We made it just in time.

We had a bit more free time with the car before we had to head back to the airport, so we found a little town called Doolin.  I’ll tell you what, Ireland sure knows how to impress with their towns.  We stopped in the pub here for lunch and THEY HAD CHICKEN TENDERS.  This isn’t a drill, I’d show you proof, but I ate them too quickly.  I know, that doesn’t sound that exciting, but a good chicken tender is hard to come by in this part of the world, okay?!

In conclusion:  I highly recommend all of these parts of Ireland whether you go for St. Patrick’s Day or not.  Ireland stole a little piece of my heart from London, and I will be back many, many times.

I’ll leave you with this majestic photo of me trying to cope with the Galway wind.

Slán.