DAY NINE
WRITERS BLOG - Wednesday, May 8th, 2019
Morning found us not wanting to leave Dromoland. The time went by way too fast and, and frankly, we were just not quite ready to give up our crowns. We walked the maze of hallways to the Earl of Thomond, the Castle’s flagship restaurant, and ate like Queens. Yogurts, fruit, croissants, cereals, juices, granolas, oatmeal, eggs anyway you want them, full menu of meats, sauces, omelettes, salads, Benedict’s, you name it, they had it.
When we left for Galway, we decided to stop at the Golf shop to get one of the lasses son-in-Law a golf hat 🧢. Now, parking in Ireland can be tricky, but parking at the Castle Pro Shop was down right insanity! The spaces are measured from door handle to door handle, on the smallest car they can find. Turning radius, well there is no turning radius. They expect you to morph yourself into the space or do a 40-point turn, which is what we did. Then there’s the the golfer who has all his stuff in your way and looks at you like, “well, Park already” we stare him down, or maybe it was the “We’re from the USA and have no idea how to drive in Ireland” look on our faces, but he finally moves his balls and his golf stuff out of the way, and we eke into the slot. Of course now we are pinned. Door handle to door handle. Cars on both sides. What were we thinking! So, one flattens like a cockroach and slinks out the driver door. The second does a classic rubber man move out the passenger side. That leaves the third lass to climb from back-seat, over console like a clumsy Ninja looking for the steering wheel fro support, only it’s on the opposite side of the car. That leaves only one option, falling out the passenger side, all that hair of hers wild and unforgiving, left us in hysteria. The looks we got were not endearing and no one was laughing. Heaven forbid if you get in the way of an Irish ☘️ golfer 🏌️ When we left, we had to go the wrong way to get the car out, to wit we received more looks of disapproval. But, we got the hat!!!
After we made our wrong-way u-turn, we bid Dromoland adieu, and headed north to Galway, stopping in Ennis to visit a garden shop to perhaps pick up a few seeds for the gardens at home. Success! Back in the car & on the road, our navigator pulled up the GPS, where Siri’s enchanting voice guided us through the roundabouts and country roads. We did a spin around the roundabout, going the wrong way of course. A couple of circles later we hit our correct exit. It’s like being spit out of the intake of a centrifugal pump.
Galway was a hop, skip, jump up the road from Ennis, and it is a HUGE city. Maneuvering was tricky and parking was not conducive to off-loading luggage. Last thing we wanted to do was roll baggage across three blocks of a car park. So we went around the block, well, what we thought was a block, but nevertheless, found our way back around to the hotel.
The hotel is right downtown, across from Eyre Square, John F. Kennedy Memorial Park. We parked in the Valet zone, went in and had an eager porter unload the car. Unknowingly, the hotel was under renovation. We were ducking ladders, paint cans, and hanging wires amidst the chaos of the construction crews. As such, several rooms were closed to occupancy, which delayed our ability to check-in. Though pleasantly located for walking about, if we had known about the renovations when booking the trip, we would have chosen a different hotel. But, it’s the journey, right?
After checking in, we check claimed our bags with hospitality until the room was ready, then, we hoofed it to the TK-Maxx to buy a suitcase because someone who came with only a carry-on, needed an extra bag. 🤣🤣
Hungry, we went searching for food and a market where we might buy the amber rock sugar we had at Dromoland. We ventured down to the shopping area just off the square, known as The Docks. It is a store-lined pedestrian street running from Eyre Square to the boat docks in Galway. We lunched at Taaffes Bar, checked out stores, and stopped to listen to live Irish ☘️ bands filling the air with some cool sounds.
Inquired about, and looked for a store that sold puzzles to buy as a gift from Ireland. The first two shops were out, but we finally found one on our way back up towards the square. Eason’s. Good store for stuff if you ever find yourself on the The Docks in Galway.
Back at the hotel, we dumped our loot and headed down to see what’s for dinner. So, took a wrong turn off the elevator and ended up in an unfamiliar room, “where the heck am I?”, which drew snickers from the other two, who just let this little lass walk right into it. Okay, they laughed actually, to wit a dash to the nearest “tielit” (toilet) was necessary. We definitely know where all the “tielits” are in Ireland!
After checking the menu in the dining room, we opted for Four Star Pizza, just a short walk from the hotel 🏨 Did we mention it stays light until 10:30PM? After showers, light conversation, and a few laughs, we threw open a window and turned in.
Oh wait! While prepping to turn-in, the funniest thing happened while one of us was in the shower. All of a sudden there was a shout from the bathroom and lots of sounds of flailing about. Then laughter! Lots and lots of laughter. Come to find out, the hand-held shower head dislodged from it’s keeper when the water was turned on and began whipping around like a snake, spraying water everywhere. It proved to be a slippery opponent, but of course, when your “naked and afraid,” and laughing uncontrollably, it can be that way. We were laughing so hard, I’m sure people on the street below our window were wondering what was going on.
Needless to say, we needed more towels.
Nite nite from Galway, Co. Galway, Ireland 🇮🇪
