Sleeping in a hostel isn’t terrible. I was reluctant to try them out, especially after hearing about the scary movie made about them. But Ireland has felt safe, so when we got off the bus in Galway yesterday and saw the Galway City Hostel across the street, we gave it a shot.

The closest thing to a private room that was available sleeps 4 (2 sets of bunk beds) and has a bathroom right in it. We paid about 20 Euros each for this room – so, far less than hotels and B&Bs cost. Bill and I got the room to ourselves, however there was the anticipation of getting mid-night roomies that encouraged my waking to every small noise. At a hostel (or at least this one) you leave the key in the outside of the door so that the people you’re sharing the room with have access as well. Things must’ve eventually quieted down, because I slept through the morning and woke up ready to go.

This Galway trip was a bit spontaneous, perhaps a result of the realization that our time here is coming to an end quickly! We had intended to stay in Killarney yesterday and hike through the national forest – stopping to see things along the way that we passed up on bike the day before. Unfortunately the beautiful weather brought with it a bit of sunburn, and we thought it best to not aggravate that situation. So, we took a bus up through Limerick and arrived in Galway just after 7 last night.

 

We decided to get out and explore the city a bit. Like every other place we’ve seen on this trip, Galway is beautiful! We sat down by the water for just a bit and then set off to find a good place for a little dinner. We found a little Irish pub that advertised nightly traditional music, so we stopped there. I just haven’t had it in me to get a pint of beer (being that I think the stuff is nasty in general), however I’ve seen a lot of people consuming a hard cider (can’t remember the name now) and decided I’d give it a try. The music was much better than the cider, and we met a nice couple from New York. We’ve actually not encountered many Americans along the way, a fact which surprises me for some reason.

Today we are off to the Cliffs of Moher and then (hopefully) back in time to catch the last train into Dublin.