I'm here!

So after a two nights hanging out in Beloit, a bus ride to Chicago, a 6-hour flight to Shannon, a 2-hour bus ride to Galway, a 15-minute taxi ride to our B&B, and a half-hour walk to downtown, I finally made it to my first pint of Guinness in Ireland!

Amanda has been really great to travel with. It’s been nice to have somebody there to help figure things out. Also, the people here are really nice! Sure, there are a few grumpy old men, but in general, the Irish are very receptive to tourists.

The B&B we stayed at, Corrib Haven, was owned by this man named Tom and his wife (whose name eludes me), but Tom was a really fantastic time. Check out from there was at 11:00, but we couldn’t get into our apartments until 4:00, so Tom let us keep our luggage there while we explored the city. That allowed us to walk to the downtown area. Amanda and I walked through the Spanish Arches, so named because they were a testament to the massive trading between the Irish and Spanish years ago, and we explored the wharf, which used to be the fishing village of Claddagh. The famous claddagh rings come from this area, and there were more than enough shops in the area willing to sell you a ring or necklace with the hand/heart/crown emblem.

After walking along the bay, we went to a pub called “The Spanish Arch” where I got a delicious mutton stew with a hearty beer. YUM. The main difference I noticed between pubs in Ireland and American-Irish pubs (besides the accent) is that the staff over here know how to pour a good Guinness. See, in the states, people pour it quickly and patrons will drink it while it’s still brown, but here, if you’re sitting at a bar and order a Guinness, it’ll take a good three minutes to pour, and once you get it, you need to let it sit until it settles to that nice, classic black. But I digress. Basically, pubs and pub food here are really, really good. I’ve found that deep-fried mushrooms are the perfect compliment to a pint of Harp’s (an indulgence neither my body nor wallet can afford too often).

After further exploration of Quay (pronounced “key”) Street, we walked back to the B&B, grabbed our luggage, and headed to our apartment. On our way out, Tom told us, “Now, you know where I am. If you two ever need anything, don’t hesitate to get me!” What a great guy. But anyway, we checked into our apartment, Corrib Village, and settled in. I’m rooming with another student from Beloit, Justin. The apartment buildings are two stories tall, and each floor is separated into two halves. Each half has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (one with a shower), and a lounge/kitchen area. The people living in my part of the building are nice. Connor and Ted are from University of Richmond, Jamie is from Cornell Universtiy, and Justin and I are from Beloit College. After a shopping trip to stock our kitchen with groceries, I made the group some pasta, and then we all took a brief siesta.

After we awoke from our jet-lag comas, we decided it was pub time. On a quest for Guinness and Trad (or traditional Irish music), we grabbed Amanda and her roommate (Rachel, who is also from Beloit College) and the 7 of us walked through the University to Quay Street. The first pub we stopped at was great! There was an old ballad-style band performing that played lots of classics, including “The Wild Rover” and “Finnegan’s Wake”. After a few pints, we decided to keep moving, and we wandered into another pub that had a really amazing session band. The played some fantastic trad, and all four band members were multi-instrumentalists. The flautist played the uilleann bagpipes and the whistle-player also played the Galacian gaida (Spanish bagpipe). It was so amazing. WAY better than Irish Fest.

But eventually the night had to end, and we all trudged home to Corrib Village. Today we get a tour of the University, and tomorrow is orientation. Last night was incredible, but definitely too expensive to do every night, or even every week. But as a first night in Ireland, it was definitely a great way to kick off the semester.

I think I’m gonna like it here.