Galway All Day

September 8, Galway. Today there were bursts of wind and chilly rain in a mostly blue-sky beautiful day. So we walked around town, taking in the sights and the scene generally. Galway is full of music and several young grunge groups unfolded on the walking street throughout the day. They were quite good.

The remarkable natural feature here is the river Corrib. The volume of water that flows, with great turbulence forming rapids without rocks, between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay is staggering. And attractive, in the sense that it is hard to take your eyes away. It's a bit hypnotic.

A group of mute swan seems to have secured residence at the mouth of the Corrib, and we were told that a black swan had joined them. So off we went in search of our own black swan event. It wasn't hard to spot! She appears to be a different species, as different as trumpeter and mute. She is smaller than the mute and has red on her head where the mute has black.

The City Museum was interesting particularly because it featured Padraic O'Conaire, one of the first modern fiction writers to write in Irish/Gaelic. His famous children's book is an affectionate story about his little black donkey in Kinvara, which is actually where we were surprised to see black donkeys just yesterday.

After a full day in Galway, we ate at a charming restaurant Ard Bia at Nimmos near the Spanish Arch on Long Walk, just a short walk from our B & B The Heron's Rest.

black swan with our B&B across the water

sharing thoughts with Oscar Wilde

street music in Galway. Note woman in background