Galway
We have four days here in Ireland. Jared planned two of the days - Blarney Castle and tomorrow's adventures - and the other two days I'm the planner. Planning things to do on vacation is not fun for me. Like shopping for Christmas presents, I feel pressure to do a good job. By that, I mean that I want everyone to have a great time and love what we do together. I tend to procrastinate when I'm feeling pressured because I'd rather ignore my problems than face them. Mature, I know. Anyway, today was one of my days and I finally made up my mind last night about what we were going to do. We spent our Thanksgiving in Galway!
Our first stop was the cathedral. Unlike most cathedrals in Europe, the Galway Cathedral is not hundreds of years old. It was built in 1965 on the site of the city's old prison and it is beautiful. The cathedral has a dome instead of spires or towers and it reminded me a little of the US Capitol Building. The cathedral has beautiful stained glass windows, some really cool mosaics, and a different layout than other cathedrals we've visited. The interior is shaped like a cross, which is pretty normal, but the sanctuary is in the center of the nave and with the pews all facing the center of the building. You know those big jugs for water with a spout at the bottom? The Galway Cathedral has a big metal one sort of hidden behind a column that is filled with Holy Water. We've never seen that before and I never would do this, but what if someone thought it was just drinking water and filled up their water bottle or something with it?
I love museums but most of the family does not share my feelings. That didn't stop me from putting two museums on my tentative plan for the day. First up was Thomas Dillon's Claddagh Gold. I knew from the internet that this museum was basically a jewelry shop with a tiny room in the back that had a couple of displays about the history of the ring. So basically it was a way to get people in their store to hopefully buy some jewelry. And we did buy a Claddagh ring for Abigail, but not in that particular store. Our second museum of the day was the Galway City Museum which had a few different exhibits on Irish history, efforts to preserve and promote Gaelic culture, how the Republic of Ireland became a republic and separate from Britain, and the everyday life of people in the fishing village of Claddagh which is just across the river from Galway. Some of the exhibits were more interesting than others, and it was nice to be inside for a little bit. Thankfully, everyone put up with my need for museums and they were willing to wander and look at displays while I read everything I wanted to.
We also spent a lot of time in some of the shops in Galway looking at the mind-boggling variety of Aran sweaters and blankets and other things made out of wool. Jared and I both must have contributed to Samantha's love of all things soft and cozy because warm sweaters and flannels are definitely things we'd happily wear every day of our lives. We tried on a bunch of things and admired even more, but in the end, we walked out with nothing more than a hat for Jared and some socks for me. Natalie and Samantha each wanted a sweatshirt as well as some Celtic jewelry so we also poked around in a few souvenir shops to find just the right things for them.
One big reason I landed on Galway for today's activities was because they have a Christmas market and we generally love Christmas markets. We purposefully took our time getting out the door this morning and wandering around the town today so that we wouldn't arrive at the market before the sun went down. Any Christmas market looks more magical at nighttime when all the lights are twinkling. Our Thanksgiving dinner today was McDonalds and instead of pumpkin pie for dessert, we had crepes and chimney cakes from the Christmas market. The market itself wasn't that impressive. It was not very large, the stalls were mostly selling food, and there were way more carnival-like games than we're used to. What it lacked in size and variety, the city made up for with atmosphere. Every street and little lane in the city center was decked out with lights, Christmas trees, and other festive finery.
Honestly, today wasn't as cool as yesterday so maybe I failed a little bit in my planning responsibilities. We did have fun together and Natalie had far fewer emotional meltdowns (life with an almost thirteen-year-old!) so that was pretty great. As we walked along the Corrib River on our way back to the car, the girls were singing songs from their upcoming Christmas concert and generally being sweet together. No matter what we do each day, I'm grateful we can take a break from our regular life and enjoy so much uninterrupted time together because our family is my biggest blessing.
Our first stop was the cathedral. Unlike most cathedrals in Europe, the Galway Cathedral is not hundreds of years old. It was built in 1965 on the site of the city's old prison and it is beautiful. The cathedral has a dome instead of spires or towers and it reminded me a little of the US Capitol Building. The cathedral has beautiful stained glass windows, some really cool mosaics, and a different layout than other cathedrals we've visited. The interior is shaped like a cross, which is pretty normal, but the sanctuary is in the center of the nave and with the pews all facing the center of the building. You know those big jugs for water with a spout at the bottom? The Galway Cathedral has a big metal one sort of hidden behind a column that is filled with Holy Water. We've never seen that before and I never would do this, but what if someone thought it was just drinking water and filled up their water bottle or something with it?
I love museums but most of the family does not share my feelings. That didn't stop me from putting two museums on my tentative plan for the day. First up was Thomas Dillon's Claddagh Gold. I knew from the internet that this museum was basically a jewelry shop with a tiny room in the back that had a couple of displays about the history of the ring. So basically it was a way to get people in their store to hopefully buy some jewelry. And we did buy a Claddagh ring for Abigail, but not in that particular store. Our second museum of the day was the Galway City Museum which had a few different exhibits on Irish history, efforts to preserve and promote Gaelic culture, how the Republic of Ireland became a republic and separate from Britain, and the everyday life of people in the fishing village of Claddagh which is just across the river from Galway. Some of the exhibits were more interesting than others, and it was nice to be inside for a little bit. Thankfully, everyone put up with my need for museums and they were willing to wander and look at displays while I read everything I wanted to.
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| Just being patient while Mom reads everything in the exhibit |
One big reason I landed on Galway for today's activities was because they have a Christmas market and we generally love Christmas markets. We purposefully took our time getting out the door this morning and wandering around the town today so that we wouldn't arrive at the market before the sun went down. Any Christmas market looks more magical at nighttime when all the lights are twinkling. Our Thanksgiving dinner today was McDonalds and instead of pumpkin pie for dessert, we had crepes and chimney cakes from the Christmas market. The market itself wasn't that impressive. It was not very large, the stalls were mostly selling food, and there were way more carnival-like games than we're used to. What it lacked in size and variety, the city made up for with atmosphere. Every street and little lane in the city center was decked out with lights, Christmas trees, and other festive finery.
Honestly, today wasn't as cool as yesterday so maybe I failed a little bit in my planning responsibilities. We did have fun together and Natalie had far fewer emotional meltdowns (life with an almost thirteen-year-old!) so that was pretty great. As we walked along the Corrib River on our way back to the car, the girls were singing songs from their upcoming Christmas concert and generally being sweet together. No matter what we do each day, I'm grateful we can take a break from our regular life and enjoy so much uninterrupted time together because our family is my biggest blessing.
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