Irish Blatherings: Galway!

Sooooo….Dublin was great primarily because I was there with Miss Laura Becker.  But I dropped her at the airport and found my way across Ireland to Galway.  As I may have stated in my prior entry on “Driving In Ireland”, Irish highways (other than being in the wrong direction) seem very nice, wide, well paved and with reasonable signage.  So it was not that hard to leave the airport, head south and then find the highway across ireland to Galway.  It is a 2 ½ hour drive (God himself knows how many kilometers that is) and I wanted to try and get there before dark to try and find my hotel.

I of course did not ask for a car with Bluetooth (nor do I know if that even exists in Ireland or Europe because I am a sheltered American or “Merican” if you will) but in any case I did not bring any CD’s for (what I am now thinking of as the “archaic”) CD player and was sentenced to Irish Radio.  A couple of things I found out:

1. Southern Ireland and Southern England while I was there were suffering from disastrous “Katrina” level flooding with a low pressure system sitting out in the Atlantic and dumping rain on the southern portion of both countries.  This is and was totally unreported in US Media as far as I could tell even though it threatened both governments because people were so upset and there was such widespread suffering.  On my trip home this reminded me what a silo we live in news wise.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2014/02/16/08/17/british-storms-claim-2-lives

2. Irelands Police (the Guardia) watchdog group had found that they were being bugged by someone and no one knew who it was but heads were going to roll.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-26279237

These were the only two stories on the news but I was saved because there was a football game on with Manchester United playing Fulham.  Unbeknownst to me the Premier League is in tumult with perennial contender Manchester United having another horrible season and being at risk for being dropped from the Premier League.  Naturally there is much hand wringing going on about what (based on the BBC feed I was listening to is a NATIONAL tragedy.  While you might find as an American that watching soccer is boring (like watching farming as one of my friends says) I assure you that it is only “more so” on the radio but with limited choices… I tuned in.  And it was a boring game, with Fulgham leading 1-0 late in the game but miraculously Manchester scores 2 goals late in the game before regulation expires SAVING THEIR SEASON and perhaps their coaches job. I learned the next day that Manchester had set the record for “crosses” whatever those are and it was considered a very poor effort but even poorer because they had to play the extra time for the time lost for penalties and...Fulham scored salvaging a tie and you would have thought the world had ended.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/feb/09/manchester-united-fulham-live-premier-league

So it was a pretty interesting trip across Ireland.  Not much to see from the highway.  A few towns, a lot of fields.

I believe we have previously discussed the fact that I am genius.  And a planner.  A GENIUS PLANNER!  In that regard I had my hotel reservation that morning on “the internets” reading several reviews and then booking and receiving confirmation on line at “The Western”.  I also had an address but I had no map and no directions because it is in “City Center” in Galway.  Dublin also has a “City Center” as I would imagine Belfast does as well.  It is what they mean by downtown and I figured I would find it.  Well… it was getting dusky (dark) by the time I got there but the plan worked reasonably well until I got to the City Center and could not find the hotel.  Streets are not clearly marked for the 53 year old traveler trying to navigate the wrong side of the road while looking for 100 year old street signs which are not on posts on the corner but instead are on the sides of the buildings nearest to the corners.  After several (4) trips around downtown I finally did the girlish thing and asked and was pointed to the top of the hill and a one way street I had not yet explored and there I found my hotel, pulled into the alley behind and pulled down into another tiny, perilous garage at The Western!

Now, being an American I of course thought of the wild west!  It was “The Western”.  Maybe a cowboy theme!  I did not think any of this consciously but it was definitely there and then i realized it is “The Western” because it is on the west coast of Ireland.  Evidently they have a west coast too.  It is just on the Atlantic and California is not there.  Who knew?

So I got online and did a little research about where I could get a top notch gluten free meal and all reviews pointed towards a place called Ard Bia.  It was down by what was referred to as the Spanish Arch:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Arch

They date from the 1500’s and were at the bottom of the hill on the bay where the river Corrib runs into the bay.It was pitch black and I was solo as i worked my way down into the pedestrian mall and through it asking questions and you walk way out on the quay and underneath the arches and there was a little house.  It was packed and they seated me and my newspaper and served me some hot gluten free bread and fresh butter and then a nice seafood salad and very good steak.  Looking around the food looked good on every plate and they had an adequate, reasonably priced wine list.  I would definitely recommend this place to anyone but especially to the gluten impaired.

I spent a little time exploring the pedestrian mall which is a nice bunch of shops.  No Cigar stores but a good cheese monger and a plethora of drug stores and gift shops and specialty stores, several of which had some Cuban cigars for me.  This mall or near it is where you want to stay in Galway.  There were at least a dozen bars, all with music every night and there was plenty to do.

Part of the energy comes because it is a college town.  I was unfamiliar with the National University of Ireland Galway but they store 17,000 students there in what looks to be an excellent liberal arts and research university.  Perhaps I should go there for the Masters in Writing?  Or perhaps I should learn to write a sentence first without…  In any case, it seems like it would be an excellent place to be an old person studying abroad.

http://www.nuigalway.ie/index.html

Irish Bars are there for the atmosphere, for the average music and for the Irish whiskey.  There is plenty of all these things and I did not walk into a single establishment where I was treated like a stranger.  Everyone was friendly and loved to pour the Red Breast for me and I must admit I developed a “taste” for it.  I had never been a fan before.  But if you go, you have to hit a few of these establishments.  Most of them seemed pretty much the same to me, but I mean that in a good way.

The food for the Celiac in Ireland is not much.  “Irish Cuisine” is a misnomer like “English Cuisine”.  It is shit… at best.  But it is edible and there is food to be had.  In Galway I found an edible Irish breakfast at every hotel including “The Western”.

Sausage, egg and although I could not partake with my gluten issues an awful little piece of “pudding” that kind of passes for hash browns.  They also will occasionally have the abomination known as “bacon” in England and Ireland.  This is heinous stuff.  I swear is it thick cut, fatty and appears to always be boiled instead of fried, as God intended.  But the Irish Breakfast, with a little hot Irish Tea and a newspaper.  It works.

They also have gluten free pizza in Galway and Dublin.  The Milano’s chain.  Nice product and consistent.  I strongly recommend it for a safe snack at a chain that “gets it”.

In Galway, like every other town I have been in, in England or Ireland they have a cheesemonger.  In Galway it is Sheridans.  One of the smartest things you can do in any town is ask around for the best cheesemonger.  It is always worth the question and Sheridans was....fabulous.

Sheridans had everything.  fresh fruit, sausage and most of all cheese.  A lot of it.  I am a simple man with simple tastes and that means Irish Cheddar and maybe a nice cave aged Gruyere.  

Knowing your cheesemonger can lead to a feast wherever you are and Galway was no exception.

Blood Oranges, gluten free bread with fresh butter, Italian salami and a lot of cheese.  Your leftovers travel well and make a good snack.  There also were several good wine shops.  I took advantage.

***

So Galway is a keeper.  I am strongly recommending it and I am lobbying for Sandy and I to take a trip back.  It is a beautiful town with beautiful people and 1500 years or so of easily accessed history.

The Trip....Day VIII: An American In Paris

Day VIII
Well today was rainy and cloudy and cooler and... probably one of the best days on the whole trip, which is saying a lot. We got up and Sandy had messed around on the internet the night before and found a place that was about a twenty minute walk from the Hotel called “Breakfast In America”. It was perfect and charming complete with booths, a counter, a complete diner breakfast menu and.... ICED TEA! In France! With lots of ice! It was awesome. Our waitress was a sweet English girl who sounded like she was from Chicago. She was evidently used to dealing with grateful tourists. When we entered there was a group of French kids...early twenties... who had clearly been out all night. they were watching baseball playoffs while eating. We ordered, had a perfect little breakfast (other then the hashbrowns which were really the dreaded potatos Obrien. By the time we were done the place had fellied up with a nice eclectic mix of people. It was a great start to the day.

Next we took a train to the Musse’ D Or’. I like art but have no appreciation for it and as I might have said before the religious art leaves me a little cold. This place however was full of the impressionists and most importantly some Van Goghs. It was awesome and a pleasure just to wander around. We spent a LOT more time there then at the Louvre. Some of the art there was of the kind that just moved me.

On the way back we hit the Cathedral of Notre Dame. there was no hunchback (very disappointing) but we inadvertantly went in while worship services were going on. This was a little odd and disjointed as tourists walked around the edges of the Cathedral while about 500 people worshiped and took communion. What a beautiful place. Unbelievable stained glass and architecture. Going to church there would have been nice. I like Catholics, good liturgical worship.

As a special accomodation to me we hopped on the Metro and went up to Père Lachaise Cemetery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Père_Lachaise_Cemetery. There are Metro stations on two sides of it both which have floral shops next to them so that people can buy flowers for the graves.. It is also the final resting place of the late Jom Morrison. I have always liked the Doors hits but must admit to not owning a single Doors CD though you have to have respect for the body of work and the fact that we did not have to watch him grow old like so many 60’s rockers. How much better is a dead Jim Morrison then a live David Crosby? A lot is the answer. Morrison’s grave is in dierepair and was fenced off. I sat down on a grave next to it and we got yelled at so we went off to oscar Wilde’s grave. Anyone who was imrisoned, reviled, exiled and loved by the French cannot be all bad. He has a really pretty grave.

We went back to the Hotel and napped.

We got up and walked around the Latin Quarter which as I said seems a little like a good boardwalk or Dayton strip. It was a trip just people watching and walking around in the light rain. Paris is beautiful and we ended up getting some more pizza and drinking another bottle of wine and life was good.

After dinner we went to La Cave de la Huchette based on my desire to go watch jazz in Paris. We went in, paid a cover and walked downstairs into what truly was a cave. it appears that a lot of the basements in the latin quarter are carved out of the rock. The room was almost empty and we came in and sat and I went upstairs and got some...BUDWEISER! I had not seen a bottle of Bud in Europe up until that time. Eventually the place filled up and a lady began singing American standards like “Stormy Weather”. The band was tight but what was so much fun was the couples dancing and having an awesome time and between the beers, the music and the dancing it was a delightful evening. In fact it was a perfect day. But the trip was rapidly coming to a close.

The Trip....Day II

Cambridge evidently was founded as a bridge over the river Cam. Who knew? Not quite a “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” but certainly a bridge over dirty, somewhat pretentious (or at least well educated) British waters.

All in all let me say it. A lovely town. And we had great weather. Two nice days of weather after what they said had been a miserably wet summer and early fall. We closed out night one after like 40 straight hours awake at a little French place that was lovely. I had to explain to Jon that the French restaurants generally use crappy cuts of beef and then hide them in sauce and this place was no different but it was still good. Then we went back to Valpo’s Cambridge residence and crashed.
I was worried I would wake up too early but when I finally cam to my wife told me it was 10:30. We were sleeping in little single things that felt like monks beds. The bathroom and shower were both down the hall but we got moving and walked about a mile to an open air market that had intrigued us.

I of course am obsessed by iced tea. I did not really comprehend that England, land of tea would not accommodate me but evidently in a tea culture, iced tea is an abomination. Once again, who knew? Still hope reigns eternal and I walked into a Starbucks and confidently ordered a Vente Black Iced Tea and the girl (American) said “I am sorry, we do not do iced tea”. I asked plaintively whether there was any place in England to get iced tea and she told me sadly, and with utter confidence...”no”. Still I persevered and walked down to Mc Donald's but did not even ask. On the board of drinks they had tea but it was away from soft drinks and next to coffee and they had no urns saying “sweet” and unsweet” I did not let this despair overtake me however.

We ate some meat pies which were pastries with a some cheese and sausage and “swede”. Swede i came to find out is turnip and rather then refusing to eat (the Becker natural reaction to anything different) I muscled through it and found it tasty. We bought some fresh squeezed orange juice at the market. It was delightful. We toured the market (boring) and then took our own walking tour of the town trying to find a noodle bar that had grabbed Sandy’s eye. We found it, “The Dojo” and decided we could live without it. We looked in a bunch of stores and bought Laura a puzzle.

We then bought tickets and went into The King’s College Cathedral. That was pretty awesome but could not figure out how to turn my flash off so could not take pictures inside. It was interesting listening tot he tour guides however and read the stuff on the construction. It was started in the 1400’s by Henry the 6th, one of the first Tudor Monarchs who was trying to legitimize himself through such spending. It has a lot of dragons in it in homage to St. George. It was an awesome church and it would have been nice to take some pictures of.

I went to a cheese monger (high point of trip) and bought some gruyere and some cheddar. They were life changing. We went back and got Jon who was now done with class and went down to the river Cam. They have these flat bottomed boats and they move along the river like gondolas but they pole them. We took a nice trip (having bought several beers to drink along the way, and then the Punter told us all about the history of the various colleges on the Cam including St. Johns, Trinity, King’s College and Queen’s College etc... They have all been there a very long time. All in all it was very cool with all the history and all the intellectual snobbery. If you go to Cambridge, go when it is warm and go Punting.

We then went to the grocery store and stocked our boy up with necessities and then went to a Spanish tapas place which seemed average to me but which he and my wife liked. We then went to a pub called Sir Issac Newton’s and I stood a drink for he and all his housemates. We came home and Sandy did the whole houses dishes and then we sat in bed an read and were kept awake for quite sometime by one of the young ladies in the group Skyping with her parents and then her boyfriend till all hours of the night. Then I passed out.