How Disney Sets Children Up For Life of Drug Addiction
More seriously, I mean a figurative elephant. A figurative food elephant. I'm just going to come out and say it: Ireland does not exactly have world-renowned cuisine. Pretty much everyone I talked to before I left who visited Ireland said that it was very bland, and nothing special. The thing is, I didn't pick to come to Ireland for the food. I probably would have picked Italy with their delicious pizza and pasta, France with their superb crepes and croissants, or the American South with their heart-seizing barbecue and fried goodness. The good news is that I believe I have found the food that I will be consuming at least 3 times a week for the next 5 months.
It is essentially my favorite meal from The Cheesecake Factory, the Chicken Bellagio, in sandwich form. It has every thing a meal could want. It has protein (chicken); I can get it close by (right around the corner at this cute corner store, Ward's); I can eat it on the go (a property of a sandwich); I look classy because it has brie on it (fancy cheese); It's cheap(er than most things). So for all of you who were worried that I would starve, fear not! I have found my go-to Irish food, even if you would probably not consider it to be an Irish food...
Picture this in sandwich form.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2505/3833053942_cbfb83fe42_z.jpg
This weekend consisted of a lot of exploring around Galway. I'm not quite sure of a lot of the street names or areas where we visited, but I'm starting to get a better feel for where things are located. One of the coolest things I've seen so far we only discovered because of a failed historical tour. The tour guide turned us away because there were too many people, so we decided to strike out on our own.
We ended up down by the bay, and it was absolutely spectacular. Picture this: on the left side you are walking along the flowing Corrib River with its famous hookers. They are some lovely ladies along there. They probably have crabs of some sort. Just some great boats sitting at the docks. That's what you were thinking, right? No? Some dirty minds up in here. They were boats, of course! Anyway, back to the Corrib.
So we were walking along with the river on our left, and across the river is a row of buildings all attached to one another. I am assuming they are houses, but I'm not 100% on that. They are so neat because they are all different sizes and all these different colors that you just don't see in the United States. We got so lucky, because I think the sun might have shone for 15 minutes over the past 5-ish days we have been in Ireland, and yet, the sun came out for the hour we were first seeing these sights. It was like it knew that this would be a big moment for us (Thanks Apollo/Ra!). It was shining perfectly on the houses and positively lighting them up. That coupled with the miniature glares off the waves and the colorful boats, and it was really a great sight. Then, on the right side are these petite houses with glass rooms that lead to their front doors. They all have these great waist-high gates that lead to their unique front lawns. It was difficult to try to take in both sides at once.
After walking down this street, we came around a bend, and, like a punch, it's just this lush, green field leading to this vast body of water where everything seems to be sparkling. In the distance, you can vaguely see the hills on the other side of the bay shrouded in a little bit of fogginess. We ended up wandering along the path that leads right next to the water watching all of the families and couples enjoying the nice weather and taking in the sights ourselves. In that one lucky hour of sunshine, I think that was when I knew I had made the right choice in coming to Ireland.
These pictures don't do the views here justice.
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| I think I see some hookers lurking around... |
The pictures are beautiful, it looks like such a peaceful place. I am glad you have found some food you like, unlike you I choose my destinations on food options.
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