May 12: Free Day in Galway

It finally rained!

It took an amazing 10 days on the Emerald Isle to experience the infamous Ireland rain. We've been so lucky!

The weather did not ruin our free day in the great city of Galway though. There is so much to do in this seaside town. Many of the streets downtown are for pedestrians only and they contain many shops and street performers.

This is the original maker of the well known Claddagh rings. They even have a small museum in the back.

Here is Nicole learning some old style Irish step dancing with a street performer in downtown Galway.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-YRziCZcNxgS1pTMU9LNUNSMy1abmVVUlVmTmNyNUJXSENF

The link above should take you to a video of a street band playing some music in the streets of Galway. Fingers crossed that it works!

There were plenty of interesting places to visit in Galway besides the shops downtown. Going down to the harbor proved to be a nice walk and we even managed to find the landmark Spanish Arch.

Just around the corner was the free to enter Galway City Museum. There you could find artifacts and information on Galway's history, including the city's role during World War I and the Anglo-Irish War.

This is an example of a Galway Hooker. These boats were used for fishing.

This is the Civic Sword and the Great Mace. The Civic Sword dates back to 1610 and contains the arms of the town and various inscriptions of the mayors of Galway. The Great Mace was made in Dublin in 1710 and was presented to Edward Eyre, Mayor of Galway, in 1712.

This was a detailed exhibit of Galway's role in World War I and the Anglo-Irish War.

Galway had plenty to offer and even though we experienced our first Irish rainfall, we managed to have a great day of shopping, sightseeing, and taking in the lively culture of the city.