New Thing #81 - L/S/I, Day 9 - Glasgow to Galway

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Up before 8, even though we didn't have to be. I guess that's what happens when you get to bed early. I tried out the shower, which had tried to kill Brenda a day earlier. The shower was small, and with the spray being so powerful, there was really no way to escape it. Fortunately, I had height on my size, so I had a small window of space where I didn't feel like I was going to drown. I also tried the on/off method to keep the basin overflow to a minimum. But, damn, that was the fastest shower I've ever taken. Despite my efforts to be quick, I still managed to walk out of the shower stall and stepped onto a soggy carpeted floor. Good thing I had flip flops on, because it was seriously gross. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of bacteria in that carpet. Blech.

I also didn't really have a towel to dry off with. I had brought a small one with me to use if necessary, but figured I would just pay the small fees to rent them from the hostels. Castle Rock was really cheap, so I just rented from there. At Euro Hostel, towels cost 2 Pounds with a 3 Pound deposit. I thought this was ridiculous, so I just thought I'd try to use my teeny tiny towel. Big mistake. I pretty much had to stand in the shower room and drip dry. Note to self: just spring for the towels next time.

After another breakfast of cereal, toast and juice, we spent the morning sightseeing some of Glasgow. We had planned on doing some shopping and looking around the area, maybe popping in to a museum or two. We didn't really think that plan through, seeing as how it was a Sunday morning and everything was closed. Retails shops, museums, you name it. We couldn't get in anywhere. So, we wandered and wandered and wandered, not really having much to do before our flight left for Ireland.

To Glasgow's credit, we did get to see a prettier side of it today. Some of the architecture was really beautiful, despite our initial reactions. It was still a bit too urbanized for my taste, and Edinburgh will always hold that special place in my heart.

This was a pretty neat metal peacock on the roof line.

A store called "Office" selling shoes...

We saw these signs everywhere. We'd get excited, because at first glance it looks like "Toilet", so we'd be pumped that we found a bathroom. But, then, we'd realize that it just says "To Let" - their version of "For Rent".

The store had vintage sewing machines in the windows.

The reflection makes them kind of hard to see.

This building is pretty...I wonder what's inside it...

...of course, a T.G.I. Friday's...that makes perfect sense.

Found another Jones Bootmaker!

Quite possibly the fanciest looking Apple store I've ever seen.

We did spend some time on the phones while Nikki called her banks to let them know she was going to Ireland. She was good and remembered to tell them she'd be in the UK, but was afraid that when she tried to use one of her cards in Ireland that it might be declined. After a solid 30-40 minutes trying to use the calling card she purchased, she handed the task over to the IT specialist and let Brenda handle it. Success all around.

UK calling cards are tricky.

They sure did love Beyonce over there. Or maybe it was just the fact that she was H&M's current model. Regardless, there were ads with her picture on them everywhere over there.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

Eventually, we had wandered around so long it was time for lunch. We found a super cute place called All Bar One that we had seen in a few different places. I finally ended up having a traditional British breakfast of eggs, ham, sausage, beans, tomatoes, portobellos and toast. It was pretty freakin good, and it was nice to not have fries with lunch. The beans pretty much tasted exactly like Van De Camp's pork 'n beans do, but the rest was great. Probably one of the better meals I had had in the UK.

Super cute place.

Mmmm....breakfast!

So, now what to do. Some shops were opening up, but we weren't really in the mood to shop anymore. Despite the fact that we were pretty early, we opted to just head to the airport. We would be making a quick hop across to Ireland to finish up our trip, and we had no idea what to expect from the Glasgow airport. It could either be small and efficient, or hectic and scary. Our hostel told us that a cab ride would end up being the same price or maybe even cheaper than taking a bus to the airport, so we opted to go that route. I didn't feel like taking public transportation to the airport, especially not knowing how long it might take.

Our Scottish cabbie had an adorable accent and drove like Mario Andretti. We made a few comments about his driving until we realized that he could indeed hear us, as indicated by a giant sign that said something along the lines of "the driver can hear you." Go figure. Plus, he kept asking us what was wrong with his driving. He did think we were Australian though, so we had that going for us. Good thing Naomi wasn't with us, or he would have been thoroughly confused. Or maybe he would have thought she was probably an American.

The Glasgow airport was probably one of the more redeeming qualities of the Glasgow we experienced. Check-in was quick and easy, their workers were friendly and security was easy peasy. We didn't have to take our shoes off, and all we had to do was scan our boarding passes on the way to security. Since we made it through so quickly, we had more time to kill reading and taking notes. It was nice to just relax and not have to worry about being somewhere or doing something right away though. (Has it really only been a week or so since the hustle and bustle of London?!)

Our flight from Glasgow was headed to Shannon, Ireland, where we'd be taking a bus up to Galway. It was a small plane and wasn't even completely full. Although, there was an entire rugby team on board. This intrigued me. Until I got a good look at them. Good lord, they're babies. I'd say not one of them was over the age of 22 or 23. Dangit! The flight lasted maybe an hour and I swear by the time we got up to altitude, we were coming back down for our descent. Brenda and Nikki took the opportunity to nap, while I continued to read and jot down trip notes.

As we started to land, my ears started to fill up, which is not an uncommon occurrence when I fly. That's why I always chew gum during take-offs and landing. However, my furious gum chewing was doing nothing to pop my ears. My right side popped once or twice, but during the entire landing, my left side never popped. I can't begin to describe how painful it was. I started to tear up and Brenda, sitting to my left, tried talking to me. I just stared dumbly at her, because I could only hear muffled sounds out of that ear. I kept opening and closing my jaw, tried to yawn, put in some more gum for good measure, but nothing I did would get my damn ears to pop. It would take another few days before I felt like there was no more pressure in my head. I've never had that happen to me before. And I don't recommend it.

Have I mentioned where I think my body was trying to kill me, yet? Because it was. Or maybe Scotland was trying to kill me. I'm not really sure, but I swear I had more ailments when I was over there than I care to admit.

Shannon was a ghost town. Well, really, the airport itself. When we landed, we had to depart on the tarmac and walk inside. I think we were the only plane at the entire airport. Our flight was the only one at baggage claim as well. Brenda had booked the tickets and said that the flight from Glasgow to Shannon was new, so it probably just wasn't popular enough yet to be busy. Regardless, it was eerily quiet inside, and I'm not even sure I saw a single airport employee the entire time we were in baggage claim. We walked right through customs to the outer waiting area before we even saw anyone else besides our flight.

Our next mode of transportation would be a bus to take us from Shannon to Galway, our next city of choice. The bus stop was outside, and luckily, it was really nice outside. So nice, in fact, that we didn't need our coats! Woo!! It took about a half an hour before our bus arrived, and in that time span, another half dozen or so people joined us to wait. We also had a lady and her kids in a car that pulled up along side us and asked if we needed a ride. She was headed to Limerick and could give us a lift that far if we needed. We politely declined, but it was sweet that she offered. Such a nice change of pace from the angry Londoners we encountered last week. I love Ireland already!

Brenda's sister's name is Shannon, so she was hoping to get some cool Shannon souvenirs. Sadly, no souvenirs were available, so she took this photo for her instead.

Waiting at the bus stop at the airport.

Police minivans. I'm not sure I could take a cop seriously if he pulled me over in this.

The inside of our bus.

Happy to be in Ireland!

Two hours later, and about 843 stops later, we made it to Galway. What we didn't realize is that our bus was not a direct route for arrivals. It was a normal public transportation bus that picked up and dropped off people for their everyday adventures. This got old after awhile, but at least we were in the back of the bus with lots of leg room. Or, at least I was. :)

We arrived in Galway, and I was a smitten kitten. While it didn't have the architecture that Edinburgh did, it had the same quaint charm and adorable feel to it that I loved. Our hostel was a minute walk away from the bus station and was crazy busy. We thought that walking up the 4 flights of stairs to the lobby sounded like a good idea after sitting for the last few hours. Negative Ghostrider. It was not a good idea. We should have just taken the lift. I think this was a pretty popular hostel because there were people everywhere. Not only current occupants, but also numerous people looking to check in. Just like our previous hostels, we had sprung for a private room, and this would also be set up for 4 people. After we each got a key card, we headed down the hall to our room.

When we walked in, we noticed the 4 beds, just like we were promised, but we also noticed someone's stuff all over the room. Not just anyone's stuff. A guy's stuff. Shoes, clothes, luggage. All of it was some dude's. Luckily said guy wasn't currently in the room, but the three of us looked at each other and said hell no, and headed back down to reception. I'm not really a prude, but I had no intentions of sharing a room with some random guy we don't know. Fortunately, we weren't meant to share a room with him, there was just a glitch in their reservation software and the room had been double booked. We were moved a 6-person room where we could each sleep on our own bottom bunk and use the top bunk for storage. Much better! Except for the funky smell in there. But, you win some, you lose some.

After some quick freshening up in the dorm style bathrooms, we headed out for dinner. Per Rick Steves' suggestion, (he's a big travel writer), we went to The King's Head. And there I had my first Guinness in the mother land. I've never really been a fan of Guinness, but it did grow on me by the end of the trip. The King's Head wasn't overly crowded, but they did seem really overwhelmed by all of the people. They made a mistake on Nikki's order and didn't bring it all to her right away, and it took forever to find someone to give us our bill. We decided to leave and find a good place to enjoy some beer and entertainment.

We made it to Galway!! And look, NO COAT!

It looked really cool.

Guinness #1 (AND we were sitting by a fire, so I was sweating even those I was sans coat and sans sweater.)

King Charles Burger: Waterford Blaa (a type of white bread bun [the name blaa is a good representation of the flavor]) with homemade burger, bacon, cheddar, lettuce and tomato with fries.

She finally got her  seafood chowder. And I suppose she's praying about it?

Brenda's first Guinness.

Next up, we headed to The Quays (pronounced "Keys"...yeah, I never would have known that either...thanks Rick Steves!). The Quays was much more fun and we ended up spending the entire night here listening to live music, watching the locals and enjoying some adult beverages. My drinks of choice happened to be Smithwicks (pronounced Smitticks) and Carlsberg. I tend to opt for the lighter lagers rather than the darker ales, although Smithwick's was kind of in between. The music was good as well. It ended up being more modern covers than we were expecting, rather than traditional Irish music. At one point, the entire upstairs bar area was full of drunk dancing Irish folk. It was awesome!

I should also take a second to say that by the time we got to Ireland, I was starting to feel better. Whether it was because we were in a different region, or because of the badass Claritin Brenda had given me in Glasgow, something was working. And it made me very happy.

One thing we noticed over there is that you almost always get your beer of choice in a glass branded with that beer. Talk about easy advertising.

Nikki is from the Windy City. They drink a lot of Coors Light in the Windy City. And she actually likes it. Turns out Coors Light in Ireland is pretty terrible.

A little Emeli Sande cover!

Flat Nate is such a lush.

The photo is entitled "Ginger" with the following description: "Three times all-Ireland Heavyweight Champion, retired, undefeated. Seen here enjoying his second pint with Dennis Hyland Louis. 1960." Now, my question is....is Ginger the man or the chicken?

The band was right behind those barrels at the top of the stairs. We were close enough to hear, but didn't have the best view.

Brenda decided to video bomb me.

Brenda and I were sitting on a church pew. We thought we'd try to look holy.....

They were singing one of our favorite Irish songs: Galway Girl. If you want to hear the version we've all downloaded, click here!

"Let's stack our glasses and take a picture." Um, yeah, we're cool.

So I have this coaster flip trick that I do when I'm out at bars. It's pretty cool. Nikki was mesmerized, so I had to show off a little. My all-time best is two hands at once with about 10 coasters in each hand. Nikki proceeded to practice the rest of the night so she could show off when she got back home!

Silly gooses.

Trying a half pint.

Scotland musings:

1. The trend of wearing black leggings and jean shorts was HUGE in Scotland. Everywhere we went, that's what girls were wearing. I swear it was 1987 all over again.
2. I. Love. Edinburgh.
3. In general, in the UK, bathrooms (or toilets) were much easier to come by, were mostly free and had seats! However, nearly every single bathroom included two doors to get in to. An outer door followed directly by an inner door. I'm not sure if that's to keep the privacy or keep smells in. Who knows. It was about as weird as their split sinks.

This was in the bar bathroom in our Glasgow hostel. Not only were the hot and cold faucets split, but the hot was on the right!

4. Despite the fact that it was trying to kill me, I would go back to Scotland in a heartbeat. I want to explore Edinburgh more, revisit the Highlands and check out all the small villages along the way. I will do it all in August/September though.
5. I'm sad we never saw any hairy coos in person (that's what Scotland calls their long-haired cows). Brenda was pretty much obsessed with them - even to the point of getting a 2014 calendar featuring lots of coos, but we never made it to see any in person.
6. Totes adorbs.
7. Hans and Franz
8. R-Bar
9. Posting onto FB after a few Guinnesses may or may not be a good idea.
10. In case your hair needs straightening when you're at a bar, they have public flat irons for you to use!

No thank you.