Updated on August 9, 2015
TRIP REPORT INDEX
SUMMARY
Lively walkable city. Cobblestone streets, foodie spots, live music, day trips, and the BEFORE I DIE wall.
Galway Ireland, a popular city on the west coast of Ireland, is near several tourist destinations like the Aran Islands, Cliffs of Moher, Connemara. Those are day trips you can take from Galway but the city itself is worth checking out with tons of cafes, restaurants, boutiques, pubs, and live music.
We stayed in Galway for 2 nights – there wasn't a lot of time to explore the city. I would have traded one night in Galway for an additional night in Doolin (both deserve more than 1 night!). After arriving in the afternoon and had lunch while waiting 2 hours trying to get in touch with our Airbnb host, we walked around the city, bought tickets for the Aran Islands for the next morning, went for dinner, and rested up for the next day. In the morning we caught the bus + ferry and spent most of the day bicycling and exploring the Aran Islands, which I will cover separately.
THE PIE MAKER
So fu*king good!
After an average lunch which is not worth writing about, we wandered out to Quay Street and saw The Pie Maker's small shop. It's small but very cool inside. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND eating here! These awesome pie's are 5€ each and one is enough to share but I bet you will want your own! I was more than willing to come back for dinner for a savory pie. This was the Organic Rhubarb and Root Ginger. The next day we came back and had the Organic Carmelized Irish Apple. Here's The Pie Maker's menu.
QUAY STREET
This is the main cobble stone pedestrian road where you'll find many restaurants, shops, cafes, and people walking.
The rain was on and off throughout the day — typical for Ireland.
DINNER
Many of the best restaurants listed on Tripadvisor are spread out and not so convenient. We went to Asian Tea House – and the duck was excellent… I almost ordered seconds.
The veggie stir fry was good too but the duck was the clear winner here.
DRINKS & TRAD MUSIC
Traditional music, called “Trad” by locals, is popular and there are several pubs that have live trad sessions. That's what we went looking for. Our host recommended two pubs: Tigh Coili and The Crane Bar. Here is a list of 5 pubs that offer live trad music. Tigh Coili was playing rock music that night so we headed to the Crane Bar.
As we approached, we heard the music from upstairs.
It was packed and there was barely any space to stand. And it was cash only and we were out of Euros – damn it. But the music was good and unlike anything I had heard.
On the way home… we stopped here, at the “Before I die…” wall.
and added our own…
We spend some time here…reading everyone's ideas. Here's what other people wrote:
“Before I die, I want to______________“ (which one do you like? feeling inspired? leave your own version in the comments)
- leave all my worries behind
- never say i didn't do that
- understand myself
- travel the world
- meet my heroes
- have great grand children
- become a JEDI — someone added “may the force be with you”
- meet my love
- meet Master Yoda
- give birth to puppies and save the world!
- have no regrets
- learn German
- Keith ♥ c**k (plus quite a few drawings of it too)
- see a united Ireland
- Marry Karen Watson (this Karen Watson?)
- win an olympic gold medal
- get my own dog that I ♥ + that ♥s me
- play in Ibiza + (added by someone else) Be the king of dog shit
- have exceptional experiences
- have my writing published! <<– now you're published!
- beat Leigh at Smash Bros
- say I made it
- become a doctor
- meet again in Tenerife
- catch the heart off guard
- we never die
- be able to make decisions
- make ♥ in outer space (hmmm)
- I would like to c train spotting
- I wish to make my dreams come true
- drink with you in Navan!
- go to Australia
- find balance
- lucid dream!
- be happily up the duff (I had to look that one up)
- get a goddamn job
- have a buzzzzzzzzz
- fall in love
- have a pet pug!
- have explored my bridges (not sure what this means)
- clean out John Mulhollands (the magician?)
- be with you
- have enjoyed life!
- score a try in Ireland
- marry the love of my life
- win the lotto
- see Mayo win an all Ireland!
- marry Ke$sha + Brendon Urie consecutively
- beat Jin in Tekken 5
- write on this wall
- keep smiling
- be your friend 🙂
- marry Keefer
- can I get 2 Guinness + a Smithwick, cheers
- live, love & learn
- fall in love (added by someone else) + …again
- finish my pint!
- and our contributions: go to Bali (her's) and go to Antarctica (mine)
THE QUAY STREET KITCHEN
The next day, after returning from bicyling on the Aran Islands, we grabbed dinner at The Quay Street Kitchen. It's a really popular restaurant and surprisingly reasonably priced. The total for our two entrees (no drinks) was only $31 and we were stuffed with delicious food. The wait was about an hour, however. Just as we gave up and started walking towards The Pie Maker (which would be our third visit), a table became available.
The osso buco was really good — I had to ask for an extra side of the gravy – sooo tasty. They also had vegan friendly options.
This seafood dish was good though I didn't expect shellfish in there… good thing I didn't order this for myself.
Have you been to these places? Did I miss anything?
My Cameras: These photos were taken using my Canon S110 Digital Camera (which has been replaced by the S120) as well as my larger Nikon D50. I love the S110 – it’s tiny, fits in my pocket, and takes amazing pictures/videos.
Note: If you click some links on this site, TheRewardBoss may receive a commission at no added cost to you. By doing so, you help support my project and allow me to continue providing you with more rewarding information. I research, travel, and write my opinions regardless of whether there is a commission available. You don’t have to use my links, but I appreciate when you do. Thank you for your support!
The Crane Bar “stars” in an Irish dectecive series called Jack Taylor which I just binge watched on Netflix. Craxy world.