Galway

Canals cut through the streets flowing into the large river that breaks the city in two.  Swans collect in packs in the harbor and boats sit in mud when the tide is low.  Young people with piercings and skateboards roam the streets, among hippies with dread locks and baggy colorful clothing.  The usual Irish men with their traditional wool caps drink a Guinness in the pub.  The pedestrian road, Merchant Street, is lined with shops and constantly busy with people.  Wonderwall being played by a busker fades away as the drumming from another musician starts to be heard. The open-air market sits outside of the church in the main part of town where merchants sell handmade wool sweaters, woodcarvings, jewelry, hippie clothing, paintings, and fresh produce.  Indian food can be smelled from food trucks as one walks through the market.  A food truck reads “Food for Peace” in which an Irish man serves only vegetarian food among his Hindu decorations. Wooden barrels full of olives and cheese sit next to a sign reading “the only bison in Ireland” at one stand.  When night falls Merchant Street surprisingly gets even busier as what is probably mostly out-of-towners flock to the pubs.  A fire dancer waves her fire around to the beat of a drummer that sits behind her.  You cannot walk three feet without being stamped for free entrance and a drink to some nightclub. It’s mad, but the city is beautiful; we are in Galway.