Next up is our 4 days in Galway….

Prior to going a third cousin warned us about Galway’s reputation….

It is called , “The City of Lost Ambition”  because people go and stay there , never leaving to see other parts of Ireland…

On our last day, I asked my husband if he really wanted to leave to start our castle tours… He got a good laugh at how real the cousin’s warning was…

I however want to redeem myself by saying that Tom’s uncle had joined us in Galway and I wanted more time with him….

DH, got the biggest kick out of the funny signs all about town…

This one was an outside patio for a very frilly tea shop…

St Nicholas Church in Galway where Christopher Columbus is rumored to have worshiped…

We lit candles in memory of my husband’s brother who miss terribly and our friend who was in the hospital with stage 4 cancer..

Tom also wrote  in the book for the church to say prayers for our friend as well…

The only person in the church was on organist playing, it really added to the atmosphere…

I love the red doors on the church…

Galway is also referred to as a walking city and that is very true… This is shop Avenue with cobblestones and stores as well as restaurants…

Galway isn’t just shops and pubs, yes, there were a lot of pubs….

It also on the water and has a beautiful walkway around the water…

When on vacation I highly recommend doing non tourist things like just taking the time to walk and enjoy the natural elements that the people living there see every day…. The walks we took were part of my favorite times in Ireland…. But then again I may have mentioned my entire family has a very strong love language for Quality Time….

A huge cultural difference was the lists of alcohol prices listed on the outside of pubs….

The drink specials were all over the hotel elevator as well…

I loved the floral window on this building, which we assume was a college

as the street was nothing but young adults with back packs, hustling to and from the building…   

We had fun finding things off the beaten path for tourists like this back walkway and bridge where only locals seemed to be…

I was glad to fit right in with my houndstooth pants as I saw that pattern everywhere in Ireland, on the streets, at the reunion, in shops and even in home decor items… On days when I wore my trench it was warmer in the high 50’s or 60’s… I loved that I brought two hats and wore them often… This style hat was popular in Ireland and I was asked quite often if I’d bought them i country…

A note on street fashion…. I fit right in with my choice of black greys and burgundy…

I did notice quite a few elements like this with layering and some even more flowing bohemian skirts….Everyone in that style was over the top and very artistic in their parings of color…  I wish I’d done a better job of picturing this element as it delighted my boho side, which wasn’t present in the pieces I brought with me…

Claddagh Rings were everywhere in Galway and it makes sense because at the end of the city is a neighborhood called “The Claddagh” , which is where my father-in-law grew up…

DH got a kick out of the term Chemist we saw all over Ireland…. I however love the purple color of the building..

There was a lot of rudimentary art around town that related to the business name like this pig for the butcher..

DH was standing across the street on this busy corner waiting for a clearing to take my photo in my new Aran Poncho, when a local man told Tom to join me and he would take our picture… He joked about trust since Tom had to leave his phone and cross a busy intersection to get to me… Nice for someone to do for us as Tom and I always ask couples if we can help by taking them together…

Tom at the JFK Memorial in Galway…

I love his new tan jeans and the lighter shoes…. 

And don’t get me started on that H&M jacket…

I loved the color and the window boxes,,, DH like the American and Irish Flags….

The best thing about going on an extended vacation and not bogging yourself down trying to fit in every tourist attraction is just fun time together being silly and laughing…. I had fun with a lot of signs in one store…   This one says, If  at First You Don’t Succeed, Try Doing it The Way YOUR Wife told you…

Dear Readers, It’s a lot of work sorting through pics and I don’t think I can ever do this wonderful country justice…Everything was a feast for the eyes and full of natural and man made artistic beauty….

Gratitude

I am grateful the funeral went so well and was truly a testament to a life well lived and an  amazing guy who walked the path of following his religious beliefs.  

I am grateful that my husband and I felt comfortable and were welcomed by former coworkers..

I am grateful for the opportunity when we lose someone to connect, but wish we did so for more joyful reasons…

I am grateful that when someone passes so young, it is an opportunity for us to reevaluate our lives and what we want when that time comes for ourselves… By the way DH waants no tears and the alcohol to flow along with the stories…