Nora's England/Ireland Travels 2002
Galway, June 15, 2002
Windy and showering rain in the morning, so we drive down through the little village of Spiddal, right on the Bay. Very narrow street, requiring much threading of traffic. We park and walk a bit, and it seems to clear--nope, not yet. Brisk breezes blow in more clouds. We drive another mile to a large shop with a tea room that faces the water, and I do some satisfying damage. Waterford, Beleek, sweaters, and a wonderful little Aran Island cardigan for the baby. Even BW is charmed by it. We arrange for shipping--the shop does well as it has a large, varied stock and offers free shipping and duty, then gives you a voucher for tea or coffee.
While we have our tea, we find ourselves puzzled. What is that strange light? My God, it's the sun! We rush out, afraid we'll miss it, and go around the back to take a couple of pictures of the bay from this angle. Back in the car, and we head back toward Galway City so we can stop at a big scenic view area and park. I spend a wonderful half hour sitting on the sea wall at a wide sand beach with rocky spits while BW rambles around with his Hasselblad.
Incredible rocks here, and the wind is brisk, kicking at the water. It's sparkling under the sun, going blue as the sky does, hinting of gray as a thin layer of clouds breezes by. A young mother and her little girl walk down to the sand, and the mother writes the girl's name--Sophie--in big letters. Sophie studies it a moment, than cheerfully demolishes the E.
We had no plan for the day, so drive on in to the city and park. We can just walk around here, on the lively, and now pedestrian Shop Street, watch the bustle, shop, enjoy being out in the pretty weather. BW needs a break from all the driving, and I can help Ireland's economy. Pretty good deal all around.
This is Galway's version of Grafton Street, and the buxters are out and playing, the people are strolling or having a bite to eat at a sidewalk cafe. Outside Kenny's--a wonderful bookshop/art gallery we've visited before--there's a beautiful young woman playing the cello.
Inside, Kenny's is as fascinating as ever, full of new books, rare books, interesting cards and prints, and wonderful original art. We'd bought a painting of a dolmen years ago here. We climb the steep stairs up, find that Kenny's expanded, and has yet more books, yet more art. I'm drawn to several watercolors, but we keep wandering. I'd thought to find some little street scene to go with our collection, but nothing urban catches either of us. But there's a study of a misty bog that does.
And we're both captured by a large painting, rather mystical, of a woman standing in shallow water, looking out toward what look to be cliffs. It's rather sad, and poignant, done in rich colors and fanciful lines. The title, My Love Is In America, suits it well. I knew she was mine from the first glance, so we have to have it, and the bog painting. Meanwhile I spy this wonderful odd sculpture, a long, windy strip of bronze on a narrow steel post and footed stand. On the bronze ribbon is a little figure of a man, and floating above him, attached by a thin string of bronze, like a small, shining balloon, is the silver disk of the sun. I'm captivated--Following The Sun it's called, and I already see it sitting out in one of my gardens.
It's about four feet long, I think, and like the painting, going to be a challenge to ship, but that's the shop's business. They explain how it's done--they'll have to build a crate for the sculpture--and warn that it'll take about six weeks to arrive. We agree, and head out again very pleased with our finds.
The cello player is still there, and she sings Summertime in a strong soprano.
In Galway City, you can still see bits of the old settlement in the narrow stone side streets, the wall, its old church, and the occasional scribed stone on a shop of restaurant. The mood's up here as the sun is indeed shining like that silver disk. We do a lot of walking, and I slip into a shop now and then. I believe I'll be a hero at Christmas.
It's Italian for us for dinner again. We sit back in a quiet corner against an old stone wall and have a bottle of wine and some pasta. As we're early, our plan is to head back to the hotel after we eat, then come back again later for some of the traditional music in one of the pubs Galway's famous for.
We linger a bit, stroll a bit, then heading back to our car, I spot a pub advertising a session now. Delighted, we pop in. It's crowded already, noisy--buzzing as they say here--full of people at the low tables, deep with them at the bar. We luck out and grab part of the table and two stools right next to the musicians, sharing it with a German couple who arrive with us.
There are two fiddlers and a mandolin player. I think the fiddlers must be brothers, or at least cousins. Their hair is the same shade of dark blonde and grows exactly the same way. The shape of the faces is nearly identical, but for the younger whose nose looks to have been broken a time or two. This one has beautiful hands, delicate, almost feminine and a gorgeously fluid fingers on bow and string.
I can watch people flowing by on Shop Street and listen to the music, the chatter.
At one point one of the buxters I'd seen on the street comes in, finds a recently vacated stool beside me. He takes out a little cloth purse, carefully counts out and stacks his coins. He puts the larger ones back in the purse, having counted out enough of the small ones for his pint of Guinness. Once he has it, he rolls a cigarette, then takes out a little handwritten spread sheet. Amount paid, amount owed, dates. I imagine him calculating the coins back in his purse and figuring his debt. I wonder who he owes and what for.
We listen to music for an hour, until the musicians pack up. The German guy's been through three pints of Guinness. As we start to leave, Bill from Connecticut comes over from the bar. BW had met him briefly when he'd gone up for our drinks. It seems that Bill moved over here, where all four of his grandparents were from, three years back. He couldn't be happier.
We're pretty cheerful ourselves as we walk back to our car. We get turned around a bit getting out of Galway City, but eventually head ourselves in the right direction. We dump our stuff, and decide to go down to the lounge. I have a glass of champagne to cap off a successful day, and we watch some of 2010 on the big projection TV. The room's decorated from last Tuesday's match, banners and flags and balloons. It looks like a fine place to watch Ireland take on Spain in the Knock-Out Round on Sunday.
Supposed to be sunny again for at least part of our Saturday. We'll have to decide what to do with it.
Nora
ADWOFF > Nora's Travelogues > England/Ireland 2002 > Galway, June 15, 2002
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