First of Galway

I finally arrived in Galway on Wednesday. The start probably wasn't the most promising one, since when I took a taxi to my apartment from the bus station, even the taxi driver seemed a bit confused and unsure about the exact location of the apartment. But I did manage to get to the right place. The taxi driver was kind enough to phone my landlady and ask her about the location. And he even told me to be careful during my time in Galway, which I thought was kinda sweet. This kind of friendliness is something I deeply love about Ireland and it is one of the main reasons why I'm so fond of this country. This kind of hospitality and friendliness really makes you feel welcomed.
When I got to my apartment at last, I was pleasantly surprised. My room was very neat and tidy and quite spacious for a single room. Also the bathroom was very clean and the shower was very modern, for Irish standards, at least. The only con of the apartment is the kitchen, it's not that well equipped. During the second day I already had to buy a big saucepan, since the kitchen didn't have those, only small ones. But when something like that is the biggest of my "problems" here, it's safe to say I won't have any difficulties living here. Cooking utensils are something I can buy from a store, and they're not even that expensive in Ireland. Buying them is perhaps more of a slight inconvenience than an actual problem. So regardless of the kitchen, I do like this apartment.

Even though I had spent almost 4 hours on a bus from Dublin to Galway, I couldn't just stay in for the night. So I went to take a look around town instead. I headed for Salthill, one of the most beautiful parts of Galway that has a very picturesque beach promenade that goes along the coast line. I love the ocean, so having it only about 2 kilometers away from my apartment is like a dream come true to me. Even though it was very windy, the place was lovely. And I honestly cannot believe that I missed this gorgeous place during my last visit to Galway.

Salthill <3

Salthill Promenade

Salthill Beach, low tide

Salthill Promenade

On my 2nd day in Galway I decided to go to the Galway shopping centre. I was still missing some clothes for work for my internship and the shopping centre also has a big Tesco, which is great for groceries. There is a small Teso express less than a kilometer from my apartment, but it's super expensive, so I much rather walk the 1,5 km to the bigger and cheaper one. I'm a sucker for Tesco purely due to the fact that we don't have that in Finland. But in addition to Tesco, there is also a big Lidl and Aldi in the shopping centre. To have that many big grocery stores that close to my apartment is great. And there seems to be a cinema in the Galway Retail park the opposite side of the Galway Shopping Centre. So to have a cinema, big grocery stores and well, technically two shopping centres less than 2 km from my apartment even though I don't live in the city centre, that's just awesome.
Here's a couple of random shots from some of the buildings near my apartment:

The next day I decided to go see another place I have missed during my last visit to Galway, the Claddagh. It's another part of Galway, a little over 2 km from my apartment. It had some nice colourful buildings and also a nice walking path along the coast. And I hadn't even realized it till I got there, that the path leads right to Salthill. So basically I circled straight from Claddagh to Salthill, in other words, I got to see two places instead of just one. And Salthill was now even more beautiful, since the night I had visited it there was a low tide. Now it looked even more gorgeous and I got to see the other side of the promenade that I had missed during my previous visit. And I also got to see the Salthill Beach properly. It had looked quite different during low tide. Now with the sun shining, the clear blue water and the sun gleaming from the waves, it looked, if possible, even more beautiful.

Claddagh part of town

Swans!

It's not everyday you get to see swans this close.
Nor is it everyday that you get to see kids, feeding them.

Claddagh

Walking along the coastline

Salthill Beach <3

Salthill Beach

Salthill Beach

Salthill Beach

Salthill Beach and the Salthill Promenade

For the past couple of days I've been circling around Galway, I've been surprised how easy it is for me to move here. I thought it would be harder, I would get lost more or I would be really confused about where to go. But the routes for example to Salthill and Galway Shopping Centre from my apartment are very straight forward. I only had to go to those places once, and after that I already knew how to get there without using a map. The only more "problematic" area is the city centre. One of the main reasons I haven't gotten lost is the fact that I have used google maps on my phone. But even that app gets a little confused in the city centre for some reason. Maybe there are too many tiny streets and alleys there, who knows. But after a couple of trips I should be able to move there without any bigger problems too.
What little I have seen of Galway during the past 3 days, I can already say that this lovely city has completely stolen my heart. If the song Galway Girl goes "lost my heart to a Galway girl.." I think I could say "lost my heart to Galway.."

Tomorrow I'm going to Ennis for the first time and I'll also get to see my internship place for the first time. I will start my internship on Monday, so I will write more about Ennis and about my internship experiences after my first week.