Galway races- 8/3/14 & Hugh Lynches 8/16/14

I've been here for almost five months now and you could say I'm settled in. Just like living any where else you get into a routine with your days. Have to make sure to plan things to do or your days pass you by before you realize they have gone. Moving and starting a new life in a new place comes with many challenges no matter if you move to a new town, new state or like myself an entirely different country. Meeting people and meeting people that become more than just acquaintance can be very difficult. Also not having a vehicle makes even simple tasks like grocery shopping a challenge, let alone getting out of town on the weekends and being able to go out an explore. Unlike in the states or in mainland Europe buses and trains are unreliable and costly, in both time and money. A drive that takes 3hours would take up to 10hours by buss or train and requires many stops and transfers. Thankfully I have met good people that get me out of the house and around the country for little adventures when ever possible.



One weekend I planned a trip with a fellow coworker, Mary Francis. Our trip was to Galway for the local horse races. Every year in Galway they have a horse racing festival that lasts a week, we went on the last day of the festival on the "Family & Mad Hatter" day. Lucky for me Mary Francis had a car and knows Galway very well so there we had no issues getting there. The weather looked at first like it might rain us out and make for a slightly miserable day. However halfway to Galway the weather cleared and it was smooth sailing from there. We arrived at the track in good time and found parking with ease. 

After paying for a ticket, Mary Francis gave me a tour of the race track, the stadium and the pubs, the lunch tent, the betting booths, the track its self, and the warm up ring which is also the winners circle.

It wasn't long until the first race started, we went to the warm up ring and watched all the beautiful horses or ponies as I like to affectionately call them parade in a circle in front of us. After getting a good look at the horses and reading in our race pamphlet about the jockeys and trainers we made a slightly informed decision about which horse we'd like to place a bet on. My horse was number 12 Luddsednene, don't ask me how that name is pronounce because I wouldn't know! My choice was purely based on the fact the horse was pretty and had a shamrock on it's flank. This form of picking a horse didn't work well for me, poor number 12 went to the lead early but was unable to hold the lead in the end. The track was all turf and the horses made two laps around. There were no starting gates, they just attempted to all line up equally before launching! In this way many horses ended up getting stuck in the middle of the pack, never having a chance to break free.

My next few betting attempts didn't workout out any better, even though I ask for advise on which barns, trainers and jockeys were good. Which didn't seem to help much. My seconded betting endeavor was only based on the fact the pony was from the US, named Down Time. Sadly Down Time was beating by the Irish and I was out more money.

After a few races Mary Francis and I had our routine down, watching the horses walk around the ring before deciding what horse to bet on or if we wanted to bet before heading to the betting building, then over to the track to watch the race.

Half way through the day we went to the food building and had some sandwiches and tea. Getting a chance to sit down and relax, out of the wind and the sun was very nice break. Plus we got to watch the mad hatters in the “mad hats” they'd made for the competition that was listed as part of the festivities for the day. There were some that were really cute and creative while others you couldn't really tell what they were meant to be. Sadly we missed the judging and didn't see who actually won the competition.

We really couldn't have had a better day at the track, I ended up with a little bit of a sun burn which is not a common thing in Ireland. But with the wind it kept you cool enough you didn't really notice that you were getting that much sun. After the rain scare earlier that day and hearing of other days when people had come and gotten washed out I couldn't have been happier about the day!



I took a break from betting for a couple races since there were 8-9 races that day and I didn't have the money to continue betting poorly. But I still picked a horse to cheer for and of course the one time I didn't place a bet the very horse I likes won! I was so disappointed!! But on the last race of the day we both decided to make one last bet, this time the horse I picked was Pyromaniac. Picked only for his name! And lucky me, he won!! Pyromaniac also was a favorite so I was able to win back almost all my losses. Probably the best way to end the race day.

After the races we went out for a delicious dinner in one of the villages just outside Galway. But of course here in Ireland the night never ends with dinner, back into the city center of Galway for drinks out at the pubs. Which was great fun, the pubs and the streets were packed with people and every pub had live music playing. Much of which was American Classic Rock!! With how loud the pubs are I didn't bother trying to listen to the people talking around me, but enjoyed the amazing music!! Since I walk every where there isn't much of chance to listen to music unless I think of it when I'm in my room at home. So music at the pubs is actually one of my favorites.

After a long night out in Galway it was back to the village for a bit of sleep. Once morning came Mary Francis and myself got up in time to have lunch back in Galway. The cafe was very very small but the food was amazingly good and hit the spot after our long night. Then it was time for a little road trip, getting to see the Galway bay and shopping center for the first time was a great way to spend the day. The city center was very quaint and picturesque with cobble stone roads that were only for pedestrians. Along with crowds of shoppers there were plenty of street performers, playing music, doing magic tricks, one man made amazing paintings only using cans of spray paint and a lady dressed as a mermaid that would freeze in place for long periods of time! After walking the streets we got back into the car and drove along the coast on a road called the Wild Atlantic Way, we crossed over into Connemara Ireland and passed through a little town called Spittle(spelled different but pronounced spittle). After going a little ways and getting ourselves some ice cream we found a lovely beach and just kicked back soaking up the sun while it was still out and not hiding behind clouds! Probably one of the best weekends I've had to date!

Corner Cafe where we had breakfast

shop street

mermaid lady

Spray paint artist

The weekend after the Galway races one of the local pubs in Tullamore was putting on a music festival starting on a Thursday and going all weekend until Sunday. They had rubber duck races in the canal and zorbing, which is those big air filled balls that you get inside and walk or run in. I think you can have them on the ground or in water. I was taking my weekend easy and didn't actually see either of those activities. But on Saturday night Mary Francis, Paddy Mack and myself (aka Fanny May) went to the festival around 9pm. They had the stage set up outside, the street in front of the pub was totally covered by a big tent, which had multicolored umbrellas hanging from it! Very cool affect! There were out door bars and about 3 indoor ones, including one up stairs that was in a room filled with bean bag chairs! There were tons of people around and the atmosphere was great! The first band we heard was an Irish band I'd heard before in one of the other pubs. They are very good and I really like their music. The second band that played the rest of the night was an all out rock and roll band. They played cover after cover of classic rock songs plus a few others and they sounded just like the bands they were covering. Once again between the music, the base which you could feel shaking the ground five yards back and the people around us, I honestly paid very little attention to any conversation. I was way to busy seeing along to songs I loved and never got to hear. Plus the people watching is always interesting. The guys will occasionally dress themselves in more the a tshirt and jeans when going out, but most don't. The women however, 6inch heals, dresses that don't really fit and probably had to be pulled on by a friend and leave nothing to the imagination. Plus gobs of make up and big hair! Then there is me....a nice basic top, jeans, converse and my jacket. The women in Ireland look for any excuse to get dressed up, there is no casual going out to the pub or club. No of course there are women that dress with more style and class but when people watching you always notice the ones that are trying to be noticed!

We stayed at the festival until the band quit playing and then went inside for another drink. But then it was time to wonder home before the rain got any worse!

Music festivals are quite the deal around here, there was also one out on the grounds of the local castle and I've heard of several others around the country. Having these out door events that people camp at and party at all night long seems to be pretty popular. Then again so is having live music at the pubs regularly. At home I only remember one or two bars that would regularly have live music, the rest would have a DJ maybe but not always. So the live music is a fun change!