Galway, Ireland

We touched down in Dublin around 11:00 this morning, and after a lovely 15-minute tour of the Dublin Airport, hopped on a bus to Galway, in western Ireland. The area is incredibly green and there are an absurd number of cows and sheep. Needless to say, Michael ordered a hamburger for lunch since it was most likely grazing minutes away from the restaurant. We are both exhausted from the traveling and suffering from serious time-disorientation, but we made it to our hostel with no problems and have been walking around for a few hours. We're close to the water, but the real attraction seems to be the row of pubs and restaurants in the city center. Shocking, you say. Pubs in Ireland? It's true, I swear it. We made our way to the Taaffe Pub, known for its live music scene. It was a no-brainer to order a couple pints of Guiness and sit down for the impromptu music show, which was excellent. Musicians sat down and joined in at will and one guy played a wicked accordion. One old guy must have taken a liking to us... or he was a little crazy because he approached us and asked, "Do you two like to dance?" "Yeah...." "When is the best time to dance the quick step?" "I don't know...." "When you have to go to the toilet!" And with that he quickly walked away towards the restroom. Tomorrow night we head off to the Aran Islands for a few nights and then Dublin.