Getting Old and Getting to Galway

 Sunday, August 20, 2023

Today is Jim's birthday.  He's 29 again (or is it 59?) I just can't remember!  He was serenaded with a Happy Birthday song by the "morning after" crew, recovering from the wedding reception.

We then took off for Galway, travelling along winding narrow roads.  It's very scenic, but also nervewracking.  Most of the roads have a letter before the number, like N478 and L61.  We decided the prefix stands for Narrow Road, and Little Road.  Most roads were too narrow for two cars, so one of the cars had to pull to the side and stop to let the other go by.  We finally made it to M18 (Modern Road?) which actually had pavement markings and a center line! 

Ahhh....  Jim has done an amazing job of driving on the left side of the road while shifting with his left hand, but my white knuckles were quite relieved to be able to relax on a normal road.

We finally arrived at the Galway Bay Hotel, right on the bay.  Our room wasn't ready, so we toasted to Jim's birthday with another Irish beer!

We topped off the evening with a show of Irish music, song and dance.   It was recommended by the hotel and was exceptional!  The performers had quite impressive pedigrees...from Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, world dance championships, etc.  

Our favorite was the Irish "bagpipes" which we learned are called uileann pipes.  They use a bellow operated by the elbow, to force the air through the pipes instead of blowing it like the Scottish do.  It generates a haunting soulful sound, very similar to the bagpipe, but a little more clear.  Gerard Fahy who was the musical director and composer for Michael Flahtery's Lord of the Dance, played a song on the uileann, composed for his mother, which put the audience on the edge of their seats.

There were solos on the concertina (small accordian) the bodhran (Irish hand drum) and the fiddle.  It was quite impressive and a creative mix of instruments which entertained the full house crowd.  There were also great dance performances by world champion Irish dancers.  I'm not sure how they moved their feet so fast and made it seem effortless!  (Note they are in the air in this shot!)

The tap dancers even performed a solo (no music) which really got the audience going.

Galway treated us to a good start to our Irish travels around the island.  We left in a festive mood ready for a good night's sleep!