For our first month in Ireland, Caleb and I worked on a small, family-owned organic vegetable farm in Co. Cork. We lived in the WWOOFER house with 2 other WOOFERs. Our days were 9:30AM-4PM with a lunch break from 1:30-3PM. Lunch is prepared each day by the mother of the farm and includes a full spread of multiple dishes. Work included a range of tasks including sowing seeds, planting, harvesting, packaging, and various other tasks. Everyone on the farm was so nice and we really enjoyed getting to know everyone and learning more about farming.
One day after work, the mother of the farm drove us to see some local ruins. The left 2 images are a 550-year-old Abbey that is now used as a graveyard. The 2 images on the right are of an old castle that is still open to the public. We climbed to the top, explored the different rooms, and saw the view all the way from the top. Caleb was very excited about medieval history such as the spiral staircase that forced people to fight one-handed and the arrow holes that allowed those in the castle to fire out, but did not allow return fire to enter.
Of course, one of my favorite things at the farm was the furry friends. Chester (left) is an older pupper who does a great cosplay of a sheep. He’s very stinky and loves to take naps – even in the bins of produce. Rebel (right) is younger and truly lives up to his name. He’s always bothering someone to play fetch with him. He’s very persistent and if you give in, you should be prepared for him to follow you around for days. Regardless, he is very cute – how can you say no to that face?
We had planned to stay at the farm for 2 months, but unfortunately, the farm seemed determined to get Caleb sick. He was sick for at least a couple days since we got there and by the 3rd week he got so sick we had to go to the emergency room. After a long night there, the doctors released him and he seemed to be one the mend. Then, suddenly he got very sick again a week after his first ER visit and we returned to the hospital where Caleb was admitted and stayed there for 6 days. Luckily, we are considered Irish citizens with our VISA, so he incurred no hospital fees! We also owe a huge thank you to the family, workers, and other WWOOFERs at the farm who offered so much support from driving us to the hospital, helping build a fire, baking cookies, and letting Caleb stay without being able to work. He finally got out of the hospital on his birthday and was able to eat a solid meal for the first time in a week (right) – the best birthday gift he could’ve asked for.
May
Leaving the farm, we found housing in Galway (or so we thought) so we headed there with all of our stuff. When we arrived to the place we were supposed to live, our “host” acted as if she’d never heard of us and told us she didn’t have a place for us. This was the start of a very stressful couple of weeks involving house hunting, job search, and immigration requirements. However, after the rain comes a (double) rainbow. We were able to find housing within a couple of days and jobs within a week or so. I am working in the kitchen at a vegetarian restaurant and Caleb is working as a bar back/busser at a hotel with hopes to move his way up to bartender! We are also almost done with all of the immigration/work paperwork after juggling multiple appointments and ever changing requirements.
Our new apartment is better than we could’ve hoped! You would never be able to tell that it’s located right on the busiest square in town because it’s so well designed. The central location gives us great access to all of the restaurants and sights around Galway making it easy to explore new places. We share with 4 other housemates, but don’t run into them very often.
Now that we’re a bit more settled, we’ve been taking the time to explore our new city. The locations from top right to bottom left are – view of the cathedral, Caleb on outdoor exercise equipment at University of Galway, Salthill Prom, colorful houses next to the Spanish Arc where the river Corrib meets the bay, Deadman’s beach. We don’t always have the same time off so we each do our own walks around town, but also try to do fun things together when we’re both off.
We had our first visitors in Ireland – MadAbs! On Thursday, we walked around the city to see some main attractions and some points of interest like the bar where Emma used to work when she was in Ireland. Of course, we also had to try some bites including a little Gourmet Tart Co picnic and dinner at Dela with Madie’s co-worker Niamh and her wife, Jean. After dinner Niamh and Jean showed us how to party like the locals at the pubs and a traditional “trad” music session at the Crane Bar. We ended the night with some less trad, but still live music at the Quays. In the morning, we had a little brunch at the restaurant I work at and popped next door to Little Lane for some road trip coffees. Road trip shenanigans are detailed on the travels page.
June
A little bit of a June recap starting with – wildlife encounters! June is the season of baby birds in Galway. We’re surrounded by baby seagulls (and baby seagull screams) at our apartment, but the moms like to keep them well hidden so none of my photos were very good. However, the swan parents took a more confident approach guiding their “goslings cygnets” along the river which made for a cute post-run spotting. Break time at work also seems to be a great time for interacting with wildlife as a bird came to eat my leftovers and a bee decided to come see what this bee book I was reading was all about.
Continuing on with June food and drink. We’ve been trying to sample the local offerings each Sunday going to some pubs for drinks, going to new restaurants, and returning to past favorites. The highlight of Irish cuisine has been the incorporation of fresh, seasonal, local ingredients. The low point was trying Irish Chinese food… will not be having that again, but there are many Asian grocery stores to get ingredients to make our good old American Chinese favorites.
Last on our June update tour is some nature. We celebrated nature by staying out til sunset on the Summer solstice (middle), venturing out to what we thought was Mutton Island, but was actually private property (oops) and visiting Barna Woods.
July
Not too many Galway updates for July. This was an action-packed month with 2 short trips within Ireland, Caleb going to Boston for a few days, and our first out-of-Ireland trip to Germany! We spent time soaking up the sun, going on a little movie and lunch date, and attending a drink & draw event with some of my friends from work. This message is approved by the 3 wise cows who want to make sure you don’t drive into the ocean.
August
August was a more chill time in the city as we spent a chunk of this month visiting England. But we made time for good eats, walks, and joining the gym. I also joined a book club!
September
We started off September at a medieval re-enactment fair at Claregalway Castle. We wandered around the craft markets and watched some medieval fighting.
The month was full of good vibes and pretty skies.
We spent time in Galway enjoying the food and coffee.
We went of lots of walks and saw cute animals. My favorite are the seagulls who look like they are wearing headphones and jamming out to the music as they walk.
We also hiked Diamond Hill in Letterfrack. The views were stunning and the wind was fierce!
The second half of the month was a frenzy of visitors, the first being Mom and Dad! They got lucky with a rain-free visit where we enjoyed relaxing outside their Airbnb on the Long Mile soaking up the rays, walking around Salthill, having some bites to eat at Ruibin and Ard Bia, and meeting up with Jean and Niamh for trivia at Palas theater. After their days in Galway, we took a road trip to see some more of the Emerald Isle, detailed on the travels page.
After mom and dad left, Caleb’s moms and their friend Cooper arrived. They spent their time in Galway enjoying the pubs and shops. They also took some day trips to Connemara and the Cliffs of Moher.
Our final visitors of the month were Caleb’s sister, Megan, and her husband, Tylour. We showed them around town, spending some time at the Galway Museum and several pubs. Turns out Tylour is a master coaster flipper! After their time in Ireland, they continued on for some more adventures in Scotland.
October
Fall was in full swing in October. We got to see some changing leaves, fall decorations, and enjoy pumpkin spice lattes.
Only one food picture in October?! We enjoyed some tasty Japanese food at Wa Sushi. Caleb was feeling bold and had the whole fish.
In preparation for Halloween, we made costumes for the stuffies, painted pumpkins, enjoyed the Macnas parade featuring Alf the Newt, and had some friends over for drinks and chats.
November
Really lacking on my food pics these last few months! We had a nice coffee and cake break at Jungle cafe.
November saw the start of festive season in Galway. They set up a Christmas market in Eyre Square complete with a Ferris wheel and merry-go-round. The grassy areas also had little displays, like this gingerbread house. It also snowed! This is a rarity in Ireland since it usually doesn’t get super cold. I got to enjoy it on a walk to work before the warmth of the day melted it away. Most of November was spent travelling, so not much else to report from Galway.
December
After getting back from our trip, the rest of December was spent prepping for and celebrating the holidays. Dominic the Donkey was spotted out doing some Christmas shopping and I had my last few days of work. I finished in style with a pancake lunch to remind all my co-workers that I’m American.
We snagged a spot on the last Micil Distillery tour of the year! Micil is a Galway based distillery that sells gin, whiskey, Poitín (like Irish moonshine), and Irish cream (100x better than Bailey’s!). Along with learning about the history of spirits in Ireland, we got to try them all. The gin and Irish cream were delicious. Even though I wanted to like them, I still couldn’t get on board with whiskey and Poitín, but Caleb enjoyed them. The logo with the man holding grain is adapted from a picture of the distillery’s namesake, Micil Mac Chearra. He’s the great-great-great grandfather of the current distillers and he began distilling illicit poitín in 1848 on a Connemara hillside. All their products are still made using resources from their family land in Connemara. They use peat as a heat source when making the whiskey, which also gives it some of its flavor. They also use native plants such as bog myrtle, heather, hawberry, and bogbean for the botanicals in their Poitín and gin. Overall, it was a great tour and it’s great to see a locally owned & sourced business thriving. Caleb and I are big fans and are excited to share some with friends and family back home!
Christmas eve was spent baking up a storm! We made gingerbread, fudge, and coffee cake. Caleb also made me some pistachio, orange, dark chocolate bark as one of his gifts. Everything was delicious and we had an abundance of treats to enjoy over the next couple weeks. We also carried on the tradition of the Christmas charcuterie board which included salami from Copenhagen, lactose free cheese from Belgium (although I’m not sure my stomach agrees it was lactose free), and goodies from the cheese monger in Galway. For Christmas dinner we went all out (partially making up for the fact that we didn’t cook for Thanksgiving). We had cranberry sauce, mushroom gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and roasted veggies. I had some sort of vegan “roast” from the grocery store and Caleb made himself some chicken and sweet potato casserole. And maybe the best part about Christmas abroad – we got to eat all the leftovers too!
We did do other stuff besides eat on Christmas. In the morning, we did our gift exchange. The “stockings” (in this case just regular socks lol) had the classics – chocolate Santa, oranges, and toothbrushes. For larger gifts, we each got each other books, I got Caleb some gloves, he got me socks and a tote bag from two of our favorite coffee shops in Galway. We each did a handmade gift as well. I drew him a “map of us”, showcasing significant locations and fun trips we’ve been on together, starting with our first date in San Diego and ending with our future home, Maine! Caleb made me some bookmarks with flowers that he pressed – so cute and he knows I love a functional gift! We also made sure to get in our Christmas swim, a tradition for many in Ireland. There were huge crowds in Salthill, but we had our own private beach at Deadman’s beach. Much better for when you need to scream getting into the frigid water. Madie and mom were upset I did this dip and not the New Year’s one with them last year, but they were an integral part of the process. They started my mental preparation and about a year was the perfect amount of time for me to warm up to the idea.
Between Christmas and New Years, we went to a concert at St. Nick’s church where we enjoyed a string quartet interpretation of Coldplay songs. I was lovely, and such a fun concept! After the concert, we headed out on the town and had some drinks at Ruibin and went to Monroe’s to hear some more live music.
On New Years Eve, we enjoyed a ride on the Eyre Square Ferris wheel and went to the Quays to ring in the New Year with some live music. We must be getting old because we headed home as soon as it hit midnight.
January
As our time in Galway comes to an end, Caleb and I made sure to visit some of our favorite spots one last time. This mostly included coffee shops and sweet treats (Little Lane, Palmas, Kali, Magpie, Murphy’s) and some pubs (Ruibin, Bierhaus, Quays, and Monroe’s). We also did some of our fave walks along the river at NUIG and along the Salthill Prom. We will be back for a couple days after our month-long trip, but these past couple days have felt like our true goodbye. Galway has been a great home for us and I hope we can visit several more times over the years.
Even though I’m terrible at remembering to take pictures with them, I made some incredible friends during my time here as well. I feel lucky to live in a time when social media helps keep us all connected. So while I may not see them for many years to come, I hope to them all again in their homes in Brazil, Italy, Spain, Canada, and of course, right here in Galway.
Belle's Study Abroad 