The Amazing Par & Pam, Martine's, Tigh Neachtain's

It's a beautiful morning in Galway! It's overcast, yes, but it's "shorts weather" and I'm sitting at the back patio at Par & Pam's BNB on Henry Street. (Visit their profile on airbnb.com -- tons of pics of their wonderful BNB and all great reviews. Of course, I doubt any review can really capture what wonderful hosts these two are. They are so down to earth, caring, and positive. I truly feel lucky that we were able to find them.

My comment this morning is that it's terribly difficult to really have a 'live' blog because you don't want to miss the moment, so I'm afraid that my photos are sort of in-between moments and the reader will have to rely heavily on his or her imagination and a few scant descriptions on my part to verify the joy of being here.

Here's a little snapshot of where I'm writing from. There are pigeons in the eclectic garden area to the left. I don't know what the pigeons are up to, but they seem to have made a happy home here. They are pretty much the bustle of the morning shuffling around in the bushes. I ask Pam if these are just ordinary pigeons. "There's no such thing as an ordinary pigeon," she replies. I think I've met my match. :-)

Our host's cousin also popped in to say hello this morning. He dropped off some scene mags yesterday and I've just now 'volunteered' him to take us out to Wilde's one night, which is the gay bar around the corner.

Last night we went out to dinner at Martine's. After the "stick to your ribs" lunch we had yesterday, we kept it simple with a nice bottle of Sauvignon and I had a' tart' topped off blue cheese and caramelized onions and a rousing twinge of balsamic. I also ordered a side of mushrooms that went well with the tart and A's lemon zesty risotto. The food was delightful and the ambience of Quay Street was cozy and cheerful.

Here's a snapshot of the entrance to Quay Street. It's an area with loads of restaurants and pubs-- it's not at all pretentious and even though it's on the touristy side of things, the locals have some favorite pubs here as well.

The good conversation goes without saying, but I'll just briefly recap with topics that were covered in a short span last night: family histories, the Irish and American sense of sarcasm and satire, non governmental agencies (NGOs), Burning Man, David Sedaris, the abundance of alternative medicine in this area, and the future of diversity in self-identity and lifestyle. Whoa, right?! And that was just the conversation we had, fortunate as we were to have someone that lives here to converse with us and flag down friends to join in the conversation.

We wound up at Tigh Neachtain (pronounced tee nocktan). I was curious about local brews and Andrew wanted a taste of the favored whiskeys. I saw a beer on tap called "Galway Hooker" which was all tapped out, but I went for the next favorite which was a described to me as wheaty. Andrew went for the Connemara single malt whiskey forty percent.

Tigh Neachtain

Mind you, the libations were just an added bonus, a taste of the local, but I consider it a 'bucket list' item to have a Guinness in Ireland. I wasn't disappointed here either. The Guinness was so good that I had another. I was amazed by the smoothness of it and the peakiness of the head. I couldn't resist dipping my pinky in it to test the peak. Magic!






When I say 'magic,' I mean it in the way that a NZ flat white is magic, or a Bloody Mary in San Francisco's Zeitgeist is magic. The immediate experience is such an epiphany, so right, that the realness of legend that brought me to it is suddenly revealed and at once defies explanation.

But this kind of magic is good stuff for blogging. In the short time that we've been here, I can sense that other 'stuff of legend' adventures are right around the corner.

Can't wait to share it with you!

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