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Josey Collins is a shy but friendly person and her plush, teak-trimmed house is by far the nicest B+B to date. I take my time leaving Kinvara, posting cards and taking pictures of the bay and the castle at the edge of town. Kinvara is really a quaint village with a couple of fine restaurants and a number of good looking pubs. This is a good village to remember for a return. Maybe the tourists will not have discovered Kinvara. The route to Galway at first is fairly quiet. It rolls with just an occasional difficult hill, but never requiring the "granny gear." There are a few nice views of the sea but otherwise the route is uninteresting. After getting a good set of directions from an elderly gentleman when I am about six miles out of Galway, I bike along the seashore until I come across the sprawling, ugly suburbs of Galway and the Regional Technical College. I call Bernard O'Hara who explains in a most un-Irish way that he has a "Lecture in 10 minutes" and then he'll be driving off campus in the afternoon. And he won't be in at all on Friday. An Irish brush off. I inquire about and chat with a fellow who tells me to talk to Tony Quinlan, that Tony has already set up an exchange with the U. of S. Carolina. I make plans to see Tony on Friday when he'll be back on campus. The RTC turns out to be a very tired, grey rectangular building of two floors. It looks like the worst of Socialist architecture. But Galway itself is a bustly and browsing city. I bike into the city and am struck by the number of people crowding its streets. It's a city built on a bay and split by a river. After locating a row of B+B's just five minutes' walk to Eyre Square, I set up at the Wesfield for £18, which is good for this city. I tell Carmel that I'll probably stay two nights. I spend the afternoon strolling and photographing the city. All over people are enjoying the warm, sunny day. They're along the river and in the park. After browsing in a bookstore and finding Nora Barnacle's house, I have a cheese sandwich and a beer on the outside patio of the Mill Restaurant where I enjoy the sun and rolling
river. Galway has created a number of walkways along its river and canals, and it is a pleasant city to stroll. After an hour in Eyre Park, I head home after snacking on an apple and scone. I brew some tea, write in my journal, and read after a light bike day of 19 miles. (124 miles) |
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