Travel Talk

A Night at The Galway Bay Hotel in Galway, Ireland

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Greetings,

I’ve been a very busy bee since arriving in Ireland nearly two weeks ago to attend TBEX Dublin. Since then I’ve been moving around a bit and catching up on things that need to be done. When the opportunity to spend a night at the Galway Bay Hotel in Galway, Ireland arose, I jumped at the opportunity. It’s a solid hotel with a great view of the bay which faces south over the bay and gets sunrises to the left and sunsets to the right. I checked in last night and decided it would be a day of doing near nothing but relaxing in this suite, glad I did…

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I checked into the hotel at about 2PM and immediately had a healthy lunch. This was much needed after weeks of pub food combined with the other stresses and extracurricular activities associated with the lifestyle that leave you run down. Following that I checked into my suite which overlooked the bay and proceed to relax and unwind. It was nice to unwind with an enjoyable view as the seawall is a busy spot with locals and tourists alike roaming around endlessly. I even saw two girls swimming in the bay, seriously.

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Galway Bay is about a 20 odd minute walk from Galway City and has a different vibe. It’s more relaxed and the bay itself is quite beautiful. It’s also along the road to the Aran Islands where I was going to visit. Finally, I decided against it after having a conversation with a lovely older couple at dinner who asked if I was a historian or archeologist to which I quipped, no. They looked at me dumbfounded and I said “well, which island has the most going on?” To which they replied “None of them, it’s slow in high season and we’re approaching winter”. Considering it’s a dead end from there, other places to discover on this SHABLtastic adventure, yes?

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After a mid day nap of sorts I woke up and hit the seawall for sunset and it was happening, even inspired me to start running again. Afterwards it was off to dinner in the hotel and when I walked in I saw the lobster tank and knew how dinner was going to play out. One thing lead to another and I was picking my lobster for the night. I’ve had predominantly Caribbean lobster so it was nice to taste some cold water lobster once again. I had it boiled with nothing added but butter, Thermidor and Newburg sauces on the side. Of the lot, I’d have to say straight up boiled is best with the odd dip in the butter.

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Afterwards it was time to retire early and hopefully sleep deep until my noon checkout but that never happened as I realize I’m getting short for time should I wish to discover more of Ireland and Scotland before flying back to Singapore for ITB Asia. Not sure if I’ll be going or not but don’t want to be halfway through my borderline non-existent agenda and have to cut the plan short. If not now, when will I discover these spots in Ireland and Scotland? On the bright side, caught the  sunrise this morning and the shot below is of sunset last night.


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In closing, I’d like to thank Galway Bay Hotel for their hospitality. I already loved Galway as mentioned the post I already published “Getting to Know Galway, Ireland in Photos” but this gave me a different perspective. If you do come to Galway, try and fit in a stroll along the seawall of the bay; preferably at sunrise or sunset.

Turns out I’m publishing this from Belfast on a manic mission to make Thanksgiving in Edinburgh; long story.

Tips hat,

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