Galway to Belfast

So I made it back to Galway. No surprise there I suppose. That place is like a giant magnet to travelers it seems. I've had a grand time there and it's sad to say that I've left it for the last time on this impromptu trip to Ireland. This Galway trip was spent quite similar to the last few. Spending time with Shauna and her family and friends. I feel like I've met her whole family now, like almost absolutely all of them. As well as her friends too haha. I must say they are all incredible. They are all so much fun and have been so hospitable to me it's ridiculous. So to any of ye Irish I've met out there, just know you're always welcome in Texas :)

I hung around Galway until the finale of Doctor Who was aired, then said my goodbyes, and caught a ride with Shauna's uncle Marc and his lovely wife to Dublin. I just gotta say that he has some of the COOLEST kids I have ever met in my entire life. It was great fun, and Marc and his wife are awesome too :)

Me being lazy nowadays (also with a flight looming over me in the near future) I decided to take a bus from Dublin to Newry instead of hitching (seeing as it was dark). I was going to stay with Paul, one of Shauna's friends I'd met a few times. And, funny enough, the bus I aas on picked Paul up too (Ireland is a small world). So we chatted all the way into Newry, got some incredible garlic cheese chips, and then went back to his to watch Archer in a new country, Northern Ireland!

Paul 

Had a great time with Paul, he's a laugh for sure. He sent me off after lunch the next day and I was thumbin' it to Belfast. It wasn't hard to get a life once I realized the motorway was actually just a dual carriage (can I spell?) way. Got a ride from Michael and talked politics of Northern Ireland the whole way. I was dropped right where I needed to be and wandered a bit before I got to meet the incredible Claire, one of Shauna's best friends. And it's not surprising in the least that they are best freinds, because they both live on a whole 'nother level of awesome. 

My first night in Belfast with Claire, Filly (her boyfriend), and all their friends was amazing in an incredibly nerdy way. We got Chinese take out, some beers, and then spent the whole night playing Settlers of Catan. I've loved this game ever since I first played it in Slovenia with Jake and Jess. And on top of all this, I'm in Europe! Which means I can get my favourite cider in the whole world...

I love it

Needless to say it was a fantastic first night! I spent the next day wandering around in the rain and going through the Titanic museum as Belfast is where it was made.

Titanic Mueseum

Good ol' Irish weather

That night I met up with the group again. We drank a few and then headed off to a pub quiz, something I've never done before. All I knew is we were supposed to answer questions. How it worked was there were 6 or so rounds. Each round had a theme and 8 questions. Every team would turn in their answers at the end of each round and they'd let us know the standings. We were actually doing pretty good as we started, steadily around 2nd or 3rd place. And we held that until about midway through the quiz. We'd been drinking steadily the whole time and then all of a sudden we were in the lead! Also, it made it funnier that our name was quite inappropriate and they would keep announcing it in the rankings over the loudspeaker. But we were winning! And we kept winning and eventually we won! This means we got a 24 pack of free beer (you could call it Budweiser, but free beer sounds much more appealing). And immediately, the 6 of us are off to drink our free beer at someones house :)

Free beer!

Doesn't get much better than that,

Be happy :)

Beacon