The curious paradox of modern tourism is that visitors want to act like locals. None of that lark of being led around like lemmings by a fifty-something lady in a raincoat who is holding a selfie stick.
In Galway, if you want to act like you are too cool for school even though you have just arrived from Bratislava, they have you sorted.
Firstly, Galway Food Tours have just introduced their Neighborhood Walking Tours. Get the dope on the West End. Visit Ernie’s shop. Drink poitin in The King’s Head. Have an oyster in McSwiggin’s. In other words, Sheena and her awesomely cool crew from GFT will show you the real city, where Galwegians hang out! And get this: the tours cost €30! A pittance for permission to behave like a local in the City of Tribes.
But wait: there’s more. In The Stop B&B, which is agreed by all right-thinking people to be the greatest B&B in Galway and the world, Russ and Emer have opened a dedicated gallery space in their sublime lodging house.
It’s called No More Art, and complements The Stop’s own fine collection of contemporary works. The current exhibition, Found Paintings, by Ciarán MacChoncarraige, runs until the end of May, and you can view the works at previews of the exhibitions, and by appointment, so you don’t even have to be a guest.
That’s pure Galway.
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This makes me miss Galway so much!