Hello from Galway, where I’m sick again. Yeah, this is getting a bit ridiculous, but I guess my immune system is paying me back for all the punishment I’ve been giving it over the past couple of months. Oh well.
We arrived here yesterday after a long, bumpy bus ride through the Irish countryside. The hostel here is pretty cool and our roommates are Australian girls who’ve been living in London, who are very friendly.
Before leaving Dublin yesterday, we spent some time touring the city. We visited the Irish Jewish Museum, which was absolutely fascinating. The Jewish community here is tiny – numbering maybe 1,100 people total but at one point in the 1940s was over 4,000 – emigration was the main cause of decline. Chaim Herzog was from Ireland, and he funded the opening of this museum. Ireland’s Jewish population had influence beyond its numbers, probably because they were considered somewhat “neutral” in the ongoing conflicts between Catholics and Protestants.
Galway has a big Arts Festival going on right now, so there are street performers and comedy skits and all kinds of odd things absolutely everywhere. Oh, and the town is packed with tourists. It’s a very charming town, but cold and rainy. Last night we had dinner at a really neat restaurant that served everything inside baked potatoes. Then we went to a pub where there was a live rock band playing good music. We went over to a club after that, but got bored waiting for things to get going so we left. They party really early in this part of the world, so I think it wasn’t our timing, it was just a lame club. Oh well.
Today, I’ve been taking it easy, catching up on some sleep. Elie went out exploring for a bit, she saw a couple of Arts Festival exhibits and then went to a club with some people she met. She said it was fun.
Back to Dublin tomorrow, and hopefully back to feeling more like myself!