It was our last day in Galway so we enjoyed our continental breakfast, grabbed sandwich fixings for lunch, and lugged our luggage to the meeting spot which when we arrived in Galway was explained to us clear as mud. The French family on our tour beat us to it, the father yelling at us from across the way to get our attention, directing us to the right bus. There we met the four French ladies and headed off.
Clouds, mist, and rain accompanied us as we went through the rugged countryside framed by craggy mountain peaks hidden in fog, through bog fields where peat is harvested for fuel (Remember the campfire in the living room?), and on to our first photo stop at Maam Cross. This stone bridge was made famous in the 1950's John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara film "The Quiet Man".
The rugged mountains seemed to play a child's version of hide and seek with us a
s we drove past, trying to hide behind the fog like a child putting their hands over their eyes, thinking that made them invisible. Their presence was known as we passed through the valley to the village of Leenane for our first break. We parked next to a pub called Gaynor's or The Field Bar, used in the 1990's movie "The Field", filmed locally in Leenane.This village sits in the midst of green hills at the mouth of the Killary Harbour, theorized as Ireland's only fjord, a body of water formed by glaciers. Rows of mussel rafts lay in the Harbour as we drove past, reminding me of lane lines at a swim meet.
Our lunch stop was at Kylemore Abbey, the home of Irish Benedictine nuns and a girls school, is nestled in a mountainous valley that
stands at the edge of a lake surrounded by woodlands. The Abbey was built in 1868 by Michael Henry as a tribute to his late wife, Margaret since she loved the area. I can see why. The white facade of the neo-Gothic stone Abbey seemed to beam in the misty rain and various shades of green trees. It was like staring at a painting but when reaching out to touch the canvas, I grasped raindrops instead. As we stared at the sight, Sandy said she could almost believe there to be 40 shades of green. Just imagine what it looks like when it's sunny!Our tour guide informed us it cost 8 euros to enter the Abbey and gardens which was not included in the tour. I have been traveling for 25 days and by this point, I was tired of spending money. Being that Sandy felt the same way, we both decided not to by a ticket.
Shock and horror came over our tour guide's face at this news, prompting him to say, "You poor girls. Oh dear God." He most likely pictured us wandering about in the rain like wet mice for two hours. We weren't going to die. We decided to enjoy the Abbey from a distance, get some coffee in the cafeteria, and people watch instead. On a day like today, this proved very entertaining. It's here I came to understand the art of umbrella etiquette.
Sandy and I bought our coffees, found a window-side table with a picturesque view of the Abbey, ate our sandwiches, and watched how people handle the rain differently. Many people were not prepared for the elements so it was interesting to see what they did when they realized this.
Some people, mostly guys ignored it. They may or may not have had a hood on their jacket but it didn't matter. They're tough. They're macho. No stinking rain drops of water, no matter if they're drenching their face are going to affect them. They kept smiling and talking as they walked past.
Some tried to protect themselves with what they had. This involved the use of hoodies, briefcases, newspapers, and pulling their jackets up over the heads. Their casual paces quickened when they realized they were getting soaked.
Others fell into the category of "what were you thinking?" I hate to be hard on my sex, but women seemed to dominate this category by dressing like they were going to Hawaii. They may have been on their honeymoon or just wanted to look cute, but come on, ladies. You can look cute and be warm and dry at the same time.
There were a couple guys who were sporting wool sweaters which has the warm issue covered but mixed without having an umbrella - bad combination.
Most people were prepared by having waterproof jackets with hoods or if they weren't, they hustled into the gift shop and bought a glorified trash bag to put over themselves. However, it was those with umbrellas that fascinated me the most.
Each umbrella has its own story with their own designs and colors. Some were sturdy and large, looking like they had the capacity to fit a tribe under them and be flipped upside down to be used as an emergency sailing vessel should a flood emerge.
Others looked like they were used in battle to shield soldiers from cannonballs... and failed. Even though the spokes were showing and the fabric was flapping in the breeze, people still held these weather-beaten umbrellas over them as if the backup invisible water-repellent shield would kick in at any moment. This made me chuckle and feel sorry at the same time.
Regardless of the type of umbrella, there is a proper way to use it for maximum coverage and enjoyment of all, especially when two people are involved. This is known as 'umbrella etiquette'.
We saw many examples as we watched couples walking about mostly putting the responsibility on the guy. Here's what worked:
1. Have the taller person hold the umbrella. This allows the shorter person to not loose blood flow to their arm trying to get the umbrella over the taller person's head. Some guys if they're very tall hunkered down a bit to come close to the lady's height. Otherwise she would be fair game for the rain to attack her. The guys who did this I admit looked a bit funny but from a lady's perspective, was quite thoughtful.
2. Center the umbrella over the both of you, thinking of the person you're covering before yourself. This may seem like common sense, but there were a few couples where the guy was an umbrella hog, leaving the lady uncovered.
3. Walk close together, matching the shorter person's stride. This is key. It's like you're in a three-legged race. You both have to work together to get to the destination dry. It's been noted many guys put their arm around the lady's shoulders or link arms to help achieve this. It can also be quite romantic, making both parties forget that it's even raining!
Many guys forgot this step and ended up high-tailing it to the destination, leaving the lady scrambling behind uncovered. Some guys had their arm around the lady but forgot to match her pace, making it look like he was dragging her to the destination. All the ladies' faces in this scenario showed they were not happy.
Amidst people watching, we noticed the fog slowly engulf the wooded hill behind the Abbey. I could imagine fairies frolicking in the midst of the raindrops, up to no good, most likely the culprits behind the weather-beaten umbrellas. It was a good day to be indoors by a fire, but since there was no fire to be had, we ventured out into the elements, quite impressed with our choice of protective clothing, and headed to the bus for our return trip to Galway. We made a couple of photo stops along the way before we arrived in the city center.
We grabbed our luggage and began walking in the direction of the train station to catch our train to Dublin, even though we weren't quite sure where it was. We noticed the four French ladies and the French family following us like we knew where we were going, making us the unofficial tour guides. Walking with pretend confidence, we found the train station with plenty of time to relax before our departure.
We had never boarded the train without a yellow-jacket tour guide who handled our tickets and seat reservations. This time we were on our own and didn't know what to expect. As our turns approached, I pulled out our yellow travel pack and in an instant, the conductor waived us on.
Our golden tickets had power! Each hotel we stayed at, each train station we went through, we just showed them our yellow packet and BAM! - access granted! We softly sung, "I've got a golden ticket" from the movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" each time we had to use it.
It was dark in Dublin, close to 9:30pm when we arrived at Heuston Rail Station and we had to find our hotel. I thought I had spied it when we were on the Dublin Bus tour so this was our chance to see if I was correct. We lugged our luggage over a bridge lighted green from underneath, the River Liffey below, when we saw our hotel. We pulled out our yellow packet with our golden accommodation ticket, got checked in, and headed out for another new, culinary experience - take away, otherwise known as 'food to go'.
From our hotel we walked in the direction of neon lights which could be good or bad depending on the neighborhood. We decided to chance it and found one of the neon signs advertised Chinese take away. We ordered our food, popped into the neighboring grocery store for a drink, and went back to the hotel, eating our food in the lobby while watching some Irish movie that looked vaguely familiar.
Last call for the hotel bar was announced at 11pm which meant our bedtime. We had a long day, a bitter-sweet day ahead of us as it marked the last day of our time in the Isles.
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