Willows and ruins

Yesterday, I returned from nearly a week spent in Ireland. This being my first holiday in about ten years, I was determined to enjoy it - but I hadn't expected it all to be quite so wonderful. Apart from the obvious things about Ireland - no smoking in the pubs (bliss), people who are actually friendly, that kind of thing - the conference I was attending was so well organised and full of interesting papers and excursions and free food, that it would have taken a serious level of curmudgeonliness not to be absolutely delighted with it all. Okay, so some thieving bugger stole my wallet, but that was pretty much the only downside to the entire trip!

Admittedly, nine hours' travelling each way wasn't exactly fun, but it was great to get on a plane again after fifteen years and finally cure myself of my flying phobia. The conference itself was brilliant. There were some fascinating papers given, and the opportunity to meet other postgrad medievalists would alone have been worth the journey. My travelling companion C and I spent most of our time with M, Jh, and Jw, who we were lucky enough to meet on Thursday and who proved to be fantastic company. Jw, in addition, lives in Galway and played Tourguide Barbie excellently, making the visit far easier than it might have been!

Galway reminded me a little of Swansea, although it's larger and rather more cosmopolitan. It's on the coast, with some fabulous views, and the city is really vibrant at night. I counted three different groups of street musicians walking home at midnight on Saturday! This being Ireland, they were pretty musical, too. There are (of course) plenty of pubs - the Front Door was my favourite, with amazing food and good service. C and I stayed at the Claddagh Hostel, in a twin room, which basically consisted of a bunk bed and a strip of floor; we couldn't both be out of bed at the same time, pretty much! But it was clean and comfortable, which was all we really wanted. It was odd to be in a place which seemed so much like home, and yet wasn't. I had to ask some chap in a newsagent what a postbox looked like, and the Euro exchange rate just made my head hurt. And the Irish seem to have very European road-crossing habits - you run across and just hope that you make it before the cars get you. No good for someone brought up on the green cross code...

On the Sunday, we visited Claregalway castle, which is currently being restored. Some of the old walls of the castle building had recently been excavated, and the outlines were visible in the ground. From the top of the tower, we had a perfect view over to Claregalway Abbey, which we later visited as well. The architecture was sublime, and it was a real treat to be accompanied by some proper archaeologists and art historians who knew what they were talking about. How did I manage without the term "ogee"?