It would be hard to be a vegan, or even a vegetarian in Ireland. After all, the full Irish Breakfast (and don't say English Breakfast. One poor French speaker made that mistake and incurred the wrath of our server) consists of 2 eggs (any style), bacon (and not American bacon- thick, meaty slabs bordering on ham), sausages and blood pudding (a hockey puck of a baked material based on yes blood) and cut, baked tomatoes. Fruit here is mostly apples - anything else is expensive and it is all imported. Hot deli food is generally a pasty (rhymes with nasty, though it tastes good) - a potato and meat turnover. The cheese is good and cheap and the milk is fresh, cold and always whole. I've heard rumors of skim but have yet to see it with my own eyes, and they laugh at the 1% and 2% that we have in the States. It's all yummy, though, and I'm enjoying the food. Breakfast, as you may imagine, has become the main meal of my day.

Read on the hear more about Galway the city.

Galway is a lovely city, even in the rain as it is now. Yes, I finally have some real Irish weather - rain, wind and cold. But I'm still enjoying myself.

I didn't make it out to the Aran Islands as I had hoped. I found out that they run such a limited ferry schedule in winter that you have to stay over night there pretty much. That's Ok though, as it gave me more time to explore Galway.

Galway's city centre is much more compact than some. I managed to walk around the whole city in about three hours. It is full of brightly painted row houses. Each house has a door and 2 or 3 windows on the ground floor (what we in the US call the 2nd floor they call the first floor. If you want to get to the ground floor on the elevator (or "lift" as they say) you press "0".). Each house is flush with the next, so to distinguish them the residents paint their bit bright colors. One will be yellow, the next lavendar, and so on. It makes for a gorgeous show, particualry on a drab day such as today.

Gallway is split by the River Corrib, which is spanned by quaint and picturesque stone bridges. One takes you to Galway's St. Nicholas Cathedral, an impressive structure with a great copper dome, long since gone green. It is beautiful, with an inlaid marble floor, wooden pews and glowing stained glass and rose windows. Very peaceful.

There is also a lively pedestrian shopping street here, full of jewlrey shops and the latest fashions. One clothing chain for women, which I also saw in Dublin, is called Hairy Legs. Not sure what that means.

Just off the shopping street is a blast out of 50s America. This is also apparently an Irish chain, though this is the first one I've seen. It is a diner (says so on the neon sign) called Eddie Rocket's. It is full of chrome and red leather booths and circular bar stools at the counter. According to the advertisement they sell malts, hotdogs and fries. Not chips, mind you, like everyone else, but FRIES! I was so shocked I was forced to take a picture. Hey, I'm a tourist, right?

Well, that's all the time we have at this expensive (but cheapest in the city) internetcafe (and they do have faux leather comfy swivel chairs!). Next up: St. Patrick's Day in Dublin. Though, according to the locals, if you really want to celebrate St. Paddy's day in style, go to the USA. The dye things green over there! Or go to Spain. Apparently they go NUTS for St. Patrick's day in Spain! I hear there might be a parade here anyway. Should be fun!

Till then ... golly, how do you say Goodbye in Irish again? Well, I could say anything and you'd never know would you!? But I will say this: failte to my world. Welcome.