Why I thought it would be sunny and warm in Ireland, I have no idea. But alas, I did think that it would be bright and toasty for me on my summer vacation and therefore thought that one cotton knit cardigan would be sufficient as a jacket when combined with my rain shell. The just-above-freezing temperatures proved me wrong. So wrong that I even debated dropping 90 Euros on an itchy wool “Irish” sweater, despite the fact I would never wear it again because I lived in Arizona. To my credit, Ireland’s weather in June of 2012 was uncharacteristically rainy. Cab drivers, B&B hosts, other B&B guests and work colleagues from the UK kept telling me, “We usually don’t have this much rain this time of year. It’s like November in June!”
Enjoying fresh sea food at Oscar's
Careless to the fact that it felt like an Irish November, the girls in Galway dressed like it was summer in the desert. Upon leaving a pub after watching a football match, I was shocked to see the streets of Galway swelling with college aged girls in short shorts and platform heels. Every way I looked I saw triplets and quintuplets of girls in butt grazing minis and 5 inch stilettos. My jaw would have dropped at the scene had it not been clenched and clattering from the wet 40 degree weather. My eyes bulged as I watched a group of girls clamber into a bike taxi, fruitlessly holding the back of their skirts to cover up their bums. How on earth these girls could be wearing tube tops and booty shorts with no protection from the rain but their flimsy umbrellas was beyond me. I officially felt like an old person. Gone were the days when I too could have sacrificed all comfort to look cute and fit in. That night I had prioritized practicality over style and my jeans, flat shoes and rain jacket with hood instantly labeled me as “older-than-the-girls-with-heels-on” and “no-partying-for-her-tonight”. The worst part was that I would have covered myself up even more if I had had the clothes to do so!
The next morning at breakfast I told my B&B host , Frank, about the girls in the shorts and heels. “Ah, yes,” he rolled his eyes, “They are in denial. You wouldn’t know that the sun wasn’t shining and the sky wasn’t clear the way they prance around without a care in the world. This is the only time of year they can wear those clothes, so they do it regardless of the weather. It’s their way of enjoying summer.”
Although I couldn’t relate to the shorts and heels, I could relate to making the best of a damp situation; and so as I packed up to head to Dublin, I smiled, because I wasn’t so different from those girls after all.
Stay: Marless House Bed & Breakfast. 8 Threadneedle Road, Salthill, Galway, Irelandph +353 (0) 91 523 931 info@marlesshouse.com. The #1 rated B&B in Galway on TripAdvisor, and for good reason! The hosts welcome you with relaxed, yet professional warmth and are happy to answer any of your questions, providing great restaurant recommendations. Rooms are immaculate. I recommend the porridge for breakfast.
Eat: Oscar's Bistro. Dominic Lower Street, +353 91 582 180, oscarsbistro@gmail.com. The best seafood in Galway. Stop in for fish & chips to go, or sit down in the dining room and learn about the local fish types from blue educational posters adorning the walls.
Walking the streets of Galway
