Galway to Letterfack

Our travels have now brought us to the western reaches of Europe. To look on a map Is wild. We are on the west coast of Ireland in Galway and the closest country to our west is Canada. We have been luck enough to be aquainted with four flatmates (Bernie, Cairon, Anne, and Mike) who have graciously taken us in on their spare bed and allowed us to call Galway our base for a while. Galway is a plesant city experiencing the height of its tourist season. The streets are narrow and can hardly accomodate the ocean of people that flows through. That doesn't mean that people don't try. I'm not an aggressive walker but I feel like it is a dramatic scene in a movie when we walk down them. Maria being pulled further and further from my grasp. Unlike the movie, however, we are always reunited after a few steps. Anyway, Shop Street is the main street for busking. If you didn't know (and I didn't until I got to Europe) busking is performing on the street for money. I plan on singing and playing the guitar for a few days while we're here but if that doesn't work, maria and I have come up with some other ideas. For instance, me creating sounded effects while she mimes working in the kitchen. Maybe people would give us money just out of embarrassment for us. Since being in Galway we have toured old churches, walked the coastline, strolled up and down shop street watching and listening to the buskers, and participated in a traditional music session at an old Irish pub. Bernie found a guitar for me (she plays the squeeze box). The session consist mostly of traditional Irish tunes that are fairly easy to get the hang of, which was nice. They invited me to play two traditional American songs so I chose I'll Fly Away and Michael Row Your Boat. Being the nervous wreck I am, I forgot half of the eight words of the second verse to I'll Fly Away, but everyone was nice about it and joined in singing on the choruses. It was an awesome night. Last night we attended another of the flatmate's gigs. Cairon plays all sorts of piped instruments and his band is incredible. It was fast paced and full of energy. The room was packed, and the energy was so high that people were dancing with no concern for the fact that they could or couldn't dance. Now we are lying in bed in letterfrack. It is about 60 miles of a long, hard bus ride to get here. Maria took Dramamine this time and fared much better (slept). The samecant be said for a small boy on the bus...anyway, Letterfrack is spectacularly rugged. We watched the sun set over a lake this evening and will climb up Diamond Hill tomorrow. Hope all is well and we will try to post pictures soon. Night night