The Irish people are extremely religious and spiritual. Therefore there are lots of Irish folk tales. One of these is of the fairy trees. Celtic legends tell of fairies who live in certain trees such as the hawthorn or the oak, and misfortunes will come to those who harm these trees. The people also tie pieces of cloths or ribbons on the branches of fairy trees to pray for those who are sick. On our bus tour, we saw a few of these trees along the road. I like folklore like this - it reminds me of many Chinese traditions we have when I was a little kid growing up in Macau. Sadly after we moved to the U.S., and as we got older, these traditions gradually disappeared from our lives. Magic is good and should never disappear.
One of my first meals in Galway was at this French cafe called Java's Creperie that serves giantic crepes. I had both a savory and a dessert crepe and a coffee (all for around 10 euros). They were so filling that I had to give up and left the dessert crepe unfinished - and that never ever happens to me.
Galway's a quaint little city. I quite like the vibe. But its tourist attractions are sort of a letdown. I had plenty of time in Galway so I was trying to see most of the attractions listed on the tourist map. One day I kept trying to find Lynch's Castle. I walked in circle around the marked location looking for the castle. After a while, I realized that I was standing right in front of it. The castle is a bank - a branch of the Allied Irish Bank on Shop Street! I actually withdrew money from this ATM just a few days before. Initially I was like, what a fraud. But then I warmed up to the idea. How cool is it to be doing my banking at a castle? It's not everyday you can do that. (Well I guess if you lived in Galway, you could do that everyday...)
No comments:
Post a Comment