This morning was a relaxed one. We didn't have any plans except going to the city for the day and attempting to hike on this hill that extends into the bay. We woke up around 9:30 and then ate some breakfast that we picked up the night before. Pastries and breakfast bars and such. The room didn't smell like smoke as bad last night so I could sleep better. We sat in bed for awhile and worked on miscellaneous things. I had to journal what we did yesterday and then get ready. Abby didn't feel good so she stayed in bed, but we went out to the coast to see if we could access the hill. The tide was too high so we couldn't, but I wasn't too bummed since it was crazy windy and pretty chilly. We went back to the lodge and got on a bus to take us into town. We got to Galway and we wanted some lunch so we started looking for some restaurants. We found a few stores to shop and look around in first. We stopped by a few restaurants, but we finally settled on an Irish cafe. I got shepherds pie with Irish beef and a cappuccino. There was a street singer right outside our window who sounded just like Shawn Mendes, so his voice was perfect and it was the best entertainment for lunch. We stayed at the cafe for a bit just talking and enjoying the peaceful day. We finally left and walked down the street to the canal and a grassy area that had a view across the canal towards a line of colorful buildings that are photographed often. It was extremely windy but we were on a happy high so we were just rolling in the grass, doing cartwheels, chasing birds, and trying to whistle with grass. It was pretty funny. We walked around some more streets and then stumbled upon a tea cafe. We wanted dessert and it looked cute so we went for it. It was the cutest little tea room with all the lace, pastels, florals, and decorative china. They had some yummy looking cakes and a wide variety of teas. I wanted a lemon cake but they were out so I had a raspberry orange tea infused cake instead. It was moist and tasty but nothing beats lemon. We ordered dreamy creamy Galway tea. It had coffee and jasmine in it. It was some of the best tea I have had in Europe so far. Again, I'm pretty particular when it comes to tea because I know what good tea tastes like. I don't like any milk or sugar, just straight tea and sometimes honey if available. This tea was perfection on its own. It reminded me of a tea mom buys from fezziwigs. (Mom: the caramel coffee one) so that was a nice reminder of home and I finally found some great tea! I had to buy some since it was an original mix and bring it home for mom to taste. After the tea room, we shopped some more. We found some cute trinket shops with hand crafted items. We also went into a vintage clothing store and it had some great clothes and jewelry. I really wanted to buy an oversized jean jacket but they were kind of pricey so I guess I'll wait until I get home to search for one at a goodwill. They had a lot of American sports team apparel which made me laugh a bit. We found a mall eventually and they had a penneys. Aka a primark. I wasn't really planning on buying anything since I had kind of gotten sick of them but this one was not very busy and was a much better shopping experience so I could actually look around. Hannah found these perfect mustard colored sweaters that are the softest things alive and I fell in love so we both bought one. It's the best thing ever. I have a portable blanket now. We walked around Galway some more and eventually tried to find a pub to eat dinner at. We wanted an authentic Irish pub experience with the live music, but it was hard to know which one would be the best. We went into one that looked pretty authentic but their food options were expensive and the food was pretty fancy. I just wanted some classic pub food. We tried all the other pubs on the street practically but we had waited too long to pick one and then they didn't have any tables available. We gave up trying to eat at one and just decided to split a pizza. After dinner we caught a bus back to our lodge. We showered and packed and prepared to leave the next day. We had to print off our boarding passes but the lodges printer wasn't working so we were a bit stressed about where we could print them. There is a 50 euro charge per person if you don't print them when traveling with Ryanair with a non EU passport. That is very inconvenient since I'm not sure how travelers are supposed to have easy access to a printer, but whatever. I looked up the airport and saw that they had printing stations so we were just going to bank on that.

Fun facts: Galway has street performers every few hundred feet. Makes it interesting when exploring the town. The buses didn't accept our eurail passes after the first time but they were only 2.20 per ride so it wasn't too bad.

Shoutout: Myrisa Tame for starting her new job and rocking it! So proud of you and relieved you found something you enjoy doing! Go you!