Tourist guide

Of course I start doing this one as soon as I come home, but I now have some tips/suggestions for those visiting Galway (*hint**hint* come visit)!

1. If you ever need to charge your phone or need Wi-Fi or just a bathroom but don't wanna spend money at a cafe, I'd suggest the Galway City Museum. It's open every day of the week except Monday and it's free! To find the outlets, you gotta hunt a little, but they're there. Plus, if you just need the Wi-Fi you can browse some cool exhibits while you do all of your interneting. To be clear, it's also a great place to visit when you don't need these things. It's also right by the Spanish Arch so it's easy to find and you can check our the last bit of the town's medieval wall while you're there.
2. My favorite cafe is 100% Coffee Club. You get a little chocolate cookie with every coffee, there is great Wi-Fi, there is tons of room, and all of the food is incredibly tasty. It closes at 4:30 though, but if it's before then then I'd suggest checking it out.
3. I feel like I would recommend this for almost every city, but do a walking tour! I found one for only ten euro and it was about two hours long. You get to see a lot of the city and learn some fun history.
4. Go and visit the Fisheries Tower Museum. It's on the Wolfe Tone Bridge and it's free! You get to learn a little bit about the history of Galway and the Corrib River as well as get a nice view. It's just a short visit, but I'd still recommend.
5. If you're there for a weekend, go to the market outside St. Nicolas Church. There are local artists with some pretty cool stuff to either buy as souvenirs or just take a look at. Also, for food there I would recommend the 80 cent donuts and the empanadas (different stands in case you were wondering). They're both so so tasty.
6. Take a day trip! The two I've done are a tour of Connemara that included a visit to Kylemore Abbey (which is absolutely gorgeous) and a trip to one of the Aran Islands. There are other ones you can do and I would seriously recommend taking advantage of the fact that Galway has a bunch of these to go and see a bit more of Ireland. This is especially true for people who can't drive manual as if you rent a car, it's almost certain that it will be a manual. So, if you want to see the island and not be learning to drive manual on the other side of the road, tours are really the way to go.
7. Make sure you have change for buskers! There are a lot of great buskers in Galway and if they make you stop, it's polite to give them something (especially if you snag a photo!).
8. Definitely visit Charlie Byrne's. It's a great bookshop with tons of used books at good prices. The store is a little bit of a labyrinth, but isn't that the fun of it? The staff also knows where sections are so you can ask if there's something in particular if you want.
9. Hazel Mountain Chocolate is so tasty. While the cacao is obviously not grown in Ireland, everything else they use to make it is from Ireland. I would suggest going and getting some hot cocoa or buying some tasty chocolate. Also, it's close to Charlie Byrne's so just go after you get a great book.
10. Visit some pubs. This one may seem obvious and I'm definitely still exploring them, but I would definitely recommend the Crane Bar (which often has live trad music), O'Connell's Bar (which has a lot of space and has never been too loud), and Black Gate Cultural Center (which has the best mulled wine ever and trivia nights). There are other good ones out there, but those are probably my favorites!
11. If you can, see Rab Fulton do storytelling! He's seasonal because he also teaches, but I went many times to see him perform at the Crane Bar and I have no regrets. He's very lively and the stories are very engaging.
12. Let me know you're coming so we can hang out :)

(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)