On September 20th, 10 days before Momma Himm's big 61st birthday, we headed out on our big #MomTrip2017 adventure which in 9 days would include 3 countries (Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Spain) and a total of 5 cities (Dublin, Galway, Belfast, Barcelona, and Hondarribia - which is Spanish basque country right outside San Sebastian).
In typical KHimm style, my non-beer drinking, non-whiskey guzzling Momma wasn't super thrilled about the idea of going to Ireland - "It's never been on my list," she said, "but I'll keep an open mind".
I however, knew if I could just get her there, that she'd fall in love with Ireland the same way I had (and if she didn't, well at least I would get to see some really cool Game of Thrones sites and drink fresh Guinness and stare at cute Irish boys) - so with a backpack the weight of a 14-year old child strapped to my back, we headed to the Sacramento airport to hop on our United flight to SF where we could catch our connecting flight to Dublin and begin our 9-day Mom Trip whirlwind.
The last time Mom crossed the pond was when we traveled internationally together 17 years ago to Greece and I tried wine for the first time and spit it out in disgust. Obviously times had changed immensely and we were both pretty excited for what adventures lay ahead of us. As such, you can imagine our reaction when we got to the airport to find that our flight, the same flight I had lovingly booked with two years of squirreled away United miles and presented her with at Christmas 2016, had been casually, unceremoniously, and without warning - CANCELLED.
As United Airlines employee "Nicholas K" nonchalantly sucked a lollipop while delivering the devastating news to us that since air traffic control cancelled the flight United "wasn't responsible" for getting us to SF for our connecting flight, I momentarily thought about how I could manage to murder him with it without being banned from further international travel. I decided against massive force by lollipop and opted instead to hurriedly call customer service on my United Card to find a solution (unfortunately much like Nicholas Kay - they were worthless). After exasperating all options, sending some angry tweets to @United, and discovering that not a single rental car was available at SMF - we relented and it ended up being uber and enterprise rent-a-car to the rescue.
Luckily for us, even Nicholas Kay, his lollipop, and air traffic control couldn't sour our mood. It was Galway or BUST baby!
Serendipitously, I had happened to book a connecting flight with the longest layover ever which gave us just enough time to make it to drive to SF, have a few drinks and bites in the complimentary United Club with the fancy business class travelers (thanks United Card!), and hop on our Aer Lingus flight to Dublin. Unserendipitouslyfor Momma Himm, after two glasses of complimentary Chardonnay she was feeling good and forgot her jacket in the United Club bathroom. A loss she would feel throughout the rest of the trip and wouldn't realize until we were already airborne. (Strike 2 for United)
One wonderful Aer Lingus flight later (I seriously love this airline, they're like the Southwest Airlines of International Travel) and we officially landed in Dublin around 11:50am. As this was my third trip to Ireland, Mom and I decided to skip the more touristy-urban Dublin and head straight downstairs at the Airport, hop in a rental, car and head across the Country to Galway. Having done the exact same plan on my previous trip to Ireland with Tarrah, I can say that there is no better way to experience Ireland than in a rental car (plus the entire trip from one side of the Country is less than 2 and a half hours - which is basically the same time it takes to drive from Sacramento to San Jose).
Getting around Ireland is easy and within no time we had reached Galway and checked into our hotel. I could tell Momma Himm was concerned when I told her I booked "The Western Hotel, Galway" on Hostelworld, but she was pleasantly surprised when my little budget hotel turned out to be a great price ($100 for the night), clean, in a great spot, and included free parking. (Pro tip, I find looking for hotels in foreign countries really daunting, especially when you're traveling on a budget so I tend to book nearly all of my non-airbnb accommodation on Hostelworld because you can filter by location/parking/reviews, and you can cancel at anytime.) Long story short, the Western Hotel Galway for the win!
Around midnight, I convinced my dancing Momma-cita we needed to hit one more haunt - the Front Door (another phenomenal discovery from Tarrah and my 2016 trip)
Much like the Quaysr (and nearly every corner of Galway), the Front Door also features fantastic live music. What it also has, is the craziest floor plan I've ever seen. When you walk into "The Front Door", it looks like a small bar (for those of you from Sacramento, you'll think you're standing in Malt and Mash), but as you head to the rear of the pub you discover that through a series of twists, turns, and tunnels that this underground pub has over 5 bars inside of it. In fact, the entire place stretches across two streets and fits hundreds of people.
The further inside you go, the rowdier it gets.
In typical KHimm style, my non-beer drinking, non-whiskey guzzling Momma wasn't super thrilled about the idea of going to Ireland - "It's never been on my list," she said, "but I'll keep an open mind".
I however, knew if I could just get her there, that she'd fall in love with Ireland the same way I had (and if she didn't, well at least I would get to see some really cool Game of Thrones sites and drink fresh Guinness and stare at cute Irish boys) - so with a backpack the weight of a 14-year old child strapped to my back, we headed to the Sacramento airport to hop on our United flight to SF where we could catch our connecting flight to Dublin and begin our 9-day Mom Trip whirlwind.
The last time Mom crossed the pond was when we traveled internationally together 17 years ago to Greece and I tried wine for the first time and spit it out in disgust. Obviously times had changed immensely and we were both pretty excited for what adventures lay ahead of us. As such, you can imagine our reaction when we got to the airport to find that our flight, the same flight I had lovingly booked with two years of squirreled away United miles and presented her with at Christmas 2016, had been casually, unceremoniously, and without warning - CANCELLED.
As United Airlines employee "Nicholas K" nonchalantly sucked a lollipop while delivering the devastating news to us that since air traffic control cancelled the flight United "wasn't responsible" for getting us to SF for our connecting flight, I momentarily thought about how I could manage to murder him with it without being banned from further international travel. I decided against massive force by lollipop and opted instead to hurriedly call customer service on my United Card to find a solution (unfortunately much like Nicholas Kay - they were worthless). After exasperating all options, sending some angry tweets to @United, and discovering that not a single rental car was available at SMF - we relented and it ended up being uber and enterprise rent-a-car to the rescue.
Luckily for us, even Nicholas Kay, his lollipop, and air traffic control couldn't sour our mood. It was Galway or BUST baby!
Here's Momma Himm feeling very proud of herself for securing both the rental car and uber in record time. (She mentioned that keeping a cool head and being resourceful would make her a great addition to the amazing race)
Serendipitously, I had happened to book a connecting flight with the longest layover ever which gave us just enough time to make it to drive to SF, have a few drinks and bites in the complimentary United Club with the fancy business class travelers (thanks United Card!), and hop on our Aer Lingus flight to Dublin. Unserendipitouslyfor Momma Himm, after two glasses of complimentary Chardonnay she was feeling good and forgot her jacket in the United Club bathroom. A loss she would feel throughout the rest of the trip and wouldn't realize until we were already airborne. (Strike 2 for United)
Mom enjoying the complimentary benefits of my United Mileage Plus Credit Card in the United Lounge (This photo was taken mere moments before the infamous "jacket incident")
One wonderful Aer Lingus flight later (I seriously love this airline, they're like the Southwest Airlines of International Travel) and we officially landed in Dublin around 11:50am. As this was my third trip to Ireland, Mom and I decided to skip the more touristy-urban Dublin and head straight downstairs at the Airport, hop in a rental, car and head across the Country to Galway. Having done the exact same plan on my previous trip to Ireland with Tarrah, I can say that there is no better way to experience Ireland than in a rental car (plus the entire trip from one side of the Country is less than 2 and a half hours - which is basically the same time it takes to drive from Sacramento to San Jose).
Getting around Ireland is easy and within no time we had reached Galway and checked into our hotel. I could tell Momma Himm was concerned when I told her I booked "The Western Hotel, Galway" on Hostelworld, but she was pleasantly surprised when my little budget hotel turned out to be a great price ($100 for the night), clean, in a great spot, and included free parking. (Pro tip, I find looking for hotels in foreign countries really daunting, especially when you're traveling on a budget so I tend to book nearly all of my non-airbnb accommodation on Hostelworld because you can filter by location/parking/reviews, and you can cancel at anytime.) Long story short, the Western Hotel Galway for the win!
Mom and I taking our first steps in Galway (mere moments before the sky started pouring)
Enjoying the beautiful Irish weather
A few steps out of our hotel and it started pouring. The rain in itself was fine, but it was a somber reminder for poor Momma Himm about the still raw loss of her jacket (in her defense, it was a really nice jacket- may it rest in peace). Amidst the lamenting, being poured on, and the gnashing of teeth, we decided it was time to hit the pub for shelter, beer, and bereavement. If we were going to have a wake for her jacket, it was going to be an Irish one.
A perfectly poured Guinness. I've said it once and I'll say it again, Guinness really does taste different in Ireland.
Momma Himm tried beer - and she liked it!
A few beers deep and some Irish stew and dishes in our bellies and Mom forgot all about her jacket and when we emerged from the pub the son was shining and, if I'm being honest, for a brief moment all felt well in the world .
My Happy Place
Beautiful Galway
We walked around Galway, enjoying the live music on ever street corner and the simple delights of walking in a city where everyone was friendly and everything felt safe. We wandered over to the local University (where we discovered that nearly a quarter of the students there are American and I felt myself wondering why Christian Brothers hadn't pushed for this when looking at potential colleges. Rather than spending my winters in freezing cold Spokane, I could've been here among the beautiful nice Irish men...but I digress...)
As the sun set, we wandered to the Quays (which Tarrah and I had discovered on our first trip to Galway last summer and is pronounced like "The Keys" in case you're asking for directions and folks have no idea what you're talking about) - for anyone visiting Galway, or Ireland at all for that matter, this is a must-visit. The Quays is an iconic live music venue and bar that is like nothing I've ever seen in the states. Here you can find ages 18-80 and everyone is there to have a good time and no one leaves without having it. Mom, my 60-year old dancing queen, was in heaven.
I think it also helps that in Ireland, everywhere you go is 80% men and they were all trying to buy Momma Himm a drink (even if that drink was a water).
"I've never seen so many men of so many ages in one place at one time!" - Momma Himm (she's finally realizing why I like Ireland so much)
Around midnight, I convinced my dancing Momma-cita we needed to hit one more haunt - the Front Door (another phenomenal discovery from Tarrah and my 2016 trip)
Much like the Quaysr (and nearly every corner of Galway), the Front Door also features fantastic live music. What it also has, is the craziest floor plan I've ever seen. When you walk into "The Front Door", it looks like a small bar (for those of you from Sacramento, you'll think you're standing in Malt and Mash), but as you head to the rear of the pub you discover that through a series of twists, turns, and tunnels that this underground pub has over 5 bars inside of it. In fact, the entire place stretches across two streets and fits hundreds of people.
The further inside you go, the rowdier it gets.
Momma Himm and I trying to get a selfie at "The Front Door"...Take 1 & 2
Nailed it.
After dancing passed 1am, Momma Himm and I decided to call it a night - though not before she asked (demanded) we stop at McDonalds where she could get approximately 5 chicken nuggets. On our walk home, she generously offered me a single nugget and we both remarked on how different it is walking home in the dark at 1am eating McDonald's in Ireland feels to walking home at 1am, clasping your mace, in Midtown. That night, my mom and I had a slumber party.
Galway ended up being a night of many firsts for Mom (beer, fast food), dancing, and mommy/daughter merriment - and the best way to start our 9-day adventure. It was short, sweet, and just what we needed.
The next morning we woke up, hopped in our rental, and started heading to Belfast...
Until next time Galway, I'll be back :)
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