10 Questions About…

The first step is the hardest is never truer than the start of an overseas vacation but my New Year’s resolution is to travel more in 2024. (It even rhymes.) And why not start with a visit to Kate in Galway. I left Monday (Jan 1) at 9pm, traveled and now it’s 5am on Wednesday and I’m jetlagged.

The travel was fine. I flew to Amsterdam, and had three hours to wait for my next flight, so I got a little walk in around the airport. The highlight was seeing the Schiphol Clock, it’s giant clock above a main terminal and it looks like a man is standing in this giant airport clock, painting the hands in real time. I feel lucky I even noticed it. According to Atlas Obscura, the painter is actually a 12-hour-long recording, that gives a convincing illusion that a human is standing inside the translucent clock, busy at work as the hands go around. The artists, Maarten Baas, is a well-known Dutch artist and designer that has a series of similar live clock recordings.

I more intentionally sought out Rijksmuseum Schiphol, which seems to be a sample plate of a larger museum in town. A few amazing “Dutch master” sort of paintings. I noticed a big trend in painting women selling fish.

I finally caught the flight to Dublin. I hightailed it to the coaches and got an express bus to Galway. I was feeling very lucky since it did sell out. It was dark and rainy but still nice to be in Ireland. Kate met me at the Galway station with a Diet Coke and croissant in hand. Two of my favorite things in Ireland. What a thoughtful kid. We taxied to the Maldron hotel, which happens to be where she works. Let’s just say, I have a very nice room.

We headed to the city center. It was damp, but not raining. (Very important distinction.) We had a nice dinner – three cheers for seafood chowder  -then walked around and checked out a few pubs. There was live music in many of the pubs. Often it’s a choice of tradition or cover music. We went with traditional. There was amazing musicians. The key is finding an intimate place that still has good seating for us.

We capped off the night at a heavy metal/rock pub. See if you can figure out all of the featured artists on the mural. (One mural is on the ceiling, which made it harder to capture.) More adventures today!