Day 25 - Galway, Ireland - September 24, 2025

We slept in a little this morning since we didn’t have any hard fast plans except to explore the city! We wandered into this shopping mall right by Eyre Square and it was like we were in a mall as a teenager again! We stopped at Starbucks for Taylor to get a chai and a couple small pastries! Just like McDonald’s, Starbucks has different pastries in each country. Taylor got a lemon muffin and I opted for the sugar loaded brookie, I really wish they had warmed mine up.

Things to Do in Galway, Ireland

We then headed down the street and it felt like we were walking down Diagon Alley! There was every single shop you could name and too many restaurants to count. Obviously my jaw dropped when we saw Kristy Kreme and I needed to get a donut, and yes it was just as delicious as the ones back home. Like always we needed to go into the book store to see what they had and if there were any crazy deals going on. I always love going to the young adult section and seeing the different covers for my favorite books like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

We continued down the roads wandering in shops and looking at all the different menus. There were a couple things on every single menu like toasties and stew. We also started finally noticing Steelers and Viking decorations even though we were still a 3 hour train ride away from Dublin! The city was very busy and we were ready to see something not down these narrow alley ways.

We visited the famous Spanish Arch and to say it was underwhelming is an understatement. Sure it has some cool history but it was just thing little tiny concrete wall with a tunnel. But we did learn that Christopher Columbus actually was in Galway in 1477 during his journey across the Atlantic!

Last stop for the day was the Galway Cathedral. This is one of the last cathedrals in Ireland that is actually still part of the Catholic Church! Most of the churches are now part of the Church of Ireland nowadays. One thing I love about Catholic Churches though is they are always free to enter unlike most other churches that make you pay a fee just to go inside. I did go to a 6pm mass and Taylor headed back to the room for an early night in!

Learn about Irish Railway the hard way tomorrow!

Ben :)