La Cuisine Française: Galway, Ireland

Hannah and I took advantage of some down time in Galway for planning, relaxing, and getting to know our Airbnb hosts. Their names were Antonin and Sandra. They were a young French couple working in Ireland who had never met prior to their time in the country. Several evenings were spent discussing past or future travel and differences between cultures encountered as travelers and Airbnb hosts. They even offered to cook us French dinner one evening. A mushroom risotto-like pasta with fresh French sausage in red sauce was complimented by smooth red wine. The food was delicious and we were very grateful to have a home cooked meal. We contributed a sampling of tarts and fresh fruit for dessert. The dinner was full of great conversation, laughter, and discussion of their plans to possibly work in Singapore.

Galway held cobbled streets lined by small Irish tourist shops. While we were there, the Galway International Arts Festival was getting under way. We did not look in to any lectures or events, as it was the beginning, but the city was vibrant and full of visitors. Streets were canvassed by banners of flags from across the world. Street performers gathered the public’s attention when the shops did not. Hannah and I weaved our way through the crowds to a special restaurant that our hosts had mentioned.

A local chain in Galway named Papa Rich boasted several locations throughout the city. It was an Asian street food restaurant offering fare from curries to noodles to stir fry. One of the best curries I ever had was at this restaurant, called Grandma’s Curry. It was an in-house specialty curry that was something akin to fusing Thai and Nepalese flavors. It was delectable and unforgettable.

Another unforgettable thing was the current state of our “farmer’s tans”. Hannah and I inevitably spent quite a lot of time outside. We tried to even it out a bit while in Galway at a local beach. With books in hand and sand at our feet, we took in some sun despite the biting wind. Flushed and well read, we spent that evening and our last day finalizing some logistical plans for October and November.