Monday, 6. November 2006, 09:27:56
Yell of the day: Goooooood Moooooorniiiing, Viieetnam 
Well, on Saturday I made myself a hearty breakfast with fried striped bacon, and some melon cubes, sandwiched between a ciabatta (actually two of them). Since the weather was nice - some showers during the night, but now a broken overcast - I stuck to my plan to take the bus to Spiddal (pronounced more like 'spiddle'), a
town 
, about 18 km from Galway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiddal (yep, very accurate description)

After gathering my paint gear, I took my usual bus to 'The Square', i.e. Eyre Square in the city centre, which is near the bus/rail station.
After double checking the bus schedule (didn't want to get stranded out there) at the ticket office, I got myself a day return ticket for Spiddal. The bus departed right on time (13.00) (on time in Ireland?

). There were a few fellow passengers, including two old gentlemen talking 'as Gaeilge'. Yep, were in a Gaeltacht area here

The bus drive goes out via Salthill (yes, could have taken the bus there), the Promenade, Knocknacarra, Bearna, and then the set-down stops become highly 'unofficial' - basically, you tell the driver where you want to get off

After about half an hour's drive you reach the main street of Spiddal.
I walked down to the (a very rocky) beach. My first impression was that the view across the bay wasn't very different than the one in Satlthill; same perspective on the Co. Clare cliffs and hills, not withstanding the 18 km parallax!
Some people were sea angling and had their lines set up, and their bright coloured outfit made a nice contrast, with the dull colours of the scenery, so I decided to capture the atmsphere in a watercolour painting


At the entrance of the town there is a collection of 'Craft and Design Studios' - the local tourist trap, of course

- but fun to visit anyway (see www.spiddalcraftvillage.com ). Unfortunately, outside the main tourist hunting season, a lot of the units - including the bistro - are closed.
Nevertheless, a few were open, and I walked out with a green polo shirt, and a 'The Very Best of Maura O'Connell' CD.

By that time I needed some food, so I walked back to the main street, and decided to have lunch at restaurant of the 'An Crúiscín Lán Hotel' ( see
http://www.cruiscinlanhotel.com/ ). Can't really recommend their lunch menu...

I should have choosen the seafood place across the street...

After that I had a walk to the harbour - very deserted. If you climb the pier though, you are rewarded with a view of the Aran Islands at the horizon

(image source --->
http://www.karott.com/ireland/journal_2002.asp#13 )
By then, I had seen about eveything there was to discover around the place, so I went for a pint of Guinness, before making my way to the bus stop for the trip home. By that time the sun was on its way down, and the main street started filling with the slightly acrid smell of peat fires...