Does Ireland know how to party or wha?
Despite the finicky weather, I had a lovely time in Galway and Peter's family were wonderful hosts.
That's Craig and Peter in their racetrack threads. We went on Thursday, which was Ladies Day, so all the women were dressed up with matching hats. I wish I got a good picture of them, some of them looked like they put in a lot of effort!
I just wore a summery white dress, not having the ability to work with my own milliner to produce a feathered concoction for my head, but I wasn't too bothered since I had the best accessory of all:
The Races were not that much different from the ones I used to go to in San Diego. People were a little more dressed up, and horses had to jump over hedges, but otherwise, the same sort of feel was in the air. Everyone watching each other as much as the horses:
The next day, Peter led us through a short walk to a nearby castle. On the way there I got to pet some nice horses that also obliged me with a great shot:
After a few drinks at the castle pub, we headed into town. It was really "cute" and very busy. I thought it might have been because of the races but Peter told me it's usually about that busy.
After dinner at Fat Freddy's we went right next door to The Quays. I really liked the setup and they had live music playing in front of this cool backdrop:
The other thing to note from this night is that I have learned the hard way that Smirnoff Ice is NOT my drink and under no circumstances should I drink 6 of them again. Stick to the V and T's, girlfriend.
On Saturday, Peter's family hosted a huge BBQ that lasted til about 6 AM, all to the tune of traditional Irish music. Not like U2 (which they did play a little of) but you know, old skool with the fiddles and stuff. Anywa, huge BBQ. So huge they actually got two sheep for the occasion and had to create their own bbq pit for the roast:
Anyone who is uncomfortable at the butcher counter should not click on these next two links.
Two entire sheep!
I was at first a bit squeamish about the whole thing. I love sheepies! But then everyone was helping to set up and I of course had to offer my help. Peter's whole family is very "everyone chip in" (6 kids!!) so my offer was taken up and I was tasked to help season the sheep. The ordeal was an ordeal for about 1 minute but then I got over it. Once they were cooked up, damn if they weren't tasty! Especially with homemade coleslaw and gravy, YUM.
I didn't have time to get a shot of the spread, it was gone that fast.
Everyone worked really hard to get that food on the table. I think, like with cooking in general, seeing the prep work that went into it made me appreciate it all, even at the expense of sheepies. I don't think I'll be ordering lamb chops all the time or anything, but now I have a deeper appreciation for sheep other than their fine woolly contributions to society. They taste good too.
A couple more pictures in the Galway album.
