Day 9 A Family Affair

Day 9 began with class.  After a full day of class, it was back to the dorms for a little while and then out to shop and have dinner.  A few of us wanted stuff for ourselves as well as souvenirs for people back home so we decided to poke around a bit then venture off to dinner at place called McDonaugh's.  Let's see if I can correctly explain the McDonaugh's choice.  My dad's friend/co-worker/whatever--her name is Mary so maybe we'll just say Mary--has a cousin that owns McDonaugh's.  I think I got that right.  So Dad insisted that I go there while in Galway.  Apparently, they were expecting me (though as you read further along you'll begin to question that).  Given that they are known for their fish and chips, it wasn't that much of a chore to go as I love fish and chips.  So when we had our fill of shopping (or more realistically when we told the non-shoppers we would meet them) we went to McDonaugh's and waited a bit for two tables (there were 8 of us and one more joined a little later).  When the waitress came over, I attempted to explain "my" connection to McDonaugh's.  She said there was no Peter there, but I could leave a note for his wife so I did that.   She said she wasn't allowed to bring her down.  I took a picture of the note, but it has personal info on it so I'm not posting it, but just to prove to the parents, that I made an attempt.  :-)  That was perhaps one of the strangest notes I've ever written.  I explained who I was and what my connection to their family was.  I assumed I'd never hear anything and perhaps whoever read the note would be like what in the world is that about--if she even got the note.  Boy was I wrong!  The waitress must have brought it right over (she was lovely by the way.)  A little later some woman named Mary (not to be confused with the Mary previously mentioned) came downstairs, introduced herself, and chatted with us for a couple of minutes.  At that moment I think she may have thought I was crazy because listening myself talk, I'm sure it sounded weird (explaining my "connection" to her), but she was lovely--I think I've overused the word lovely in this blog.  She told me Peter was not there, but I could go to a pub close by and see him.  I thanked her for her time and apologized for bothering her.  She said it wasn't a bother.  I had no intention of going to the pub though because what was I going to do, walk in to a pub and yell, "Is Peter here?"  Or just start asking random people if Peter was there.  I get nervous asking strangers for directions so I'm not the type to randomly strike up inquiries at a bar. When it was time for the waitress to bring the check, she informed us that Mary gave us our appetizers and drinks for free.  How sweet is that?!  I tell you I've met a lot of nice Irish people over here.  Anyway, after dinner we made a brief desssert stop then it was back to the apartments to try to make it an early night since we had an early start the next day--yes, on a Saturday.  I had my dessert (Banoffee pie) upstairs with Kristin and Jen then off to bed.            

The first picture is where we bought dessert and the second is what I had.