Galway the Glorious

One of the great things about Ireland is its size; a four hour bus ride (and that included numerous stops along the way) took me right across the country! Maybe that's something only a North American (or Russian!) can really appreciate, but I certainly qualify.
Galway City is, in a word, charming. According to my guidebooks, it's the fourth largest city in Ireland, but it feels quite small and, well, quaint. The city centre is full of narrow cobbled streets, brightly painted former fishing cottages, intruiging little shops and street musicians. The city is built around the Corrib river, which is tidal of course, and thus controlled with numerous canals. The council has wisely made the most of this, lining these waterways with parks and gardens. There is a large population--on the river, in the canals, and in the bay--of ducks and swans. I counted over 50 swans in the harbour area yesterday, and they are so used to being fed by people that they'll actually eat out of your hand (just watch your fingers)!
The weather here has been very good to me--nothing but sunshine and white, fluffy clouds--so Galway has looked quite resplendent.
It is a city steeped in history; there are memorial plaques everywhere and loads of very old buildings, including a bank housed in a castle! More points for the city planners: even the newer buildings fit in quite well. It's a very carefully thought out place, it seems.