Dublin Take 2

That's a wrap, folks!  Gillian and I are on board the British Airways flight back to the States from London to Baltimore.  Our connecting flight from Dublin arrived late, so we had to rush around Heathrow before we made it to our plane just in time for final boarding.  This will be the last posting from this round of European adventures.  Although it was my shortest venture to Europe yet, I throughly enjoyed my time in the UK and Ireland.  People here are so warm and welcome to visitors, and I made connections with so many different people this go round.  I can't wait to plan another adventure abroad soon, but that will have to wait for another day!  For now, let's talk about Dublin. 

After our adventure in Belfast in Northern Ireland, we took the Enterprise train south on the Irish Sea coast on the eastern side of Ireland down to Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland.  This is my second time in Dublin, and I was happy to return after I had such a great time when I was here in the summer of 2010.  Upon our arrival at Connelly Central station, we took the Luas ("speed" in Gaelic) light rail to our hostel on the south side of the River Liffey.  We had a traditional Irish pub meal for dinner at The Brazen Head, of course accompanied by Guinness.  I had my favorite dish in Ireland, bangers and mash or sausage and mashed potatoes.  To our dismay, we learned that on Friday, which is the feast of Good Friday in the Catholic tradition, all pubs and stores would not be allowed to serve alcohol per an old Irish state law.  This is one of those footnotes in a guidebook that you always ignore, but our spring break ran right in the middle of this traditional Easter weekend.  To prepare for the dry spell, we went out our first night in Dublin at The Temple Bar.  It was jam packed because of the upcoming holiday, which I dubbed Black Friday with the lack of alcohol in Ireland of all places, and the live music.  They were very serious about the rules and closed at midnight!  Regardless, we had a great time listening to music and talking to other travelers in the bar. 

On Friday, we expected everything to be closed and dead for Good Friday; however, all the streets were more crowded than I'd ever seen in Dublin!  Apparently all the locals leave for Easter because so many tourists arrive in Dublin for their own Easter break.  We took a walking tour of the city, led by the same company as the one in Edinburgh.  Our tour lasted nearly 4 hours winding through historic Dublin, and our tour guide James gave us plenty of history and stories along the way.  Some of the sights we saw were Christchurch Cathedral, Temple Bar, the River Liffey, the Ha'Penny Bridge, Irish Parliament, and St. Stephen's Green.  Ireland has such a rich yet tragic history, and it did not gain its true independence until 1949 from rulers like the Vikings, Anglo-Normans, and British Empire.  Despite these troubles and events like the famous Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s that expanded the Irish diaspora across the globe to places like the United States, the Irish are such a happy and friendly people always willing to share their traditions with others.  

After the tour, we decided to purchase tickets for a day trip and pub crawl on Saturday to make up for the Good Friday alcohol ban.  We headed over the Kilmainham Goal prison, which I visited last time, because of its rich history as a prison and center of unrest against the British Empire.  Because of the Easter crowds, we were taken on an alternate tour to keep up with the demand, so I got to see a different part of the prison that I had previously.  We grabbed dinner later at a small noodle place where even the old Irish man at the counter was so friendly to us.  He even gave me the special price on the meal despite mine being different that the perscribed choice.  We ate at hostel and got to know a few other travelers like a girl from University of Michigan who just left Prague before arriving in Dublin.  Although I was very much craving a Guinness with dinner, we were sadly out of luck on Friday.  Or so we thought!  Our hostel, which we will leave unnamed for their protection, sold us songs for €3 that included a free Guinness with it!  Must have been a leprechaun watching over us. 

On Saturday, we rejoined our tour guide James and some friends from the walking tour including other Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Swiss Germans.  We took the DART train about 30 minutes north of Dublin to Howth, a sleepy sea village in the far suburbs of the city.  On my last visit, we went all the way across the country to the west coast with Galway and the Cliffs of Moher.  This time I'm glad we decided to stay closer to Dublin for a day trip, although I am always amazed at how many different places there are to see in a small country like Ireland.  Our tour of Howth led us around the peninsula past castles and up to the top of a hill with spectacular views of the surrounding area with green land for days that makes the name of the Emerald Isle fitting.  Along the way, James filled us in on stories about Howth and other Irish myths including leprechauns folklore.  For lunch, we stopped at a pub on the cliffs for yet another round of bangers and mash and the return of Guinness taps!   After a long lunch, we finished the day trip with a hike along the Howth cliffs overlooking the Irish Sea.  The views were stunning and so often taken for granted by Irish according to our guide.  

After our trip to Howth, we grabbed a quick bite to eat before starting our pub crawl through Dublin on our last night in Europe.  We started at 7:30, and I certainly lost count of how many Guinness pints I had before we finally got home at the wee hours of the morning.  We had a blast socializing with the friends we made on our day tours, and it was sad to leave our new friends from around the world.  Bright and early on Easter morning before our flights out, we went to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour and a pint as any good Irishman would celebrate the holiday.  Since I was there last, they added a new part where you learn how to properly pour a pint before snapping a photo and taking your freshly poured Guinness up to the top floor for a view of the whole city.  

This has been yet another amazing trip through Europe, but I already feel like there are so many more places to see!  Just to think of all the cities and parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland that I have yet to see makes me want to come back soon.  Alas, it wouldn't be a vacation if it happened all the time.  I love this part of the world, and I could easily see myself spending more time here.  The people are great, the sights are amazing, the language is manageable (expect maybe in Scotland!), and the possibilities are endless.  Cheers to another trip in the future, and I hope you enjoyed this round of Beegs in Europe!!

The Cliffs of Moher

Today was our final day in Europe. SAD. I cannot believe my summer adventures are over already, and I am so grateful that I get to come back in just a few weeks to start my semester long adventures. We fly out of Dublin for Philadelphia at 11am on Thursday. From there, I will be spending one night in Washington to see my Georgetown friends and to collect the final paperwork from the Czech Embassy in DC for my student visa for the fall. By Friday night, I will be back home in New Orleans. Time really does fly when you're having fun.


Our trip today was really the perfect way to end our travels. We took a 2.5 hour bus ride across the entire island of Ireland to the western coast on the Atlantic. From the major city of Galway, Stephen and I joined a 8 hour tour bus group for a trip through the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.


Western Ireland is absolutely beautiful, and it is very hard to put into words or even pictures. Our day started with a view of a medieval castle in the Burren. The Burren is karst-landscape (dominated by bedrock) region in northwest County Clare, in Ireland on the Atlantic Coast. During the morning half of our drive, we passed ancient Stone Age and Celtic artifacts, including a 6300 year old stone fort and a burial monument for 23 hunter/gatherer adults and children (discovered in 1983 by archeologists). For lunch, we stopped at a little countryside restaurant in Doolin. After traditional chicken wrapped in bacon with veggies (including Irish potatoes), I finished lunch with a delicious Bailey's coffee.


After lunch, we spent 2 hours at the Cliffs of Moher. These gigantic and picturesque cliffs lie hundreds (if not more) feet above the Atlantic Ocean. It is a tourist mecca, and the views are indescribable. They have become iconic for the Republic of Ireland, and they have been used in many films, including Harry Potter 6 and the Princess Bride. After walking up and down the protected edges of the cliff, we boarded our tour bus again to finish our adventure in Western Ireland.


Before the 2.5 hour ride back on the N6 highway, we had dinner at a traditional pub in Galway. This city is one of the fastest growing cities in all of Europe, and it really is a fine example of the resilience of the Irish people, culture, and economy. It is a cultural and arts center, and this week is special because it is the annual week-long Galway Horse Races.

We are almost packed up for the last time (after 4 previous legs of our trip in Europe alone)! Still can't believe we've come this far, and it will be hard to leave Europe after getting used to being here. Looking forward to some time in the US to catch up on the things I missed. I will be sure to post a wrap up entry on the blog when I get home..before the blog continues on August 15 from Florence, Italy!!

Guinness, Jameson, and Shamrocks

For the last two days, Stephen and I have been jetting around the last stop of our grand European tour: Dublin, Ireland. The city is the smallest we have visited so far, but it is certainly not short of things to see and do. After crossing back into the Schengen Space of European Union customs and receiving an Ireland stamp on our passports, we took a bus from the airport in the suburbs to the city center. Buses (double-decker) are the main source of public transportation in Dublin, the first city in which we have not used a subway rail system. Our hostel is centrally located, just steps from the gates of Trinity College (the most prestigious university in Ireland).


After settling into our last new accommodations on Monday, we took a bus out to Kilmainham Gaol. This prison, in operation from the 1700s until the mid 1920s, was home to many famous prisoners during British and Irish rule. Most importantly, it was the sight of the execution of 14 men in charge of the 1916 Easter Rising, which lead to the eventual freedom of the Irish State from the British Empire. The grounds are very haunting, and the tour was a great lesson about the prison and recent Irish history.


Next stop was the Guinness Storehouse, located in the city center where Guinness is still brewed after over 250 years. The ticket gets you a walking tour of how Guinness, the most famous Irish stout beer, is produced and the history of the brand. We learned new things about Guinness, including that it takes 119.5 seconds for the beer to be ready to drink from the tap. After 7 floors of exhibits, the tour culminates in the rooftop Gravity Bar. After cashing in on your complementary pint, you can take in the breathtaking views of Dublin and the surrounding counties from the windows. For lunch and dinner, we went to traditional Irish pubs and eat some famous Dublin pub grub. We finished the night out at The Quay Bar for a Guinness and some live music with the locals.


Today, we had another full day of sightseeing in Dublin. For 4 hours, we took a free walking tour of the city center with an Irish guide from Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. We saw all the famous places in the city including Dublin Castle, Trinity College, Leinster House (seat of the Irish Parliament), Christ Church Cathedral, River Leffe, and more. The tour was very thorough and exhausting, but the nice 60 degree some weather and constant gray cloud coverage really helps in Dublin.


After a lunch at the Stag's Head Pub, we went to the Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery. The birthplace and production for over 200 years of Ireland's most famous whiskey, the John Jameson & Son experience was really interesting. On top of learning the history of the brand and the way it is made (over a 5-12 year period for each bottle!), we got to watch some "volunteers" taste test the difference between Jameson, Scotch, and Jack Daniel's. Needless to say, Jameson was the favorite. We also got a complementary mixed drink with Jameson Whiskey (I had it with ginger ale mmm).


Tonight is our last night in Dublin, so we will make the most of it with our dinner and pub hopping. Tomorrow its off to Western Ireland and Galway for the day, where we can see the Emerald Island and the Cliffs of Moher! Slainte!