It all began with our first Guinness in Dublin, quite a wonderful city. It's scenic, easy to navigate, and has some of the most genuinely nice people I've ever met. And then, there's the beer.
We arrived in Dublin Friday afternoon, and after getting our bags and checking into our hostel, we were pretty hungry. We walked around a small section of the city and hit up a few random bars, but after all the travelling, we were in bed by midnight.
Saturday, we got to see Dublin a little better. We did a more thorough walking tour of the city, did some shopping, and enjoyed some fine Irish cuisine.
There were souvenir shops everywhere, and they were all completely packed. And, it was pretty obvious from the amount of tourists wearing ridiculously large leprechaun hats.
One of the reasons Dublin is so easy to navigate is the Liffey flows right through the center, dividing the north from the south side. We walked nearly everywhere, but I kinda wish we would have had the opportunity to drive. I haven't driven on the left side of the road since I left Japan. On each crosswalk was painted the words "Look Left" or "Look Right" to remind tourists and keep them from getting hit.
The other reason it's easy to get around is the Spire of Dublin. Just north of the Liffey in the centre of O'Connell Street, it's nearly 400 feet high, and can be seen from all over. When it lights up at night, it's rather beautiful.
I was surprised at all the street musicians and performers. There were tons of them, and they all sounded great.
We also walked through Dublin's main park, St. Stephen's Green, which, even though it's only March, totally lived up to its name. Once everything blooms in April, I bet it's breathtaking.
Sunday, we took the commuter rail north toward a place called Howth. But on the way there, we first stopped in Sutton. I knew Sutton was a suburb of Dublin, so I wanted to see if there was anything there. Turns out, there wasn't much.
But Howth was a lovely little seaside village. There was an outdoor market, a marina, and seals in the water.
We also came across the ruins to this old Church. I walked around it, but couldn't figure out how to get inside.
That afternoon, we returned to Dublin for dinner and some serious drinking. We made stops in a few different bars, and ended up sticking with the Oliver St. John Gogarty Pub.
Thanks, strange guy's arm that got in the way of what would have been a great picture.
Friday, the bars were pretty busy, but every night, they became more packed. It was hard to believe they could fit any more people in side, but somehow, they did.
By Sunday, the whole city was fat with tourists, most of whom were Americans. Joe and Erin are from Maryland. Mike and Kiera are from New York, but Mike's originally from Kentucky, so we had a bond.
I don't know who this girl is, and Corey doesn't remember meeting her, but I guess I took this random picture, and the expression on her face is hilarious. My guess is the conversation went something like this:
Corey: Wuzzuup?
Girl: Not much. How are you?
Corey: Daddy's drinkin' tonight. Wanna sit on my lap?
Girl: ...
The coolest part was that there was no fighting or animosity. Everyone was just there to have a good time.
Monday morning, I woke with a fever and a sore throat. I was too weak to do anything, but the rest of the crew shuffled around the city for a while. Keena got into Dublin Monday night, so after sleeping all day, I dragged myself out of bed and we all met up for dinner.
Tuesday, we woke up early and headed to O'Connell street to watch the parade. It was a huge parade with really elaborate floats. And nearly every marching band was from the States. The lady standing next to me said that usually, the local marching bands go Stateside, and vice versa. She also said many of the locals go to St. Patrick's Day festivals in Boston or Chicago, while all the Americans are in Dublin.
After the parade, we went to the Guinness Storehouse, which used to be the main Guinness brewery, but now is more of a Guinness museum. It was pretty fascinating about the history and processes used, made even better due to the fact that Guinness is 250 years old this year. Plus, we got to taste all these different types of Guinness, and, after a little instruction, we even got to pour our own pint. There's quite a science to it.
We left the hostel at 6 AM Wednesday morning, and the airport was ripe with hungover tourists. As always, this is just a fraction of the pictures I took, and the rest can be seen here.
I was bummed that I didn't feel very well the last couple of days because I really would have liked to keep bar-hopping with everyone, especially on St. Patrick's Day, but after walking all over, I just couldn't hack it. Despite being a little ill, I still had a great time, and spent far less than I anticipated. Perhaps I'll be joined next year by some of my friends from the States.
1 comment:
awesome pictures! i want to hear all the dirty details that didn't make it into the blog ..i know you love guinness as much as i do :) -yourfavoritevegan
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