Flying solo from Milan, I met up with my partner in crime, A, at the Dublin airport where we proceeded via cab to our hostel. Note: first timer mistake, taking a cab to our hostel. There is an Airlink bus for 6 euro that takes you into downtown Dublin area so if you go there check that out to see if it'll get you close to your place of stay.
Perfect place to wait for A at the Dublin airport ;)
After my previous, and first, hostel experience back in London, I was a little sceptical yet more prepared for what may lie ahead of me. Meandering down a charming cobble street we found our hostel, Barnacles Temple Bar hostel, as recommended by sister W. Let's just say that I was pleasantly surprised and would totally recommend this place to anyone staying in Dublin. The front desk staff was courteous, friendly and helpful during our entire stay, the room (including sheets) was clean and beds comfortable, towels provided and changed daily if you so wished, and the water hot. What more could a girl ask for! Not to mention the location is right in the heart of the Temple Bar area, a part of Dublin known for nightlife and great pubs with live music. The size of the sink and the ability to wash one's face in it without also washing the floor was a moment of excitement each day, but meh. One could live with that. Fun fact: Upon talking to my sister later we found that, although just over 2 yrs apart, we'd stayed not only in the same hostel but the same room and had both chosen the bottom bunk. So Weird!
Couldn't get a good view of the bathroom as it was too small for that ;)
Let the adventures begin :D
After we'd lugged our luggage up the 3 flights of stairs and made top or bottom bunk choices, we freshened up and headed out to spend our evening exploring Dublin. First we went to Dame Street and walked along it taking in the sights and sounds of this lively city. We made it to Grafton Street, an infamous shopping street in Dublin, where we perused some shops and popped into the mall there. For supper, we went wild and headed to TGIFridays. Yep, in a foreign country and that's the type of restaurant we went to. However, the goal whenever in a new place to eat somewhere that we don't have in Genoa and TGIFridays is definitely one of those places. Also, it's so nice to quench one's taste with food that reminds you of back home.
Found a leprachaun
Now entering: Grafton Street
After supper we moseyed back to the Temple Bar area and popped into a pub there where we started to wind down our night with a bevy and some live music. A few songs later we started back to our hostel but were quickly drawn into another pub by the lingering tunes that emanated through the doors. This pub: the infamous Temple Bar pub. Sitting with good ole' James Joyce, we met a myriad of people from various countries (Canadians, Welsh, Brits, Americans, etc) who were in Dublin for holidays, stags, parties, a weekend away and the upcoming marathon. There really is a variety of people here in Dublin. Who never know who you're going to meet.
Cheers!
On Monday, we'd booked a day tour to Blarney, Cork and Cobh: Blarney Day Tour. So that morning we walked to Paddy's Palace where we boarded the Paddywagon to take us cross country through southern Ireland. True to Ireland, our bus was small and green and driven by a lively Irish driver named Frank.
River Liffey
A Paddywagon selfie
This was going to be a 3.5 hour trip through southern Ireland to get to our destinations so along the way we stopped at a gas station/food shop to pick up some grub and use the facilities. This was a perfect stop (one of the best I've seen for roadside stops even when comparing to back home) where you had a choice of a multitude of hot and cold foods, snacks, drinks, tourist items, etc. It's also where I first saw breakfast sausages, eggs, hashbrowns, beans piled onto a small baguette as a breakfast sandwich. I stuck with some good ole chicken bites as I wasn't feeling that adventurous yet but A nabbed one of those sausage sandwiches and I now regret not taking a bit to try.
Sausage sandwich
Along the drive Frank entertained us with stories about the Irish people, history and countryside. We heard everything from how there is something with a 150 yr waiting list (I was a little mesmerized by the countryside and so missed the name of this), Martello Towers, there are 3 "navy" ships in the fleet, Obama came to Ireland, the President of Ireland may or may not be a leprechaun, and more! It was great to hear about the history in a way that made it come alive, while alluding to some of the typical Irish symbols (ie leprechauns - Are they real?) If the rain had let up a little more we could've had better countryside views, but what's a trip to Ireland without spending some time in the rain. We definitely got an authentic experience.
Once we made it to our first destination. Cobh City, the rain held up enough for us to spend an hour checking out the town. It's a little seaside village and the last port of calls for the Titanic. We found out that although Cobh is a natural harbour, the Titanic didn't pull in because it was unknown that it was deep enough for it to do so. Therefore, people had to take boats to meet up with the ship in order to embark on that journey. Cobh Heritage Centre has more information.
We spent our hour first visiting the Heritage Centre and reading about the Queenstown Story, then walked around the quiet, quaint seaside town (most things were closed due to it being a Bank holiday) but I was still able to buy some Irish fudge from an old fashioned candy store that made sure it was open for tourists.
Trying to stay warm :)
The fleet ;)
Next we headed to Cork City, This was really fun for me as my sister had lived here for a few months and so it was fun to be in the footsteps she once was. Again we only had an hour here and the rain was still holding off so we walked along St Patrick's Street (the main shopping street in Cork) and stopped in to the Penny's department store where W had spent much of her time while in Cork. Then, it was on to our main attraction: Blarney Castle.
River Lee
Ah, Blarney Castle. Where the infamous stone to be kissed lies. And the dreaded thought of doing so, but knowing that we weren't going to pass up this opportunity.
Upon arriving on the grounds we got a sweet taste of Irish landscape as we followed the path to the castle. Autumn was definitely upon us as, with a chill in the air, we revelled in the yellows, oranges and reds that the trees possessed, the silence of the countryside and the bubbling brook running in front of us. How beautiful! And there, in the near distance, loomed the great (because of lore, not because of size) Blarney Castle. I would love to return here on a sunny spring day to lay in the grass and read a book. Yes, fairytale-esk I know but you just had to be there (or have to go!).
Once we reached the castle we embarked on the windy, narrow journey to the top to kiss the Blarney Stone and get our gift of gab. Hahaha, like I needed that but now I for sure have another 7 yrs of it. The path up was extremely skinny and due to the light rain that we just missed, very wet. It was more of a crawl to the steep top than anything else.
Once up there, we were task oriented.
Sit,
Turn,
Lay,
Grab.
Slide back.
Hold on for dear life.
Kiss.
Get up quick!
Safety and security up there are good as the bars to hold onto are welded or drilled into the rock wall, and are below your head too, and there is a lovely older gentleman up there whose job it is to hold you. Thankfully! Nonetheless, my heart was beating rapidly on my chest. I was probably more nervous for that kiss than any other in my life. ;)
After spending our time at the castle, we went to Blarney Woollen Mills where we ate and perused the shop until our time of departure.
View from above
Here we go!
The Blarney Stone was a little further down than I could quite reach.
Good thing he has a tight hold of me. :p
SMOOCH!
Survivors!
Trying not to slip on the way down
Interior of castle
Blarney Woollen Mills
Quick stop in Cork where our "parking spot" blocked traffic coming from one side.
One polite honk was all that was given in the 5 minutes we were there. :o
Dublin at night
The good ole Paddywagon
On Tuesday, donned in our raincoats and with umbrellas in hand we made our way to check out Trinity College. After a couple of wrong turns (walked for blocks to the right when we should've gone left), we found it, and realized then that we'd actually walked by it multiple times. We blame the construction for this miss. Nevertheless we made it. And I'm glad we did. The grounds were beautiful and it had such a peaceful idyllic feeling to it with buildings that were characteristic of mesmerizing architecture.
Trying to locate things
Like a scene from a movie
Christ Church Cathedral
St Patrick's Cathedral
Grounds of the church
Old Guinness employee residences
The Guinness Storehouse is renowned and a tourist destination for many. It is a really interesting place full of information on Guinness making, and detailing the history of the beer development and the company itself through written and interactive means. I loved seeing the building itself, and all the materials used in creating their product. Fun fact: The Storehouse encompassed 64 acres and the original lease signed in 1759 was for 9,000 yrs at 45 pounds per year.
Throughout the tour you can do a Guinness taste test and partake in learning how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness. I found it interesting that you have to give it a couple of minutes to settle and then top it up. Watching the Guinness go from murky brown to a dark black colour was quite the science experiment in itself. Of course while there A and I had to partake in both these activities, and did so fairly well if I do say so myself. ;)
Once the pint was poured we continued up to the Gravity Bar on the 7th floor (the tour takes you through 7 floors of history) where you get a 360 degree view of Dublin. Over gulps of Guinness (it's definitely not a sipping drink), we looked out on the city (or what we could see in our cloudy, rainy day) and enjoyed an early morning beverage. Oh well. What's the saying: When in Ireland, do as the Irish, right? ;) The people you meet in the Gravity Bar are very friendly at this point. We met a young man who'd run the marathon the day before, took pictures for another couple, ran into some people who'd been on our tour Monday, and just enjoyed a general relaxed jovial atmosphere, even for 11:00am.
Interactive displays
Pouring a perfect pint
Certificate of a job well done!
View of the city with information on the windows about landmarks seen
After we were finished at the Guinness factory, we took our ever faithful hop-on hop-off bus back into the centre of Dublin. Getting off on O'Connell Street, we decided to find a place to eat and get out of the rain. We were a little damp at this point, and although felt wrung out definitely need to dry out. Unbeknownst and unintended the pub we popped into was actually one of the oldest in Dublin - The Oval Bar. It was the a-typical atmosphere and decor of what one thinks of a pub in Ireland. Over a refreshing glass of Galway Hooker and some Irish Strew I was well on my way to being ready for the rest of the afternoon.
Kilmain Gaol - wanted to stop here but wasn't going to wait in the rain for 40 min to enter
Statue on O'Connell Street
Instead of hopping back on the bus we decided to walk the streets and do a little window shopping (and, in all essence, I was looking to buy a cute pair of boots). So walking down Middle Abbey Street we found the Jervis Shopping Centre - another well known place to spend your hard earned dollars. After finding some new boots, we crossed the River Liffey into the Temple Bar area to find the famous statue of Molly Malone. There is quite a story to this lady :o. Stopping for directions, we got yet another map from the friendly tour info man. One thing to note: the people in Dublin are SUPER friendly. They are always willing to help you out and do so with a smile on their face. It was definitely a nice treat from what I've currently been used to.
Middle Abbey Street
Me & Molly
Gearing up for a night out on the town, A and I returned to our hostel for a quick freshening up and then returned to the streets to find a place to begin our evening. Being that it was only 5pm we decided to enjoy some live music before heading out for dinner. Well, finding seats in a busy The Quays Bar where we could enjoy the local culture, listen to live music, meet different people and enjoy a lively night of fun & frivolity meant our time was thrown to the wind and we found ourselves having a grand old time with no cares and no schedule to attend to. Note: Wine and pop came from mini bottles here, like we were on an airplane.
As mentioned before, it was really interesting to see the variety of people worldwide who were in Dublin at this time of year. The people I ended up meeting ranged from:
*a woman from Denmark who knew of my last name, only to tell me I'm pronouncing it wrong lol
*a couple from Brantford, ON on holidays and he used to be a tour guide for years in Italy, so he actually knew where Genova was
*a couple from Cleveland, OH on their honeymoon
*a few Welsh people who'd come to run the marathon, and were wearing their medals at the bar
*a Dutch man from Holland who'd also come to run the marathon
It was a lot of fun to see how Dublin really pulled together people from different parts of the world.
The music that night was great! First we listened to a solo artist who played mostly pop/rock music and took requests from the crowd. He was followed by a duo, Raglan Trail, who played a bunch of Irish tunes but then threw in a couple of pop ringers that surprised but please us, such as "Cheerleader" by Omi and Eagle Eye Cherry's "Save Tonight". Very random in my mind but I absolutely loved them!
Thus, it was quite a bit later when we found ourselves heading home with McDonald's in our hands since we missed the supper hour immensely. Of course a great night in Dublin couldn't be capped off any better than with an Irish jig down the cobblestone street.
Raglan Trail
Amazing Pub! The Quays Bar.
Getting ready to jig. I do have a video ;)
Wednesday found us sadly having to depart Dublin but not before a few hours in the morning of exploring. One great thing about our hostel is that for a small fee you can leave your luggage there after checking out so you don't have to lug it around with you until you're ready to leave.
First the "Queens of Maps" (we dubbed ourselves that because every time we asked for directions we got a new map and ended up with 8 or so by the end of the trip) headed to find a breakfast place and found a lovely one with eggs, bacon, white and black pudding, regular sausage, toast, beans, tomato, juice and "filter" coffee. Yum! Great way to start the day. The pudding was a first for me and I immensely liked the black one although my sister later told me she would then not tell me what was in it. Thank goodness A didn't but I'm a little sceptical to try it again.
Next we were off to the Dublin castle, which wasn't quite a castle as I pictured in my mind in a traditional Cinderella or Blarney kind of way, but it was nice nonetheless.
One thing I've started doing is mailing a postcard to my family from my various destinations so we found a mailbox. Now I mention this because...the mailboxes in Dublin are green! Yep! Talk about really keeping in with the culture. Love it!
We then meandered along the different streets making up Temple Bar area, and went to see and cross the Ha'penny Bridge, which in the olden days was a pedestrian toll bridge. Fun story we heard about this bridge was about one guy who had asked the "toll keeper" if it cost to carry things across. Being told no, he hopped onto his friend's back who piggy-backed him across the bridge and they only had to pay for the one person to cross. Ingenious I tell you!
Some of our map collection
Ok, a little Cinderall-esk looking
I'm really squinty here and it's not even sunny :s
The green mailboxes
Good mottos in Ireland
Ha'penny Bridge
Our time in Dublin was up at this point so, being smarter about transportation this time, we got our luggage and hopped onto the 6 euro Air Link bus to take us to the airport. I have to say this has been the cheapest and quickest city to get from airport to city centre. LOVE Dublin!
It was here that goodbyes had to be said. A was back off to England, and I was on to my next leg of the journey to meet my room-mates in Germany. It was memorable trip and my most favourite city in Europe to date. Also, it was great to spend time with A again and can't wait for the next adventure that brings us together.
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