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These past three days in Dublin were beyond amazing!! But it wouldn't be right if everything went off without a hitch.
When we arrived at the airport, we got through customs and got our bags in only a matter of minutes. We then found the tourism office where a very kind man explained to us where to find a visitor leap card, explained how to get to where we were trying to go, and suggested places we should visit. A visitor leap card is a pass that is good for 72 hours and allows for unlimited travel on all public transportation in Dublin. We could buy it at the little convenience store, Spar, right outside the office in the terminal. Well, that Spar didn't have any cards left, so they sent us on a wild goose chase to the other terminal to the other Spar to get one. It took us nearly 45 minutes because the stairs we were looking for we're very, very we'll hidden. But no matter! We get our passes and go out to the bus stop. How convenient, there's the bus we need right there! We get onto the bus and the driver informs us he can't go through the city center, because there was a suicide attempt and all major roadways were blocked. So he had to drop us off on the outskirts of town, and of course we have no idea where we are. We were planning on meeting up with my friend Patrick who is working in Dublin and was who we stayed with, at 12:30 when he took his lunch break, but we didn't end up in the city until about 1:45, so it wasn't even possible. Patrick suggested that because the weather was beautiful we take a little trip out to Howth, a city about 10km from city center Dublin. It's a cute little harbor town with beautiful hiking trails. We asked a few strainers for directions (Dublin seriously has the nicest people ever) and found our way to Pearse Station to take the DART to Howth. Our visitor pass covered this too! So in less than an hour it paid for itself, that was perfect.
Howth was absolutely beautiful! We wandered around the harbor then set on the hike that the nice man in the tourist office suggested. Keep in mind that we have all our things with us. We get about 1/3 through the trail, and notice up ahead a huuuuumongous cliff. An older man happened to be walking by, so we asked him if the purple trail that we were on had us climbing that hill. He said it did and told us we were going to be miserable with all of our stuff, and suggested we go back down to town and take the bus to the summit and come back down. It all being downhill, it would be much easier. He walked us through the town showing us sights and telling us the history of he town, then when we got to the bus stop he bid us adieu and we went our separate ways.
The hike was beyond beautiful!!! The water was so blue, it was unlike anything I have ever seen, and the cliffs were such a sight! When we finished our hike we had dinner - fish and chips from a place called Beshoff Bros as suggested by Patrick. We ate out on the lawn facing the water, the weather was phenomenal and the food was great too! We then made our way back to Dublin to meet Patrick when he got off work. He took us back to his apartment so we could drop off our things and change, then we promptly headed back to the city to watch America play (and lose) in the World Cup at a pub with all his friends from school. It was a great time despite the horrible outcome of the game. It was even greater to get back and take a nice warm shower after two days of travel.
We woke up bright and early, and I mean that literally - the sun begins coming up at about 3am after setting at about 10:30 - and headed straight to the city to do all the touristy things. Patrick said his favorite attraction was the Kilmainham Geol (jail), so we headed there first. Luckily for us, we decided to go on the first Wednesday of the month, and all the major attractions are free on this day. The jail was awesome! Our tour guide was amazing and we learned so much about Irish history! The your could have seriously went on for hours and hours and would have continued to hold our attention. On our way out we asked for directions to the Guinness Storehouse, because that was the other tour we wanted to do that day, but the man working suggested we go visit Dublin Castle first, because it was still early and the line would be short, and it was also a free attraction. I didn't even know Dublin had a castle, so we were really excited and rushed right there. Unfortunately, there wasn't another tour starting for a while, so we got our tickets for the 2:00 tour. The signs we read made it seen like the Jameson Distillery was very nearby, so we decided to go visit that while we waited for our tour of the castle. We'll it wasn't very nearby, or we are just really bad with directions (probably option #2), because it took us forever to get there, but it was so worth the wander! The history behind it is super cool (if that's coming from me, you know it must be really impressive) and the facilities are just awesome. Plus we got a free glass of Jameson Whiskey and Ginger, so no complaints here. We then hurried back to the castle (in about 1/4 this time now hat we knew where we were going) for our tour. The castle was beautiful and it was really awesome to see the super old preserved parts of the original stone walls, moat, and pillars (they were 10+ feet wide, can you imagine?) but our tour guide was slow and kind of a drag so that was kind of a downer. Maybe we were still on a high from the two awesome tour guides we had had earlier that day?
At this point we were starrrrrvvviinnnnggg (it was like 3:00 and we had not eaten yet) so we stopped in a local Spar and grabbed a quick bite. It wasn't the authentic Irish food one might expect, but it's what the locals eat so that counts for something, right?
Lastly on our agenda was visiting the Guinness Storehouse that we had put off from the morning. It was completely self guided, and all the exhibits were super cool! As you pass through the explanations of the beer-making process then into the history of the company, you move up and up in levels of the building. By the time you get to the 3rd floor you have earned the right to start drinking some Guinness. They showed us how to properly taste beer to appreciate all the flavors. They give you a tiny baby glass to do this. Everyone else finished theirs in approximately one sip, but I couldn't even get through half of it. As we all know, I really hate the taste of beer, but how can you go to Dublin and not have a Guinness? I gave it the good ole college try, but to no avail. Next was becoming certified in perfectly pouring a Guinness from the tap. We are now excellent bartenders and have certificates to prove it. Up at the very too is a place called the gravity bar, where you can redeem your free pint and enjoy a 360 degree view through all glass of the beautiful city. I gave my pint away, but enjoyed the views all the same.
After the tour we met up with Patrick (after getting lost, per usual) who was with one of his buddies in a really cool pub. They then went home to change to come back out with their whole crew, and we went and had dinner at one of the best places in town, O'Neall's. I has some delicious corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. We then headed back (and got lost again finding it) to meet up with Patrick and all of his friends at a local pub. One of his friends parents, who are originally from Dublin, were in town, and wanted to meet everyone. The boy's parents were super interesting as were all Pat's friends. We rushed to catch the last bus home (and made it because we followed people who knew where they were going), and headed right to bed because we were exhausted. It was a long and awesome day.
Day three was more laid back but just as great. We took our time getting ready then headed to city center to have ourselves a traditional full Irish breakfast. We wandered and wandered but couldn't find a place that was open. We then stumbled upon this quaint little place, The Doy of Chá, which was Dublin's first tea shop, and enjoyed quite a breakfast. It consisted of two types of toast, scrambled eggs, black and white pudding, bacon, and sausage. The bacon was more like a slice of ham, and the sausage had a bit of a different texture, but what threw us for a loop was the puddings. We were expecting two little bowls of pudding, but when our meals came we had what looked like little sausage patties on our plate. We were thoroughly confused by what they were but decided we had to try it. The white was good, the black was weird. Well, later when we looked up what they were, the base of both was oats, the white was mixed with a kind of gravy, and the black was pig blood. EW! No wonder it was gross. But hey at least we gave it a go. At least the tea we had was delicious.
We then decided to wander Dame Street, which was the main road with all the shops and restaurants that we had been traveling up and down for days, but Haden's actually paid any attention to. We started at one end where Trinity College is. We wandered the campus at a leisurely pace, man was it beautiful! We then moseyed down the lane, popping our heads into any place that seemed interesting, and ending up at the other end at Christ's Church. It is a beautiful building with awesome stained glass. The line was enormous so we didn't wander inside, but even he little bit we got to see was super cool! At 2:00 we went on a free walking tour that we found online, and I can't even put into words how amazing it was! Our tour guides name was Lisa and she was just phenomenal. Since we had been in Dublin for 3 days now, we expected that there wouldn't be much new material on the tour, but were interested to be led around by a local anyway. Well man were we wrong! Yes some things were repeats, like the castle or Christ's Church or Trinity College, but she gave us a ton more information than we would ever know what to do with, and showed us a million other things we would have never known were even there!! We ended the tour at Saint Stephen's Green, where the war between the British and Irish was fought. There is a huge pond in the middle with lots of ducks, and a fun fact Lisa told us was during that war, they held a seize fire every day at lunch time to make sure the ducks were fed. Ducks! How hilarious. Also, as we passed through the Temple Bar sector on our tour, she pointed out a little place that she said had he absolute best breakfast in Dublin. Guess where that was? Where we had breakfast!! We knew we would get something right. The tour was so great, and we learned that same company has free tours in all the major cities we plan to visit!! How lucky is that??
We then headed back to Christ's Church because we noticed there was a mass at 6:00, but when we got there we were informed that the choir was on vacation until August and it was just a music service so we wouldn't be able to attend. We decided instead to go to a place Lisa had suggested, called the Porterhouse, where they brew their own beer and feature up and coming Irish minds to get their foot in the door. We didn't have any beer but we did have an excellent dinner of Irish stew with Lamb shank (so yummy!) and enjoy listening to a great band, Watson Ace. I don't know if they are on iTunes yet, but if they are I suggest checking them out!
At about 9:30 we headed back to Patrick's because him and his friends were having a celebration of the Fourth of July, though a day early because they all had obligations on the 4th. It was a lot of fun, then they all went to city center, but me and Megan stayed in to pack up our things because we have to be up at 6am to go to the ferry tomorrow. Dublin, you were phenomenal. Now onto the next stop: London!
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