Dublin

March 16-19

Wednesday, March 16 marked the end of classes and the beginning of Easter Break!! We arrived to Dublin Wednesday night, and spend 3 days there.

Accommodations: Travelodge North Swords – we were a bit late to booking considering how busy things get in Dublin around St. Patrick's day, and prices are hiked WAY up, so a bunch of our friends booked rooms in a cheap hotel up north near the airport. The bus into the city took around 40 minutes, but it was right near the hotel, so it worked out well.

Day 1

HAPPY PATTY’S DAY!!! We woke up early, put on our green outfits and headed into the city centre! Right when we got off the bus, the street where the parade runs was blocked off and people selling green gear could be seen on every corner. We started the day off with some breakfast sandwiches and coffee, and then claimed a place along the street of the parade. 

The parade was a lot of fun, but different than we expected. There were many American marching bands, and the floats were mostly art exhibits – not much was Irish-themed or green. The best part was the new friends we made - we met 2 adorable little Irish girls (7-8 years old) named Abbi and Katie, who were so excited for the parade, and taught us some Irish history that they learned in school.

After the parade, we met up with the rest of our group and headed to Temple Bar, an area with cobblestone streets and lots of pubs. It was packed – people from all over the world in green clothes, crazy hats, and face paint everywhere, the atmosphere was amazing. We went into our first bar, Oliver St. John Gogarty’s, and got pints of Guinness all around. There was a live band, 2 older guys playing traditional Irish music, and the bar was packed with Irish and International people chatting and drinking beer.

Temple Bar

After an afternoon of walking around, eating some food, taking some pictures, and going to 1 more bar, we decided it was time for a break. We found an American-themed restaurant called Thunder Road Café, which was packed with people dancing, drinking, and eating. We ordered some food and rested there for a while, before ordering some more drinks then heading out. We were able to go to a friend’s hostel, where we met some people from London and Canada. Then, we just chose a random bar (every single one was PACKED) and danced there for a bit. Later in the night, we decided to try to get into the Temple Bar – which we did surprisingly easily. It was such a cool bar, with people still in their green and still drinking Guinness (of course). We chatted with some cool people from Guatemala, Norway, and Holland, and then headed home after a LONG (awake for 20 hours) day.

Day 2

After nice (much needed) sleep in and brunch in the hotel, we headed to the city center in the early afternoon. Katherine and I did a walking tour of Dublin, which stopped at Dublin Castle, Dubh Linn Gardens, Temple Bar, and Trinity College. It was really nice of course, but I didn’t necessarily find it the most charming or scenic city. The best part was the Irish culture– there is some interesting history, the people are some of the friendliest we have come across, and the live music in all the pubs was amazing.

We had a massive dinner of Irish stew and Guinness, and then headed home (exhausted) to work out our plans for the next day.

Day 3

For our last day in Ireland, we headed to Howth, a fisherman village on the coast of the Irish Sea, where a prawn festival was happening – exciting stuff!! We took the DART train there, and had a beautiful day doing a cliff walk, eating fish and chips, and exploring the village. The cliffs were so beautiful, and we were lucky with nice sunny weather. At around 3, we headed back to the hotel to pack our stuff and catch our flight to Leeds, where we had 1 night to re-pack our bags before heading off for our month of travelling!