Dublin

Hey Everybody!

Wow, okay, so it's been since Friday that I last posted. That's because I had a big trip to Dublin this weekend and then just tried to crash last night once I came back.

Okay, so where to begin.

Alright, so, I got up at 7am on Saturday. I took a shower, packed a book bag with some toiletries, underwear, an extra shirt and a travel book. Me and my group met at 7:30 at the bus station and then hopped on the city bus and rode that into the city center. On the trip was me, Jess, Kara, Andrea and Tess. Yeah, it was all girls because I really have no guy friends here, and Jeremie's girlfriend was here this weekend. So, we took the bus into the city center and then walked 3 blocks to the bus station. Once we got there, we bought our 19 Euro round trip tickets and then grabbed something to eat at this little cafe in the bus station. I just got a rasher sandwich with ketchup. Always a good way to start the day.

So our bus arrived on time and we departed for good 'ol Dublin. The bus wasn't crowded, just like my trip to Galway, so we all got our own seats and were able to spread out. I really don't remember any of the ride there because I passed out about 10 minutes into my journey. The next time I woke up we were just outside of Dublin.

So we started to enter the city limits, and the first thing you see is the Guinness factory. It's pretty awesome. It's absolutely enormous. You don't realize how big it is until you are standing right next to it. The factory takes up probably close to 20 city blocks. It's probably the size of Hershey Park and then some. So you immediately pass a set of big black doors with Guinness in gold written across it. You knew you were in Dublin. All the sudden you are driving along a river down the middle of this city. My first impression of the city was, "DC." It looked exactly like Washington DC. No skyscrapers, everything brick or colored facade. Lots of historical buildings, or big granite or stone building with fancy architecture and cobblestone streets. It was pretty cool. So we decided to hop off the bus in the middle of the city, rather than take it to the bus station a couple blocks further.

The hotel Andrea booked online said, "Adjacent to the Temple Bar." Temple Bar is a section of Dublin. It's divided into a bunch of different sections. North side, South side, etc. But Temple Bar is a section in itself. However, "The" Temple Bar is the famous bar located in the heart of this section. The one with the red facade. It's famous. Since the directions said "adjacent to the Temple Bar" we assumed it was right next to it. So we just walked around until we found that. Turns out, there is no hostel right next to The Temple Bar, just another pub. So we were lost in Dublin trying to find our hostel. It was really cool to be standing looking face to face with this image you've seen as a famous landmark all your life. It was pretty cool. Not the coolest facade I've seen here, but it was historic, so it was crazy to be right there.

We decided to just start wandering around to find this place. We asked several people, and they all pointed us across the river to the other side. Once we got there, we walked 2 or 3 blocks down and decided we were going the wrong way. So we stopped in at an Australian travel agency and the girls asked them for directions. Turns out, these women apparently don't specialize in travel, because they led us in the wrong direction again. We just wondered around the city for 45 minutes looking for this place. Finally, we decided to cross the river again and look around. So we did and we decided to just stay on the main drag along the river. Finally we found our hostel. It was sort of adjacent to Temple Bar district, and it was nowhere near the directions the people we asked gave us.

We stayed at the Four Courts Hostel. It's named so because it's right across from the Four Courts building, which is basically the Irish Supreme Court. It was sooo much cleaner than my last hostel. The service was great, the place was clean, it was great. So we booked our hostel and then went to our room. Again, a thousand times better than my last hostel. Nice beds and sheets, a huge window right in the center of the room that stretched the height of the wall. You looked out and saw the court building. It was a very pretty view. And we were in good walking distance of the touristy section of Dublin.

So it was about 1:30 in the afternoon until we got settled into our room. So we quickly decided what we wanted to do. It was an overwhelming thumbs up to go to the Guinness factory first. It's really the one thing everyone wants to and must see while in Ireland. So, we set off to find the Guinness factory.

We walked around for about 45-50 minutes looking for the Guinness factory. We reached this block where there is nothing but huge warehouses and steam stacks all over the place. We knew it was the factory. We just didn't know where to enter. The Guinness factory resembles a max security prison. It's got enormous cement/brick/steel walls all around it. Not only that, but many sections are reinforced with barbed wire or spikes. They really don't want anyone getting onto the premises. Like I said, the Guinness factory is definitely at least the size of Hershey Park. So we walked all the way to the main gate where the Guinness trucks roll out, and we realized we were at the wrong spot. So I asked the guy at the security booth where to go and he very unhelpfully told me, "Go straight, turn right." Thanks dude. He just told us to go exactly where we came from, but didn't say where we would actually find the factory tour entrance. So we trekked back up the hill and came to the same street we were previously on. However, looking left, we noticed a big sign saying "Storehouse, this street." I mean, we missed it sure, but the security guy wasn't helpful anyway. So we continued down the street toward the factory. Once you turn the corner where the sign points you, you think you are going down a shady alleyway. Because in essence, that's what it is. A shady alley. You walk through a wide alley of cobblestone, with big brick warehouses rising above you. About 100 yards down the alley you come to an intersection. Turn to your left and it's just more road into another street. Look right and you are standing at the world famous "Guinness factory gates." The huge black wooden gates with Guinness scrolled across it. It was amazing. We took a ton of pictures, touched the door, it was awesome. Again, it was one of those moments when you always see it in photos, and then you are there and you feel like a little kid on Christmas. So we continued down the road until you can't go any further, and you turn right. Here you find yourself on a pretty busy foot traffic street, because this is where the Guinness Storehouse is. The street is lined with horse drawn carriages, and people are walking all over the place. So we finally got to enter the storehouse.

You enter by walking down into what seems like the basement. Once there, you must stand in a line like you are waiting for an amusement park ride or something. The line weaves through the room. Tickets were pretty cheap. I paid 11 Euro with my student discount. Included in your ticket is a free pint of Guinness. Full glass and all. The freshest Guinness in the world.

So once you get through buying your ticket, you go through some doors, head upstairs and find the lobby. The lobby itself is impressive. You have this huge glass looking thing right down the middle of the floor, the huge store is off to your left and there is a wall of all the different Guinness bottles on your right under a glass case. In the middle of the huge glass structure you have huge monitor screens that resemble Guinness being poured into a glass. All the swirling and what not. Then in the very middle of the floor, under reinforced plexi glass they have the actually lease and loan that Arthur Guinness himself signed. It was pretty awesome.

From there the tour is self guided. There are 7 levels in the storehouse. Each level has a different theme. Ingredients on the first, brewing on the 2nd, transportation on the 3rd, then advertisements, etc. etc. It was really neat. And the huge glass structure I mentioned, it's actually in the shape of a beer glass. If you were to take away the storehouse, you'd see a glass that resembles a Guinness beer glass. It's the world's largest beer glass snaking through the heart of the storehouse. It's awesome.

So on floor 4 we got to try a really small free sample of Guinness. They have to people there pouring small glasses. You're supposed to follow the video on the screens in the room. The video is of a Guinness guru and he tells you the perfect way to drink a Guinness. I just drank mine. I didn't follow the vid. Finally after we got all the way up to the 6th floor, we had the option of learning how to pour our own Guinness. But if you poured your own, you had to drink it in the restaurant area there. You couldn't go upstairs or anything. And we wanted to go to the Gravity Bar, so we said screw it and went upstairs. You ascend up these wooden stairs and all the sudden you are in a room with 360 degrees of windows. Windows the entire way around. It's the top of the beer glass. Here you can look out all over Dublin and see everything. It was like Willy Wonka. It was so beautiful. And it was so cool being in that room. Everyone is in there, it's packed, you have to work your way to the bar and then they tear the bottom of your ticket and give you the freshest Guinness you will ever drink in your entire life. It was liquid heaven. It truly was a milkshake of beer. It is so much better than any Guinness I've ever tasted. Guinness is all about who pours it and how long it has sat in the barrels. It sucks in the states because it's just not as fresh. Guinness is meant to be drank almost right away.

So after we finished our Guinness we went down to the gift shop. Everyone collects something when they are traveling, so I've decided I'm going to start as well. I decided that I'm going to start collecting salt and pepper shakers from the different countries and cities I visit. They are pretty cool, and will be a cool conversation point for any dining room or kitchen. Plus they look awesome. So I decided to get my first set: salt and pepper shakers shaped like Guinness beer glasses. Haha they are pretty cool. It looks like the Guinness is in the glass. It's all black with the foamy head at the top. Well worth it.

After our awesome tour, we decided to go back and get ready for the evening. I decided I didn't want to change cause honestly, who cares. So we then went out for fish and chips at Beshoffs. My travel book recommended it. It was like a fast food fish place, but it had a huge and really fancy sit down area. So I got the fried cod, coleslaw and fries. It was amazing. The cod was so fresh. They say it's the best fish and chips in Dublin. I believe it.

After we ate there, we decided to do a Dublin pub crawl. It was called the backpackers pub crawl. You pay two euro's before 7, then show up at 8 and pay 8 Euros. Those that don't pay before 7 have to pay 11 Euros. The deal is however, that you get a free shot at every bar. So it evened out. However, they took you to the most expensive bars. The first pub they took us to, they took us into the basement. Didn't even leave us with the crowd up at the main bar. It was so dumb. Then they passed out free shots of tequilla. Not bad. However, you couldn't get a pint for under 5 Euros, and my friends gin and tonic cost 6.90 or something like that. After that we went to another pub. A little better. I decided not to drink here, since I got a 5 euro coke and rum at the first pub. Here they passed out some fruity strawberry shots. I don't know, but it was good. We took our shots at the middle of the bar and then walked back to our seats toward the front of the building and to the right of the bar. However, two of the girls went to the bathroom. So then the girl in charge came around and was like, oh I have 3 shots left, these must be for you. So Kara, Andrea and I just went with it and took the shots. I was getting my moneys worth. After that the chick took us to some bar that was like a night club. It was pitch black, neon lights everywhere. You couldn't walk it was so packed. At this point, we decided to bounce and left the tour. Word to the wise, don't do the tour. Just go to Temple Bar area and do your own thing.

Once we left, Andrea and Tess went back to the hostel. However, Jess, Kara and I went to Temple Bar district. I wanted to get a drink at The Temple Bar. I have to mention here, that Dublin is awesome at night. Everyone is out, all restaurants and bars are hopping. It was like NYC. It was great. And you felt safe too. Everything is within a 5 by 5 block perimeter it seemed like. If you wanted to go to this bar, you just hopped over a couple of blocks. It was awesome. People playing music on the streets, people eating outside, music blaring from in the bars. It was just a really cool atmosphere. It was the place to be.

So our first stop was The Temple Bar. We walked in, and it was just like, "Holy crap, I'm in THE Temple Bar." It's really crowded inside, and the bar tenders have no patience. "What do you want? What do you want?" So we decided to do a shot of tequilla. As we were standing there, Jess was playing with a coaster and the bartender literally smacked it out of her hand as if to say, "put it down." We like to steal coasters from the bars we go to, but they weren't playing around at this one. So we got our shots and did them, and then just left right away. Now I can say I have had a drink in The Temple Bar in Dublin. So that's pretty cool.

After that we walked down the street to look for another place. We decided to go into this one place that looked like a nightclub type deal. It was called Bushkers or something? I don't know. So we went in there. Really cool vibe. A huge oval bar stretched down the entire middle of the building and then up at the very front there was like a dj and a dance floor. It was packed. They had purple and blue neon lights all over the place. So we just did one more shot and then decided to stay there and kinda just hang out for a little, listened to the music, etc. Then we left at like 1:30 and headed back to the room.

We got back and the room was aparently freezing. I wasn't that cold, but the girls were cold. I can't get cold sleeping anymore, no matter what I'm always hot. So that's a plus. So we went to bed, got up in the morning, checked out and then headed out into the city.

We immediately went to the Christ Church Cathedral. It was a huge beautiful stone church that was right up the street from our hostel. So we saw that and then decided to go to St. Patrick's Cathedral. The famous St. Patrick's Cathedral. So we kept walking and then decided we were close to the Dublin Castle, so we stopped there first instead. It was pretty cool. It just sits right in the middle of the city. You wouldn't even realize it because it's tucked behind buildings. Unfortunately the building wasn't open for tours on Sunday, but we got to go in the courtyard and what not, so that was good enough. After that we decided to try to find St. Patrick's. We walked for a little while and then found it. I stopped quick to grab a hot chicken roll at a super mart, and then we headed right down the block to the cathedral. It was gorgeous. Just really majestic. A huge stone Cathedral, with a huge beautiful courtyard of green grass and blooming flowers already. It was amazing. Definitely something you must see while in Ireland. And being a Catholic made it even more special. It was great.

After that, the girls decided they wanted to go see Whelan's Pub. The bar from "PS. I Love You", with Gerard Butler and Hillary Swank. So we walked for about an hour aimlessly through the city, and then finally found the damn place. It was closed. So we got pictures of the outside. It's just a pub. It's small. It wasn't anything special. I wasn't thrilled about seeing it, but whatever.

After Whelan's we headed back into town, grabbed food at McDonald's and then decided to leave. We had really great weather all weekend until we left. It was chilly but not frigid. And it was partly sunny and cloudy the entire weekend. However when we left it started to spit a little bit, but that was about it. So we went to the bus station and missed the 2:30 bus by 3 minutes, and waited for the 3:30. Then we got on and got back here last night at around 7-7:30. I just passed out on the ride back again.

Overall Dublin was cool. It wasn't the greatest thing ever, but it was neat. You just need more time to see everything. There's a ton to see. It sucks because unlike in the US, everything is closed on Sunday, so do your museum stuff on Friday or Saturday and then do Guinness on Sunday. It's open every day. Also, we didn't get to go to Jameson, but we heard it wasn't that good. I will be visiting Dublin once or twice more yet, so I'm just going to have to find out by myself. I'd also like to go in Trinity College and tour some museums. I have time so I'm not all that upset that I didn't see everything.

Today I just had class all day and now I'm about to go to bed. I am getting sick. My right ear itches, my throat is sore. I think I'm getting another ear infection like first semester. I don't know what to do? I'm like screwed.

Oh, and today I got cards from my Nana and Papa and my parents! That was the highlight of my day! I miss them all! It's always great to receive mail from family.

Alright, I'm going to bed.

Goodnight all.


It was neat, but not the greatest place. Everyone thinks Ireland, Dublin, but Galway I thought was a lot cooler. This was like Washington DC. It was a city. It was awesome because the night life was great. Everything was open until 2 am. Even restaurants. So people go to the pubs, get drunk and then eat all the amazing looking food from the small bistros and cafes that line the Temple Bar district.

Left at 8:30, got there around 11:30-noon. Tried to find our hostel for like 45 minutes.

Tried to find guinness for 45 minutes.

Found guinness. Guinness tour.

I've decided to start collecting salt shakers from everywhere I go.

After that stopped back at hostel. Then went to Beshoffs.

Pub crawl. Then Bushkers.

This morning Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Patricks Cathedral, Whelan's from PS. I Love you. Then back down to Oconnell street.