I was excited for all the stops on my post-TAPIF Eurotour, but Dublin has always been near the top on my list of places to go. In my mind, it appeared to be somewhat like Scotland: lots of green, lots of cozy little pubs, lots of fun accented English. I have never been so happy to be right!
I was in Dublin from Friday, May 1-Monday, May 4, staying in a couple of hostels in a really good location just off the main drag, O'Connell Street I believe it was, and it seemed to be a 3 block radius utterly infested by hostels! It was great. I tried to do as much as possible, doing the free walking tour (or half of one, because the weather was so god-awful that we called it quits halfway through and just went to a pub for hot whiskies, Irish coffees, and pints...), visiting city parks and monuments, and even drinking the required pint of Guinness. You know how they say Guinness tastes better in Ireland? Nope. Still gag-worthy. (Beef and Guinness stew, however...but see for yourself!):
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| A pint of beer, Irish brown bread, and beef stew with a great big dollop of mashed potatoes, just for good measure. With the chill and seemingly endless rain that was happening upon my arrival, this was one of the best meals of this vacation. |
To note: as the picture above might hint, I drank my fair share of beer in Ireland. I also went on my FIRST-EVER (bit surprising, actually) official bar crawl, organized through the hostel. Well, pub crawl. I was nervous to show up solo, but I made some great friends (4 girls from the U.K., one Canadian chick, and 1 guy from New Zealand formed the dream-team that evening. Oh! And 3 hilarious Italians I had the momentous honor of teaching beer pong to!) and had a blast. I have remarkably few photos as evidence, however, so just take my word for it.
Anyway....
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| This is Isaac's Hostel, the one I stayed in for all but my 1st night. HIGHLY recommended; the staff goes above and beyond, and they make great recommendations for restaurants :) |
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| Saw about a billion signs for/against gay marriage as I spent ~8 hours walking the streets. The referendum is next week now (late May). It boggles my mind to think that we even need to pause about this stuff, but it's great that laws are changing! GO GAYS GO! |
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| Whelp. My mission to not eat ice cream until I go to Italy failed miserably when I came upon Gino's, a gelato place in Dublin that was positively teeming with Italian tourists (I took that to be a good sign, and I am so glad I did!). This mouth-watering mountain is a scoop of strawberry cheesecake, and a scoop of caramel. YUM. |
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| Dublin had beautiful parks! I loved Saint Stephen's Green, but the vast Phoenix Park also took my breath away--and made me yearn to go for a run. Next time... |
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| Couldn't tell you what this bridge is called, but it was my favorite by far. A simple but quite pretty way to cross the River Liffey. |
One last wonderful thing about Dublin: it set in motion the string of events that would sort of denote the theme of this round of adventuring, "Friends all over the world!" Between Couchsurfing, old & new friends (especially TAPIFers, we really are quite the international crew), and hostel buddies, I was not only not* lonely; I was rarely even alone! Easy friendships, some lasting no more than the length of your average free walking tour, are a dime a dozen, but it's a beautiful thing. The ones that last are great, but there's something to be said for travel friends--companionship, when traveling, does so much to make the experience. For example, take the smiley Brits below, celebrating our final night in Ireland at a great neighborhood pub called The Celt:
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| Despite minor glass injuries (how did no one in our little group notice the shattered pint glass on the table before we plunked ourselves down?!), a great time was had by all. Especially with live Irish music as the accompaniment, played by the raucous family band "The Shenanigans!" |
The trend of fast friendships continued the whole trip, with the exception maybe of Vienna, but that place was so overwhelming, I was running around like a crazy person trying to see as much as possible in just two days! After Dublin, I left the comfort of anglophone countries for Bratislava, Vienna, and finally, Budapest, effectively leaving cold, wet, gray weather for sunshine and VERY welcome warmth. The south of France has certainly spoiled me...To be continued!
*Apologies for the double negative. Tried to find a way around it but failed.
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