On Monday December 12th I had my first (and last) final. Approximately 5 hours later I was on a plane to Dublin, Ireland with Jennifer and our friend Ilana. We landed late at night, checked into our hostel, figured out our plans for the next couples days and then headed to dinner.
It was pretty late when we finally made it to O'Neils, a classic Irish pub. I ordered a Thanksgiving sandwich (nom), Jennifer got another sandwich, and Ilana got lasagna. And of course we had our choice of wonderful beers as the tap above us depicts. Jennifer and I had our first Guinness in Dublin!
The restaurant itself had a great atmosphere and when we were done eating we went upstairs to listen to some live music by these two young men - they played some fun songs, including a Mumford&Sons cover. All in all a great first night.
On Tuesday we decided to do a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher, which included a 2.5 hour bus ride (leaving at 7:15am) from Dublin and then a bus through areas of Galway and then through Doolin. Our first stop was the house of the guide's grandparents. The plan was to take a walk around their farm and then have some warm apple pie inside the little house above. So quaint.
Our walk around the farm was not as pleasant as we had imagined, however. Not only was it absolutely freezing, but the wind was so strong that it legitimately blew us over a few times. The "gentle brisk hike" advertised did not even begin to cover the bitterly cold 30 minutes we were outside.
Ilana, me, and Jennifer looking over the fields in Doolin. Absolutely stunning. Not my hair - completely uncontrollable due to the wind.
On the way to the Cliffs of Moher the bus stopped at this site. I honestly don't remember it's significance, but I do know that when we got outside it was hailing a little bit and I saw snow on the ground for the first time!
After some long, windy roads on the bus we finally made it to the Cliffs of Moher. The visiting center had closed for the day because the winds were too intense. Since we were on a separate tour, however, we had nothing to do with the center. Our tour guide said the visibility was perfect, but it was just super windy. He just kept saying, "All I'm going to say is that it's really windy. Be careful out there folks." How reassuring. (Also it's not like we signed a liability form or anything...)
It was 100000% worth it for this view. Taking the pictures was hard because we kept getting blown back but every once in a while it would let up. The clouds were stunning and I have never seen the Atlantic Ocean with such intense waves. Definitely of the most amazing natural wonders I've ever seen.
Every direction we looked the sun was hitting these areas in such a beautiful way.
After a little while the sun kind of disappeared though and we were getting too cold so we headed to the bus. Snapped a picture of this warning on the way down.
Because we didn't get as long at the Cliffs as most other groups who go on the tour due to the winds, our tour guide let us stop at this other spot to see another glimpse of the ocean and cliffs. The sun was starting to go down and it was so cool to see it fromt this point of view.
On our way back to Galway to catch the bus to Dublin, our tour guide stopped at various places just to talk for a minute about local customs or wildlife. This is a picture through the bus window of alpacas! They look so cute, but are quite vicious apparently. As we were driving away from this area the tour guide casually said into the microphone "Ok. Bye bye alpacas..." Ilana and I were cracking up thinking about how many times this tour guide must go through the same thing each year and how he has to find ways to entertain himself while doing it.
When we got dropped off in Dublin, we were met by this wonderful sight as we crossed the bridge back to our hostel. Though Dublin was touristy, there were not that many touristy things to do there. I think the only way to describe it is as a very livable city.
No visit to Dublin is complete without hitting the Guinness factory. On our last day we walked there from our hostel. We wandered through the museum for a few hours and eventually made it to the top floor where we could pour "the perfect pint of Guinness" and then drink it.
We were given thorough instructions on how to pour the beer and as you can see we are all concentrating very hard to make sure it's perfect - we really wanted that certificate!
You hold the glass at a 45º angle and fill it until the bottom of the word Guinness on the glass. Then you let it sit until it is dark. Here we are waiting for the gas to rise and the beer to turn to the deep ruby red that characterizes a Guinness.
We had to top them off just right.
And we succeeded! I plan on framing this certificate :)
One of the other places we went to in Dublin was a park called St. Stephen's Green. We happened to go on a gorgeous day and we just wandered around taking pictures for a while. The sun was shining, everything was green, and it was generally beautiful.
Ireland was a great place to visit and I would love to go back to Ireland to explore more thoroughly. And of course I would do the Cliffs of Moher tour again in a heartbeat. Anyone in?
Great photos Kristen, I especially liked the Tivoli night shots. I visited the city myself recently and was very impressed, I'd go as far as saying it's my favourite city so far in Europe. Anywho, if you make it back to Dublin some day and what to chat with a local about photography drop a line my way. :-)
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