Dublin

I finally made it Ireland! For 4 days and 3 nights I spent my time in the Green Isle, and I only wish I could have stayed for another week to see more. Wednesday I flew into Dublin and within an hour or so I was checked into my hostel and set off to see the city. That afternoon was able to see a good portion of the city, north of the river Liffey on O'Connell Street, and south of the Liffey through Temple Bar, Trinity College, Grafton Street and St. Stephen's Green. By dark I had found my way back to my hostel and fell right to sleep.

The next morning I set off to find the Guinness Storehouse. I walked through the Viking/Medieval Area and past the Brazen Head and finally found my way to the Storehouse. After a 2 1/2 hour self guided tour of learning all there is to know about everything Guinness, I found myself in the Gravity Bar with a pint of the 'black stuff'. That's one way to start your day, nice pint of Guinness at noon! After that, I decided I should probably go find some lunch, so I headed up to Temple Bar.

I decided to have lunch at The Temple Bar. I got there just in time too, I was able to enjoy my sandwich to some live Irish music. The guy playing was very good, so I decided to get a drink and stay to listen to him play. Two hours and one strong Baileys and coffee later, I made my way back out to the city. I stopped at a small pub for dinner, a huge bowl of Irish stew, which was delicious.

Friday morning I was up before the sun and was off on a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher. On our drive up, we stopped in Limerick to see the famous treaty stone, St. Johns Castle, and the river Shannon. We then made our way through the Burren, and made a quick stop in Galway Bay for pictures. By this time, it was about half past noon, and we made a stop in the small town of Doolin for lunch. After lunch, it was time for the main attraction, the Cliffs of Moher.

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to see the Cliffs of Moher. The pictures I had seen always looked so amazing, and when I thought of Ireland, I thought of the Cliffs of Moher. Being there in person to see it was incredible. The sight is absolutely breathtaking. If I could live there, I would in a heartbeat simply to see that view everyday. I could have stayed there for hours just looking out at the cliffs and the ocean, but unfortunately we had only an hour and a half before we had to be back on the road to Dublin.

We made one last stop on the way back to the city in Bunratty to see the Bunratty Castle and stop by the pub next store where two of the fellows I had met on the trip and I had a quick nip of Jameson before we were back on the bus for a scenic journey back to Dublin.

Saturday I slept in a bit, and spent my remaining time in Ireland walking through the city center once more before I had to catch my flight back to London. Hopefully someday I will make it back to Ireland, and have more time to travel the country and sight see. It was beautiful, and certainly a trip I will never forget.