Dublin: a hop, skip and 30-minute plane ride away. It’s practically a crime to study in Scotland and not visit Ireland!
I traveled to the land of Jameson, Guiness and Bailey’s with three other girls studying abroad in Glasgow. After arriving early in the morning, we checked into our hostel and wandered around the city to kill time before our 2:00 p.m. pre-booked tour of the Jameson distillery. We stumbled upon Occupy Dame Street, the Irish equivalent of Occupy Wall Street. It’s crazy how the protest has evolved into a global movement.
We decided to check out Trinity College Dublin since almost all of us had considered studying abroad there. The campus takes up a large portion of the city center, so it was pretty easy to find. We walked through the main quad, which is surrounded by three nearly identical white buildings. The school is nice, but I have to say that it’s nothing compared to the University of Glasgow’s campus!
After a leisurely stroll through Temple Bar, an area known for its pubs and vibrant nightlife, we stopped at Queen of Tarts for a quick snack before the tour. And of course when I say snack, I really mean dessert. Everything on the menu looked so good that we each ordered something different for maximum taste-testing. Carrot cake, Bailey’s cheesecake, lemon meringue, apple crumble… Need I say more?
Then, it was time to head over to the Old Jameson Distillery. The tour wasn’t very impressive; it included a 10-minute video and cheesy 20-minute tour. No wonder it only cost 11 euros (which basically just paid for the “free” drink you get at the end). The most interesting part was watching the taste testers at the end. Two of my friends volunteered, and they got to try different types of whisky.
The bar inside the distillery – Jameson everywhere.
That night, we went to dinner in Temple Bar and checked out a few pubs afterward. Since it was a Friday night, everywhere we went was extremely crowded. We ended up at a cute pub on the other side of the river. It was less crowded, and there was live music! Just what we needed after a long day of traveling.
The next day, we went on a free tour of the city that the hostel staff recommended. We saw Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Garden and Dublin Castle. (Later, we revisted the Cathedral to go inside and see the crypt. We had seen an ad about the mummified cat and rat on display, so of course we had to check it out. It was pretty gross, indeed.)
Since we had already walked around the city the day before, we left the tour early to check out a local farmer’s market. They had hand-crafted clothing and accessories, homemade apple cider and wooden antiques. We bought fresh bread, antipasti and salad for dinner and stopped by a café for some delicious Irish coffee. After dropping off our food at the hostel, we ventured out to find St. Patrick’s Cathedral, one of Dublin’s main attractions.
The Cathedral is definitely one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. From the detailed ceiling to the patterned floor, the architecture is simply amazing. Stone sculptures line the walls, and you won’t be able to take your eyes away from the stained glass windows. The only thing that I didn’t like was the overuse of artificial lighting—there were glaring spotlights that detracted from the original artistry.
After feasting on our market finds, we went on a hostel pub crawl; a nightly event hosted by hostels around the city. We had a great time meeting people from all over the world and enjoying the pubs! It was the perfect way to end our Irish adventure.