Weekend trip to Ireland

Thursday March 26, 2009
After class on Thursday, my friends Lizzie, Jess, and I went straight to the airport to catch our flight headed to Dublin. We landed in Dublin around 8pm local time. We found our hostel, called Barnacles, easily, and settled in. We were staying in a 10-bed hostel room. We shared the room with girls from England who were in Dublin to celebrate one of their 18th birthdays. Our hostel was in a great location, central to many of the tourist spots. The city itself isn’t very big, at least in comparison to Rome, so we were able to navigate on foot. Thursday night we went to a few local pubs, near our hostel. Everyone we met was so friendly, and their accents were great, wish I had one!

Friday March 27, 2009
On Friday, we caught an 8 am bus to Galway. The bus took about 4 hours and had stops in various towns along the way. I slept for the first two hours or so, and then the rest of the time I enjoyed the gorgeous rolling hills with many sheep, cows, and stone walls. It rained on and off, one minute it would be sunny, the next down pouring, it was sort of unpredictable. One of the locals we spoke to told us they call it the schizophrenic weather system. When we arrived in Galway, we dropped our stuff off at the hostel. We were staying at the sister hostel of Barnacles, where we stayed in Dublin. This time we only had 1 other roommate, a girl from LA who was studying in the Netherlands and in Ireland for the weekend. We spent the day walking around, poking in and out of shops, taking pictures, exploring the town. We went into a cathedral, I think it was the Galway Cathedral, but not sure! It was interesting to see the differences between the churches in Ireland, and compare them to Italy. Italy has much more intricate and elaborate décor, while Ireland is mostly stone, with modest decoration. The town of Galway itself wasn’t very big. For lunch, we had delicious soup and sandwich. I also really liked the coffee, it was like American coffee – something you can’t find in Rome! While in one of the shops, I bought some Walsh memorabilia. I am half a Walsh, from my mother’s side. While paying, the cashier informed me that Walsh is a good strong Western Ireland name. In Clifton, a town west of Galway, she informed me that there is a fantastic bakery, run by a family named Walsh. I know I had some relatives from Clifton come to the US – guess there are still some in the town running a great bakery! It was too far to try and make it, but someday I’ll go back! Also included in my purchases was a real Irish wool sweater – it’ll be perfect for the cold Vermont winter. For dinner we went to a local fish and chips place that we had a recommendation for.

Saturday March 28, 2009
Saturday we were up early again to catch a bus back to Dublin. The bus ride back was very sunny, and pretty, we lucked out with our weather. Saturday was a perfect day to walk around Dublin, no rain, and a nice breeze to keep us cool. We ended up in the same hostel room as Thursday night. This time we shared it with a young German couple, an older Irish couple, and twin brother and sister from Toronto. All were in Dublin for various reasons, it was interesting to hear everyone’s story, and swap travel stories.

In Dublin, we took a self-guided tour of the city. With our maps in hand, we found the big spots to see. We knew we wanted to go to the Guiness factory that closed at 5 so we had to get everything in before then! We first walked to the Trinity College Campus. The campus was gorgeous, very well maintained and manicured. The campus is host to the Book of Kells, a handwritten and hand illustrated bible completed by monks in the 9th century. Unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures inside, but it was beautifully done – it must have taken ages to complete. Also on the Trinity College campus is the Trinity College library which holds the oldest and most famous Irish manuscripts. It smelled very musty!

Next, we walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was impressive from the outside, but too expensive to go in, so we enjoyed it from the outside! We continued our walking tour by Christ Church Cathedral, and on to Dublin Castle. We didn’t do enough preliminary research, so I don’t know much history; just know they are famous in town! I’ll have to do some post-travel research and learn about what I saw.
Last stop of the day was the Guinness factory. The tour itself was self-guided and set up in an uprising circle. We got the history, saw how Guinness was made, saw how the advertising has progressed, and pretty much everything else you would want to know about Guinness. At the top of the building we reached Gravity Bar which is a glass enclosure with views of Dublin and a free pint of Guinness. I took the pint glass as a souvenir!

For dinner in Dublin, we got Chinese food. We knew we didn’t want Italian food, we can get enough of that in Rome, and ironically, we nearly every other restaurant was Italian cuisine. Couldn’t get away!

Sunday March 29, 2009
Our flight out of Dublin was at 7 am, so we were up early again to get to the airport. Travel went smoothly, and made it back to my apartment in Rome around 1pm. I had a great weekend in Ireland. Out of all the places I’ve been so far, Ireland is definitely a country I want to visit again. The people were very friendly, and there are so many places to see and things to do! 3 days was not enough.

This week is pretty busy again, with exams and other school work. On Friday, our spring break begins. There is a group of 12 of us going to Greece for the break. We are spending time in Mykonos, Santorini, and Athens. Can’t wait!