Three counties, endless hours on the bus, countless cups of tea and coffee, thousands of pictures, limited wifi, a perfect going-out streak, and memories that will last a lifetime. Ireland was never a place I dreamed of visiting; what is there to do? It’s rainy and cold and what’s a “brogue?” Little did I know how absolutely beautiful, historical, and culturally rich the country was. From the minute we entered into the thriving city of Dublin, it felt like home. The Belvedere hotel was our home base, and walking back and forth across the Liffey River from there to Grafton Street and Temple Bar area became as easy and comfortable as walking from Penn Station to Times Square. To think that the city of Dublin has been thriving since before the United States was a country is amazing, this beautiful and clean city has more character and history 99% of the United States.
You can read about Irish history and Irish literature, but personally, I did not experience the significance of it until I was in the city of Dublin. The city was filled with so much history, and is filled with a unique culture that helped me to understand the works that I’ve read. Particularly in reference to James Joyce, the city had many tributes to him and it became much more obvious what an impact the culture had on him, as well as that he had on the literature in the country of Ireland. Being in Dublin and taking the 1916 walking tour, we were able to see the General Post Office and the statues of remembrance that actually had bullet holes in them from battle. Seeing this and walking the streets where so much history took place, I felt connected to the culture and literature. Ireland is such an amazing place with such a rich culture, but finally being in the city instead of just reading about it, I understand the implication of it. The Irish history is so amazing, and the people of the country are so knowledgeable in it, compared to America where most people do not know that the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. Most people who we encountered in Ireland were knowledgeable, friendly, and welcomed us into their country with open arms, happy to share their culture. Overall, while in Ireland I experienced a personal connection to the sights, people, history, and literature of Ireland, and I can’t wait to go back!
- Kissing the Blarney Stone!
First Night in Dublin!- Club Pygmalian!
Guiness Factory!
Favorite Experience
- Views from the beach and Derrynane (Day 5)
- Blarney Castle (Day 4)
- 1916 Tour (Day 7)
Favorite Drinking Establishments (all in Dublin)
- Temple Bar- Crowded and expensive, but it's a must-experience
- Pygmalion- more like an NYC club, but cute boys and a great time
- Whelan’s- the “P.S. I Love You” bar, it was a fun atmosphere with live music, even though it was far from the Temple Bar area
Day one:
Leaving for the airport at three o'clock for a 6:30 flight is giving a generous amount of time. Normally I leave for the airport less than two hours before my flight, and still have time to spare at the gate; I also haven't traveled with another person in two years. I'm from Michigan with family in Florida as well, so I travel back and forth from New Jersey quite a bit, and enjoy flying. Today I learned I don't enjoy flying with other people. By the time everyone was rounded up and ticketed, we were left with only an hour to get through security, which ended up taking at least 40 minutes. The six hour flight from Newark to London went by pretty quickly while watching the (free) movies "Gone Girl" followed by "Stupid Crazy Love" and my favorite episode of"How I Met Your Mother" season 9 episode 16. I sat with Dr. Carpentier and Maria, one of the graduate students on the trip, so it was a relaxing flight even though I couldn't fall asleep at all. Finally we landed in London and rushed through 2 hours of security only to miss our connecting flight to Dublin. Had I been traveling alone, I would've been speedy enough to make this flight, but waiting for other people does not equal efficient traveling. Two venti China green tip teas, a jittery caffeine rush, and 3 hours of wifi connection later, thankfully the whole group was able to get on a flight to Dublin, and we landed at the Dublin airport around 12:30 p.m., just in time to continue with our scheduled activities. We did a walking tour of Dublin for three hours, seeing all the city's government buildings, as well as a park that reminded me of a more beautiful version of Central Park, and many outdoor tributes to famous people in Ireland. Luckily this day the weather was sunny and beautiful all day long, perfect for walking around the city. The next few hours consisted of checking in at our hotel, the Belvedere, connecting to wifi, a 15 minute nap, and about 200 snapchats. Dinner was at the hotel, which was nice enough to accommodate my vegan diet with a vegetable meal. Around 9 p.m. We headed out to the Temple Bar scene where we ended the long day on a great note. We went to four different bars with great music and a lot of fun people, including the other people in our group. Overall it was a successful first day in Dublin!
Day two:
Day two began at 7 a.m with a solo run around Dublin. It wasn't too cold so the run was relaxing after a day of travel (even though I got a little lost). After getting ready, we spent four hours on a bus tour around the highlights of the whole city. Our tour guide was a sharp woman who gave us a lot of information on the places we visited and who had some really cute shoes . Two first stop on the bus tour was Saint Patrick's Cathedral, where we saw the choir, a war memorial, and the burial place of Jonathan Swift, the author of A Modest Proposal. After them are we took a ride to a park just outside the city, where the breeze just allowed for a quick picture with a large cross before running back on the bus to stay warm. I may or may not have fallen asleep, but twenty minutes later we arrived at Trinity college where we viewed the Book of Kells exhibit. In high school I was a bit of an art history nerd and this was a piece I studied, so I enjoyed the exhibit. Finally at lunch time we walked down Grafton Street to find a place to eat, and stumble upon what is probably the only vegetarian restaurant in Ireland. Siobhan, my fellow vegan best friend, and i thoroughly enjoyed our meal of vegan soup and curry veggies; especially knowing this is the best thing we will eat while we're here! After lunch we had about an hour to walk around, a girl at the vegetarian restaurant told us about an Asian market, so we checked that out, and I found something I've been looking for a long time: durian! I've never tried one but always see them on Instagram, so I have been in search for a while and have never seen one in the US. I was a little upset because therewas no way I could buy this 20 pound fruit and finish it or take it home with me. I settled for frozen durian and am hoping to find another one that I can eat fresh. The last scheduled activity for the day was a lecture by Professor Anne Fougherty on James Joyce at the James Joyce center, near our hotel. She is a professor at University College Dublin, and in this lecture focused primarily on the themes of childhood in the books Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Although it was a struggle for me to stay awake through the hour and a half, and Dr. Fougherty said the word "yeah" more times in a row than I could handle, the lecture and discussion was great and I enjoyed learning more about Joyce's writing. For the next four hours I rested in the room sans sleep. Although we were all exhausted, I couldn't fall asleep so I just enjoyed being comfortable and in wifi while Siobhan went to dinner with her mom's friend. Still tired, we decided we must take advantage of our time in Dublin and find a few pubs to hang out in. The first we found by the loud traditional Irish music playing outside the bar. We had a drink and listened to the duo play at O'neill's pub. Then we headed over to a more lively club called Pymailion, which for a Sunday was pretty busy! There we met some nice Irish boys and talked for hours. Siobhan met her husband, a pilot for AirLingeus,we got him to "throw what we know" and a pretty funny snapchat story of him. It was a really fun night, and finally around two in the morning, after a fight about not wanting to leave, we made it back to the Belvedere and went to bed.
Day 3:
Beginning the day with a rainy jog seemed fitting for the rest of the wet day, especially considering my water bottle leaked all over my purse early in the morning. The first event of the day was a two hour ride from Dublin to Cork. I'm embarrassed to say I slept the entire four hour ride, and trust me my neck is sorry as well. When I did wake up, the views from the bus were spectacular. The pans couldn't be more green or picturesque. The first stop was visiting the church and cemetery of Elizabeth Bowen's court, where Dr. Carpentier's image of the praised author was slightly jaded. The tour guide said she was a short, ugly woman, when Dr. Carpentier believed she was a "classy woman." Finally we took a break for lunch in Mitchelstown, where we went to a cafe which of course had no vegan options. There was however granola that I bought and would last me a few days as lunch or a snack. I enjoyed that as well as my last banana and a banana bread flaxseed bar that I brought along. We then visited the Cork Writer's School for a lecture on Elizabeth Bowen and Frank O'Connell. I had an easier time following this lecture, and the coffee break halfway through definitely helped! Another bus ride and we reached our hotel, the Blarney Woolen Mills, where we wished we could stay forever! I had a really good vegetable curry from the restaurant there, and even though I didn't eat the rice it was probably the best meal I've had here. After dinner we did some exploring around the tiny town of Blarney, we took some photos and pitched in to buy a bottle of wine. Since there was only two bars in Blarney, we didn't think that the night would be that fun, but we were so wrong! We started out at one pub, and after a glass of wine headed over to the other pub in town. There was a 40th birthday party for an Asian man named Indrid, so the bar was pretty busy. There was also an Irish band playing great music, everyone in our group danced (I didwith Brendan) and talked and had a great night. We even made friends people from Canada (aye). So far this was the most fun night!
Day 4:
Since the Blarney hotel had a gym, day four began with an early workout and a tea for breakfast. Then we took a short walk to the Blarney Castle, which was definitely my favorite experience so far. The castle and surrounding grounds was absolutely beautiful and I took a million pictures! Siobhan must've said "I love Ireland!!" two thousand times, and really I don't understand how anyone couldn't love it when they got to experience this. We went through the castle and up over 100 steps in a stone spiral staircase to reach the very top, where we got to kiss the Blarney Stone. Although this was a little crazy for me and I was a little grossed out thinking of the germs, I'm so glad I had the experience of kissing it. Climbing down the stairs was even more scary than walking up, but at least during our break we got a pretty funny "prom photo" of Patrick and Ricky. We then went to see a waterfall on the grounds, and I almost fell off the bridge . After this we had some time to shop at the Blarney Woolen Mills, the largest Irish shop in the world. I got a lot of gifts for people. My theory on souvenirs is not to get them unless they're useful. So I got clothing for almost everyone as well as some Irish fudge and shot glasses. I was able to ship most of it home, as my suitcase would definitely be overweight if I brought a ton of souvenirs back. Finally we took the coach to Cork City, where we walked around the city and through the English Market. There I got some of the best South African dates and figs I've ever had, as well as three bars of goji coconut PANA CHOCOLATE! This chocolate is only sold two places in Ireland, so I made it a point to find the store when I came to Cork, and we just ran into it without searching! We also ate at a Mexican restaurant, which wasn't my favorite but I had some good salsa and lettuce 🙂 in Cork we also got to go to Penny's, a Forever 21 type store with super cheap clothes and accessories; although I didn't get anything it was fun to look around. I did however but a TOPSHOP wrap dress at a thrift shop called "Ireland Cancer Society," which I'm excited to wear in the summer. We all walked back across a bridge to get to the bus around 3 p.m., and after a quick scare we were stranded without our group, we saw our bus and headed to Killarney for the next two days. The bed and breakfast we were staying at in Killarney lacks any heat as well as wifi. This was a bit of a bummer as we were there for two days. We sat in the lobby to get wifi for about an hour before dinner: which was the real treat of the night. Every place we have eaten so far has had a vegan option, but at this place the people did not quite understand. They kept asking if Siobhan and I could eat meat, and finally brought us out sausage patty looking things claiming, "these are beef vegetarians can eat." I wasn't going to eat them either way, but Siobhan asked to see the package, and the first ingredient was of course, beef steak. After a few more failed attempts and saying no to omelettes a few times, we finally got some steamed vegetables and potato fries, which I was so desperate I actually ate. When we went back to the room I also ate some of my granola. A few more minutes of sitting in wifi, and we headed out into the town of Killarney and explored. We found a pub with some food for Mikeala and some soup for Siobhan, and Angelica and I sat at the bar with other people from the group. We had a blast talking to the friendly bartender, and I had really great conversation with Kaitryn. I decided not to drink this night, because I didn't feel like getting too crazy. Plus I had some pretty good tea. While I normally drink green, I don't mind the traditional black tea, it's been pretty good here. Siobhan wasn't sitting at the bar with us, and she wanted to go to a place with a more lively atmosphere, so we moved on from The Porterhouse. Unfortunately we didn't find anywhere with a better nightlife, so we ended up at the International Hotel's bar and played some cards while I drank more tea. It was a fun night and the people in our group were really cool to hang out with. On our way back instead of going straight back to the hotel, about a fifteen minute walk from the town, Angelica, Kaitryn, and Brendan wanted pizza so we sat in the dominos-style pizza place for about an hour. There we met a group of kids from Maine, who were staying in Killarney the whole week. They told us about the Grand, which was a club they had been having fun at all week. We promised to come out the next night to check it out. We walked back home and it started sprinkling a little rain, and when we got back to the hotel Siobhan and I sat in the lobby for another hour. She wrote in her journal while I edited the paper my sister sent to me. We had a good laugh about some of the errors in the paper and talked about how much fun we were having and how we wanted to make the most of this trip, especially the last few days. When we went back to the room Mikeala was still awake, and Siobhan and I teased her a bit and made some jokes before bed, I was laughing pretty hard. I was also pretty freezing; I went to bed wearing a thick shirt under two of Siobhan's thick sweaters, two pairs of socks, and a sweater wrapped around my legs. You could say it was a cold night....
Day 5:
I woke up about twenty minutes late this day, meaning I had to cut my run a little short. I wasn't going to get out of bed this day, but I'm so glad I did because it felt good to get out of the cold and get my blood moving. I came back completely soaked from head to toes, but I wasn't mad about it because this was my favorite run yet. I went the opposite way of town and found a beautiful trail, which also had views of water. I took out my phone for a quick picture just because I was so excited. After my shower I realized that my phone speaker wasn't playing loud, and then I saw the water in my screen. This had happened to my phone once the previous year, so I hoped it would only take a few days for my phone to recover. I finished getting ready and went to breakfast, which at this hotel had granola and I picked out some raisins and put them in a bag to eat for lunch. They were out of tea, so I put some coffee in my to-go cup from yesterday and headed on the bus for the day's adventure. This day consisted of viewing the "ring of Kerry. " we drove around on the bus for about an hour, and viewed the gorgeous scenery including pastures and a mountain range in the back. Our first stop was the Red Fox Inn, where we saw a model of an old fashioned Irish country village and some farm animals including hens, Irish wolfhound, and ponies. After we saw the village we had an Irish coffee with whisky, which was pretty strong especially on an empty stomach! During the next portion of the bus ride we passed the most breathtaking views of the ocean and mountains and we were able to stop for pictures, which were amazing even though it was cold and windy. Next we saw Brendan, a sheep herder. This was an activity that for five euros I didn't think I'd enjoy, but actually it was so interesting. He showed us how sheep dogs, his were border collies, controlled the direction and movement of the sheep. Because dogs are descendants of predators, the sheep fear them. It was interesting to see the intimidating stance of the dogs as well as how nervous the sheep became once the dogs reacted to their signals. Besides the dogs and sheep, the mountain we were watching them on was gorgeous, and it ended up being a beautiful sunny day. We took a few more pictures by the ocean, and then headed off to lunch at a small cafe called the Thatch, it had limited options, so I had an orange and a spirulina bar from home. On the next portion of the bus ride we visited Daniel O'Connell's home and I took a quick nap until we reached a beach. We were able to see the rocks, sands, and beautiful cliffs. The best part about the beaches here is that there are the shadows of mountains in the background, the scenery is unbelievable. We stopped another time for pictures by the ocean and then we headed to Derrynane, where we were supposed to view the house of Daniel O'Connell's uncle, but instead Siobhan, Mikeala, Angelica, Kaitryn and I ventured out to the water and rocks and got the best views yet; we actually never wanted to leave. We still got to see the carriage of Daniel O'Connell as well as the chapel, without paying the three euro. After an 8 hour day we began to head back to the b&b in Killarney. We had the bus driver, Martin, drop us off right in the town and Siobhan, Angelica and I found a Chinese place for dinner. At the Golden Chopsticks Siobhan and had tofu with black bean and mushroom sauce and Angelica had orange chicken. It felt good to eat something warm after a long day with barely any food. We went back to the hotel to get some wifi for a few minutes, and around 10:30 we ventured back into town to go to the Grand bar. At this bar we got a table and sat for a while; I didn't drink again this night because I wanted to save my money and liver for Dublin. We saw the kids from Maine and also met a girl who none of us liked very much and took our table. This was okay because we all spent about two hours dancing to the live band, which had a drummer from Connecticut. After that, for me this became a weird night because I met no fun people, I wasn't drinking and there was no wifi to distract myself, but everyone else seemed to have fun. It was still a fun night and Killarney was a beautiful little town to hang out in!
Day 6
It was raining again for my run this day, which I wouldn't mind except it may have further damaged my phone and my clothes are all soaking. When I got back I showered and got ready for the day.
I had a cup of tea, and we headed back on the bus for a long drive to Dublin. After a two hour nap we stopped at the Rock of Cashel, this was a cool place but it was really rainy and cold so we didn't stay long, we did however wait two hours for lunch because the small pub we were in was so crowded. As a waitress I could empathize with the poor server/bartender/busser who was overwhelmed. Eventually we left and I fell asleep for the next portion of our ride. Although I was unaware, we stopped at a convent so that Mikaela could visit the grave of her great aunt, she even got a bag full of her belongings from the other nuns. I woke up about fifteen minutes before our next stop, where I ran in to get tea and some apples. I was freezing and hadn't eaten lunch at the pub. I had to forgot how good fruit tasted, and although I love Ireland, I could not live with the limited amount of fruit that the country has. About an hour and a half later we arrived back at the Belvedere in Dublin, it felt so good to be back, and even better that our room this time was twice the size. Mikeala, Siobhan, and I went to Murray's for dinner and I got a side of steamed vegetables and hot tea. We went back to the room and relaxed for a few before getting ready for the night. At this point I was feeling pretty down and didn't want to go out at all, but I had a glass of wine and got myself together. This night ended up being one of my favorites. We walked to Whelan's, the bar from the movie P.S. I Love You, which was a far walk but well worth it. Siobhan met her great uncle, who was a cool guy who bought us all two rounds of drinks. We also had apple shots and Bulmer's, a cider that I really enjoy here. After Whelan's Angelica left and we tried to get into another bar, but there was a long line and we didn't want to stand in the cold so we took a taxi to the Temple Bar area. At Temple Bar Alex saw someone from her high school as well as people from Indiana and New Jersey. Siobhan found people who we go to Seton Hall with who were studying abroad this semester. It really is a small world! The highlight of my night at Temple Bar was when I got asked to be a third party for a couple.. They tried to complement me together and we got a really good laugh out of it. We also went to Quay's and met guys from Austria, who were all definitely older than thirty, so we didn't stay there too long. We finished the night by trying to go to Busker's where we went on the first night, but it was closed already. We were shocked by the amount of glasses everywhere and all the broken glasses on the floor, it was funny to see the club after hours. We took a taxi home and went to bed around 2:30 a.m. This was a successful first night back in Dublin.
Day 7:
I started our last day later than all the others, waking up at 7:45 for a forty minute run. Luckily it was a beautiful day and I was able to enjoy my final run through the city. I hurried up to get ready for the day, which we also started a bit later, leaving the hotel around 9:30. We met a tour guide at Trinity College for a walking tour of 1916. The tour guide was rally knowledgeable and was able to tell us everything about the Easter Rising and show all the landmarks including statues and the General Post Office that is all still in Dublin; the city is full of history, which gives it so much character. The streets were much more crowded today because it was Saint Patrick's Day weekend, and a lot of tourists were in the city. Siobhan must have said "I hate Americans" 500 times. Disregarding the facts that we are just as American as any of them, I understand how she feels because it's the same way I feel when I'm in NYC. After the tour we visited Dublin castle, which was in the middle of the city and very frand and beautiful. Then we split up and went to lunch. Ten out of the twenty in our group went to a burger place called Bobo's, which had a pretty good selection. Siobhan got a Portobello burger which she enjoyed, and Patrick got a "sex on the farm" burger, which he said was the best in his life. I got an energizer juice and supplemented with apples and raisins. Finally the goal of the day was to go to the Guinness storehouse on Saint James, so all ten of us took three taxis there and did the tour. It was interesting to see the process and ingredients used, although I don't really enjoy Guinness, it was something I'm really glad I did. The best part of the tour was sampling the beer and learning how to taste it. We also learned how to do the "perfect pour" and got certificates. The gift shop had everything you could ever want with Guinness on it, so I got some souvenirs for friends and family. Siobhan, Alex, Nena, and I took a taxi to Grafton Street where Siobhan and I got vegan carry out from Cornucopia again; it was delicious curry with a raw banana pie dessert. We also stopped at Carroll's Irish gift shop where we got the last of our gifts and speed walked home to eat our dinner. We only had an hour to eat and get ready for our last planned adventure this trip: going to the Abbey Theatre. It was fun getting dressed up, although I was wearing a dress and tights and it was still a bit chilly even though it was better weather than we had been having. We walked down O'Connell street to get to the modern theater and watch A Midsummer Night's dream. This version was a little funky and I didn't really enjoy it: the setting was in a nursing home but the language was still Shakespearean, which for me didn't click, and I may have dozed off during the first half. I also could not connect to wifi, which didn't help my interest level. Angelica left at intermission to meet a friend she used to work with, but the rest of us stuck through to the end (even if I closed my eyes again. The best part was the ridiculous costumes, and there was a costume mishap and the actors on stage began laughing, which I don't think was planned and made it hilarious. Our last night out was a good one. Angelica's friends were super sure Irish boys who showed us a lot of cool pubs. We had a great time dancing and talking. Mikeala and I left around 2 am to go back to the hotel and Siobhan and Angelica stayed out until twenty minutes before we left in the morning. We packed and got about two hours of sleep for a long day at the airport.
Day 8:
When the day begins at 4:30 a.m, you know it's not gonna be great. We cleaned out the hotel room and got downstairs unwillingly to get on the bus for the airport. Passing O'Connell street and the Liffy for the last time was sad, because none of us really wanted to leave. Although I know life has to move on, this was an awesome spring break and I definitely want to come back to Ireland someday soon. Getting to the airport was sad, but at least there was wifi, we didn't have much time after getting through security, so I filled out a Texco form for tax returns and got on the plane. We had the same seats as our first flight to Heathrow, so I sat with Dr. Carpentier and Maria again. I fell asleep before takeoff and switched positions twice, but stayed sleeping until the minute I was walking off the plane. We got to Heathrow dreading the lines and wait, but we got through in half the time even though we had a longer layover. I think this time we were all extra safe with our carry ons because of the trouble last time. I got a tea from Starbucks and had time to wait before the flight boarded. Once we got on, same seats again, I spent some time playing computer games and studying, eventually napping. I woke up for some tea and more Econ studying, it was freezing so I stayed bundled up in a blanket and luckily Dr. Carpentier gave me her wool scarf (it was so warm, I'm mad I didn't get one). After getting through chapter two, I fell back asleep for the majority of the flight. I woke up again with an hour and a half left and decided to play Food Stand 3, drink some more tea, and watch three episodes (season 9 episodes 15, 16, and 17) of How I Met Your Mother (my favorite). I think I would've been crying if I wasn't with people, these are the best episodes. I also wanted to cry when the plane landed and we were back in the United States. I can’t believe the trip has actually passed and I am no longer looking forward to it. Ireland was a great experience and I cannot wait to travel to more places in Europe and definitely Ireland again!