Ireland is gorgeous. Ireland is expensive.
These are the two main things that I learned this past weekend. That and Ryanair is cheap for a reason. After a mini struggle with baggage at about 6:30 Thursday morning, Jess, Megan, and I were off to Dublin for the weekend. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. I was fully prepared to be welcomed by a hectic, touristy, same as all the others, big city. That is not what I found. Dublin is gorgeous and everyone is willing to help three very confused looking girls with a map. The buildings were beautiful, the weather was perfect, and a fun time was had by all.
We began the trip with a walk around the city just to familiarize ourselves with everything, followed by a "no more than two" hour nap that turned into three, and then a trip to Temple Bar for dinner. Temple Bar reminded me a lot of Ashton Lane here in Glasgow, just much bigger.
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| St. Patrick's |
Friday, we went to the Guinness Storehouse and the Kilmainham Jail. The Storehouse was really interesting, definitely worth the walk and cost to get in. The Jail was probably my favorite thing that we did within Dublin. It was only 2 euros (making it the cheapest thing we did all weekend) and the amount of history that we learned on our tour was incredible. The Jail closed in 1916, but the family members of those that had been prisoners there petitioned to have it conserved as a memorial to the former prisoners. I suggest it to anyone who finds themselves in Dublin.
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| Guinness Gate |
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| The Jail |
Saturday we made a day trip to Howth, a little fishing town not too far north of Dublin. While it was cold, the adventures we had while there made the weather seem not so important. There was a moment where we thought we might have to call the coast guard or something to come rescue us from the top of the steepest stairs in the world, but we made it out alive and covered in only a little mud.
All in all, it was a very good trip. Hopefully I will be able to go back to Ireland and explore a little more of the countryside!
