A Redhead and a Leprechaun Walk into an Irish Pub...

March 2-5
Dublin, Ireland


I traded in Gamez for Cunniff. I went to Ireland with a redhead, and I was the one with more Irish

The Nashville of Europe

ancestry. 

Before leaving, I asked an Irish student in one of my classes for a good town recommendation near Dublin. He proceeded to write me a whole recommendation list with things to do, restaurants, pubs etc. God bless the Irish! It was our guidebook for the whole trip.

We arrived Saturday afternoon just in time for dinner and pubs. The main street was all lit up and filled with crowds. We went to a pub on the strip that had a band. You know that one commercial where everyone in the bar sings Sweet Caroline? It was giving that. The bar should have been a karaoke bar the way that everyone was singing.

Sunday morning we had perfect weather, so we spent it all outside. We walked around Trinity’s campus and it was only slightly better than A&M’s. We saw the Dublin castle, Temple Bar, and St. Patrick's Cathedral all from the outside. We then went to the Botanical Gardens. There were a few greenhouses, and the Glasnevin cemetery attached. We spent lots of time in the rainforest greenhouse because it was amazingly humid and warm. That night, we got dinner at Nando's because Lauren is obsessed with One Direction, and One Direction was obsessed with Nando's. Ask me about my Nando's hostess story later because I need to tell it dramatically in person. 

On Saturday, we went to a neighboring town, Dalkey. The town had one main street. We went to the coast and nearly got blown into the water. We got too close at one point and got soaked by a spray of a wave. We returned to town to go on an interactive tour at the Castle & Heritage Centre. When we arrived, we checked it out, and the employee convinced us to come back for a tour. The tour took place in an old castle and was led by people in character. There was an old medic, a guard, and a cook. Anytime they needed a participant, I volunteered. We headed back to town after that. We got dinner, and it was pouring, so we called in early.

Asked a Group of Guys to Take our Photo
Only to Realize They were American

We headed to Howth the next day. That town has been the best place I’ve visited so far. There was a hiking trail that went along the coast. It was a Lizzy type of hike: nice and easy. We had the trail to ourselves. After, we went into town for some calamari and fish and chips. You could easily forget that you were in Dublin, and not the east coast. The American in me was then restored by eating Auntie Anne’s at a mall back in Dublin. There was also a T.J. Maxx to complete the experience. We then started the long night ahead.

I Prefer a Coke

So… we bought a 6:00am flight out of Dublin and not a hostel for the night. We thought that since we’d be waking up so early, a hostel wasn’t worth it. So a Tuesday night bar crawl was the logical thing to do. After the mall, we sat at a park in Trinity till it went dark then went to the business school for about an hour. First bar we went to I got a Guinness. I’m not surprised that the same Irish who eat unseasoned boiled potatoes are the same Irish who drink Guinness. It was not too tasty. But I finished (my half pint). We then went to another bar and I got a cider. I don't think two bars can be considered a bar crawl, but they were too comforting to leave. We stayed there till closing at midnight. For a Tuesday night, they were both full. Since my Irish classmate gave us recs, the bars we went to were old and non-touristy. We headed back to the hostel to grab our bags and ate our leftover cold fish and chips in the lobby with our hands. There weren’t many options for the bus that takes you to the airport, so we got the 1:00 one and decided to get to the airport early. We chilled at the airport for a few hours before our flight. I'm really glad we had the time to do day trips because we got the best of both worlds. If I go back I'd love to just do the small towns. If the weather was 30 degrees warmer, it'd be a perfect country.

Au revoir!

Little Does he Know there are Bows
and Arrows at my House