Monday, June 27, 2011

So much to do in so little time

I have been in the land of Ireland for 4 days, and I think I have done a heck of a lot! Day 1--I rested to get over jet lag (please note: when traveling abroad to the Ireland area, you need at least a 3-5 hour nap to get on track) Day 2--sight seeing in Dublin.

On Sunday (Day 3) I returned to Dublin to see some more sights.  I bought a ticket for the Hop-on Hop-off Bus which takes you all around Dublin.  The bus allows you to hop-off at any of the stops and hop-on again whenever you are finished with the sight.  It was great because you never had to wait more than 10 minutes for the bus.  Because I had seen the majority of the sights on Saturday, I was able to sit on the bus and tour the city and its streets.  I did stop off at the Guinness Brewery, and I had my pint of Guinness in the Gravity Bar.  It was amazing!



After touring the Guinness Brewery, I got back on the bus and headed to Kilmainham Gaol.  If you ever go to Dublin, I definitely recommend you take a tour.  You get to hear a lot of information about Ireland's history and politics, which brings to light a lot of things.

Today was Day 4 of my journey in Ireland.  I got an early start and headed to Dublin.  I had breakfast at the wonderful Bewley's on Grafton Street and then I headed to the Connolly Station.  I got a day pass where I was able to visit the suburbs of Dublin.  (My cousin, Emily, gave me this idea along with a few other good tips of what to do in Ireland, which were perfect and right on point with what I wanted.) I stopped at Dun Laoghaire (phonetically said Done Leary).  I spent a few hours there walking along the pier and the main street.  I absolutely love the water, so it took me forever to walk to the end of the pier and back because I was taking so many pictures!  It was a little cloudy out, but no rain :)



After grabbing a pint and lunch at a local pub in Dun Laoghaire, I got back on the train and headed to Bray.  Bray was also absolutely beautiful.  It was a neat town with so many shops.  I walked along the main street, and I stopped at a little shop and had some tea before I headed to the beach again.  


The beaches in Ireland are much different because the beaches are rocky.  After finishing my walk around Bray, I hopped back on the train to Dublin.  There I roamed the streets, looked in shops, watched the street performers, and spent some time in St. Stephen's Green.  St. Stephen's Green is a park where I walked around and took a little break from my long day.  Afterwards, my cousin Jessica met me along the River Liffey and the Quays.  We had dinner at Yamamori where I ate eel for the first time ever.  I must say it was quite good.  Following dinner we headed to Temple Bar to a pub that is a must when you go to Dublin.  There we had a pint of beer and listened to traditional Irish music.  

It's been a fun and busy few days in Ireland, and it's about to get even better with my trip to the Cliffs of Moher tomorrow!


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