Wednesday, March 18, 2009

On The Emerald Isle

It all began with our first Guinness in Dublin, quite a wonderful city. It's scenic, easy to navigate, and has some of the most genuinely nice people I've ever met. And then, there's the beer.


Corey & Johnny
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
We arrived in Dublin Friday afternoon, and after getting our bags and checking into our hostel, we were pretty hungry. We walked around a small section of the city and hit up a few random bars, but after all the travelling, we were in bed by midnight.


Temple Bar
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
Saturday, we got to see Dublin a little better. We did a more thorough walking tour of the city, did some shopping, and enjoyed some fine Irish cuisine.


Temple Bar District
Originally uploaded by currtdawg



Jenny & Johnny
Originally uploaded by currtdawg



Me & Jenny
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
There were souvenir shops everywhere, and they were all completely packed. And, it was pretty obvious from the amount of tourists wearing ridiculously large leprechaun hats.


River Liffey
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
One of the reasons Dublin is so easy to navigate is the Liffey flows right through the center, dividing the north from the south side. We walked nearly everywhere, but I kinda wish we would have had the opportunity to drive. I haven't driven on the left side of the road since I left Japan. On each crosswalk was painted the words "Look Left" or "Look Right" to remind tourists and keep them from getting hit.


O'Connell Street
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
The other reason it's easy to get around is the Spire of Dublin. Just north of the Liffey in the centre of O'Connell Street, it's nearly 400 feet high, and can be seen from all over. When it lights up at night, it's rather beautiful.


Street Musicians
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
I was surprised at all the street musicians and performers. There were tons of them, and they all sounded great.


St. Stephen's Green
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
We also walked through Dublin's main park, St. Stephen's Green, which, even though it's only March, totally lived up to its name. Once everything blooms in April, I bet it's breathtaking.


St. Stephen's Green
Originally uploaded by currtdawg



St. Stephen's Green
Originally uploaded by currtdawg





St. Patrick's Cathedral
Originally uploaded by currtdawg



My Sign
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
Sunday, we took the commuter rail north toward a place called Howth. But on the way there, we first stopped in Sutton. I knew Sutton was a suburb of Dublin, so I wanted to see if there was anything there. Turns out, there wasn't much.


Howth
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
But Howth was a lovely little seaside village. There was an outdoor market, a marina, and seals in the water.


Howth Church
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
We also came across the ruins to this old Church. I walked around it, but couldn't figure out how to get inside.


Seal in Howth
Originally uploaded by currtdawg



Howth
Originally uploaded by currtdawg



Our Pints
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
That afternoon, we returned to Dublin for dinner and some serious drinking. We made stops in a few different bars, and ended up sticking with the Oliver St. John Gogarty Pub.

Thanks, strange guy's arm that got in the way of what would have been a great picture.

Friday, the bars were pretty busy, but every night, they became more packed. It was hard to believe they could fit any more people in side, but somehow, they did.


Kiera, Mike, Erin, & Joe
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
By Sunday, the whole city was fat with tourists, most of whom were Americans. Joe and Erin are from Maryland. Mike and Kiera are from New York, but Mike's originally from Kentucky, so we had a bond.


Random Girl & Corey
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
I don't know who this girl is, and Corey doesn't remember meeting her, but I guess I took this random picture, and the expression on her face is hilarious. My guess is the conversation went something like this:

Corey: Wuzzuup?
Girl: Not much. How are you?
Corey: Daddy's drinkin' tonight. Wanna sit on my lap?
Girl: ...


Me & Johnny
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
The coolest part was that there was no fighting or animosity. Everyone was just there to have a good time.


Jenny, Corey, & Kiera
Originally uploaded by currtdawg


Monday morning, I woke with a fever and a sore throat. I was too weak to do anything, but the rest of the crew shuffled around the city for a while. Keena got into Dublin Monday night, so after sleeping all day, I dragged myself out of bed and we all met up for dinner.

Temple Bar District
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
Tuesday, we woke up early and headed to O'Connell street to watch the parade. It was a huge parade with really elaborate floats. And nearly every marching band was from the States. The lady standing next to me said that usually, the local marching bands go Stateside, and vice versa. She also said many of the locals go to St. Patrick's Day festivals in Boston or Chicago, while all the Americans are in Dublin.


Guinness Storehouse
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
After the parade, we went to the Guinness Storehouse, which used to be the main Guinness brewery, but now is more of a Guinness museum. It was pretty fascinating about the history and processes used, made even better due to the fact that Guinness is 250 years old this year. Plus, we got to taste all these different types of Guinness, and, after a little instruction, we even got to pour our own pint. There's quite a science to it.

We left the hostel at 6 AM Wednesday morning, and the airport was ripe with hungover tourists. As always, this is just a fraction of the pictures I took, and the rest can be seen here.
I was bummed that I didn't feel very well the last couple of days because I really would have liked to keep bar-hopping with everyone, especially on St. Patrick's Day, but after walking all over, I just couldn't hack it. Despite being a little ill, I still had a great time, and spent far less than I anticipated. Perhaps I'll be joined next year by some of my friends from the States.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

awesome pictures! i want to hear all the dirty details that didn't make it into the blog ..i know you love guinness as much as i do :) -yourfavoritevegan