Dublin, Ireland (August 2013)

As I was nearing the end of my 6+ week Europe trip, I spent 3 and a half days in Dublin. It’s a really nice city, and I especially enjoyed seeing the Guinness Brewery, Trinity College, and Temple Bar.

First pictures – the River Liffey! The hostel I stayed at is the lavender building.

TRINITY COLLEGE – Originally built during the British occupation, only Protestants were allowed to attend for 200 years. After the ban was lifted, the pope forbade Catholics from attending for a further 180 years. Some very old, famous manuscripts are kept here, including the Book of Kells.

TEMPLE BAR – This neighborhood is filled with pubs! The classic Irish pub is painted bright colors, has the name of a traditional Irish family, and usually has flowers outside. And of course 2 or 3 Guinness taps!

And yes, Irish people really do give directions using pubs as landmarks. I was having lunch with a few Irish people, and one woman was saying to her friend, “You turn left at O’Connell’s, and then it’s just before O’Flannery’s…” and I asked “Wait, are you really giving directions using pubs?” To me it was so novel, but that was just how they’d always done it. 😉

I ate some darn good Irish food! Just seeing the picture makes my mouth water.

THE GUINNESS BREWERY

At the end, we were taught how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness!

I learned a ton about Dublin and about Irish culture on the walking tour I went on. It was by far the best walking tour I’ve ever been on but there aren’t really pictures of the things I learned. I had a great time. Dublin is definitely recommended!

A few parting pictures of Dublin-