Some of you might remember when I was very excited in May last year that I was taking my first vacation in a LONG time, but it was also my first time overseas! My friend Michelle who likes to travel at least once per year and I decided to take a 10 day trip to Ireland and enjoy the sights and people of the beautiful green country.
Sadly, due to the busy season it has taken me THIS LONG to finally post some photos! Since I took 3000 or so in the 10 day period, I’ve had to cut that down drastically as well as post multiple parts to try and break it up a bit. Most of these were taken with my DSLR, however there are some point and shoots mixed in.
The flight was long (about 9 hours) and since it was my first time overseas it was my longest flight. I can usually sleep on a plane (or anywhere) but not this time. It was uncomfortable and hot and I really just wanted a bed! However, we landed early in the morning and hopped into a Mercedes with a lovely man who gave us a brief tour as we drove through the city towards our hotel.
Dublin instantly reminded me of Toronto. The more I explored, the more I felt it. It was busy with lots of traffic and gridlock, lots of shopping and cute pubs and restaurants. The hard part in Dublin is, they don’t serve food late (and I tend to eat more at night). We fought our jetlag until dinner time before we finally had a nap. When we woke up we decided to try and find food only to discover that finding a pub that still served food past 9pm was almost unheard of. We finally found an American style diner (sad choice, I know) and we ate. Then we ventured out to discover the Irish nightlife at a fun pub in the Temple Bar area.
This was our hotel for our first 2 nights in Dublin. The Temple Bar area is a great place for young people as it has lots of pubs and restauraunts and it’s right in the middle of the city.
I love the cobblestone streets! There are many like this in Dublin that are strictly for walking only!
The Post Office
This odd looking needle is called the Spire of Dublin, but officially known as The Monument of Light. It stands in the middle of the city. The image on the right was from our second full day in Dublin where we had a small amount of sun. The left side image was on the same day as a storm rolled through. Did I mention it rained a lot while we were there?
Grafton Street is the famous shopping street. It is a walking only cobblestone street lined with stores. I felt at home with HMV, La Senza, Aldo and other very local stores. Incredibly busy area!
At the end of Grafton Street is the St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Mall. It’s not nearly the kind of mall we have here, but had some interesting places inside.
In Dublin you can hire a firetruck as a limo!
I think we’re missing out on this at home.
I felt right at home when I found a Tim Horton’s sign on a convenience store in Dublin! They even had a small patio!
Since it’s hard to read in this image, I’ll translate approximate Canadian values for their prices. A regular coffee costs $2.75 CDN, a single donut costs $2.00 CDN, a single muffin costs $3.15 CDN, or you can get 6 donuts for $11.00 CDN. Yikes!
Michelle and I found an awesome pub to hang out at for our two nights in Dublin! And we drank German beer
I’m not really a beer drinker, but being in Ireland I felt compelled to try Guinness. Michelle gave me a sip of hers and this was my not-so-good reaction that followed. Definitely not a fan, but I tried! Our meal on our second night in Dublin was at an amazing converted church, and we ended up sitting next to a group from Ontario!
After two days in Dublin, we rented a car and decided to drive around the country. Driving on the left side was drilled into our heads from the second we sat in our car and it was a bit intimidating!
I wish I had counted the number of roundabouts we encountered. I think there was one city and we had to go through 8 consecutive roundabouts to get through. You sure get used to crazy Irish drivers and their lack of signals!
There will be many parts, so check back for more.
show hide 2 comments