Over my break here abroad I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet my family out in Dublin, Ireland and spend several days traveling around our ancestors' roots. Ireland is a place that my family has always talked about visiting for years, since Irish is in our blood! I was so excited to see them and have some kind of familiarity being here since everything I have been experiencing thus far has involved trying new things and meeting new people. The week leading up to break was really busy because I had three 10 page research papers and a group project due, which made everything that much more relieving and satisfying when I got to Dublin. Unfortunately my parents flight out of Boston on Thursday got cancelled because of a snow storm in the end of March, (???) so I spent the first night in Dublin alone and met up with my parents the next day (after they re-routed their journey), as Megan and Colby were flying in on Saturday morning. The first on our to-do list in Dublin happened to be right across the street from our hotel- the Christ Church Cathedral. After we visited the church we headed over to explore the history of Trinity College and take in more beautiful views. Unknowingly there was a color festival going on so there were a lot of young adults similar to my age dancing to music, spraying paint at each other, and just having a good time. We wandered into the Old Library and "Book of Kells" area, which was a spectacular sight and an interesting place to learn about. The old library holds a copy of every book ever published in Ireland and Britain. We moved on to the Jameson Irish Whiskey factory to take-part in a tour of the 200+ year old brand. They told us about the history of the company, how they make their whiskey, then of course we got to try our own! My dad generally likes whiskey and found it pleasing, but my mom and I didn't find it too tasty so we went for a more diluted drink that wasn't so strong! Later in the day we explored more of what Dublin had to offer; we shopped, ate at an Irish restaurant and ordered a traditional meal of boxy's, and we stumbled upon numerous Irish pubs in the Temple Bar area to listen to music and drink some beer! We had an early morning the next day meeting up with Megan and Colby to leave Dublin around 7am! This day we hit a lot of cities including Kilkenny, Cashel, and then finally ending up in Dingle for the night. First, I'd like to talk about driving through Ireland. Since we planned on traveling to so many different places in Ireland we rented our own car. Disclaimer: In Ireland the roads are set up to drive on the left side. This means the steering wheel was also on the opposite side that we are use to, as well as making both left and right hand turns very complicated. My dad was the chosen one to drive the entire week (props to him), and somehow I was nominated to sit in the front passenger seat the majority of the time (probably to save my mom from having a heart attack) being responsible for directions and making sure our car was centered correctly on the road!! Along with the setup being different, roads in Ireland are VERY narrow. The roads seem to be meant as a one way for a medium size car, but instead they were 2 ways with no centerline or shoulder, with a 100km speed limit, and we would find ourselves head on head with huge busses coming directly at us!! To say the least, it was very stressful and took a group effort to make sure we got to each of our destinations safely! The first day of course was the hardest for everyone getting use to driving differently, and I distinctly remember making it onto the highway off the narrow, winding roads, and looking back 1 minute later seeing that everyone had fallen asleep because they were so relieved. To not make this post too long and boring, I will just say all of the places we went to this day and list what we did!! Stop #1: Kilkenny We went to the Kilkenny Castle, Gardens, walked around the city and got lunch at a local Tavern. Stop #2: Cashel We went to the Rock of Cashel, which is basically all that the town in known for. It was built in the 1200s. In the Gaelic language “Cashel” is translated as “circular stone fort”. Stop #3: Dingle We got to Dingle Saturday evening and found a Michelin restaurant and a couple bars that were playing Irish music. Somehow we kept coming across all of these Michelin restaurants and learned how much of a foodie country Ireland is! We definitely were eating very well for the entirety of the trip, nothing to complain about! The next morning on Sunday, we spent half a day touring the peninsula. Dingle was probably my favorite part of Ireland because it had such raw and pure beauty and it wasn't overwhelmingly touristy. It was a really peaceful place that has a lot of history to it. There is a scenic drive all around the edge of the peninsula with numerous stops seen below, in which was suggested in the Rick Steve's Ireland book. I definitely suggest coming to Dingle if Ireland is on your list of places to go! Next, we headed north to Kilkee to visit my Mom's aunt, Peggy! We spent a lot of time catching up and then Megan, Colby, and I strolled along the small town and tried to find some authentic Irish bars to sit down at and enjoy music. Kilkee is another small area that is quiet and peaceful filled with so much beauty. On Monday morning, we woke up early to drive to the Cliffs of Moher that are fairly near Kilkee. There is no excuse to go to Ireland and not see the Cliffs! On the drive over, I made my family listen to the new Ed Sheeran album to get in the mood. The views were everything I expected them to be and more. Unfortunately, we went on a very windy day and it did not work in our favor. The direction of the wind was blowing us towards the edge and it didn't help that the ground was pretty muddy and the railings were only present on half of the trail. Besides fearing my life... the Cliffs were amazing, it is a pretty indescribable view and is something you just have to see to understand. By Tuesday it was time to head back to Dublin so Megan and Colby also had a chance to see the city before catching our flight to Florence. We spent the day visiting the St Stephen's Garden, touring the Guinness Storehouse, and of course more shopping. My favorite thing about Dublin was definitely the Guinness tour. The storehouse is a 7-story building with an interactive tour inside that allows you to go at your own pace. Besides just being informative, there were other parts to it including a survey to test your knowledge on alcohol and its' effects, a tasting room, and an opportunity to pour your own perfect Guinness pint. After we poured our beer they gave us each a certificate stating we crafted the "perfect pint," because there is a long 7 minute process to pouring a Guinness correctly that gives it the most flavor. I have come to learn that Guinness may be one of the few beers that I actually enjoy drinking, but I guess it helps that I was drinking it at its origin! We ended the tour on the top floor with a beautiful panoramic view of the city. Overall, Ireland is a place that can't be seen in just a few days. We tried to see a lot of cities in a short amount of time, but if I ever come back, which I hope to do, I think I would just stick to 2-3 cities and go for around 2 weeks. Considering everything we did have the opportunity of seeing and doing, it was absolutely amazing. It was really neat to be able to finally see the land that has been talked about so highly by all of my family members for years.
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