On February 14, I flew out of Edinburgh to Dublin with two of my friends. Our plan was to stay in Dublin that afternoon and the next day and then, the morning of the 16, take a train from Dublin to Galway. We bought tickets and arranged accomodation, etc, before hand, but then, a few days before we were due to leave, my friend was struck with a need to see the Cliffs of Moher. We both agreed that this would be a good sight to see in Ireland, but the issue was that Dublin is on one side of Ireland and Galway and the Cliffs of Moher are on the other. We couldn't cheaply re-arrange our accommodation at such late notice, and were already due to stay in Dublin for the first two days, so we decided that, despite it meaning that we would cross the country twice in four days, we would take a bus trip to the Cliffs of Moher, return to Dublin that night, and then train to Galway the next day. It turns out that this worked pretty well.
A view of Dublin
On the 14, we landed in Dublin at around noon. We walked out to the bus stop to get the bus from the airport to central Dublin, and, fifteen minutes later, the first bus rolled up. I got on with my backpack, and my friends went to put their suitcases in the luggage hold under the bus. While they were doing this, a fresh and eager crowd of people emerged from the airport and poured into the bus, filling it up. My friends therefore couldn't get seats, and I had to leave the bus. We waited for the next one. The man selling tickets told us it would be another 25 minutes, so one friend and I ran into the airport to grab some lunch. In the 15 minutes we were gone, a second bus came and left. So much for the 25 minutes... The third bus was late by about 30 minutes, and we ended up waiting at the bus stop for our first two hours in Ireland. Once we were finally on a bus, though, we realized why there were bus delays and crowds. About 10 minutes into the drive, a raucous group of middle aged french men in the back of the bus launched into a rather broken rendition of the Marseillaise, and it soon became apparent that there was a huge Ireland-France rugby match that very evening. Hence the crowds.
The inside of Trinity College
In St. Stephens Green
More of the inside of Trinity College
When we finally got into Dublin, we checked into our hotel and then set out to sight see. We walked around in a loop from our hostel and saw Trinity College, St. Stephen's Green, a cathedral, and Dublin Castle, starting with Trinity College. We had heard that Trinity College was a really nice school, and so were deeply disappointed when we walked up to the outer left wall and it looked more like a prison - plain grey bricks stacked straight upwards from the grey sidewalk. Our disappointed was alleviated, however, and we were reminded of the classic saying "don't judge a book by its cover," as soon as we came to the front of the College. The building faces the street but, once you get through an entryway, it forms a courtyard of sorts in which all is peaceful. There is green grass, tall trees, bicycles, large, beautiful stone buildings, and none of the clamouring city noise that exists just outside the walls. Entering the courtyard is like entering a place of quiet reflection separate from the busy city.
The lake in St. Stephen's Green
After seeing the College, we walked back out into the bustling city, up a few blocks, and then into a second bubble of quiet. We had entered a park, St. Stephen's Green. There was a fountain, flower beds, trees, and a lake, with couples, families, and kids enjoying the sunny weather and calming nature of the park. We walked around the park, wishing we had bought frozen yogurt at the shop we'd passed on the way up, and enjoyed the crisp air and smell of flowers.
St. Stephen's Green
After St. Stephen's Green, we walked on to see a cathedral, which we stood outside of, and then on to see the castle. Again, as we arrived after visiting hours, we just looked at it from the outside. It was a cool little castle, but we all agreed that Edinburgh Castle is more impressive.
The cathedral
A Bar
After our touring, we went to a pub for dinner on Temple Bar. Temple Bar is known as a very cultural area of Dublin and is also popular among tourists and for its nightlife. Because of the big rugby game, pubs were already filling up at 5pm. We walked around for a while and looked in little antique shops, then headed into a slightly less full, more family friendly bar. For dinner, I ordered a boxty, which is a traditional Irish potato pancake. The boxty was thin, and it was wrapped around strips of steak with a creamy mushroom sauce on top. Delicious!
Temple Bar
Temple Bar