Day 1 — A travel day (NYC to Dublin, Ireland)
One day, I will be able to afford the non-red eye flights, but for this trip to Ireland, I found myself on a red-eye to Dublin on a warm sunny day in April. My journey was long and I barely slept, but I landed in Ireland in good spirits. I met up with my brother and we took a taxi with a very talkative driver to our hotel located right next to Trinity College. Our room wasn’t ready, so we dropped off our bags and wandered over to Bread 41 for some yummy pastries.
With some food in our stomachs, we walked to Trinity College and explored the campus. The city felt like Boston, with a quiet studious energy. We had a one o’clock tour of the Book of Kells, which was a bit of a blur since we were both so tired. The library and campus were very beautiful and filled with tourists. At this point, we were so tired and our room was ready so we headed back to take a long nap.
Post nap, we walked to the Temple Bar area and enjoyed some Guinness. Everything at the original Temple Bar is overpriced, but the vibes were very good and the live music was flowing. I’m not the biggest fan of Guinness, but this trip made me like it a lot more. After exploring the Temple Bar area, we went to get some pizza at Bambino, which was one of our favorite things we ate the whole trip. With some pizza in our stomachs, we headed to the Ginger Man, a cute three storied bar with lots of different rooms. I slept like a baby this night.
Day 2 — Cliffs of Moher
Our longest, but most beautiful day! We got up early to get on the guided bus that would take us to the Cliffs of Moher, located on the west side of the country facing the Atlantic Ocean. The bus ride was so pleasant and I got to listen to Taylor Swift’s newest album. Our guide, Ciara, was lovely and sprinkled in some commentary on Ireland’s history and mythological stories. I learned so much about faeries and the Irish language!
After about 3 hours, we made it to the cliffs, which were covered in a thick fog similar to the one in San Fransisco. We got some coffee in the cafe and set off for the cliff walk. It’s not that big of an area so we got to walk in both directions. As the time passed, the fog started to lift and the sky was such a pretty blue. The cliffs are a popular tourist attraction for a reason and I really loved them. It was so peaceful there and the area was so well kept. This sort of nature break was very welcome after months in New York City.
We had two hours at the cliffs and promptly got back on the bus to experience the Wild Atlantic Way. We saw cows, sheep, endless rock walls and limestone rock formations. At one point, one of the buses in front of us broke down and the bus drivers got out and physically pushed the bus to get it off the tiny country road. This was one of my favorite parts of the drive, and soon enough, we made it to Galway!
If we had more time, I would have wanted to spend an extra day in Galway. It’s a cute little town with lots of bars and fun stores to explore. We got a quick sandwich and some tasty local ice cream. We walked the streets and wandered into so many stores. Our two hours in Galway did not feel like enough time!
By this point, we were pretty tired and got back on the bus to head back to Dublin. This was a pretty exhausting day, but also extremely fun. We ended the day with some burgers from Bunsen, which were pretty tasty.
Day 3 — Dublin, Ireland
Our last full day in Ireland. We slept in this morning, which was quite nice. Last minute, we decided to check out the Dublin castle. This wasn’t too impressive, but it was nice to check out a historical part of the city. Our appetite led us to Nando’s, something I’ve been wanting to try for years! We got some tasty chicken sandwiches and tried out lots of their different sauces. It was honestly so good and the service was also very nice. After lunch, we wanted a sweet treat, which we got at Butler’s Chocolate Factory. I didn’t realize that Butler’s was an Irish brand, but I love their chocolates!
Then began our craziest part of this trip, the alcohol tours. We started at the Guinness Factory, which I highly recommend booking in advance. This place is an adult Disney World. It is a 4–5 story building with interactive exhibits on each floor. There’s a live music hall, a cafe, and a rooftop bar. We learned a lot about Guinness and got to try a special flavor while enjoying some live music. Their gift shop is also really fun and I recommend checking it out.
After the Guinness Factory, we walked over to the Teeling Distillery, a newer whiskey distillery that offers tours and a tasting. I accidentally booked the most expensive tasting which included four different types of their most popular whiskeys. I’m not the biggest whiskey fan and it was definitely difficult to stomach all of them. We were pretty tired after all of this and headed back to the hotel for another good night’s sleep.
Day 4 — A travel day (Dublin, Ireland to NYC)
I woke up fairly early to take the Dublin Express back to the airport. I highly recommend checking if this bus comes to your hotel area because it is only $10 and gets you to the airport so quickly. I had a pleasant journey back home, but was pretty sad to be leaving Ireland :(
Some reflections
This was an unexpectedly wonderful trip. I had no expectations and I think that’s why it was so good. It felt nice to be able to catch up with my brother in a different location. Ireland felt very familiar to me, and I think it is because it felt like Boston in so many different ways, down to the people. It made me miss living in a smaller city with less to do. The quieter and slower pace of life felt good. I definitely want to come back to Ireland in the next few years. I honestly want to come back to Dublin more than I want to come back to any other city in all of Europe. Thank you to all the friendly Irish people who made our experience so great!
