A day of walking, having lunch in a playground and making mistakes. Welcome to today’s update post!
As per usual, I woke up about an hour before my alarm would have gone off because of my rowdy roommates. As soon as my bunkmate found out that I was awake because of her friend’s alarm, she came down to ask me to borrow my charger and adapter. I would later find out that that wasn’t actually my smartest decision ever (but more on that later).
My morning was pretty much the same as yesterday: I took a shower, headed down for breakfast and came back up to get ready for my plans of the day. Today’s schedule: Kilmainham Gaol and Guinness Storehouse. And also stressing out because I had never taken the tram before (at least not abroad).
According to my schedule, I had all morning to do the tour in Kilmainham Gaol. While planning my trip, I thought this was a bit much, but it turned out that I actually needed it after all. Not because the tour took that long, but because I had been very stupid; I forgot to buy my tickets online.
Now I have no idea how this happened, because I even sent some e-mails to the staff about photography permits and student price reductions. I must have thought I had booked my tour as well, but when I actually got there, I realized I didn’t have a reservation for this place in my little folder with printed reservations. I started looking through my e-mails, only to realize that I hadn’t actually made one.
Panic started kicking in. Employees told me that there were no spots left on any tour until 2:30 and there was no way they could squeeze me in anywhere. The staff at reception told me I could go check out the free museum, which I did. It was okay, but there was nothing spectacular in there. That is, until I heard a girl from Belgium tell her friends there was going to be an extra highlight tour at 10:30, which would take about 30 minutes.
The tour that I thought I was supposed to be at started at 9:30, and by now it was 10:20. So I rushed to reception and asked if there were any spots left on that tour. I was extremely happy when the clerk told me there was one more spot. So I bought a ticket, and I got what I wanted in the end.
The tour itself was really nice, even though we only got to see the highlights. Our tour guide was interesting and funny (and his accent wasn’t half as bad as about everyone else here).
On my way from Kilmainham Gaol to the Guinness Storehouse, I passed a supermarket, where I decided to buy a sandwich and a drink. Having done this, I started looking for a place to eat lunch. I quickly found one: a more or less deserted playground in a residential area. The swing looked like as good a place as any to eat, so I sat down and got right to it.
Following this adventurous lunch was my tour in the Guinness Storehouse. You know, the place where they make (well, used to make) the bitter, dark brown beer all Irishmen and -women seem to love. Luckily, I didn’t forget to book and print my tickets for this one, because there was a substantial queue for at-the-door tickets.
The tour consisted of a number of parts: some general information about the brewing process, a tasting experience, a Guinness advertisement history, a bar at the top floor (with a cool 360° view) and a merchandise shop.
This was the part of the tour you’d probably most imagine when someone tells you about a tour in a beer brewery. There were videos, panels with information, pictures and even some interactive bits. There’s really not that much to tell about this part of the tour, so let’s just move on.
This is what you might imagine when you hear stories about guided tours, and at the same time it’s really not. Having ascended to the second floor of the building, the staff had us queue for about ten minutes before being allowed into a special tasting room. At the end of a corridor lit with red striplights, there was a white room with four pillars around the room. Each of the pillars let out a vapour of one of the four main ingredients in beer.
After some explanation on how to taste Guinness (“You have to use your whole tongue; the tip for the sweetness, the middle and sides for the bitterness and the back for something else”), they led us into the next, less lit room. We all received about a shot glass’ worth of Guinness to put our new tasting knowledge to the test. I honestly tried very hard, but I couldn’t manage to taste anything other than what I had tasted the day before in the pub.
This was without a doubt the most thought-invoking, funniest part of the whole tour. Before getting to the third floor, I thought the main part of this would be about how Guinness advertised their brand in the past and update said marketing strategy – and the majority of this floor was like that. But there was one corner where visitors could find the most hilarious and weird-looking constructions, one of them being a man-sized fish riding on a bicycle.
Along with this mechanical weirdness was a quote: “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” I guess that the fish makes sense when you think this quote was right there, but still. WHAT HAS ANY OF THAT GOT TO DO WITH GUINNESS?
Beside this amusing fish, there was another thing that at first sight had nothing to do with it. It was a construction of an oyster, that had supposedly come to life, that whistled. Once again, both hilarious and terrifying. However, this one did seem to have a little bit of a backstory behind it. Apparently, back in the early days of Guinness, they found out that stout and seafood was a great combination. So, they started advertising for this combination. The whistling oyster was a part of that.
Of course, you can’t just come take the brewery tour and then not drink a pint of beautifully crafted and tapped Guinness. Luckily, there was a complimentary pint for everyone over eighteen, so everyone went to the bar on the top floor and enjoyed a cold beer. The views were quite impressive, but I couldn’t get my phone camera to focus decently so I just took a picture of my Guinness.
Update: I’m still not sure whether I like the taste of Guinness or not. It has something really bittersweet to it, and I don’t know if I like that. The actual experience of drinking Guinness is nice, though. It has a really soft feel to it. It’s hard to explain.
After these two tours, I decided to head back to my hostel. My plan was to work on my travel video and blog updates for a while. This was when I found out that my roommate had been a bit of a sly fox. As I told you in the introduction, I lent her my phone charger and adapter. When I got back, only my charger was lying on my bed. I thought the adapter might have fallen somewhere. I looked on the floor, between my sheets and even under my mattress, but I couldn’t find it.
She took it back with her to Colombia. At least, that’s what I’m assuming. Either way, I had to go buy a new adapter at reception. Now that I have it, though, everything is okay again.
My place for dinner was The Brazen Head. They pride themselves in being the oldest pub of Ireland, serving customers since 1198 according to their website. Anyway, I had some trouble finding a table that was free, as I didn’t actually get a reservation. You see, exciting and beautiful as the website may be, I couldn’t manage to find where to actually make a reservation online.
So, I decided to hang out at the bar for a little while until a table cleared up. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait very long, and eventually I was able to settle down next to a travelling couple from Catalonia. I ordered the beef chili and boy, was I glad that the order included some mild sauce to soothe the senses. It was very spicy, but very tasty as well.
Update: it’s 11:24 and I’m lying on my bed. About half an hour ago, I found out that I wasn’t going to be alone tonight after all. (all my roommates from yesterday left) A Norwegian guy named Bruno just came in and told me about himself. He’s a nice guy looking for work in Dublin.
Anyway, thank you for reading this daily update! I hope you enjoyed.
-S
Welcome to daily update #2. Let’s get right into it!
This morning, I was going to wake up around 8:30 and have a relaxed, calm morning. One of my roommates thought differently about that. Due to an alarm going off at 7:15, I woke up over an hour earlier than I had anticipated. I decided to put my being awake to good use and go take a shower.
For some reason, I expected to have one shower per room (6 people in my case). Just to clear things up, that’s what I expected when I was still in Belgium. When I arrived at the hostel, it quickly became clear that I wouldn’t have to work out a showering schedule with my roommates. I sighed with relief internally. The shower was great and really enjoyable. So when I got back to my room, I dressed and went down for breakfast.
You should know, when I booked my accommodation online, I also ordered a full Irish breakfast every morning. Looking back on it now, that probably wouldn’t have been necessary, but oh well. The deed is done, might as well get some good breakfast out of it, right? Breakfast was also a good time to start writing for my blog. I did have to finish it at night, though.
Right after breakfast, brushing my teeth and packing my bag, I was on my way to Trinity College. First, I had to go through some struggles trying to find the right bus to take, but I got there in the end. I must say, the views in and around Trinity College are quite impressive. I don’t know if it’s just me because I come from a not-so-impressive city or if the campus is actually that remarkable, but I was awed.
The inspiring front side and main entrance of Trinity College
Of course, the highlight of my visit to the famous Dublin campus was the Book of Kells exhibition and the visit to the Long Room. The exhibition itself was kind of eh, but the Long Room was definitely worth it. It’s just as beautiful in real life as it is on all the pictures.
A side view of what the Long Room looks like from inside (although I’m sure you already knew this as there are literally millions of pictures online)
A close-up picture of one specific section of the Long Room
For lunch, I bought a sandwich and a drink at some supermarket in the shopping streets and I went and ate it in St Stephen’s Green Park. It was a refreshing change of pace to eat surrounded by trees, birds, water and Chinese people.
I was originally planning on visiting the Oscar Wilde house, as it seemed like a fun and informative thing to do. I walked all the way there, only to find out that the exhibition and tour have been discontinued since 2007 and the building is now owned by American College Dublin. Fix your website guys 🙁
While the visit to Trinity College was the most informative thing I’ve done in Dublin so far, the most entertaining by far was my visit to the National Museum of Ireland (Natural History Department). I was originally planning on only going to the Archaeology Department, but I’m glad I decided not to skip this one. The stuffed animals lent themselves perfectly for funny pictures. I saw the opportunities and seized them.
Here are some of the less obscene examples.
After that, not much happened any more. I walked all the way to my hostel. That should have been a 20-minute walk, but it obviously took me over half an hour because I’m Slowpoke and I got lost. Anyway, I went and drank a chai tea at this little coffee shop I found yesterday and then dumped my stuff at my room in the hostel. Then I went out for dinner and came back, and now here I am, writing a blog post in the hostel lobby.
So, that was today. I’ve been working to get this daily update out on time – as opposed to the previous one – so that anyone that might be following me can actually follow and not lag behind. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading this update post!
-S
Disclaimer #1: I will try to make these update posts a daily thing. I’m sorry if I miss a day, it just means I was too busy, tired, cranky or I just could not be bothered.
Disclaimer #2: I didn’t take many pictures because I’m kind of focusing more on my GoPro. I’m shooting short 5-second clips which I’ll turn into a kick-ass travel video when I get back home. I’ll be sure to share it with you all 😉
Wow. What a refreshing, well-needed change of pace compared to a month and a half of sitting in my room, doing nothing but studying, eating and sleeping all day every day. Yesterday was one of the busiest days I’ve had in a long while. Let me tell you about it!
In order to catch my 9:55 am flight, I had to be at the airport at 7:55. This meant that I had to catch two early trains (because there was no direct connection from where I was to the airport). This, in turn, meant that I had to take a bus at 6:22 to get to the train station in time. In short, this obligated me to get up at 5:30, which was another thing I hadn’t done in a long time.
The night before, I thought to myself “I’ll go to sleep around 8 pm, that way I can still get eight hours of sleep”. Bad idea. Let me tell you something: if your body is used to going to sleep at 11:30, YOU WILL NOT actually fall asleep until around that time. I learnt this the hard way. I lay awake in my bed for about three hours until I finally fell asleep. It was awful.
All things considered, though, I did manage to fall asleep eventually and wake up in time. I got to the bus stop on time, caught my bus, caught my train, caught my connecting train, got through airport security and customs swiftly and I was at my gate an hour early. Oh well, it’s better like this than to have to rush in order to even make it.
So everything regarding my flight to Dublin went pretty smoothly. (This doesn’t mean nothing went wrong, but I’ll tell you more about that when I’m back in Belgium.) After getting my baggage back from the conveyor belt, I went to the big airport hall. There, I had to queue for about 10 minutes for a bus ticket. For the unaware, Dublin Airport (like most airports) is not exactly located in the city centre. In this case, there were about 15 kilometres between the airport and the city.
Obviously, I couldn’t walk that far with my big bag of stuff. So I searched for the bus stop and waited a little while. Luckily, the bus system in Dublin is pretty well organised, so I didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes. What followed was a bus ride that didn’t seem to end. This might be because I am used to bus rides that take about 10 minutes in Belgium though. Half an hour later, I arrived at the bus stop that was closest to my hostel (according to Google Maps). I embarked on a 15-minute walk that probably could have been shorter if I had known my way around. In the end, I did arrive at my hostel though.
Time check: it’s 1:30 pm. I couldn’t get into my room until 2:30 because they were still cleaning it, so I decided to get lunch at the café because I was starving. All in all, it was pretty good and I managed to fill up enough time so that I was now able to access my room. I went there, unloaded my baggage and headed out.
By the time I decided to get out and explore the city, it was raining cats and dogs. According to the online weather forecast, it was going to stay like that until around 6 pm. So I said screw it and headed out anyway. In hindsight, this was a pretty good decision since it did in fact keep raining until the evening.
I walked around what I considered to be the city centre of Dublin. But, of course, what I thought was the centre was actually not. It turned out to be kind of a suburb of Temple Bar, if that makes any sense whatsoever. After realizing I was walking on a road I had walked on before, I made the decision to just stop walking and head into a pub. Being determined as I am, I walked into the first pub I came across and had myself my first pint in Ireland.
After this little endeavour, I headed back to the actual city centre because – well, obviously – I hadn’t been there yet. Temple Bar is a really nice place to just walk around with no real destination in mind. I just strolled through the streets and soaked up the atmosphere. I really liked how there was a mix of locals and tourists there.
Having seen both the urban hub of Dublin and its outskirts, I decided to go have dinner at the Hard Rock Café, which was conveniently located in said urban hub. First, I bought myself a T-shirt though. Yes, I know I’m basic, sue me. I was kind of stressed for this, as it was my first time eating alone abroad and even my first time eating alone in general. It turned out to be less awkward and lonely than I had anticipated. The waiting staff were really friendly and the weird looks from others that I had expected didn’t come.
Right at the end of my lovely dinner, I got a message back from someone I knew from school back home. I had seen him and his travel companion at the airport and I sent him a message about it. We decided to meet up for a pint at Temple Bar. It was a great, unexpected hour or so in a typically Irish pub.
By now, I had to start thinking about how I would get to my next destination. You see, I was planning on going to a bar that organized comedy nights. Friday night was “International Comedy Club”. So I got out my trusty Google Maps, and went through the struggle of trying to find my way without decent internet connection. Eventually, I did get there.
The comedy was great; there were four comedians coming in and two of them were absolutely hilarious. The other two were not bad, but they weren’t great either. The comedians even improvised jokes about the audience, which was very impressive to me. There was a lovely atmosphere of love for each other and solidarity between everyone there.
After the comedy club hilarity, I tried to find my way back home. I took about three wrong turns before finally managing to find the river, by which I orientated myself and found my hostel. After a 20-minute walk, I found my way back to my room, where I fell asleep almost instantaneously.
Well, this was the summary of my first day. More summaries are on the way, but they will likely be a little late because of who I am as a person and because I don’t have as much time as I had hoped and anticipated. Thanks for reading this daily update post!
-S
Hey! As you might know, I’m going on my first solo trip ever in a couple of days. I’m going to Dublin for five days, all by myself. I honestly could not be more excited. It all started out around September, when I was beginning to plan what to do in my one week of not having classes. I wanted to go somewhere with friends, but it turned out most of my friends had already made plans. Or they were just too broke to be able to afford travelling. So I decided to embark on this journey by myself. And it might be the best decision I’ve made in a long time.
I decided to plan out just about everything about my trip: a place to sleep, restaurants, events and tours. I’ve read a lot of travel blogs and watched a lot of videos about first solo trips. The thing most people regret the most is planning too much. I realise I’m making the exact same mistake, but I figured it was better to have everything planned than to have a day in which I wouldn’t know what to do. At least for my first solo trip ever.
The first day of my trip, February 3rd, is without a doubt going to be the most stressful one. My plane gets in around 11 am. After finding my checked baggage and getting out of the airport, I need to find a way to get from there to my hostel. I’m sure there are plenty of bus, coach and taxi services, but this part kind of stresses me out.
My general plan for this trip was to kind of try and do things that I wouldn’t normally do on a holiday with my family. That being said, I’d like to get some culture in my first solo trip. Art gallery, museum, cathedral or library; you name it, it’s probably in there.
As I said before, there are a lot of things I want to cram into these five days. Therefore, I felt it was necessary to plan it all out on a pretty tight schedule. There are a lot of different types of things I want to do. Here they are! (in no particular order)
This seems like a lovely, quirky, authentic place. I really enjoy hanging out at any type of market, really. Moreover, I might get some really good deals on cool books or something or other here. Also, it’s an indoor market, so this plan won’t get watered down (pun intended) if it starts raining, which is always a good thing.
2. Temple Bar Book Market
I actually have a little bit of a collection going at home: I collect old-looking books, preferably in English or Dutch. I feel like markets like these are an ideal place to find such books for decent prices. I’m really looking forward to this one, because the atmosphere of an outdoor market always reminds me of our yearly flee market at home.
As you can probably guess from the name, this one is right near the Temple Bar Book Market. This means that I’ll take a look at these two on the same day, for efficiency’s sake. In my opinion, food markets and food truck festivals offer the most authentic range of food from another country. I’ve vowed to myself to try new things on my first solo trip, so maybe eating street food will be one of those things.
One of the things I wanted to do during my time abroad was immerse myself in foreign culture. To my mind, a national museum is a great way to do this. I can’t remember the last time I went to a museum with my family, so I think they’re not as interested in this as I am. Also, it’s free.
Oscar Wilde was one of the most influential authors in the Anglo-Saxon world, so I think a quick visit to his house would be in place. Our high school English teachers also kind of obsessed over Wilde, which meant a lot of interaction with his works in class. The Selfish Giant, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray spring to mind.
Another classic example of “something I want to do when I’m on a holiday but my family doesn’t so I don’t make a big deal out of it”. Well, now that I’m in Dublin by myself, I can do whatever I want. And this is one of those things. Oh, and it’s also free.
Apparently, if you’re going to Dublin and you don’t visit Trinity College, you haven’t really been to Dublin. Again, as I’m really interested in old books, I feel like this is something I’ll enjoy a lot. It’ll be cool to walk on a campus and compare it to my own university experience as well.
Another thing I’m very fascinated by is the whole prison experience and culture. Therefore, I feel like a bus ride from Dublin city centre to this place will be totally worth it. It seems to be an inspiring and overwhelming tour, and I can’t wait to see what the tour will consist of.
Once more, a more or less essential part of any visit to Dublin. After all, what’s Dublin without a pint of Guinness? To see where and how they make this beer and what kind of craftsmanship comes into play will most likely be something very exciting and special to experience. Also, it seems like the 360° view on the seventh floor is really worth it and will provide me with loads of beautiful pictures for Instagram.
(4. Viking Splash Tour)
I was originally going to take a Viking Splash Tour around the city as well, but after days of planning and scheduling, I found out that I just didn’t have the time to do this. After all, I don’t want to have to rush all over the city just to be able to do everything I planned. This tour might be something to check out if I ever come back to Dublin.
Once more, my love for books is shining through. After comparing a fair number of libraries, I decided this was the one I wanted to visit. It had that look of a Hogwarts library I really wanted and it just seemed like an authentic little place that not many typical tourists have visited. Then again, I might be completely wrong about that and the library might be filled to the brim with typical tourists.
I figured I was in a very cultural city, so it would be a pity if I didn’t even get to visit some church or cathedral. That’s why I decided to have a look at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Also, it’s right next to Marsh’s Library, so that turned out to be a nice little coincidence.
A nice little park is a must when visiting any major city. You don’t go to NYC without strolling through Central Park. I guess St. Stephen’s Green could be considered as Dublin’s own Central Park. Kind of. I plan on getting some sandwiches or pastries and eating them here, while sitting on a peaceful bench and admiring my surroundings. I think this park will be a nice oasis of quiet in the loud city centre.
And there you have it. That’s my plan for this first solo trip ever. I’m very excited and I can’t wait to find out what it’s like to be abroad alone. I’ll be sure to keep you posted when I’m there. Anyway, thanks for reading!
-S
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