There is a special feeling that fills my bones when I walked through the streets of Dublin, Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. I hate the rain and the gloomy weather but the whole time I was in Ireland, I never complained about the weather. It added character to the cities I was in and the rain was never overbearing. Just bring a nice rain jacket with you and you will be perfectly fine. There were even warnings of Hurricane Lorenzo coming through Ireland but we were lucky to have it pass.
We arrived Thursday evening around 8 p.m. in Dublin and from there took the Aircoach Express (7 Euros) that brings you on a route to the city center. We stayed at Gardiner House Hostel which prompted us to get off at the Drumcondra station stop. After dropping our stuff off at the hostel, we started walking towards the city center and stopped by Madigan’s on O’Connell Street. This pub had live music and I purchased an Orchard Thieves Apple Cider, which was delicious.
We proceeded to walk to the Ha’Penny Bridge and crossed to get to the Temple Bar area. This area has been promoted as Dublin’s cultural quarter and the nightlife is very exciting. People from all over the city and the world gather here to listen to incredible live music. After some time, we walked back to our hostel (which was a great place to stay). We stayed in the chapel experience which was an 18 person room with bunk beds. I thought it was kept super clean and there were lockers we could use. Remember to bring your own lock.
On Friday, we spent the whole day in Dublin walking around the beautiful city and doing the many tours that Dublin has to offer. We began the day doing the Jameson Distillery Bow St. tour where we learned about the history of how John Jameson began a successful business. Although it's a success now, there was a period of time were Jameson was suffering from revenue loss. Our tour guide Nial was engaging and his storytelling skills made the experience very lively.
After we stopped by the oldest pub in the world, The Brazen Head and ate some delicious traditional Irish dishes. My friends all got the Bangers and Mash (right photo) while I opted for the Irish Stew (left photo) to warm me up from the rain that morning. The food was so delicious. We beat the lunch crowd so we had a place to sit right away. When we finished there was a line of people waiting to sit down and we could tell it was getting crowded.
We booked the Guinness Storehouse tour at 1:30 p.m., so by the time we finished eating, it was the perfect time to head to the storehouse. What an experience. The storehouse tour is self-guided yet it was so engaging. All the diagrams and pictures were so beautiful. The best part is the gravity bar on the seventh floor where we get to redeem a pint of Guinness made at the factory itself. Enjoying a pint of Guinness and looking down to see the beautiful city is a jaw-dropping moment. After the Guinness tour, we headed out to the town for some sightseeing. Some things were saw were Trinity College and the Spire. That night, we did a Pub Crawl with Generation Tours, it is very popular and was recommended to me by a friend. I thought it was fun, nothing super that stood out but a good experience if you want to meet new people and see the different pubs, bars, and clubs in the city.
On Saturday, we booked a trip with Lally Tours for 50 euros that covered costs for a bus to Galway, a shuttle that took us from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher and back to Galway, entrance to the Cliffs and a bus from Galway to Dublin. When we got to Galway, we stopped by a local restaurant named Revive Cafe and had some traditional Irish dishes. I ordered the Full Irish which came with eggs, bacon, sausage, and tea. After our filling and delicious meal, we walked around the city to see some sights such as the Hall of Red Earl, Eyre Square, Latin Quarter, Spanish Arch, Cathedral, and more. Galway is a small town and it is perfect for a day trip from Dublin.
The trip to the Cliffs from Galway was about an hour and a half. When we first got there the fog covered up everything. Our driver John said that this is an often occurrence and if we’re lucky the fog might lift but there is no guarantee. This was no joke but we witnessed the fog lifting right before our eyes and it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life. I am a big believer in things happen for a reason and at this moment when the fog was covering up everything, my friends wanted to visit the cafe in the Cliffs visitor which is fine for me but I decided against it and decided to walk out to the cliffs to see if maybe I would be able to catch a glimpse of the sea cliffs. Click here to see a time-lapse I took of the fog lifting up.
Just as a symbol of hope, the fog lifted and the light was coming out and shined upon us all. It was a crazy thing to witness but I am so happy we got to see it. If you are interested, the O'Brien's Tower is also now open and you can purchase tickets to go up to be at the highest point of the Cliffs of Moher. I walked along the coastal path and wanted to go to the end but didn’t have enough time due to time constraints. I walked halfway through and it was incredible. I definitely would recommend walking through all the cliffs if you have the time. Make sure to wear some sturdy shoes or shoes you aren't afraid to get dirty because it does rain a lot in Dublin and especially near the cliffs as well. The road gets a little muddy and there are many puddles.
After our two hours at the cliffs, we were dropped off back at Galway. For our last few hours in Galway, we walked around the Latin Quarter, shopped for some gifts, and ate a restaurant called McCambridge's. Because it wasn't dinner time yet and I wasn't too hungry, I ordered a snack/dessert instead. There was an ice cream special and being the dessert gal I am, I ordered the whiskey ice cream special. It was rich in taste. The small jar has a milky cream like taste to it and I poured it over the ice cream a little at a time. It added flavor and the aroma was incredible.
The bus ride from Galway to Dublin was about 3 hours. We slept the whole time there so it wasn’t bad. We were dropped off near the Ha’Penny Bridge and went to get some dinner at The Harry Lemon. One of the best pubs we went to Dublin was this one (my opinion). This pub was actually recommended to me by a friend who lived in Dublin and it was a big hit. I ordered the Cottage Pie and was very satisfied with how it tasted. I've never had this kind of dish before and this was definitely a great first impression. I learned that the difference between cottage pie and shepherd’s pie is that shepherd’s pie has minced lamb and cottage pie has minced beef. Nevertheless, it was super good and I would 100% eat it again. We were situated upstairs for dinner but after we finished, we headed downstairs for live music. My favorite thing about Dublin was all the live music we got to hear. These musicians and singers are so talented, it is insane. From the food to the gorgeous sites, Dublin was such a fun trip. Thank you, Dublin!