Travel Series | Dublin

May 18th-22nd, 2013: We left London by Virgin train bound for Hollyhead in Wales. From there, we took a ferry to the Dublin port. 

It was a really nice ship. They had lounges, restaurants and game rooms. We sat at the bar for a bit and had a drink. I spent a lot of time playing card games on my iPad. Other than watching TV, there wasn't much else to do but look at the water. Around midnight, we made it to the port. We were exhausted so we took a taxi straight to the hotel where we met up with my brother at the bar. He had flown in earlier that day and waited for us. Our hotel was an old castle they had remodeled though I think there's only a small part that's original. It was really nice on the inside.

And bad*** on the outside

The next day we called a taxi to take us downtown. There's a long walking-only street full of great shopping and a few restaurants. I found two of my new favorite Regent Street stores, SuperDry and Pull & Bear so I was happy to get the chance to shop in them one more time.

We took a bus tour around the city. It started across the street from where the shopping area begins then it looped around the city, passing Trinity College, the Mary Magdelene statue, the Guinness brewery, the old Jameson distillery and some of the oldest churches I've ever seen. 

That weekend, there was a big game between Ireland and France. They were playing in Dublin so the city was crazy with sports fans which became even more so when Dublin won. We spotted a bunch of guys screaming at cars as they passed by a pub that was showing the game.

We left the bus at the Guinness brewery. We had a two day ticket for the tour so we figured we'd see the rest the next day. 

After a short wait in line, we took a tour through the brewery which included lessons on how to properly pour a Guinness. (We've since learned that a lot of bartenders around Pensacola don't actually know how to pour it correctly.) We each got to pour our own drinks and then enjoy them in the lounge while we chatted for a bit. Then we walked around the gift shop and picked up a few souvenirs. 

After taking a cab back to the downtown area, we walked around Temple Bar. The party was in full swing over there! Temple Bar is a street lined with bars and it being a Saturday night after a game Dublin just won, you can imagine the insanity. We stopped for dinner at the Hard Rock so we could pick up our shot glasses. After dinner, we found a pub called The Stag's Head Pub to have a few drinks and talk before heading back to the hotel.

The next day started with breakfast at this cute little buffet style cafe. We didn't wander too far from that shopping street because my brother had to get to the airport. He had to go back to England so he could be at work the next day. After some light shopping and an excellent little treat at an adorable bakery, we sent him on his way. The three of us continued on with the bus tour. It was a bright sunny day unlike the day before so it was nice to sit in the uncovered part of the bus. This time we got off at the old Jameson distillery. They don't use it anymore but it's still open for tours and there's a gift shop and bar on the first floor.

I walked into the gift shop and started looking at the t-shirts when I saw a guy in black jeans and a black hoodie walk up next to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the Pierce the Veil logo on a badge attached to his belt loop. I looked up at him and didn't recognize him but when I saw a figure at the door, I knew exactly who it was. Vic Fuentes, one of my absolute favorite singers walked into the gift shop. I couldn't believe it. After my dad told me to go for it with his now famous version of the "what's the worst that could happen?" statement, I introduced myself to Vic. We had a short conversation before they had to leave. I asked him about Warped Tour and he explained why they weren't on it that summer. He asked me if I had been to a show so I told him about Jacksonville on their last tour (and told him that they should tour with Set It Off more often - haha). Seriously, how random is that? I had no idea Pierce the Veil's tour went to Dublin at all.

After we left Jameson, we went back to Temple Bar and stopped for one last fish n' chips meal. We had a flight home the next day so we went to bed early.

I feel a little differently about Dublin than I do about London and Paris. I could easily go to either of those two cities again and still not run out of things to do. Dublin, however, isn't a city I would visit again. I'd definitely recommend going once but once was enough, I think. That's not to say I'd never go to Ireland again. I definitely would but next time, I'd go outside of the city and see the country.

All in all, this was a great trip! #ParisLondonDublin2013!