There and Back Again: An Account of Ireland

View from the plane

For my whole life, the only place in the world that I had an interest in traveling to was Ireland. However, I never really thought this would happen. If you would have told me a year ago that I would travel all over Europe, I would not have believed it.

My plane touched down in Dublin on Wednesday of this past week. My dream had come true. I almost couldn't believe it. The next question was, "Where do I start?" My friends and I made our way to Paddy's Palace, the hostel in which we would sleep during our short few days in Dublin. Despite the lack of hot water for everday except the day we left, this hostel was decent. It was cheap (appx. 19 dollars per night) and secure and clean. A short, five-minute walk separated this location from the main boulevard in Dublin, O'Connell Street.

On Thursday morning, we made our way across town to City Hall, where we started a very informative, free tour of the city. The tour guide told us a lot about the history of Dublin, including where its name originated. Long ago, the Vikings called the city, Dubh-Linn, which means, "black pool," because the water in the bay was very black.

The beach in Malahide

On Friday, Aaron and I caught a train to a town outside of Dublin, called Malahide. I highly recommend this option, because the round trip train ticket was only 4.20 Euros. I saw the beach for the first time in my life while in Malahide. It was beautiful. Technically it was the Irish Sea, but that counts. I then enjoyed a traditional Irish breakfast at a restaurant called "That's Amore." This place is pricey, but I felt that experiencing a traditional Irish breakfast while in the country was a worthy justification. After our meal, we made our way across the small town to a park that had advertised "Malahide Castle." After trekking two miles into the park (the scenery made the walk better than seeing the castle) we reached the castle.

We finally made our way back to the train station after spending five hours in this nice, little town. Arriving back in Dublin, our next objective was a nap. Each of us probably walked around twenty miles over the course of the weekend. After resting up, we met up with Drew and Megan for the pub crawl tour, convening at the front gates of Trinity College. The pub crawl showed more of an inside look at the culture and what the people are like. I don't know where the idea that all Irishmen are angry drunks came from, because they are all generally nice and willing to help if you ask them.

The Liffey River

On Saturday morning, Drew, Megan, Aaron and I took it easy and slowly strolled down the walk by the Liffey River. We took so many pictures. Dublin is so beautiful. Eventually we split up, and I went to meet with John and Johnny for our tour of the Guiness Storehouse. Although it was in the shady part of town, this was one of the things I just had to do while in Ireland. A free pint and a 360-degree view of Dublin awaited us at the end of the tour. That was the most refreshing pint of Guiness I have ever had.

Now I am on my way home. I finally made it to Ireland, and what an adventure it was. Leaving this place was inevitable, but I will be back.