St Paddy's Weekend in Northern and Dublin

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Well this weekend was my much anticipated St. Paddy’s weekend in Belfast, Northern Ireland and some Dublin. I left from Limerick on Thursday at 1400 and arrived in Dublin Busarus around 1900. I had to leave from there to catch a bus to the airport. The traffic was slow moving because of the heavy holiday season, but I made it on time. I left the airport with Fabi, Sean and Sean (from Madrid) and Maria (from Lurgan, near Belfast). Maria drove us from Dublin airport to Lurgan, outside Belfast, where she lives with her family. We stopped at a pub called the Courthouse on the way back to have our first official pint together in the North.

The next morning, the Lavery’s made the four of us the most wonderful Irish breakfast of rashers, sausages, breads and tea. Everything was lovely and we sat around for some good conversation and a few good laughs at the expense of the United States government. We caught a train from Lurgan to Belfast, but the train ahead of ours broke down and we were in lockdown for over an hour and a half. The mechanics attempted to push the train ahead, but nothing seemed to work and we weren’t too sure how accurate the information relayed to us was. Regardless, we made it to Belfast and stopped in Royal Crown pub to enjoy some atmosphere and watch the race. The pub was gorgeously decorated with carved wood and we scored a perfect mirrored and stained glass booth in the back for a little privacy and more conversation. We made a decision to return to Lurgan and join the Lavery’s for their smoker dinner party. The dinner included stew, salad, great bread and smoked ham, along with cheeses and desserts. Everything was delicious. The meal was followed by Venezuelan dancing. Fabi taught her knowledge of Latin dance moves to the dinner party and we danced the night away and jigged and even tried a little Irish dancing.

Saturday morning we left for Dublin and made it into the city airport after 1500. We dropped off the luggage at the hostel and joined a loooooong queue at the Guinness Storehouse. The Guinness Storehouse had a weekend-long celebration for the holiday, which included a Fringe Festival, much live music at different bars on each floor, free pints and oysters. We watched a great band in the Brewery Bar and then moved upstairs to the Gravity Bar to enjoy traditional session music and of course, a complimentary pint. The views of Dublin from the Gravity Bar were phenomenal. It was 360 degrees of bright lights at dusk in the largest city in Ireland. Absolutely beautiful.

That night we also went to the Hub because Fabi was completely elated about watching a U2 cover, Vertigo. We also visited Temple Bar in Dublin City Centre as well. The entire experience of being in the city, even though it was a wee bit crowded for the holiday, was perfect. We had an amazing time. The following day we visited St. Stephen’s Green, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and walked most of the City Centre before we parted ways; the Seans and Fabi went to the airport and I went to Busarus to catch the next coach back to Limerick. It was the perfect way to spend the holiday.

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