Dublin, Ireland

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Hola

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been at the most amazing music festival in Benicassim, Spain for the past 3 days & have had no access to a computer, but more on that later... 😊

Dublin. Well over a week ago now Zac, Emma and I spent the night in Cambridge (simply brilliant city in the UK where everyone gets around on bikes...) before catching a el cheapo 10c flight (yes that's what it cost for all 3 of us) to Dublin with Ryan air. Now I love flying... the take off and zooming around the place but i´ll be completely honest when I say I don't like the landing part all that much. So we were about to touch down in Dublin and I swear we had the steady Eddie of all pilots... the plane was all over the shop, he hit the ground like a sack of shizzle and it took me about 30 mins to get my stomach out of my throat... It was the first time I´ve really feared for my life... (only cause I had not really finished my trip yet and the thought of dying before its completion completely mortified me). It was an experience anyways... Its funny cause in that final moment when I thought it was my last... the first thought that went through my head was... now where was that nice looking air hostess got to?... Only kidding... eheh

Dublin was great. We only had time to spend a few nights there so the first day was wandering around the city checking out the sights and stumbling our way around the many places to eat and drink. We eventually made our way to the Guinness factory... (as you do when your in Ireland) We walked up the 7 levels of this historic brewery... it was gold... they showed how it was all made and whatnot and all the time we had our trusty ´free drinks´token in hand looking forward to the top where we could secure a free pint. So we hit the 5th level and there is a bar here where you can get a ´sample´ of the black stuff to wet your whistle in anticipation for the top floor... we rocked up to find a bunch of scared looking young school kids running out the door pushing past us and their shocked school teacher having it out with one very irate Guinness factory bar manager... it went something like this... School Teacher: ´´well how many of them had the stuff?´ ....Irate Bar Manager´Bloody all of them, they took a glass each and shared it all around!´ ... So after I picked myself up off the floor I had a quick sample (or two) and we made our way to the 360 degree viewing bar on the 7th floor.

You see the great thing about Guinness is you either like it or hate it... so after I had used up my one token (you cant use cash to buy more cause they want to keep people moving through the tower) I was rather thirsty for a second pint... Then I saw this cute girl who was posing with her friend for a pic with a pint in hand... after the photo she kinda looked at the glass with a look of sheer terror at the thought of drinking it... so old mate shimmied along and nicely offered to take it off her hands... eheh... it was all about the Guinness I swear!

We pub crawled it all the way back to the hostel where we cooked up some Shepard's pie and had some more vino to finish the night. I tell you this though, the Irish can sure drink.... and they just don't stop. We met this bar manager at a fancy cocktail bar and he was telling us how people don't go home if they are tired, they simply have a 20 min kip in the bar then wake up and keep on drinking... its a nightmare for the staff when closing up cause they have to wake this guys up!

The place to be (for a great night out) in Ireland, Dublin, is a district called Temple Bar. It blew me away cause back home, we have 1 or 2 traditional Irish pubs sporadically placed around the city... Temple Bar is an entire district of cobble stone streets and Irish pubs & clubs. Zac, Emma & I spent an entire evening getting lost in this district hopping from pub to pub drinking fine Irish Whisky on the rocks and trying very hard not to look like tourists (something I´m starting to become painfully aware of).

Dublin was a great place and I learnt a big lesson about traveling that I have taken with me. You cannot simply stop by for a quick 2 day visit to some of these places. Its simply not enough time to do all the things that are 1. In your guide book, and 2. What other travelers are recommending to you! Thus, I´ve spent more time in the places since Dublin and will probably have to cut a few countries right out of my Itinerary... I don't mind this though cause I can always come back eh?

Peace & Love, Jay.

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