Day 1: Dublin

It's the first weekend since the start of my final academic year and what great way to kickstart other than a weekend trip. Initially, I planned to travel to both Dublin and Belfast but my timetable did not allow. Thus, Dublin it was then (since it seemed more exciting than Belfast). With my well-planned itinerary, we explored the streets of Dublin.

The Book of Kells in Trinity College

First stop after arrival arriving in Dublin (after a overnight camp in Stansted airport), we went to Trinity College for the Book of Kells. Since we were not avid fans of religion, we did not enter the attraction.

Dublin Castle

Pit stop 2: Dublin Castle. The state apartments were supposedly pretty but as it was used for some event during the trip, we didn't have a chance to enter.

Fresh oysters from Temple Bar Food Market

After a long time without food, it's time to hit the Temple Bar Food Market. This market opens only on Saturday. However, as the site was under renovation, the stalls were separated into different areas. We definitely had a hard time searching for food, but the wait was certainly worth it as we dug into fresh oysters. It was hilarious that we took a longer time (due to tons of photo-taking) to eat as compared to the couple, sitting opposite us, who ordered three times as many oysters. After the late morning snack, we headed to our hostel Four Courts to dump our bags. Up till now, the weather was still quite gloomy...



Christ church

Pit stop: Christ church. The sun came out and we were overjoyed. The ample space meant that we could have a lunch picnic and we did.

Picnic: Fish & Chips from Leo Burdock



Picnic: Bailey cheesecake from Queen of Tarts

 I have to say that lunch was indeed satisfying and perhaps a little scary as the pigeons were eyeing our food. Some of them even walked up to us!


St. Patrick's Cathedral

 

Guinness!

Of course the highlight of the trip was a visit to the Guiness storehouse. In my honest opinion, I wasn't interested in the making of the drink, but learning to pour the perfect pint and the view at the gravity bar were worth it. Due to a lack of time, we had to skip the tour at Old Jameson Distillery. Lucky we didn't buy the tickets beforehand.

Kilmainham gaol

A long walk to the gaol to work off our lunch.

Dinner: Irish Stew

Dinner was at The Brazen Head, a stone throw from our hostel. Good reviews and the food were decent. We ordered the Irish stew (since we wanted something Irish-y) and the mussels. I must say that the mussels were awesome.

Dinner: Mussels

We were too tired from all the walking and called for an early night. Besides, we will be heading to Wicklow tomorrow.

Refer to Day 2...
The rest concludes the second night where we loitered around Temple Bar.

Leprechaun

Night entertainment in Temple Bar

Cobbled streets of Dublin

Overall, Dublin was a wonderful city to explore since most of the sights were close. Tons of literature and never forget, Arthur's guinness.