The Big Smoke

This past weekend I ventured up to Dublin to check out the scene. Much different from the rest of Ireland. Actually, I didn't even feel like I was in Ireland. I guess there has been a large number of eastern europeans immigrating into Dublin for the past few years. We got there on Friday night and found a nice hostel. There were two guys staying there that we met on our Ring of Kerry tour the week before. We went out in Temple Bar and checked out a few pubs. On Saturday, we had a delicious Irish breakfast and then went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells, which was amazing! The detail of the art was incredible. Headed from there to a micro brewery, The Porterhouse. Sampled a few of their ales, stouts, and seasonal beers. Then we made the hike over to the Guinness Storehouse to do the Guinness Tour. Made it to the top of the Guinness Storehouse which has almost a 360 degree view of Dublin and you receive your complimentary Guinness. The view was tremendous and relaxing with our pint! We then went to a Cathedral on the walk back to our hostel. At night, we went back to Temple Bar and after a few weird bars, we found a pub playing trad music. So we sang songs and then a céilí dancer grabbed me to dance (did the best i could)! On Sunday, we had an Irish breakfast again and went to see the GPO where the Easter Rising took place. Around that area, there were statues of various people, including James Joyce. Then we grabbed the next bus back to Cork. All in all, we cracked out a lot of tourist spots in Dublin. Pictures should be up soon!