Caernarfon

Traveling to Caernarfon from Dublin was a bit hectic to say the least. I started off my Monday at 6am and was unable to find the stop for the bus I needed to take to the ferry. Last minute I was able to hop into a cab I found at a stop light and hoped I had enough euros in cash to pay the cab driver, luckily I had 2 euro to spare! The ferry ride to Wales was a nice little trip, but I was counting on the wifi to be working so I could map out how exactly to get to my hostel, and of course, it wasn’t working. Three hours later I made it Wales, and took a train to Bangors, where I needed to get a bus to Caernarfon. I didn’t have any pounds on me, so I then began a long journey to find an ATM. While carrying my 45lb pack along with my backpack, I wandered the streets of Bangor for about an hour, and finally found an ATM after asking a couple people for directions. It was quite exhausting and took a lot longer than I had anticipated, but when I finally made it to the bus stop I came across this little scene which I would've missed if everything had worked out smoothly:

Easter Monday casual

I eventually made it to my hostel, Totters, which turned out to be a great little hostel, very clean, bright, quiet and right along the castle wall of Caernarfon Castle. Upon arrival I met my roommate, Maggie, from LA who is studying abroad in Norwich and was in Wales to do research on Medieval castles. While the sun was still up, I headed out to get acquainted with the town and snap some photos of the sunset and the castle. After a bit of exploring, I then went to dinner at The Black Boy Inn with, Maggie, where I ordered the lamb pie, which was delicious.

Fountain in the town square

Caernarfon Castle Wall

Sunset

The following day I got up and decided to check out the castle, which was highly recommended to me by my old boss, Morgan Griffith. Luckily it was gorgeous day in Wales, perfect for a castle invasion! It was about 5 euro for the entrance fee, and then I paid another 3 euro for a tour. The tour was very informative, given I knew nothing about the castle previously, and our tour guide was very enjoyable with a great sense of humor. We learned much about its history and architecture, and that its where Prince Charles was crowned Prince of Wales, and if he keeps with tradition, it will also be where he'll have Prince William crowned Prince of Wales upon Charles becoming king.

When the tour concluded, I explored the castle on my own and was surprised at how accessible it was. Visitors are able to climb almost any tower and walk along all the passageways. It was not the best place for someone who is as terrified of heights, as I am, especially with little children running all around you about to knock you off a tower. All of the stairs leading to the top of the towers were super tiny and narrow, but at least they provided a rope for you to hold onto and pull yourself up! Due to my fear of heights, I only committed to climbing one tower, Eagle’s Tower, which is the main one of the castle. The view from the top was definitely worth it. It was a bit cramped, but I managed to take some photos along with some selfies to prove I was there!

View from the top

After I seized the castle

After about two hours of wandering the grounds, I decided to check out more of the town. Caernarfon is very charming and quaint, with cobblestone streets, and small alleyways. It didn’t take much time to walk around the whole town, so then I headed across a bridge to see some of the countryside. I walked along a road that bordered the water and a rocky beach, then went off the beaten path and hiked up a hill that lead to a great view of the castle and all of Caernarfon.

People crabbin'

That night, Maggie and I ate at a restaurant overlooking the town square where I got a burger, not too adventurous, but just what I was craving. I went to bed early since I would be traveling all of the next day to Amsterdam, and unfortunately felt a sore throat coming on.

Dublin: Day 6 - Easter!

For Easter Sunday I figured, why not go to St. Patrick’s for mass?? So I did, and a lot of other people had the same idea, it was very crowded. It was a nice service in a beautiful church, but things got a little hairy during communion, when instead of following the lead of the Ushers, people from the back of the church starting lining up for communion immediately, thus leaving many people confused and things a bit disorderly. It was strange.

After Mass I wandered around some and grabbed some lunch at Sheehan’s, the first time I ordered proper fish and chips.

Then as I was walking back to my Hostel, I stumbled upon a mini parade of people marching with Sinn Fien banners, which then led me to a rally that was taking place in front of the GPO. Because the next day was Easter Monday, the 99^th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, the political party Sinn Fien was having a remembrance event /rally. It started off with a performance of live music:

                                                                     (video coming...)

After the music was played, some speeches were given to get the crowd riled up. The whole payment for water issue was brought up again, which I had seen a protest about a couple days beforehand. They also mentioned one day reuniting Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, so they’re still holding out hope for that to happen. I’d have to say Sinn Fien leans a little left for my taste, but coming from the world of politics, it was definitely interesting to see politics taking place in a foreign country.

                                                          

When all the excitement ended, I headed back to my hostel to hang out in the common room and write in my travel journal, on TV they were playing “The Wind That Shake The Barley”. No better way to spend your last night in Ireland than watching a super depressing movie! But its really good, so if you haven’t seen it, I recommend it!

Dublin: Day 4 and 5

 Like I mentioned previously, a lot of things shut down in Ireland on Good Friday in addition to the pubs, so I anticipated having a low key day at my hostel. As a good Catholic, I did decide to take part in a religious activity on Good Friday and attended the Stations of the Cross at St. Mary's Pro Cathedral.

Trying to land some points for safe travels

After the Stations I walked back to my new hostel for the night in Camden Square, where I planned to work on my blog while I waited to check in. As soon as I sat down in the common room to write, a very friendly Irishman named Gary struck up some conversation with me lasting for the next 4 hours or so. I was glad to have met him as he gave me some good suggestions of places to go when I head back to Ireland at the end of my trip. He said that while everyone suggests visiting the Cliffs of Moher, I should try and make it up North to Donegal to see Slieve League. We talked about topics ranging from things to do and see in Ireland to music and art. He eventually left to head back to Northern Ireland and I headed in for the night, while others bought beer from the vending machines in the hostel's attempt to cash in on Good Friday.

Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day in Dublin, finally! All the previous days were cloudy, wet and cold, but Saturday was sunny and close to 60. I took advantage of the nice weather and headed out on a day trip to Howth (rhymes with both), a small fishing village on the outskirts of Dublin, right on the Dublin Bay. I hopped on the DART, the local train, and arrived in Howth in about 20 minutes.

I didn't do much research on Howth before choosing to take a trip there, I just read online that people said it was a good day trip, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Upon arrival, I walked along a stretch of seafood restaurants, taking pictures, and ventured out onto the pier then up to a lighthouse.

           

That top point is the summit of Howth Cliff

I stopped at a little tourist booth to get information on the town, and found out that you could hike up to the summit a cliff visible from the harbor, appropriately named Howth Cliff. The tourist booth attendant said it took an hour and a half total to hike up and down the cliff, so I decided to grab some food before I set out. There were several restaurants to choose from, all selling tastey seafood dishes, I decided to go with East Cafe/Bar, where I got the seafood chowder with brown bread and a Guinness. There brown bread over here is actually realllll good.

After lunch I started the walk up to the summit. Most of the hike is walking a up a one lane road that eventually connects with a trail. Walking along the road, it wasn’t hard to admire some of the homes in Howth that are right on the water:

Why isn't that my house?

Jeans were probably not the best attire to wear for this trek, as some parts were pretty steep and took a bit of effort to climb, so I would recommend opting for some actual athletic wear if you attempt this hike one day. After a few short breaks and taking some photos for other people, I made it to the summit of the cliff, the view from the top was gorgeous.  You had a 360 degree view, looking out onto the water and the town of Howth.  Pictures don't do it justice:

If you look closely you can see some diving boards! Except there was no real way to get onto that rock...

Part of the hike up.

Peeps admiring the view

Proof that I was really there!

After admiring the view from the top, I headed back down to the harbor. Even though it was only about 60 degrees that day, everyone was eating ice cream, and after so much physical activity, I thought I deserved some as well. I stopped in at a little hut at the bottom of the trail called the Cliff Stop, and indulged in an ice cream cone. I hopped back on a train around 6 and headed back into Dublin.

That night I checked into a new hostel, Abbey Court where I found myself sharing a room with 23 other people, super duper! 

A festive little place.

Amongst my new roommates I met two girls who are studying in England and were visiting Dublin on Spring Break, most of the people I’ve met in hostels have been students on spring/Easter break so far. I went out with to some pubs, and ended up at Oliver St. John Gogarty, in Temple Bar, which turns out is one of my Aunt’s favorite bar in Dublin! They had live music, but it wasn’t traditional Irish music, just a man and his guitar playing hit American songs, so I was an expert on all of them of course. Around 1am we found ourselves hungry, and ended up at the lovely BK lounge right next our hostel. I realized it was then technically Easter, so in addition to my burger and fries, I had my first coke in 40+ days, and it was glorious. 

Dublin: Day 3

For my third day in Dublin, it was a cold and rainy day, surprise surprise, so I decided to stick to indoor activities. I still ended up spending a good chunk of the day outside because of walking from place to place. I was not ready to try and tackle the bus system, plus why not save a couple of euros?? And as an added bonus, I'm sure my power walking skills will rival those of Pamela's when I get back home.

Trying to keep things cheap, I headed to some free museums in the Marion Square area. I started off at the National Gallery of Ireland. It was nice to get out of the rain for a bit, but there were only two exhibits up in the museum, and they honestly weren't that great. I was only there for about 30 minutes before heading to the Natural History Museum, which is basically just a museum filled with taxidermied animals. Various species filled the walls, and cases in the middle of the rooms were crammed with animals, it was a little cluttered. Thankfully, few animals were not in cases so you could get nice and close and take some great photos:

Oh heeeeeey

Despite the "Do Not Touch" signs, children were basically riding the above walrus and sticking their grubby hands all over everything. There was little security personnel watching over the visitors, so you could pretty much do whatever. And some of the taxidermy jobs were a bit questionable...

Merp.

The museums weren't quite up to par with the National Gallery or Natural History Museum in America, but it's hard to compete with those. I'm glad I checked these museums out, but lets just say, I was also glad that the admission was free.

After the museums I decided to hit up the Guinness Storehouse. It was a bit of a trek to get there, especially in the rain, but it was doable. Luckily I purchased my tickets online ahead of time, which not only cut down the cost (I also said I was a student...), but it also allowed me to skip the ridiculous ticket line at the storehouse. 

Ready for some Guinness!

The tour starts off in the gift shop area, where at the center, set in the floor, is the 9,000 year lease signed by Arthur Guinness for the brewery site:

Still good for 8,000+ years

We received a brief introduction from a staffer, then headed into the museum which was a self guided tour. There are a total of 7 levels to the storehouse, each one with a different theme. You start off learning about the ingredients and the craft of brewing, then the cooperage and transportation of Guinness, the advertising of Guinness throughout the years, and then the rest of the levels are about pouring the perfect pint and tasting all it's goodness. One of my favorite parts was the cooperage portion, where you watch an old black and white film of someone crafting a barrell. It was amazing how much time and craftsmanship went into creating a single handmade barrell. 

Blue waterfall at the start. They prize their water for its pureness, getting it from the Wicklow Mountains

Informative videos are placed throughout to describe the ingredients and brewing process.

Videos showing the making of barrels 

I found someone to take a picture of me! And yay, a turtle!

Oh snap!

Just another thing Conan and I have in common. An affinity for Guinness. #TrueLove

After about two hours of walking through, I finally reached the best part of the visit, receiving my pint of Guinness! You have the option of getting your pint at several points throughout the storehouse, but I chose to wait until the end and have it up in the Gravity Bar, the highest point.

Yerm.

Sláinte!

View from the top.

I had heard from a few people that the Guinness Storehouse was overrated and not worth the cost, but when you purchase your ticket online, say you're a student, and factor in the pint of beer you get, it was about 8 euro, which I thought was definitely worth it. I had a great time and found it all to be very interesting. After three hours, I decided it was time to go, and headed off to see St. Patrick's Cathedral on the way back to my hostel. Unfortunately, it was too late in the day for me to take a look around inside so I ventured around the outside, taking some photos.

That evening I met some folks from America in my hostel that are studying abroad in Birmingham. We went out to eat, and after walking around for about 30 minutes, finally chose to eat at, Metro Cafe. I got the bangers and mash, which was the best thing I have ever eaten, but I was also starving at that point since I had only eaten breakfast that day.

Nom nom nomz

We didn't get done with dinner until late, and since all the pubs in Ireland closed at midnight that night because of Good Friday, we just headed back to the Hostel. I attempted to book my next excursion heading to Wales, but didn't think to take into account that it was Easter weekend and many people would be traveling. Every hostel in Wales was booked up. After panicking a little bit with my first bump in the road, I decided to just stay in Dublin through Sunday, thinking it would probably be better to spend Easter here anyway. It even took me a while to find hostels here through the weekend, but all turned out well.