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.