A
fter sleeping in until 10 a.m. we woke up and headed to another café in Temple Bar for breakfast before heading off in search of a bike rental company. Cassandra and I looked up a company that rents bikes and gives you a self-guided course down the coast South of Dublin. We walked to where we thought the shop was but couldn't find it. We stopped in a different bike shop to ask directions and a worker directed us to a bus stop that would take us another fifteen minutes out of the city to University College Dublin. We were way off! Eventually we got to the right shop, got our sweet rides and map, and were on our way down the coast!
It was a really nice day and our route took us along a few busy streets, through some really nice parks, and eventually to the coast. Since the route was self-paced we got to enjoy the scenery and take our time riding.
If you rode straight through to the destination, the route wouldn't take you more than an hour. We made our way through multiple small communities outside of Dublin until we reached the town of Dalkey. We rode through a bit of the town and up a killer hill to get a great view overlooking the bay. Some of the coastal houses were insanely nice. Bono and the Edge from U2 each had a house there; Enya had a castle, too.
After riding into the center of town we stopped at the visitor center to get directions to the train station so we could get back to Dublin. We were definitely tired by the time we got back to the flat, and we were surprised to see two new couchsurfers had arrived to stay for a few days. One girl was from the Netherlands and the other was from Germany, but they were both studying abroad for a semester in none other than Glasgow. Small world gets smaller. They were studying at Glasgow Caledonian, but they were still nice and we had a good chat about our favorite things about Scotland. Jip cooked us a great stir-fry for supper and we spent the night chilling in the flat talking before everyone went off to bed. We had an early call because we were planning to go to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher for the day!
We groggily woke up bright and early at 5 a.m. to catch the 6:00 bus from Dublin to Galway. In something much like a zombie state of mind, we made our way down to the bus stop, got on the bus, and promptly passed out for the few hours' journey to Galway. After spending an hour exploring some of the town, we got onto our tour bus. We decided that our best option was the cheapest tour, much to the dismay of the tour guides throughout the bus station peddling their tours over the others.
"You get what you pay for!" was what they kept telling us. At the first glance our tour seemed a bit sketchy and the bus may or may not have smelled a bit funny and been made in the '7o's, but it eventually grew on us. Our tour guide was hilarious and told us tons of jokes and history. He even sang us an Irish song! Our route took us to a few castles, a medieval cathedral, and numerous little communities. The scenery throughout the countryside was amazing, and the cliffs were even more impressive. Although I had some trouble staying awake for the last few hours,
the tour was definitely a great idea. The tour ended at 5 and we decided to catch the next bus back to Dublin since neither of us was very hungry, so we hopped on what we thought was the direct, 2 hour bus. I fell asleep straight away and woke up after about an hour. I asked Cassandra where we were, and she told me that we had been on a back highway and stopping every twenty minutes. We had gotten on the alternate bus to Dublin. Disastrous, right? Trapped on another bus for an undetermined amount of time... but it was actually a nice way to see even more of the Irish countryside. We stopped in tons of tiny towns and saw Ireland from coast to coast in a day.
We eventually got back to Dublin around 9:00 and decided to grab some food at a pub. Afterwards we made our way through Temple Bar, listened to a street band for a bit, and randomly ran into Frank and Irene on the way back to the flat. They were out on a walk and meeting Jip and the other girls at a local pub that had live traditional Irish music every night. We were super tired from the trip, but a pint and live traditional pub music was an irresistible option. We talked about our days with everyone over our drinks, and the music was really cool. After our glasses were empty we went home to go to bed early.
For our final morning in Dublin, Cassandra and I walked down to a market and got some breakfast before heading to the Jameson Whiskey distillery for the tour. After going on a few whiskey distillery tours for beverage management, I considered myself a bit of a connoisseur. Jameson's was definitely the best tour I'd been on. At the very beginning our guide asked if anyone wanted to be a volunteer
whiskey taster. As exciting as it would have been to drink three or four samples of whiskey before going to the airport, our better judgment told us just to watch. After the tour was over and our sample of Jameson's whiskey was gone, we got back to the flat, packed up our bags, said goodbye to our amazing hosts, and headed to the airport. Ireland was everything I thought it would be and even more. As fun and fulfilling as it was to live in Ireland for five days, I want to go back for more :) Next stop: Rome!
fter sleeping in until 10 a.m. we woke up and headed to another café in Temple Bar for breakfast before heading off in search of a bike rental company. Cassandra and I looked up a company that rents bikes and gives you a self-guided course down the coast South of Dublin. We walked to where we thought the shop was but couldn't find it. We stopped in a different bike shop to ask directions and a worker directed us to a bus stop that would take us another fifteen minutes out of the city to University College Dublin. We were way off! Eventually we got to the right shop, got our sweet rides and map, and were on our way down the coast! 
It was a really nice day and our route took us along a few busy streets, through some really nice parks, and eventually to the coast. Since the route was self-paced we got to enjoy the scenery and take our time riding. 
If you rode straight through to the destination, the route wouldn't take you more than an hour. We made our way through multiple small communities outside of Dublin until we reached the town of Dalkey. We rode through a bit of the town and up a killer hill to get a great view overlooking the bay. Some of the coastal houses were insanely nice. Bono and the Edge from U2 each had a house there; Enya had a castle, too. 
After riding into the center of town we stopped at the visitor center to get directions to the train station so we could get back to Dublin. We were definitely tired by the time we got back to the flat, and we were surprised to see two new couchsurfers had arrived to stay for a few days. One girl was from the Netherlands and the other was from Germany, but they were both studying abroad for a semester in none other than Glasgow. Small world gets smaller. They were studying at Glasgow Caledonian, but they were still nice and we had a good chat about our favorite things about Scotland. Jip cooked us a great stir-fry for supper and we spent the night chilling in the flat talking before everyone went off to bed. We had an early call because we were planning to go to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher for the day!
We groggily woke up bright and early at 5 a.m. to catch the 6:00 bus from Dublin to Galway. In something much like a zombie state of mind, we made our way down to the bus stop, got on the bus, and promptly passed out for the few hours' journey to Galway. After spending an hour exploring some of the town, we got onto our tour bus. We decided that our best option was the cheapest tour, much to the dismay of the tour guides throughout the bus station peddling their tours over the others. 
"You get what you pay for!" was what they kept telling us. At the first glance our tour seemed a bit sketchy and the bus may or may not have smelled a bit funny and been made in the '7o's, but it eventually grew on us. Our tour guide was hilarious and told us tons of jokes and history. He even sang us an Irish song! Our route took us to a few castles, a medieval cathedral, and numerous little communities. The scenery throughout the countryside was amazing, and the cliffs were even more impressive. Although I had some trouble staying awake for the last few hours,
the tour was definitely a great idea. The tour ended at 5 and we decided to catch the next bus back to Dublin since neither of us was very hungry, so we hopped on what we thought was the direct, 2 hour bus. I fell asleep straight away and woke up after about an hour. I asked Cassandra where we were, and she told me that we had been on a back highway and stopping every twenty minutes. We had gotten on the alternate bus to Dublin. Disastrous, right? Trapped on another bus for an undetermined amount of time... but it was actually a nice way to see even more of the Irish countryside. We stopped in tons of tiny towns and saw Ireland from coast to coast in a day.
We eventually got back to Dublin around 9:00 and decided to grab some food at a pub. Afterwards we made our way through Temple Bar, listened to a street band for a bit, and randomly ran into Frank and Irene on the way back to the flat. They were out on a walk and meeting Jip and the other girls at a local pub that had live traditional Irish music every night. We were super tired from the trip, but a pint and live traditional pub music was an irresistible option. We talked about our days with everyone over our drinks, and the music was really cool. After our glasses were empty we went home to go to bed early.
For our final morning in Dublin, Cassandra and I walked down to a market and got some breakfast before heading to the Jameson Whiskey distillery for the tour. After going on a few whiskey distillery tours for beverage management, I considered myself a bit of a connoisseur. Jameson's was definitely the best tour I'd been on. At the very beginning our guide asked if anyone wanted to be a volunteer 
whiskey taster. As exciting as it would have been to drink three or four samples of whiskey before going to the airport, our better judgment told us just to watch. After the tour was over and our sample of Jameson's whiskey was gone, we got back to the flat, packed up our bags, said goodbye to our amazing hosts, and headed to the airport. Ireland was everything I thought it would be and even more. As fun and fulfilling as it was to live in Ireland for five days, I want to go back for more :) Next stop: Rome!
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