Barcelona Weekend

On By EmilyinEarnestIn Travel, Working Holiday4 Comments

Hello friends!

So I’m sorry about the radio silence lately, I’m already into the seventh month of my gap year which is both terrifying and… nope it’s just terrifying. For all those of you who are considering the gap year in Ireland or in the early stages, be prepared to hit month six and suddenly be very interested in marriage (as long as that EU citizenship is up for grabs *sassy shrugging girl emoji*).

After my mom came to visit and we had our grand road trip, I was itching to get back into the traveling game. Three glasses of wine deep the next Friday I decided some adventure was in order and booked myself a trip to Barcelona for four days! I’d been to Spain before, but only in the South, and long had my inner Cheetah Girl been telling me it was time to feel the Barcelona heat.

So, off I flew, crammed into the tiny matchbox that is a RyanAir plane (but for eighty euro round trip, they can do no wrong, even though by the end of the flight I felt like my neighbor was my long lost conjoined twin).

I arrived to Barcelona and after needlessly confusing myself on which bus to take(side note, A1 and A2 will take you to city centre), I finally arrived at Pars Tailor’s Hostel, which was a really nice smaller hostel if you’re looking for one. The interior was designed like an old tailor (hence the name) with tons of common room space for people to chill. It’s the kind of hostel that’s good for solo travelers, since everyone hung out together and made friends in the common room over sangria (how I love sangria).

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While I got a top bunk (which has always scared me even though I’m technically an adult), I was happy to be in a new place. Eager to explore my friend and I (who had met me at the hostel, as her flight arrived earlier), went in search for food. Here is where I take a brief moment to express how much I loved the food in Spain. We ate empanadas and sat outside a café, mine had some sort of meat in them, which could very well have been unicorn since it tasted so good (this may have been due to my lack of lunch, but I think they still would’ve been fantastic on a full stomach).

We decided that we wanted to go out that night, and joined in on the sangria and night out deal that the hostel did, which was really fun but also a lot to handle when you’re a grandma like me (I love pajamas and wine, what can I say) and they don’t even start to go out until midnight or later. Let’s just say that flaming shots were had, and apparently there were dancers in masks, I have no recollection of the last part but needless to say they know how to party in Barcelona.

The best part of the trip to me though was going on a tour and just generally walking around, looking at all the architecture and people-watching. The buildings all had beautiful balconies and the Gaudí architecture broke up the standard cityscape with their surreal fantasy-like colors and angles.

We also visited the Barcelona Cathedral, which I would definitely recommend to anyone planning to go to the city. First of all it’s just a beautiful example of a Gothic cathedral, with huge faulted ceilings and intricate detailing, but it also has a few surprises. In the courtyard to the right side they keep thirteen white geese in honor of their Patron Saint Eulàlia, who was thirteen years old when she was beheaded and who had a white dove fly out of her head (strange but the geese were cute). You can also take a very rickety elevator ride (during which I imagined my Tower-of-Terror-style death about eleven times) to the roof of the cathedral and see out over the entire city. Very much worth conquering my fear of heights and questionable construction to see.

I even ended up doing a Tapas Tour (all of which was done through Sandemans) which brought us to three bars and gave us tapas and drinks at each bar. We also learned how to drink out of a traditional porrón, which is essentially just a pitcher with a pinched spout so you can chug wine and still look classy (until you spill said wine all down your front when trying to stop the stream, in which place I would suggest wearing black).

In summary, I spent four days wandering around the warm(er than Dublin) city, looking at all the architecture and stopping occasionally for some of the delicious food (churros, ham on baguettes, tapas, paella = YAS). Barcelona was the perfect weekend trip to just get away and have a bit of fun. 🙂

Killarney National Park

On By EmilyinEarnestIn Ireland, Travel1 Comment

My last post about my road trip was just not enough to fully express how much I loved Killarney National Park (I’m a sucker for a good panorama view). So, I knew I had to post all the pictures from the trip so that you guys could share in my obsessive need to take pictures of everything! So without further ado…

Ireland Road Trip

On By EmilyinEarnestIn Ireland, Travel4 Comments

Hello friends!

So for the past 9 days I’ve had the pleasure of entertaining my mom on her second trip to Ireland (the first time was in the 80’s so a lot of things have changed!). One thing we were both in agreement about was the fact that we wanted to do a road trip to see the countryside of Ireland.

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It was AMAZING. Traveling in early January was great since it had the benefit of being after the Christmas rush, while still getting to see most of the beautiful decorations (like myself, the Irish people cling to their Christmas spirit well into the next month). Since the high season of travel in Ireland is usually the summer (most commonly May to late September), we got the hotels for half price and the roads/passageways were much less crowded.

We grabbed an automatic car from Budget Car Rental, which is located up in Drumcondra in Dublin (they also have a site at Dublin Airport). I would definitely recommend getting an automatic rather than a manual, even if you’ve driven a manual before. The coordination it takes just to stay on the left and navigate the tiny side roads was enough to deal with. For the four days we rented the car, it was about 250 euro, and that was with the highest level of insurance, so that gives you a bit of a price range if you’re thinking of doing a drive yourself.

Day 1:

Our first stop was the western city of Galway! I’d been before and loved the vibe, with the cobblestone streets and the young population (the NUI Galway students make up a big portion of the residents), it’s the perfect place to stop and grab a pint. We walked around the NUI Galway campus, took in the cathedral and then had dinner at the Cellar Bar.

After getting our fill of the Galway scenery, we headed out towards our first hotel, which was in the seaside village of Spanish Point. We made the mistake of waiting til nightfall to begin the journey and had the unique experience of being lost in the dark on Irish back roads! Despite my mom’s insistence that we could just pull over and sleep, I was determined not to be woken up by a cow looking in my window, and we eventually arrived at our stop for the night. We stayed at the Bellbridge House Hotel, which was right by the water and had three beds in the one room, so it could easily accommodate a bigger group. We drank our fill of beer at the in-house pub and then went for a well earned rest.

Day 2:

The next morning we made our way along the coast and towards Kerry, where we were to visit some of my distant cousins in a town called Ballylongford. We saved about 100 km of driving by taking the ferry between County Clare and County Kerry and arrived in good time to meet with my family.

With our stomachs full of tea, we drove leisurely along the coast and through back-roads until we reached Tralee and decided to stay overnight. We stayed in the Grand Hotel, which was extremely comfortable (once we figured out the trick of opening the older door), and we once again toasted our own driving skills in the pub. Let’s just say this was a beer themed trip…

Day 3:

Post-gorging ourselves on free breakfast (when you book online!) and after stuffing copious amounts of snacks into our purses for later (we were very sly), we loaded into the car for day three.

We had nothing to do and no goals or meetups planned, so we just went along the ring of Kerry, stopping whenever we wanted tea or saw something cool. We ended up going all around the waters edge, seeing glorious views (when the fog parted, damn you January weather!) and old ruins.

One such ruin was Ballycarbery Castle, which was built in the 16th century and still largely intact despite no intense efforts to preserve it. We had stopped in the town of Cahersiveen for a cup of tea and saw the signs for the castle, with a bit of help from google maps, we soon came upon the edifice, emerging from the fog along the little harbor. We were the only people there, which meant we got to take an embarrassing amount of pictures. I climbed up to the top level, which was cool but also made me very conscious of my own mortality, as the collapse of multiple walls made the cavernous dark rooms beneath the upper walkways very visible. All in all it fulfilled my Lord of the Rings fantasies and was more than worth the stop.

From there we ventured along the Ring of Kerry and eventually hit Killarney National Park, which I would 100% recommend to ANYONE coming to Ireland. The mountains and overlooks of the park were amazing, with little pullovers in the street that let you stop and admire or take pictures. There was an old abandoned church, which looked super spooky among the hills, and tons of different hiking routes. Something for basically anyone who visited. GO TO KILLARNEY NATIONAL PARK… too much enthusiasm.

The windy, twisty roads of the park had left us tired, but completely in love with the area, so we decided to bed down in the town of Killarney at the International Hotel. The staff here were the best we’d interacted with on the trip, with lots of good advice on what to do in the town. With their help, we found a pub that had live trad music on that night (the pub attached to the Killarney Grand Hotel, which I’m pretty sure has music 7 days a week) and spent an hour listening to the different Irish melodies.

Day 4:

Our fourth and final day we had a time crunch since we needed to get the car back to the rental facility by 6pm. We woke up early and headed out to Muckross Abbey, which was founded in the 15th century on a piece of land that is not on the very outer corner of Killarney National Park. Since we were there around 8:30am, we were the only visitors once again, which was fun but also a bit scary since I’ve watched way too many episodes of Ghost Hunters International. The abbey was absolutely beautiful and very well preserved. There were upper levels you could walk around in and a courtyard with a huge yew tree in the center.

Next on the agenda was the Rock of Cashel. After a two hour drive, we arrived at the town of Cashel, once again quenching our thirst with a good old pot of tea at the Bake House, which was a really cozy cafe right in the center of town.

We made our way up the hill leading to the Rock of Cashel, stopping at the little souvenir shop at the base of the monument, where we were advised by the very kind shop owner that the film they show is crap, but the tours are fantastic. So, with this in mind, we headed up and bought our tickets, wandering around the grounds until our tour started.

The shop owner was correct, the tour was really good, giving us fun little tidbits about the place and the people who had inhabited it. One of my favorite factoids was that the statue of Jesus on the cross is the only one in Ireland that has him fully clothed, as opposed to having his upper half exposed. This was because the statue was placed outside and the monks, knowing how cold Irish winter could be, didn’t want him to be exposed.

Finally it was time to make the journey back to Dublin. I will definitely be going back to the Ring of Kerry and Killarney National Park, as they’re definitely the types of places where you can find something new every time you go.

Anyway, I’ll be posting a photo-centered post after this, just because I can’t resist showing off the beautiful scenery! If you’re thinking of doing a road trip and have questions about the route we took, shoot me a message! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dublin Strolls: 15/12/16

On By EmilyinEarnestIn Dublin, Ireland, TravelLeave a comment

So after my last stroll with my camera went so well, I was ready to give it another go. We had a rare sunny (and moderately warm) day, so my flatmate and I trekked to City Centre to take a look inside Christ Church Cathedral.

As luck would have it, when we went up to pay the entrance fee, the woman at the counter told us it was free for the next five minutes! Not only that, but we got to listen to a musical ensemble practice while we looked around (which was a bit creepy when we were in the crypt with soft waltz-y music floating down the steps and echoing, but it was beautiful nonetheless).

Brussels and Bruges

On By EmilyinEarnestIn Travel, Working HolidayLeave a comment

While I’d never had any great aspirations to go to Belgium, the cheap airline prices and thoughts of delicious chocolate lured me into buy a flight spur of the moment one day while I was procrastinating at work (some people scroll through Buzzfeed to occupy themselves, I make questionable travel decisions!).

Soon enough, my flatmate and I had our single carry-ons stuffed to the brim with outfits and toiletries and were on our way to Brussels for four days of waffle-induced-food-coma bliss. We arrived and made our way to the train station within the airport to catch a ride into the city. This seemed simple, but unfortunately, none of the trains said anything about Brussels City Centre. After milling around for a few minutes, consulting google maps and stressing about our general lack of geographical knowledge, we boarded a train. Eventually we got off at a stop which was much farther from our hostel than anticipated, but still made it into the city all the same (thank God).

We chose the Meininger Brussels City Hostel, which is a chain of hostels that are scattered around Europe. After realizing that we were put in separate rooms, a very nice employee (shout out to Maple) switched us into a different room so we could be together. It turned out that even though we’d payed for an eight person room, we ended up in a four person room (score) with two mild Canadian boys with terrible taste in music and a habit of walking around (and speaking to us) whilst only in their underwear. However, deciding that it could be much worse, we were happy with the situation. The room itself was one of the nicest I’ve had in a hostel. The linens were clean the room was modern and the shower had fantastic water pressure. There were also separate rooms for the shower, toilet and sinks so that the bathroom wasn’t completely shut down when one person was in it.

The one bad thing was it was far away from the restaurants and nightlife of the city, so once you were there you were a bit isolated. Also, if you’re thinking of booking here, it’s more hotel-like than most hostels and there were multiple families staying there, so it’s not what I would call a “party hostel.”

After dumping our stuff, we set off to explore the city, bopping from one area to the next with no real destination in mind. We went to the Town Hall and explored the little alley way shops. Eventually we ended up eating at a conveyor belt sushi place called Kabuki where we spent the next hour taking our pick of Japanese dishes off a little train that traveled around the restaurant (this is not a joke) and drinking bottled water out of wine glasses (which sounds excessively fancy, but they refused to give us tap water so we had to go big).

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Since we had gotten up at 3am that morning to catch our plane, by the time we’d finished dinner we were pretty much zombies, so we headed back to the hostel for the night.

The next day we did a full city tour through Sandeman’s New Europe tours, which have branches in multiple cities in Europe and were recommended by our hostel. Our enigmatic guide (an Irishman named Mick) led us through the city showing off the Grand Place, the famous Manneken Pis and the covered market (Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert).

Once this had finished we ate a lunch of chocolate covered waffles while overlooking the city and then made the decision to sign up with the same company for a beer tour (when in Belgium, right?).

The beer tour took us to two bars where we got to taste all the traditional beer flavors of Belgium, including a Trappist beer which is brewed by monks.This seemed a bit odd to me but hey, if God made water into wine, why can’t monks make it into beer? I certainly thought the Belgian beer selections were heavenly anyway. After the tour finished a big group of us who had been on it together headed to the Delirium Cafe, which has over 2,000 types of beer (cue dancing girl emoji) to have a few glasses of the strong stuff. I’ve always been a huge Delirium Tremens fan so this was a cool treat.

After stumbling home (those Deliriums have very high alcohol percentages), we prepared ourselves for another early morning.

We spent the next full day in Bruges, a city about an hour outside of Brussels by train. We booked the tour through the same company we’d used the day before (they made a fortune off of us) and the price included the train to and from the city as well as a guided tour (which for £30 didn’t seem too bad).

I immediately fell in love with Bruges. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site and seems completely untouched by the modern world. As an old medieval port, it had retained it’s old city feel, with cobblestones and beautiful churches and towers dominating the landscape. No cars were to be seen, with horses and buggies winding through the streets. We took a boat ride along the series of canals which was cool because it gave you a completely different perspective of the city than you got walking.

We ate lunch in one of the many little cafes and by the time the sun went down, both myself and my flatmate had agreed that this was the most whimsical spot in Europe and that we had to move here and rent a little flat along the canal (rent is expensive in Dublin, I can’t imagine how much it would cost in Bruges…).

My biggest regret from the trip is that we didn’t spend a night in Bruges, but in the end we took the train back to Brussels.

The next day we were killing time before our later flight. We had seen the sights, had all types of beer, eaten chocolate and frites (their famous twice-fried french fries) and waffles more times than socially acceptable and ended up strolling around the botanical gardens. While Brussels was fun and beautiful, it was definitely no more than a two day trip max.

Finally, we boarded the train (the correct one this time, huzzah) and started our trip back to the Big Smoke.

The Scariest(ish) Ghost Tour in Dublin

On By EmilyinEarnestIn Dublin, TravelLeave a comment

October is coming to an end which means one thing: Halloween. While the excitement for the holiday is not quite what it is in the States, Ireland has it’s own sort of vibe and spookiness to offer up to those Halloween enthusiasts (like myself). However, living the TV-less existence that my roommates and I suffer through, neither myself or my haunt-loving flatmate Annie, had been able to get into the spirit with classics such as Halloweentown (1 or 2, the rest are shit tbh), Scream or Hocus Pocus.

Deprived of our normal frightful entertainment to put us in the holiday mood, we decided to go on a ghostly walking tour of Dublin. After searching the internet, Annie found a group called Hidden Dublin that featured a Northside Ghost Walk. We booked our tickets and forced ourselves out of our cozy Netflix-laden beds to pursue the unknown (we really had to will ourselves to leave the house, so we tried to make it sound extra adventurous).

We started the tour outside the Church Bar, which, unsurprisingly, was a bar that had once been a church (very creative). Outside of it, what is seemingly a normal cement courtyard we learned was actually a graveyard at one point. Dublin, in a move of pure class, had taken the grave stones, piled them against the far wall of the park, and left them there, paving over the grassy area and never even removing the bodies.

Making our way to the next stop, Annie and I were excited at the thought of what was to come next after being sufficiently spooked.

What followed was indeed a scary night, but not in the way expected….

Stopping in front of a slightly decrepit building near Four Courts, our tour guide started to tell us the story of the location. However, I couldn’t tell you a word he said, because at that point I was much more interested with the group of threatening looking teenagers viciously trying to rip bikes off their locks just feet away. Four or five of them were clustered around, while one tugged violently at a nice black street bike. Myself and a few of the people in the tour group took to our phones to call the police.

The scene grew even more absurd when a man from the pub next door came out to get his bike (not the one being stolen, but still) and saw the teen ripping at the one next to his. He yelled at the boy, asking what he thought he was doing, and the kid just yelled “I’m stealing this fucking bike!” and continued on. At this point we were all flummoxed at what to do next, as none of us particularly wanted to get in a fight with a group of Irish teenagers. It was just then that the flashing lights of the police came round the corner. The boy had freed the bike seconds before and tried desperately to escape, but he was caught once he rounded the next corner (sweet, sweet justice).

Unfortunately for our tour guide, no one had listened to a word he’d said, so we continued on, more fascinated by the heist we’d witnessed than the story of the supposed ghost in the building behind us.

Next we were led to Smithfield to hear about the famous bandit who had had a series of tunnels beneath Dublin to escape capture. Obviously that hadn’t worked out quite as he’d planned when they hung him for his crimes (a common theme among many of the stories we heard that night, being a rope salesman must have been a very lucrative business in Dublin). Everything was going as planned, the group settled after the bike incident, when we noticed another group of teens (those damn Youths) clustering around the road, looking mischievous.

Seconds later, a car whipped around the corner, skidding and sliding, doing donuts around the tiny square, coming close to hitting the other teenagers as they darted out of the way laughing. When it started making it’s way towards us and the kids were running away, however, it became much less entertaining. Right as I was readying myself to book it into one of the alleys, it took a sharp turn into the luas lane and sped off. I have no idea what happened after that, as a luas came from that direction about a minute later, but it must’ve involved some creative driving and a lot of swearing from the luas driver.

At this point we were all sufficiently distracted again, so our tour guide tried desperately to capture our attention back and led us towards the next location. We stopped down a back alley in a relatively residential area. It was quite spooky, with little lighting and unkempt buildings. Our guide began the story of a witch who had lived in the house behind him, but by then the next distraction had reared it’s head (literally).

Parked parallel to our “haunted house” was a car that had obviously thought this deserted street would be suitable for some alone time. What they certainly did not expect I imagine, wass a group of 20 people coming up and standing next to them while they tried to have said alone time. I will hand it to them, they made a solid effort to pretend like they were just resting, that she was just laying her head on his lap and he just petting her hair casually, but they knew the jig was up when we were all roaring with laughter. Soon they sped off in their car, eager to escape our group and their growing embarrassment.

By now our tour guide was at the end of his rope and didn’t even care that we weren’t paying attention anymore. He told us the inspirational words that the faster he spoke and we listened, the faster we would get to the last stop: the Brazen Head pub. It was clear that we all, including him, needed a pint after all the excitement. We stopped one more time at a supposed mass grave and then speed-walked towards our final destination and beer.

All in all, it wasn’t exactly the scary tour we’d been expecting, but it did leave us with a good story. We sipped our well-deserved pints in the warmth of the old Brazen Head and listened to some good live music, and while we didn’t get our spooky ghost experience, we were still pretty content.

UNTIL A GHOST CAME OUT AND KIDNAPPED ANNIE… just kidding, we went to bed after that, can’t blame a girl for trying though *shrugs*.

Game of Thrones Tour – Belfast

On By EmilyinEarnestIn Ireland, TravelLeave a comment

So it’s pretty much an established fact at this point in my life that I am a huge nerd for anything fantasy-related. That being said, I am a Game of Thrones fanatic, so when the opportunity presented itself to go to Belfast, I immediately booked into a GoT tour so I could live out my fan-girl dreams.

I booked a tour through gameofthronestours.com and chose to do the Belfast Winterfell Locations option (there’s also the Iron Islands and Stormlands Adventure). I booked a student ticket and it cost 36 euro in all, which included the bus tour for the entire Saturday.

We met in front of Top Shop in Belfast City Centre and from there were bused to our first location. Our tour guide Damian was really funny and even though we weren’t a super lively bunch (as it was early in the morning and already pissing rain), he still kept us entertained on the way there with stories and anecdotes. He has worked on the set of the show since it’s first season, so we spent the first part of the trip talking with him on his theories of how the next season will play out/how the show will end (but I won’t give away the secrets!!). There was a brief ferry ride that offered the opportunity for us to get off the bus and stretch out legs which was nice (plus it offered a good photo op, the harbor was really cute).

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The bus finally pulled up to Old Castle Ward, which was used as the set of Winterfell in the first season. We walked into the courtyard and Damian showed us a booklet of screenshots from the show, pointing out where various scenes had happened and who had done what and where they had done it. It was actually pretty surprising how much they fit into such a small space, as the courtyard was tiny in comparison to the way they made it seem in the show. After we’d gotten our fill of photographing every inch of the place, we moved onto the second location.

Our group headed off on a side road and walked through the woods for a bit, finally coming up on a hill where a small tower loomed over the grounds. We found out that this area had been used to film the Twins and also served as the background for Rob’s army camp (RIP). At this point it was absolutely pouring rain, so I took my picture (excuse my wet-rat appearance) and scuttled back to the bus.

By the time everyone had returned to the bus, we were soaking wet and freezing, so we moved onto the next (and at the time, sorely needed) stop which luckily was a very cozy pub by the name of The Cuan. Aside from serving delicious warm soup and fresh (soul-warming) pints, they also put up many of the cast members of Game of Thrones in their upstairs rooms as they’re a bed and breakfast as well as a pub and eatery. Plus, they were the first to receive one of the “Doors of Thrones” which were elaborately carved doors made from the fallen trees of the Dark Hedges (pretty badass if I do say so myself).

With the comfort of food and beer in my belly, I happily readied myself to board the bus again, but our tour guide had a surprise up his sleeve. We were met outside the pub by the dogs that played Grey Wind and Summer in the show. My two favorite things combined in one visit: dogs and Game of Thrones. The owners were very nice and had been extras on the set for all the seasons as well and let us all take turns taking pictures with their dogs (which must be a very strange experience to have celebri-dogs).

Back on the bus, riding my dog-petting high, I passed the time until the next stop watching the videos they played of the various CGI edits that had done to make the world seem more fantastical. Our next location was Inch Abbey, which was where they filmed the scene where they all stand up and proclaim Rob King in the North (once again, RIP).

To make the experience a little more authentic, they also provided us with capes, swords and shields. Each person got the chance to be the King in the North and take and Instagram-worthy picture (you better believe I posted that ASAP). When we’d had our fill of running around in cloaks, the group trouped back to the bus and set off for our final location.

Deep within the woods of Tollymore Forest (and by that I mean about a 10 minute walk) is the location where they filmed the finding of the direwolf pups! Here we saw the bridge where Ned saw the dead stag and the little river bank where they found the dead direwolf mother and the wolves that would later become the counterparts to each of the six Stark children (including Jon Snow).

While the filming site itself isn’t much to see, Tollymore Forest was beautiful, with scenic bridges and little castle-like structures, so it was worth the walk just for the views along the way.

 

After a full day of touring around, most people on the bus were ready to take a nap, but just in case you stayed awake for the duration of the drive back, they played the pilot episode (which was bad for me because it just made me want to watch the whole series over again).

We arrived back in Belfast at around 5:30, just in time to run back to my hostel, take a shower and eat something substantial before nighttime festivities! If you’re a big Game of Thrones fan, I’d definitely recommend the tour, but be aware, it’s starting to get cold and rainy out. So, if you’re looking to book soon, remember: Winter is Coming…

~Belfast Solo Trip~

On By EmilyinEarnestIn Ireland, Travel, Working HolidayLeave a comment

This past weekend I finally took my first solo trip! Friday morning I packed up my things, loaded them all into my backpack and headed to Connolly Station. I had pre-booked my tickets from Dublin to Belfast on the Irish Rail website, which meant that I could choose a window seat (which was prime). When you order online you can collect your tickets at the station kiosks, which was really convenient and saved me having to rush to buy them on the day.

Once I’d boarded the train (nobody had booked the seat next to me #winning) it was only a 2 hour ride until we arrived into the Belfast train station. I must admit, when I first walked out of the station, I questioned my decision to travel alone just a bit. The station is in sort of an industrial area without many things around it, but once I started walking towards city centre and my hostel, things started looking better and my nerves calmed down.

The hostel I stayed at was awesome. It’s called Vagabonds and is located right between the Botanical Gardens and the city centre. I arrived at about 2pm and the staff members made me feel right at home, showing me around and letting me settle into my room. The beds and bathrooms were clean and there were tons of areas to chill out and talk to the other guests, which was nice.

My first day out I just sort of wandered around the city. It was sunny out (a rare thing) and so I ended up walking all the way to the river, at which point I was starving. I noticed a little cafe and decided I’d pop in for a coffee and some sort of snack. The shop was called the Dock Cafe and it was adorable. All mismatching chairs and couches, with a big map on the wall where you could add a push pin to where you were from and a little serenity garden in the corner.

I walked up to the counter, where a very nice man asked if I’d been there before and when I replied no he explained to me that this cafe operated on an honesty box system. You can have tea or coffee or cakes, whatever you want, and then when you’re done you put as much money as you think your meal/drink was worth into the box. That way those who can give more do, and those who can’t can still have the same treats. He also said that they welcome people to bring in their own food, or to just come in to relax.

I loved this idea and planted myself in one of the many cushy couches with a mug of coffee (my one true love) and a little cake (the runner up for one true love). After loitering for longer than I’d care to admit, I hoisted up my purse and left the cafe.

At that point I was so close to the Titanic Museum that I decided I’d try to catch the last tour, as it was already almost 4:45pm. Luck would have it that I got there just in time for the last hour of tours (they close at 6pm) and because at that point in the evening the S. S. Nomadic is closed for viewing, which is normally included in the price of the ticket, they give a special “late saver” ticket rate that only gives you access to the museum. Thus, I purchased my discounted ticket (£7.50 as opposed to to £17.50 for the normal day tickets) and went up into the exhibits.

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It actually was quite a cool museum, it had tons of information on the building of the ship, as much of it’s construction occurred in Belfast, as well as some tidbits on the political and social climate of Northern Ireland/the world at the time. They had an area that projected a digital walk-through of the inside of the Titanic on three walls, so when you stood in the middle it felt like you were inside it, as well as reconstructions of the rooms.

The most powerful part in my opinion though was this dark room they had set up where a video of the Titanic sinking below the surface of the water kept playing. Along the walls were copies of the Morse Code signals that the ship sent out trying to save itself, with the responses of the ships around them. And all the while, they played audio recordings of first hand accounts, people who had been on the ship and escaped on the lifeboats, reliving the nightmare.

If you have too many feels after that (guilty) you can move onto the next room where they have a huge screen projecting video of the underwater excursions to the Titanic, which definitely piqued the science-major part of my brain and which I found really interesting (they had to travel 12,500 feet underwater to get to it, the Empire State Building is only 1,450 feet…. IMAGINE THAT).

Finally they started shuffling people along as the museum was closing soon and I headed towards my hostel. The night was relatively warm and I wasn’t keen on spending a ton of money on dinner, so I grabbed a salad from Lidl and ate it on a bench in front of City Hall, which was actually entertaining as there’s good people watching around the area (there was a Mormon missionary making a very strong attempt to save passersby, which didn’t seem to go over well in many cases).

I spent the rest of the night back at the Vagabonds beer garden, drinking a few bottles I’d picked up on the way home and chatting with my fellow travelers. The next day I was going on the Game of Thrones Tour, so I didn’t want to go too wild.

I woke up early on Saturday and headed over to the meeting spot for Game of Thrones, which would take me through the sets of the North (WINTER IS COMING) and the Twins and such. I’ll write a separate post about the GoT tour, because it was an experience indeed.

We returned to Belfast at around 6:30pm, at which point I’d been so thoroughly soaked from the full day of pissing rain that I immediately headed for a pub with a pal I’d made on the tour to enjoy some burgers and beer (an award winning combo if I do say so). When heading home, I received a message from some of the other girls in the Stint program (the program that helped me coordinate my visa/does gap years and internships). They had decided to come up to Belfast too, but hadn’t been able to leave until Saturday morning and were staying in a different hostel.

They joined me at Vagabonds where we pre-gamed with the rest of the travelers and some of the hostel staff. It was good craic and eventually the whole squad moved out to a bar/night club down the street called Lavery’s (the hostel even had vouchers they gave us that allowed us free entry which was prime). Lavery’s was insane, with multiple pub areas, outdoor beer gardens/balconies and a club-type room with a DJ and a dance floor. I would definitely recommend it for a night out in Belfast.

Sunday morning was spent nursing my hangover (thank baby Jesus for large water bottles and nutella-peanut butter sandwiches) and wandering around the Botanical Gardens and Ulster Museum, which is located within the gardens and has free entry. I then joined those lovely Stint ladies again for some good old fashioned shopping in Victoria Square Shopping Centre, which is a covered mall in city centre that is a great spot to avoid the ever-changing weather.

After spending too much money on things of questionable necessity, I finally returned to my hostel, picked up the rest of my belongings, and headed to the train station to return to Dublin! Note to the wise, since Belfast train station is quite small, people start lining up to board the train out in the ticketing area early, you can’t just walk onto the platform.

And there it is! My first solo-ish trip was a success (I had people to meet up with, but I stayed by myself). On to the next! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Day in Howth

On By EmilyinEarnestIn Ireland, Travel, Working HolidayLeave a comment

Hello friends!

So I wanted to take the time to write about a day trip I took recently with my gal pal Hanna. One of the best aspects of living in Dublin is how easy it is to escape the city when you need a breather and be in some of the most beautiful landscapes. Howth, a town about 30 minutes away by train, offers just such an escape.

We grabbed our tickets that day from Pearse Street Station and hopped onto the train, which took us along the coast to the little seaside town. As soon as you step out of the station and walk along the little fish shops and chippers and see the boats in the harbor, you can just feel yourself relax.

The town itself is pretty bustling, with tons of tourists and residents milling around the sidewalks and through the market (then again we went on the weekend so it might have made it more crowded). There was a cluster of people standing at the edge of the dock, looking down into the water, so we made our way over, eager to see what the commotion was all about. There, bobbing in the water, was a seal! It blinked up at us, it’s whiskered face hopeful that we’d throw some fish down. When a toddler threw an apple at it instead (so rude) it submerged itself back into the waves. With thoughts of cute underwater creatures in mind, we continued on our way.

We knew we wanted to do the cliff walk, but needed some sustenance first, so we stopped at a pub and grabbed some fish, chips and cider, which then led to thirty minutes of food-coma, which we pretending was just us appreciating the ambiance of the pub.

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Hanna enjoying her pint 🙂

Once you get off the train, if you just take a left and walk all the way along the beach, you’ll eventually see the road start to veer sharply right and up a hill, that’s where the cliff walk starts (and also when your leg muscles start to feel the burn).

The views along the path are incredible, with the expanse of ocean extending out from the cliffs dotted with heather plants. Then again, they say a picture is worth a thousand words so here we are…

The entire walk took about 2 hours, but that was mostly due to the fact that we were stopping for majestic photo shoots every seven steps. It was a bit rocky and narrow at times, so good walking shoes would be a must if you’re planning on doing it.

After a questionable descent which involved us deciding to take a different path down for a “change in scenery” and then ending up in a random residential neighborhood, we finally returned to the shoreline.

We were very tired after our failed attempt at being spontaneous and decided to refuel with a good old fashioned 99 (which is soft serve with a flake stuck in it, the perfect combination of things).

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If you’re thinking of a day trip, Howth is perfect. Even if you don’t feel like doing the cliff walk, there are tons of little shops and a food market that you can stroll around in, or you can just plant yourself by the beach and read a book.