Dublin

September 13, 2011

Today I stayed in Dublin, no more tours! I wasn't sure if I would have enough to occupy myself with but you soon find there's plenty of things to do and in fact a little too much to do. I toyed with the idea of getting on the site seeing bus to save my feet but it was 14 euros and I figured most of the places I wanted to go to were really close together and i was already going to be in that area of town because I was having breakfast there so I decided against the tour bus which I'm not sure if that was smart or not. It saved me money to spend more on sights and gifts but I took up sightseeing time by having to walk. Pros and cons.

I started out at St. Stephens's Green which is this park where I was hoping to find the statue of Oscar Wilde but I was unsuccessful. It was still a beautiful park and the only open that early in the morning. I then went to Trinity college and got a ticket for the Book of Kells and a short tour of the college before hand. But since I still had a while until the first tour I went off to see if I could find the statue which I had found out was in the area of Trinity college. I finally found it!

After the statue I tried to find Oscar Wilde's house but couldn't find it so I went to the National Gallery because it was free and actually found some art I really liked. Jack B. Yeats work I really liked and ended up getting some of his work on postcards. They even had a van Gogh painting but its wasn't like most of his work and I didn't like it as much but another one I can check off my list. I made it back to Trinity college just in time for the tour to start. It's a pretty college.

They have two maple trees from Oregon which I was excited about and they were filming a Bollywood film! I got to see Salman Khan which was a nice little added treat. The actual Book of Kells was beautiful  but what was more impressive was the Old library! It smelled of old books and had ladders on the shelving. It was like my dream library! I bought a few things in the gift shop on my way out. Ate lunch and then went and watched filming for a while with all of Ireland's Indian community.

After Trinity College I made my way to Guinness Storehouse but stopped off at St. Patrick's Cathedral which was beautiful. I was asked directions which I did my best to help and an Irish guy came over to help as well. When I tried to go to the Storehouse I got just a bit lost but found my way there. By then my feet were not happy with me but I had wanted to go. It was a really cool museum which found ways to make the exhibit a little bit interactive and at least not as boring as others. I got to poor my own pint and see magnificent 360 degree views of Dublin from the gravity bar.

By the time I was done I was ready for dinner and stopped off at this fish and chip shop that the previous day's tour guide had recommended and it was well worth the recommendation. The best fish and chips I've had ever! I did a spot of shopping and then headed back to the hostel exhausted.