We stayed at Jury's Inn, a big hotel located in the Viking area of Dublin, right across from the Temple Bar area. We could not have had a better location! My uncle works right down the street from the hotel so he offered to show me around before grabbing lunch with my aunt and cousins. It was great to have an local connection to the city. One of the best pieces of advice that he gave me was to eat breakfast at The Queen of Tarts, a charming bakery right down the street from our hotel. This bakery was adorable and served the most delicious chocolate chip scones and cappuccino!
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| My Irish cousins Joe and Ned |
Meeting with my family was my favorite part of my entire spring break trip. I only get to see them every other year when they visit the United States and could not wait to see how much my cousins have grown. They always greet me with big smiles and warm hugs and ask me hundred of questions in their Irish accents. My aunt and uncle were so welcoming, I always love seeing them. It felt so nice to finally be with family after almost two months of being away from home.
The Temple Bar area is a popular place for tourists and is known for its pubs, live music, and atmosphere. We decided to try out the Temple Bar on our first night. The live band there was so fun and played famous Irish and American songs that got the whole audience singing and dancing. The atmosphere in Temple Bar was so welcoming, as if nobody cared where you came from or who you were, they simply invited you into their night out.
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| It was very windy when we stopped to see Guinness Lake! |
My second day consisted of a daylong tour of Wicklow country, located just outside of Dublin in the countryside of Ireland. We had a charming tour guide who told us all about our destinations and played us authentic Irish music. We drove up through the high hills to see Guinness Lake, a famous monastery and some of the places where Love Actually and Leap Year were filmed. While touring the monastery in Wicklow we encountered sunshine, rain and sleet all in about two hours. The five-minute hail storm was a total surprise for all of us.
The event that we had all been waiting for, the Guinness Factory tour, had finally arrived on our last day in Dublin. I learned how Guinness is made, the history behind the brand and how to pour the perfect pint. I had no idea how specific the pouring instructions are in order to produce the perfect pint. I find myself now watching bartenders pour Guinness checking to see if they are following the proper steps.
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| Learning how to pour the "Perfect Pint" at the Guinness Factory |
I admired the pride and history behind the famous Guinness name. The company has a strong family bond and a very involved CEO who was incorporated into almost all of the videos throughout the tour. My favorite aspect of the Guinness brand was its initiative to make St. Patrick's Day the "Happiest Day of the Year." We all signed the pledge to help Guinness raise its goal of signatures before St. Patrick's Day.
Dublin has certainly been my favorite city so far. The friendly people, beautiful green countryside and relaxed atmosphere were all a breath of fresh air for me. This was the first city that I didn't feel like I was on a schedule to see everything and exhausted by the end of the day. I hope to go about my future trips this way. Traveling should be relaxing, fun and more of an adventure rather than a schedule.
I left Ireland already planning to revisit in the near future. I want to spend more time with my family and revisit some of the most famous parts of the country that I saw years ago. Visiting a place once is not enough for me.
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