Dubliln, Ireland

Being in a foreign country can obviously make you miss your family and friends. But here in Verona something else started to happen – we got homesick for our good old Champaign. As March was drawing nearer, we realized that we’d be longing for campus even more, as Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day was approaching. If you aren’t sure what that is, you can read some interesting definitions of it here. 

I can neither confirm nor deny taking part in such activities. I can confirm, however, that each spring any U of I student studying abroad in Europe flock to Dublin, Ireland on this very day to celebrate St. Patrick’s day in all of it’s University of Illinois Unofficial glory.

Spending 5 days away from Verona didn’t sound like much when I booked my flight to Dublin a month ago, but once I was there I realized how much time I really had. Although I was a bit apprehensive at first, I am so glad that I was in Ireland for such a long time and got to see and do so much!

I flew in to Dublin with pretty much everyone from my program on Thursday night and met up with Mark at the airport! By that point it was late and we had an early morning the next day so we all just went to our hostels and got some rest.

Day 1

We woke up Friday morning around 5:45 because we had booked an all-day bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher, which is clear on the other side of the country. The bus departure was early and the day was one of the longest I’ve ever had but it was well worth it!

We stopped in a few small towns along the way but getting to the cliffs was definitely the highlight. I’ve obviously seen so many amazing things already this semester but being in Ireland was the first time I’ve really seen any amount of nature, and I hadn’t realized how much time I’d spent wandering around cities away from greenery. That was easily my favorite thing that I did/saw in Ireland.

After the cliffs our driver took us to The Burren, which is basically a bunch of flat rocks spread out for miles right along the coast. It doesn’t sound too impressive but it was different from any other place I’d seen! We watched the waves of the Atlantic Ocean rolling in and Mark and I even saw dolphins swimming!

Me freaking out because I saw a dolphin. 

The Burren

By the time we returned to Dublin it was after 8pm, and we were exhausted. But we were also determined to go meet up with some friends. After a hurried and much needed search for food we freshened up and went to another hostel that a lot of U of I students were staying at, including one of my best friends, Linnea.

Sitting in the lobby of the hostel with everyone was so strange, because I recognized a ton of the people there, but didn’t actually know them. I could match faces with people I’d seen on campus or friends-of-friends, and it was a very weird feeling knowing I went to school with all of them but was now casually sitting at tables with them in Dublin.

We went out and had such a fun night at an Irish pub! The day had been so long that we were ready to sleep in a bit the next day.

Day 2

And sleep in we did! We accidentally missed breakfast at our hostel but thanks to the large amounts of fruit I travel everywhere with we were ok. Mark and I met up with Linnea and headed to the Guinness Storehouse. 

The tour was self-guided, so we took our time walking through the technologically advanced exhibit that explained exactly how Guinness beer is made, the history behind Arthur Guinness and the founding of the factory, and finally taught us how to pull the perfect pint! The tour ended up on top of the building at the Gravity Bar, which has an amazing panoramic view of Dublin.

The Guinness tasted so good and I actually learned a lot about the production of beer from the tour!

After grabbing some lunch we walked around Dublin after that and saw Christ Church Cathedral for the first time that weekend. We also stopped at Queen of Tarts, this delicious little bakery that sold apple tarts that tasted like happiness.

Christ Church Cathedral 

Apple Tarts

That night we met up with more U of I people, including my friend and roommate for next year Reigan. When we went out that night I saw even more people I knew and had so much fun running into friends!

Day 3

We spent the first part of this day with some friends from my program and let Mark be our tour guide (because he’s always the only person who knows where we’re going). We stopped at Trinity College and walked around the campus a little which was beautiful!  

It was time to eat after that so we went to Leo Burdock, a famous fish and chips place! They gave us SO MUCH FOOD but it was all fresh and delicious!

We continued to walk and found a beautiful park to walk through. Weather was definitely on our side during our visit and the sun was shining the entire time!

Mark and I split off from the group after that and walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where we spent time just sitting in a small park next to it. Of course we missed visiting hours at the church by about 10 minutes but we still got to see the outside!

Next stop for us was The Old Jameson Distillery. I was kind of nervous that this would be just like the Guinness storehouse but the tour was completely different. I learned the difference between scotch and whiskey, saw whiskey aged at different years and had some yummy drinks! Mark and I can’t wait to go home this summer and make some of the recipes we saw there!

After dinner that night it was time for Mark to leave to catch is flight to the airport. I hung out with my friends and just laid low the rest of the evening. At this point I was definitely starting to feel homesick – for Illinois and Verona. I was anxious about spending almost two more full days in Dublin and wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to fill my time. Luckily we came up with some fun things to do!

Day 4

We woke up bright and early Monday morning and took a train to Howth, which is basically a suburb of Dublin. I was with my friends Lisa and Shelby and we met up with one of Lisa’s friends from school, Shalyn, who is studying abroad in Dublin. I’ve already met so many new U of I people from being here and I can’t wait to go back to campus and have so many new friends!

Howth is a quaint little coastal town with absolutely beautiful views. We hiked up a giant cliff and walked along the coast for hours just taking in the scenery. Despite our lack of adequate footwear we had an amazing time.

We got a late lunch at a little restaurant with amazing seafood, it was just what we needed! Some people who worked at a restaurant suggested we go and see an old church, so we walked there afterwards.

Spending the day in Howth was unexpectedly fun and one of my favorite parts of the trip!

We returned to Dublin at around 5:30 which was perfect because I was meeting some other friends from my program at a theater that night to see the musical Once.

The show was a Broadway hit, winning 8 Tony Awards last year! I have been dying to see it for a while now and since the show takes place in Dublin anyway it was perfect!

More of my thoughts on this show are here. 

Day 5

I woke up on Sunday and went to a beautiful prayer service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. There were choir boys singing psalms and a few readings. It was very calming and I am so glad I took the time to do that.

I headed to Kilmainham Jail after that, which is a National Monument in Ireland. It originally opened in 177 and was revolutionary in the tactics it used with isolating prisoners. It is most famous, however, for the prisoners it detained in the early 1900s during the Irish revolt against Britain. I didn’t realize that Ireland had only won their independence in 1916, which is less than 100 years ago! I learned a lot about Irish history while there.

After the jail I went back towards my hostel, grabbed a late lunch and headed to the airport. My Ireland trip had come to an end. I can honestly say that Dublin was not what I had expected at all. The city was bigger and much busier than I had pictured, but still maintained a rich culture, and Irish pride was everywhere to be seen.

This trip was different in that I got to leave the main city and see other parts of the country, which I really really liked.  I feel as though I got a pretty good idea of all the different sides of Ireland during my time there.