This post is long overdue, but it took a while to upload and sort 1400+ photos to Flickr. :)
In August, I went to Ireland with my best friend Emma. We were there for 10 days, and we rented a car and drove around the spectacularly beautiful countryside. I’m going to post my favorite photos here, with some brief descriptions. The photos are a combination of pictures taken on my iPhone (the ones with borders, mostly) and ones taken with my new camera, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7.
We arrived in Dublin on a sunny Sunday morning, completely jet-lagged. We took a shuttle into the city, and (after some confusion and walking) found our first bed and breakfast: Kilronan House. We stayed here for two nights, and it was incredibly lovely with a helpful and friendly staff. The breakfast was incredibly yummy.
We also managed to get locked *inside* our room. Here is Emma trying to get us out:
After we were settled in at the B&B, we went out to explore a bit and find some food. We walked through St. Stephens Green, and ended up eating at Cafe en Seine:
We then popped into a few bookstores. One of the best things about traveling with Emma is that she never says no to going into a bookstore or library. In fact, she encourages it.
Strolling back through St. Stephen’s Green to our B&B, we discovered a live band concert and many people sitting in the sunshine to enjoy the music:
After a nap at the B&B, we dragged our jet-lagged selves out for some food, live music, and my first Guinness of the trip:
It was a gorgeous sight to behold.
The next day we went on one of the “Hop On/Hop Off” bus tours with live commentary, to transport us around the city. Our first “Hop Off” was at the Guinness Storehouse:
After touring the 7 floors and stopping at the bar at the top (which has incredible views of the city), we got back on the bus and took it north of the Liffey to O’Connell Street. While seeing the historic sights there, we stopped in a few more bookstores:
The Millennium Spire:
Ha’Penny Bridge:
The Liffey:
We then went to Trinity Collage to see the book of Kells and the library:
That night we went on the Literary Pub Crawl, which started at the Duke:
The Pub Crawl guides are two funny and entertaining actors. In addition to telling us the literary history of the bars and streets we went to, they acted out several scenes from plays written by Irish playwrights. Here’s one of our guides:
The tour ended at Davy Byrnes, the bar made famous in Ulysses, where Leopold Bloom has a gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of Burgundy:
Part 2 coming soon – where Emma and I rent a car and drive toward the west on the left side of the road to more adventures! In the meantime, all of my Ireland photos are on Flickr.
How fun. Thanks for sharing the photos. Looking forward to more.
That’s really wonderful. Thank you for posting. What fun it must have been. It looks like a fantastic place.
Wonderful post and beautiful pictures, Emily! It was interesting to know that there was a live concert in the park in the afternoon- that is so nice! I have tasted only a sip of Guinness before – how did you like it? Your guide looks cool :) Looking forward to reading part 2 of your post :)
Looks like a blast! I’d love to go to Ireland someday; but for now, I’ll live vicariously through your photos.
Reading this post reminded of how much i LOVE Ireland! I worked on a dance film there in 2001 for 2 and a half months and spent weekends in Dublin. Absolutely adored both the countryside where i spent most of my time and the city..so wonderful. Thanks for the reminder!