Having Saturday class was a really weird experience for me because I mean, HELLO, Saturday classes don't exist in the USA (or at least, not that I am aware of) hahaha, so it was rough getting myself out of bed and to the city center for our scavenger hunt. However, the only thing keeping me motivated, was my trip to Dublin, Ireland in a few hours.
I left the scavenger hunt early (yes, I promise I had permission from my teacher!!) and headed home to get ready. Of course, being as OCD as I am, I had printed off my boarding pass, tour bus tickets, and Hostel confirmation days in advance, and I packed the night before and left my room perfectly clean. The only thing I needed to do was eat lunch, do my hair, and head to the airport. When I got home, my roommate was sitting on the couch watching videos, and had yet to pack/print anything out. As per usual, my anxiety levels were through the roof. He finished packing and headed to our Uni to print all of his things out, and we agreed to meet there at the bus stop in front of the school around 12:00/12:15, so we could head to the airport. I finished everything I had to do, ate some mac-n-cheese (yep, I practically lined my suitcase with mac-n-cheese bowls) and headed to the bus stop. After waiting about 30 minutes with 0 signs from my roommate, I was literally freaking out. No, I was not going to miss my flight. At 12:40, I started to get extremely anxious; I could feel the tachycardia coming, my hands were pale, and I had a massive headache. It was in that moment, that I decided to leave without him. The bus arrived 5 minutes later and just as I was about to get on, my roommate came running up to the stop so he wouldn't miss it. It was like angels coming down to pick up the load I had on my shoulders haha, the relief was great. Though I still had a head-ache, I decided that I would just deal with it. We took the bus from the school to Place de Verdun (in the city center), then took another one to the La Rochelle airpot.
Let me tell you...I have been in some pretty small airports....but never like this one. It was tiny. Like, it was literally a building with 3 desks (and a small cafe), you walked through it, and bam, airplane. But anywayssss, we checked in, and then I sat down to eat some quiche lorraine and french fries (weird combo, I know), then we waited a little over half an hour to board.
We walked through the smallest hallway known to man and boarded the airplane. Seeing as I was exhausted, all I wanted to do on the airplane was sleep. I was sitting next to an adorable Irish couple...and before I had the chance to say hi, I pulled out the little table that was located on the seat in front of me, and I shamelessly passed out. I awoke about an hour later and the couple laughed at me and asked if I had slept well, to which I responded with a hearty yes. They then told me that we were about to land and we just started talking...about where I was from, what I was planning on doing in Dublin, and in return, they gave me lot's of tips and recommendations. I thanked them kindly and found my roomie to make our way through customs.
We finally made it outside and found the bus that would take us to where our hostel was. We bought our tickets and boarded. So...funny story...whenever we go on these types of trips, I (the most likely to get lost), am in charge of paying attention to the map, the bus stops...etc. So there I was on the bus, not being able to distinguish where all the bus was stopping, due to the heavy Irish accent that I was not yet accustomed to....until after a few moments later (I swear, it was like magic), I started understanding every word he said. After riding for about 45 minutes, we reached our stop and pulled out the map. We had to walk straight, take two turns and supposedly, we would see hostel. Surprisingly enough, it really was THAT easy, and we made it without any problems...which again, was so so so so so surprising...I mean, you know there's something wrong when something hasn't gone wrong yet. Hahaha.
Our hostel, was like an apartment, that had 3 sets of bunk beds in the bedroom. There was a full kitchen, living room, and bathroom, so that was nice. We set our things down, semi-got installed and then headed to the nearest pharmacy to get the Roomie some cold medicine. After that, our next stop was Nando's -- a UK chain restaurant known for their chicken. I found this quite hilarious because growing up, my nickname was Nandy, which meant that my sister always called me Nando. So going to a restaurant (that I shared the same name with) was hilarious and incredible at the same time.
We got there after walking about a million and and one miles in the utter cold, with photoshoots in between of the fabulous doors that Ireland is known for. (Which PS, yes, I found the door that leads to my destiny. It is pink, perfect and fabulous. If it happens to go missing from Ireland...well....now you know who the culprit will be.) My meal at Nando's was exactly what I needed on that cold night. Warm and delicious chicken, with the BEST mashed potatoes, water with ICE, and the most amazing chocolate cake for dessert. It was a great way to end our first night in Dublin.
I left the scavenger hunt early (yes, I promise I had permission from my teacher!!) and headed home to get ready. Of course, being as OCD as I am, I had printed off my boarding pass, tour bus tickets, and Hostel confirmation days in advance, and I packed the night before and left my room perfectly clean. The only thing I needed to do was eat lunch, do my hair, and head to the airport. When I got home, my roommate was sitting on the couch watching videos, and had yet to pack/print anything out. As per usual, my anxiety levels were through the roof. He finished packing and headed to our Uni to print all of his things out, and we agreed to meet there at the bus stop in front of the school around 12:00/12:15, so we could head to the airport. I finished everything I had to do, ate some mac-n-cheese (yep, I practically lined my suitcase with mac-n-cheese bowls) and headed to the bus stop. After waiting about 30 minutes with 0 signs from my roommate, I was literally freaking out. No, I was not going to miss my flight. At 12:40, I started to get extremely anxious; I could feel the tachycardia coming, my hands were pale, and I had a massive headache. It was in that moment, that I decided to leave without him. The bus arrived 5 minutes later and just as I was about to get on, my roommate came running up to the stop so he wouldn't miss it. It was like angels coming down to pick up the load I had on my shoulders haha, the relief was great. Though I still had a head-ache, I decided that I would just deal with it. We took the bus from the school to Place de Verdun (in the city center), then took another one to the La Rochelle airpot.
Let me tell you...I have been in some pretty small airports....but never like this one. It was tiny. Like, it was literally a building with 3 desks (and a small cafe), you walked through it, and bam, airplane. But anywayssss, we checked in, and then I sat down to eat some quiche lorraine and french fries (weird combo, I know), then we waited a little over half an hour to board.
We walked through the smallest hallway known to man and boarded the airplane. Seeing as I was exhausted, all I wanted to do on the airplane was sleep. I was sitting next to an adorable Irish couple...and before I had the chance to say hi, I pulled out the little table that was located on the seat in front of me, and I shamelessly passed out. I awoke about an hour later and the couple laughed at me and asked if I had slept well, to which I responded with a hearty yes. They then told me that we were about to land and we just started talking...about where I was from, what I was planning on doing in Dublin, and in return, they gave me lot's of tips and recommendations. I thanked them kindly and found my roomie to make our way through customs.
We finally made it outside and found the bus that would take us to where our hostel was. We bought our tickets and boarded. So...funny story...whenever we go on these types of trips, I (the most likely to get lost), am in charge of paying attention to the map, the bus stops...etc. So there I was on the bus, not being able to distinguish where all the bus was stopping, due to the heavy Irish accent that I was not yet accustomed to....until after a few moments later (I swear, it was like magic), I started understanding every word he said. After riding for about 45 minutes, we reached our stop and pulled out the map. We had to walk straight, take two turns and supposedly, we would see hostel. Surprisingly enough, it really was THAT easy, and we made it without any problems...which again, was so so so so so surprising...I mean, you know there's something wrong when something hasn't gone wrong yet. Hahaha.
Our hostel, was like an apartment, that had 3 sets of bunk beds in the bedroom. There was a full kitchen, living room, and bathroom, so that was nice. We set our things down, semi-got installed and then headed to the nearest pharmacy to get the Roomie some cold medicine. After that, our next stop was Nando's -- a UK chain restaurant known for their chicken. I found this quite hilarious because growing up, my nickname was Nandy, which meant that my sister always called me Nando. So going to a restaurant (that I shared the same name with) was hilarious and incredible at the same time.
We got there after walking about a million and and one miles in the utter cold, with photoshoots in between of the fabulous doors that Ireland is known for. (Which PS, yes, I found the door that leads to my destiny. It is pink, perfect and fabulous. If it happens to go missing from Ireland...well....now you know who the culprit will be.) My meal at Nando's was exactly what I needed on that cold night. Warm and delicious chicken, with the BEST mashed potatoes, water with ICE, and the most amazing chocolate cake for dessert. It was a great way to end our first night in Dublin.
We got back to the hostel for an early night since we had an early start the next day for our trip to the CLIFFS OF MOHER! Yes, you read that correctly, and yes, I was dying of excitement. Of course, my insomnia got the best of me, and I literally didn't sleep more than 2 hours that night and I was wide-eyed and ready to head out at 6:00 am for our 12 hour tour that day.
Our tour guide, Wayne, was sure to give us the full experience. Wayne's Top Tips from the Cliffs of Moher will all be included in this post.
We started off by going to Limerick City (which is the 3rd largest city in Ireland) where there was nice little cathedral and a great lake view. As we continued on our long drive, Wayne showed us the Bonrattey Castle and also told us how you can RENT castles...yeah...Mom, Dad? Anyone up for it? I think it would be great for a family reunion...or not....please? Hahahah. Well, it was worth a shot. We also drove past the Shannon airport which is where all the emergency stops happen on international flights, which I thought was pretty neat. It also serves as an alternate landing zone for the American space shuttles that go up into space. Apparently, the Irish created duty free shopping in this airport and thanks to them, the world caught on. As Wayne would say, "You're welcome world."
We passed through Lenhich Town, which has a lot of remains from the Irish potato famine. It has great surfing and even better golf. It is ranked among the top 50 golf courses in the world! So if you would like to pay over 500 euros to go play some really stellar golf, Lenhich Town is your place.
Our tour guide, Wayne, was sure to give us the full experience. Wayne's Top Tips from the Cliffs of Moher will all be included in this post.
We started off by going to Limerick City (which is the 3rd largest city in Ireland) where there was nice little cathedral and a great lake view. As we continued on our long drive, Wayne showed us the Bonrattey Castle and also told us how you can RENT castles...yeah...Mom, Dad? Anyone up for it? I think it would be great for a family reunion...or not....please? Hahahah. Well, it was worth a shot. We also drove past the Shannon airport which is where all the emergency stops happen on international flights, which I thought was pretty neat. It also serves as an alternate landing zone for the American space shuttles that go up into space. Apparently, the Irish created duty free shopping in this airport and thanks to them, the world caught on. As Wayne would say, "You're welcome world."
We passed through Lenhich Town, which has a lot of remains from the Irish potato famine. It has great surfing and even better golf. It is ranked among the top 50 golf courses in the world! So if you would like to pay over 500 euros to go play some really stellar golf, Lenhich Town is your place.
After about 4 hours of driving, we finally arrived to the Cliffs of Moher. Wow. I don't even know where to begin....it was absolutely indescribable being in such an incredible place. Standing in the middle of grass and looking out into the sweet nothing. The ocean was all you could see for miles and miles, the wind blew, and the birds sang...it was so peaceful. It made me feel so small in such a huge place, it was really humbling to be honest. I actually don't have words to describe what it was like....so I'll just let you look at pictures for the time being....
Once we left the cliffs, we went to Burren National Park, which is made of all limestone. It was really cool! It overlooked the ocean as well, but it was quite the challenge making it through the rocks and not dropping my iPhone or my camera in one of the cracks. Luckily, I made it out with both and we loaded the bus once again. We stopped in Kinvara City to grab some lunch at a local Irish Pub that came highly recommended from Wayne. We left stuffed and with happy tummys and headed off to our last destination before making the 3/4 hour treck home. We went to Gullaway Bay, which had the cutest little boats and it was just a nice town to walk around. However, my roomies sickness started to spread my way, so I found myself at the pharmacy buying medicine so I wouldn't die, as well.
Once we left the cliffs, we went to Burren National Park, which is made of all limestone. It was really cool! It overlooked the ocean as well, but it was quite the challenge making it through the rocks and not dropping my iPhone or my camera in one of the cracks. Luckily, I made it out with both and we loaded the bus once again. We stopped in Kinvara City to grab some lunch at a local Irish Pub that came highly recommended from Wayne. We left stuffed and with happy tummys and headed off to our last destination before making the 3/4 hour treck home. We went to Gullaway Bay, which had the cutest little boats and it was just a nice town to walk around. However, my roomies sickness started to spread my way, so I found myself at the pharmacy buying medicine so I wouldn't die, as well.
We made it back to the hostel after hours of driving, exhausted, sick, and wanting to do nothing. I ordered a pizza for myself, which took 3 HOURS to deliver...I could have converted to cannibalism at that point hahaha, but it's fine. Casual hunger. (note to self, never order a pizza to a hostel in Dublin). I officially moved out of the bedroom and into the living room, where I knew I was going to be able to sleep MUCH better, and that is where I crashed for the night.
The next day, we started our "Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour" of Dublin and our first stop was of course, Trinity College. We walked through the St. Stephenson Green Park while on our way to TC. It was so beautiful-- the grass was the greenest I've ever seen in my life, and it was just a beautiful day to be alive. Visiting the Long Room in the library has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. I love reading and love books, so going to one of the oldest places in the world, that reminded me of the library in Beauty & the Beast (which yes, I want that library in my future house....), I was so excited to get there and go in. As soon as I walked into the entrance of the Long Room, I had a mii-heart attack and had a little bit of trouble breathing as I stared in awe at all the books and the ancient wall ladders that slid across the book shelves. My inner nerd was even more exposed when we saw the statues of all of my favorites; Plato, Shakespeare, Aristotle, and Confucius. I could have easily spent all day inside there just admiring the beauty of the place, but I enjoyed what I could before we headed out to grab some breakfast.
We stopped a local person and asked them where their favorite place to eat was, and we followed their instructions and quite easily made it to the peaceful cafe where I had my first full breakfast since I left home with the best hot-chocolate and FRESH cream. Needless to say, it was delicious. While eating, my roommate started reading something that literally described me. I got slightly defensive and asked him why he was talking about me, and he campy replied that he was just reading the sign that was placed on the wall behind me. So, it's official. Dublin defines who I am hahaha.
We then headed off to the Jameson Whiskey Distillery (as per my roommates request), for a tour and a small tasting. I don't really like whiskey, to say the least...so it was interesting nonetheless, but nothing spectacular. After the distillery, we went to O'Connell Street (the Bourbon street of Dublin), did some quick souvenir shopping, and stopped to eat at another place that was recommended by a local. Again, we had ice water (which I just LOVE about the UK),a lovely meal, then headed back to the hostel.
The next day, we started our "Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour" of Dublin and our first stop was of course, Trinity College. We walked through the St. Stephenson Green Park while on our way to TC. It was so beautiful-- the grass was the greenest I've ever seen in my life, and it was just a beautiful day to be alive. Visiting the Long Room in the library has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. I love reading and love books, so going to one of the oldest places in the world, that reminded me of the library in Beauty & the Beast (which yes, I want that library in my future house....), I was so excited to get there and go in. As soon as I walked into the entrance of the Long Room, I had a mii-heart attack and had a little bit of trouble breathing as I stared in awe at all the books and the ancient wall ladders that slid across the book shelves. My inner nerd was even more exposed when we saw the statues of all of my favorites; Plato, Shakespeare, Aristotle, and Confucius. I could have easily spent all day inside there just admiring the beauty of the place, but I enjoyed what I could before we headed out to grab some breakfast.
We stopped a local person and asked them where their favorite place to eat was, and we followed their instructions and quite easily made it to the peaceful cafe where I had my first full breakfast since I left home with the best hot-chocolate and FRESH cream. Needless to say, it was delicious. While eating, my roommate started reading something that literally described me. I got slightly defensive and asked him why he was talking about me, and he campy replied that he was just reading the sign that was placed on the wall behind me. So, it's official. Dublin defines who I am hahaha.
We then headed off to the Jameson Whiskey Distillery (as per my roommates request), for a tour and a small tasting. I don't really like whiskey, to say the least...so it was interesting nonetheless, but nothing spectacular. After the distillery, we went to O'Connell Street (the Bourbon street of Dublin), did some quick souvenir shopping, and stopped to eat at another place that was recommended by a local. Again, we had ice water (which I just LOVE about the UK),a lovely meal, then headed back to the hostel.
The next day, we finished our lovely Hop-On/Hop Off Tour. We started out with coffee from a coffee-shop called 3FE. For all you business people out there, you're going to love this story.
A guy was working as a trustee officer for professional investment funds in Dublin’s Financial district when I slowly began to realise that I had chosen the wrong path. A four year degree in Business and Legal Studies had led him to a very lucrative career in finance and although he worked with amazing people, it wasn't quite for him. At the time he knew very little about coffee but just from researching online, he'd gotten to a place where he could make a better coffee at home than he could buy on the high street. He had a small espresso machine in his kitchen, a list of coffee forums on the internet, and a desire to learn as much as he could.
He got my first coffee job as a barista at Coffee Angel in the IFSC financial district, located in the shadow of his former office building. It was freezing cold, hard physical work, and involved a 4.50am start, but Karl Purdy who ran the business was a former Irish Barista Champion and gave him an excellent schooling in coffee quality. Six months later, he entered and won the Irish Barista Championships in the RDS in what was as much as a shock to him as it was to everyone else. He had created his own blend and worked tirelessly over the cold winter in an inner-city lockup to perfect his routine. Although he came to the competition as a complete outsider, he reaped the rewards of all that effort on the day. He then found someone local to brew his coffee (as he had been buying his coffee for years) and decided to enter the World Coffee Competition where he placed 4th and then decided to open his own coffee shop, which is where 3FE now stands. You will find it FULL of businessmen at all times, because they know that 3FE serves a damn good cup of coffee and I can attest to that 100%.
After our stellar coffee stop, we continued on the adventure. We went to St. Patrick's cathedral which was enormous and beautiful. It was then that I decided that my day would only be complete if I got the chance to nap in a park and touch a bunny. Ireland fulfilled both of my wishes. After the cathedral, we headed to Phoenix Park, which was 65 acres of PERFECT GREEN GRASS...I took this opportunity to do a million cartwheels, handstands, and yes, I took a nap in the grass. An hour later, we headed off to eat some great food. I found a bistro called Bach 16, where they played amazing classical music and had the best panini's. Afterwords, we headed to the small shopping center to do some "shopping"...which ended extremely soon because we both had massive headaches and only wanted to get out of the stores. As we were walking down the street, I was looking at some shoes through a window, when I looked down...and saw....
YES. A bunny. Omg. I almost died. I was so excited that people around me took pictures of my face...but it's okay, I'll never see them again hahah. I had a lovely time playing with the cute little bunny and then we headed back to the hostel. We took a small power nap then headed back to O'Connell street to eat an Irish pub and drink some beer on our last night in Dublin before heading back to France early the next morning.
A guy was working as a trustee officer for professional investment funds in Dublin’s Financial district when I slowly began to realise that I had chosen the wrong path. A four year degree in Business and Legal Studies had led him to a very lucrative career in finance and although he worked with amazing people, it wasn't quite for him. At the time he knew very little about coffee but just from researching online, he'd gotten to a place where he could make a better coffee at home than he could buy on the high street. He had a small espresso machine in his kitchen, a list of coffee forums on the internet, and a desire to learn as much as he could.
He got my first coffee job as a barista at Coffee Angel in the IFSC financial district, located in the shadow of his former office building. It was freezing cold, hard physical work, and involved a 4.50am start, but Karl Purdy who ran the business was a former Irish Barista Champion and gave him an excellent schooling in coffee quality. Six months later, he entered and won the Irish Barista Championships in the RDS in what was as much as a shock to him as it was to everyone else. He had created his own blend and worked tirelessly over the cold winter in an inner-city lockup to perfect his routine. Although he came to the competition as a complete outsider, he reaped the rewards of all that effort on the day. He then found someone local to brew his coffee (as he had been buying his coffee for years) and decided to enter the World Coffee Competition where he placed 4th and then decided to open his own coffee shop, which is where 3FE now stands. You will find it FULL of businessmen at all times, because they know that 3FE serves a damn good cup of coffee and I can attest to that 100%.
After our stellar coffee stop, we continued on the adventure. We went to St. Patrick's cathedral which was enormous and beautiful. It was then that I decided that my day would only be complete if I got the chance to nap in a park and touch a bunny. Ireland fulfilled both of my wishes. After the cathedral, we headed to Phoenix Park, which was 65 acres of PERFECT GREEN GRASS...I took this opportunity to do a million cartwheels, handstands, and yes, I took a nap in the grass. An hour later, we headed off to eat some great food. I found a bistro called Bach 16, where they played amazing classical music and had the best panini's. Afterwords, we headed to the small shopping center to do some "shopping"...which ended extremely soon because we both had massive headaches and only wanted to get out of the stores. As we were walking down the street, I was looking at some shoes through a window, when I looked down...and saw....
YES. A bunny. Omg. I almost died. I was so excited that people around me took pictures of my face...but it's okay, I'll never see them again hahah. I had a lovely time playing with the cute little bunny and then we headed back to the hostel. We took a small power nap then headed back to O'Connell street to eat an Irish pub and drink some beer on our last night in Dublin before heading back to France early the next morning.
I absolutely fell in love with Dublin. It has quickly gained a spot on my top 20 favorite places to travel! I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who wants to go! It is a gorgeous place. The people are wonderful. You'll find your door that leads to your destiny, eat great food, and trust me, you'll end up lovin' Dublin. I am so looking forward to my next Irish adventures. Maybe you'll beat me to it ;)
Sending much love!
XOXO,
Ana
Sending much love!
XOXO,
Ana