My 27th day of travel, but first day in Ireland! First, I went to Iceland. Then, Scotland. Now leg three of this crazy 2.5 month journey through Europe brings me to the emerald isle… Quick one hour flight on Ryan Air from Edinburgh, and I’m not going to lie… I was sad to leave there. But Ireland is ahead of me and new adventures await!
My first glimpse of Ireland…
So how did I wind up in Ireland? Well, I’m am international housesitter. I’ve sat all over the world (Costa Rica, France, Malaysia, South Africa, Iceland…). And the first sit I accepted for this summer’s trip was 2 weeks in Dublin taking care of a cat. I had bought my airfare, both into Ireland and out of to France for my next housesit, when the home owner canceled on me because she wasn’t going to be leaving town after all. Super trashy move on her part, but it’s always a risk. So rather than be pouty, I decided to make the best of it and see as much of Ireland as I could! I researched, and decided to spend a few days each in Dublin, Belfast, and Cork.
Landed in Dublin, went to the bus counter and got my 3 day Leap pass for $23. Unlimited bus travel for three days. And that was going to be necessary, because lodging in Dublin is expensive and hard to come by in the summer. Especially considering I had budgeted $0 for lodging since I had a sit! So I found a little air bnb outside of town, about a 40 min bus ride to the center. This wasn’t going to be Edinburgh where I could just walk to everything, but I saved over $50 per night doing that. Plus, I could blog on the long trips back and forth! Win – win! Anyway, got my leap pass, got on the bus for city center, transferred at the spire… Easy, breezy!
The Spire
Checked into my air bnb, which is run by a woman from Italy. Very nice little neighborhood overlooking a park. First order of business… Groceries. My peanut butter had been confiscated by security in Edinburgh… There was a little store just up the road. The prices were YOWZA expensive compared to my beloved Tesco (and it’s clearance rack!). I googled for the nearest Tesco, but it was over a mile away. Normally, not a problem, but it was after 8 and I was tired. I just bought the bare essentials- 2 ramen, a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, a pack of cookies, some bananas, and a pack of frozen veggies to help ward off “traveler’s scurvy”. $14. Ouch.
Came back, talked to Brian over SCREAMING FAST internet (YAY…FINALLY!!), and crashed.
Day 2. I had planned out my days pretty well since I had only a few in each city. For Dublin, my first full day was going to consist of a free walking tour at 10 that was going to be 3 hours long, and the Leprechaun Museum at 2. The tour started at city hall, and I was supposed to change buses at the spire to get there. However, I saw it was only like 1/2 mile from the spire, so I got off and decided to walk instead.
Ok. All of these travel journals I create, I create for me. I LOVE that people enjoy them so much, and it really helps to motivate me to get an entry done every day instead of being a slacker, getting behind, getting overwhelmed, and giving up mid-trip. That said, because these are for me, I have to be honest to myself. Always. And not worry if I’m offending someone. If you love Dublin…um, here’s a nice blog on Scotland or Iceland to read!! Go check those out. Now…
First, I’ll say something nice. The weather was GREAT!! Sunshine, 60F. It’s the first time I’ve left the house without a jacket in a month. Felt nice! But as I walked the streets, I wasn’t impressed. There was no old European charm/history at all. It reminded me of a borough of New York City. Lots of non-descript red brick. Kind of gritty. I wondered if maybe the city had been bombed during WW2 and was rebuilt. That was the only thing I could think of that would explain it. As I crossed the River Liffey, I honestly didn’t feel 100% safe. I didn’t feel like someone was going to hurt me, but I just didn’t feel “safe”. Maybe like someone would take my bag or something. I’m not one to scare easily when traveling, and have been in MUCH sketchier looking areas before. But my instincts were on full alert for whatever reason. I walked through the streets and stumbled upon Temple Bar (which many have stumbled DOWN, I’m sure!!). The flower baskets hanging were absolutely gorgeous! But still…I just had this feeling. The streets reeked of urine. There were cigarette butts everywhere. I stopped at an ATM to get Euros, and was about 30 minutes early for the walking tour. So I just sat and waited. I wasn’t feeling this city. Not at all. I hoped that a good tour would change that!
The tour was beginning! My guide was Adam, and he is a history major!! <cue angels singing> YES! That’s what I needed to ground me to this place, some history. Because I wasn’t feeling it from the street. I’ll give you a quick rundown of some of the places we visited and the things that I thought were really interesting… First up, the flag. It’s a tricolor that was given to an Irish independence fighter by the French (based on the French tricolor). Now here’s what I found absolutely fascinating. If you’ve studied history, you know that religious conflict has been a major sticking point in Europe for centuries- especially Catholics vs. Protestants. Well this flag aimed to unite the two religions. Green is for the Catholics. The Orange (as in William the Orange) represents the Protestants. And the white in the middle represents unity. That really hit me as such amazing symbolism. No wind (YAY!), but here the flag. 🙂
The next story is about Lady Justice- a symbol that can be found in many countries, and is easily recognized from her scales of justice she holds. But unlike most Lady Justices, this one isn’t blindfolded. Hmmmm…. And generally, these statues face out over the city- a sign that justice is looking over the people. But in Ireland, she is facing the government buildings with her back to the people! There’s a saying about it…”The Statue of Justice, mark well her station, her face to the castle and her arse to the nation!” The Irish have humor. I like that! 😉
There’s a hole in her scales to let the rain through. It rains here? Really? Couldn’t tell from today! 🙂
Next we looked at Dublin Castle. It was first completed in the early 1200s! Of course, you can look at it and tell that it doesn’t look that old today. Fire destroyed the majority of the castle in the late 1600s. All that remains of the original building is the lower part of the round tower.
The castle overlooks some very pretty gardens, in the middle of which is a large green area. It is from this place that Dublin gets its name. This is the spot where two rivers once met- the Liffey, which still runs through the city, and some other river I can’t remember the name of that now runs underground. Where they met, a pool of black water formed. In the Irish language, Dubh Linn means black pool. 🙂
So speaking of the language, Ireland has two official languages. First is the Irish language and 2nd is English. Upon entering the airport in Dublin, I immediately knew there were two official languages, because very sign had this other language on it, and it was above the English. But I learned even more about it on this tour, and found it to be quite fascinating. The parent language is Celtic. Then, one sub language under that is Goedelic. The ancient Irish language is the original Goedelic language, and it spread to the Isle of Man and Scotland, where the highlanders there spoke (and some still do speak) Scottish Gaelic. Very interesting to see the progression of it! And very sad to say that although it is taught in Irish schools, the majority of the country is not fluent in Irish. English, even though it is the 2nd official language, is the language of government and business in the country. Mainly because it was under English rule for so long. (As I said on the Scotland blog…England is why we can’t have nice things!!)
Speaking of England, the guide touched on this whole weird thing about the island being split in two. And this is the simple, super-abridged version! It’s way more complicated than a guide could explain in 5 minutes… Anyway, it goes back to religion. So the entire island was under English rule. Those living in the north were primarily Protestant (like England). Those in the south, Catholic (not like England!). Those in the North weren’t really keen on the southern Catholics (lot of various forms of discrimination against them), and identified more with England. When Ireland was going to become independent from England in the 1920s, Northern Ireland was like, “Yeah, not so much. We’ll stick with England.”. Tons of conflict. TONS. Conflict that I remember hearing about on the news a lot when I was growing up in the 1980s. Anyway, today Northern Ireland is still ruled by the UK, and southern is independent. And, just like in Scotland, this whole Brexit thing is throwing a huge wrench into the works…will be interesting to see how it turns out. The super cool thing is that anyone who lives in Northern Ireland can apply for an Irish passport. So theoretically, citizens of the UK could still have an EU passport after Brexit. Of course, that doesn’t solve trade issues. Ah, politics! 🙄
We then went back down to the Temple Bar, and I learned that I needed some schooling on the matter!! In all of my research, I constantly heard about “Temple Bar” being a hotspot in Dublin. I took it literally. That it was a bar named the Temple Bar and it must have some claim to fame. That’s why I took the picture of it earlier when I was wandering the streets. However, I was incorrect! Temple Barr (yes, two r’s) was the original name of this area- one of the oldest in the city. It was named for the Temple family that owned the land. And land that is next to water is barr in the Irish language. However, somewhere along the way the other r got lost, and everyone built a bar (one r!) there!! The streets are cobblestone, and the flower baskets are amazing. But the guide said only come here if you like paying a premium for alcohol and hate drinking with locals. 😉 It’s a colorful area, and vaguely reminds me of New Orleans.
We saw several more places, but these were the ones that really interested me. I do recommend the tour. And TIP AT THE END!! Don’t be a cheap ass!! When the tour was over, I went over to Trinity University to see if I could see the Book of Kells. The line was ridiculous (Saturday). So I decided to wait on that and head on over to the Leprechaun Museum and see if I could get in early (I was booked for 2, and it was almost 1). Because still, even though I had learned some cool things, I was not feeling the city and really had no desire to wander around it for an hour. The vibe was just not clicking for me. It was really crowded by now, too. The museum said I could go in at 1:20, so I ate a pepperoni stick and granola bar and hung around outside. I should have just gone back to the house…
Remember when I went to the sad ass elf museum in Iceland? Well, they had an excuse. They were in the middle of no where Iceland! This pathetic excuse for a “museum” is right off the main area in Dublin. Why did I go? Because I’m doing a folklore class for my students and thought I could get some interesting pictures and information. Wrong and wrong. My tour had like 12 people on it. At (god, I’m going to puke when I write this)… $19 per person!!!!! For what? For fucking NOTHING. Literally, you walk in to some very poorly designed and decorated rooms. In each room, the guide tells you something. We got 2 stories out of it. One was about a leprechaun. One was about a salmon of wisdom. It was so dark in the rooms that I was about to fall asleep. I learned nothing. There was nothing worth taking a picture of. This is a huge, stupid tourist trap of epic proportions. If find a leprechaun and he gives me three wishes, I’m using all of them to close that mess down! The aftermath of this museum wasn’t helping my view of the city very much at this point…
I wandered around looking for Tesco to see if I could find some Dr. Pepper. Found a Tesco (and I should have done my grocery shopping yesterday here! Much better prices!), but no Dr. Pepper. Headed back toward the spire to catch the bus back (it was about 2:30 by now). Found a Spars, and found Dr. Pepper- for $2.50 a bottle. Dear Dublin, Reykjavik called, and they want their expensive Dr. Pepper back! Love, Mary. Sigh. I got on the bus, feeling pretty damn dejected about Dublin, hoping my adventures tomorrow would change my outlook on the city, and if not, that Belfast and Cork would save the day! Ireland, I have faith in you!! I know you’re more than just Dublin!
Thank you for the Leprechaun Museum. My plans for Dublin are the hop on hop off bus maybe botanical gardens thinking about the zoo been years since I’ve been to one. No big walking tours for me. I
If I could spare you the 45 minutes of wasted time and 16 euros at the Leprechaun Museum, then I have done my good deed for the month! 🙂
a little folklore for you, “leprechaun” is said to come from a great warrior of the Tuatha de Dannan, Lugh Lámfada (Lugh Longarm) who was skilled in all crafts. The early Christians took this great hero and changed his name to Lugh Chromain, meaning little bent creature. It was their way of diminishing the power of the ancient Mythos. Lugh Chromain became the Leprechaun . . . as a 4th generation storyteller in Kerry told me, “Faeries are real, leprechaun’s are not.”
Oh my gosh! That is such a cool story! Thank you so much for sharing…I’ll definitely tell my students. By the way, that one story was better than what I paid $19 for earlier today. 😛
We even have politicians here in Kerry that believe in the faeries ☹️
I love the idea that you house sitter (international). It sounds very interesting. If I may ask, how do you come upon that?
Actually, I hired a housesitter, and she got me my first sit in Costa Rica! I do plan on writing a post about it one of these days. Just have to find the time.
Leprechaun is an old Irish word meaning small bodied and is mentioned in the Annals of The Four Masters. It was unusual to see small people and so they were named small bodied. The original name was Leic meaning small and coirp meaning body. Over time it somehow changed
Maybe try traveling a little less like an American and needing your peanut butter and Dr. Pepper so much and try eating more local food and frequenting the places the locals do. You will have a better experience. I am an American and a Texas so I know whats up with peanut butter and Dr. Pepper. When I am in Ireland, I eat brown bread and local cheese and butter, drink Guinness and eat pub food. I spend time in St. Stephens’s Green and enjoy the museums and vast array of local statuary scattered throughout the city. I avoid the Temple Bar area like the plague. Be a traveler and not a tourist.
I don’t travel like an American. I don’t travel in a bubble. If you read my journals, you’ll see that. When a person is traveling for 2.5 months straight, eating out every day is not a financial option. And I don’t drink alcohol. My Dr. Pepper is my coffee, plus it’s a fun scavenger hunt for me in every country. I think you should go back and read some of my other blogs before you label me as a tourist and not a traveler. 🙂
Hi Mary,sorry you didn’t enjoy your trip to Dublin.Maybe you should try to get out to some of the lovely seaside villages and towns which are very near-Howth and Malahide are highly recommended.To be honest,in the city to get the best experience our have to live like a Dubliner-I know that might seem strange but it’s true.There is loads of great things about Dublin but most of the touristy places aren’t it.You had good instincts to be wary in Dublin as there is a certain amount of crime.A final tip-people in Ireland generally have a lie-in at the weekend especially on a Sunday-get up early and you’ll miss the queues.
To learn more about the coastal region of Dublin you could check out my Facebook Page ‘Walking Ireland’s Beautiful Coastline’
Enjoy the rest of your trip!
Regards,Cormac McNamara!
Well, the trip isn’t over yet! Just the first day. Good tip about Sunday queues! I’ll be doing some day trips out of the cities later in my travels, and I’ll definitely check out your FB page! Thanks!
Karen,
Your tone with Mary over her “American choice in food purchases” are snidely deivered. You don’t need to eat like a “local” to have a wonderful travel experience and be less of a tourist
Keep looking. The lore and belief are alive and well. To the point, a highway was delayed/moved a few feet to avoid cutting down a fairy tree. It does seem extreme but why take the chance right? https://www.irishtimes.com/news/fairy-bush-survives-the-motorway-planners-1.190053 I was lucky to drive right by it and have it pointed out but to the unaware, it looks like a tree on the side of the road. No offence fairies.
Oh that’s so cool! I found the same thing in Iceland- they would build roads around the rocks that were thought to be homes to elves. So fascinating!
Very interesting observations, I was a little disappointed when we went last year, most places like that museum, book of kells guinness house, etc are all tourist traps. We actually went to Dublin Zoo to get away from the crowded downtown streets, you should go to the UK (where I grew up) to find some real history, in places like York, Hadrians Wall and the original spa baths in Harrogate!
I was in England a couple of years ago. Keep intending to go back, but just haven’t made it yet.
It seems that as you didn’t get free accommodation you are pissed off and are not now well disposed towards Dublin. Too bad, But, travel costs money and Dublin isn’t any different to other cities. Convenience stores everywhere charge a lot more than discount stores, as well. Dublin is a beautiful city and it takes time to see it properly. All of the art galleries and museums are free in Dublin and they are amongst the best in the world. Dublin is a large city and is well located beside the sea, mountains and some beautiful countryside. So, basing your attitude on some sort of financial arrangement which didn’t work out is hardly sufficient reason to slag off Dublin.
You’re not correct. Most of my travels this summer are not housesitting arrangements and I’m paying for them. Actually, my accommodations here in Dublin are some of the least expensive of my whole trip! (A few in Romania are a little cheaper, but not much). It’s not about the cost of the room. It’s about just not clicking with the city. I’m sure you’ve experienced that before- going somewhere and it just doesn’t feel “right”, but you can’t explain exactly why. That’s all this is. It might change tomorrow, it might not. But whatever happens, I’ll just record it honestly. I’m going to some of the museums tomorrow, along with some other things I’ve planned, so we’ll see how that turns out!
Crap that your sit arrangement fell through so late in the day.
We home exchange and on our first one month trip to Ireland a couple of weeks before leaving Canada one of our exchangers backed out – leaving us to try to work out accommodation for a portion of our travels. It all worked out in the end. We made some great friends and now live in Donegal.
I don’t know how much of authentic Ireland you are going to find in those 3 big centres – we avoid them as often as we can! Just our personal preference though, not caring for large cities. Would recommend the “Hop on, Hop off” bus tours in Dublin.
Would be interested in learning more about the house sitting you are involved in.
Best of luck in your travels.
Based on my limited time and having to depend on public transport, I decided to just base myself out of 3 larger cities. Plus, I really wanted to see the Titanic Museum in Belfast and visit the Giant’s Causeway from there as well. I plan to post about housesitting in the future- it’s just about trying to find the time!!
You can go on a bus tour from Belfast up to Bushmills. A day trip. It takes in Carrickfergus the ancestral home of US president Andrew Jackson; Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and the Giant’s Causeway ending at Bushmills Distillery. If you love history you should go to Dungannon to the ‘Hill of the O’Neill’. Great museum and visitor centre. Just up the road at Lough Neagh is the Ardboe High Cross.
Yes, I have a tour from Belfast already planned to see the Giant’s Causeway. It’s going to be a great trip to get some pictures and video for my earth science class! Thanks for the other suggestions as well!
Mary, I agree, Dublin is not a favorite. The West Coast is the true Ireland. I’ve been only a hand full of times to Ireland, I had the good fortune that my grandparents took me back to their homes in 1969, before they had central heat, indoor plumbing, and heavy traffic. Tinkers, Gypsies, now known as Travelers, we’re still using horse or donkey and cart back then. I immediately fell in love! Nothing is the same, unfortunately, all in the name of progress.
If you get an opportunity, go to Glendalough. On your way to Cork, the Rock of Cashel, once in Cork, try Cobh, especially since you have an interest in the Titanic. Wish you could travel the Wild Atlantic Way. The Burren is a great contrast to the lush green fields. Ceide Fields in Mayo, not only scenic but educational. Perhaps Galway might have been a good choice for a larger city as a base.
In any case, enjoy. You will surely need to go again to see what you have missed.
Completely enjoyed this blog, now I must go back and read more!
If you ever read James Joyce’s Ulysses, you could have taken the self guided walking tour of Mr. Bloom, the protagonist and hero of the novel. The entire novel details ONE day of Bloom’s life in Dublin. There are brass plaques on the sidewalk that mark his journey through Dublin. It helps to read the novel first. I happened to enjoy both my trips through Dublin but I am a fan of the North where my family lives in the country around Armoy. Get out of the city and see the Irish countryside!
Hi Mary!
I’m enjoying your viewpoints! Can’t wait for the next updates 🙂
Thanks for sharing
Michelle
Gosh I’ve only read this page on Dublin and none of the things to do and places to go I could think of on a short stay in Dublin are mentioned. You must not have had any time to research. One thing I would tell every traveller to Dublin to do is to get the Dart train from Dublin to Bray and back. it runs along the Dublin suburban and hinterland coastline. Takes about 40 minutes one way. And if you have time you can take it in the other direction. It places Dublin in its context a bit. There are actually great places to visit within the city but you seem to have missed all of them!. I think you should report that leprechaun museum to the Irish tourist board. It sounds an insult to other decent people in the tourist business.
I actually never heard of anyone coming to Ireland to visit 3 cities and not the landscape! Glad to hear you are at least getting to the Giants Causeway. Hope your experiences the rest of your stay make up for your Dublin one
Well, this was just my first full day in Dublin. There are 2 more days to go! The cities are my bases, and I’m making day trips out from them. When you don’t have a car and a lot of time, you have to make choices around transportation needs.
Hi Mary, I would recommend going to Donegal….top of Ireland if you’re looking for leprechaun s. My father swore by them! There is a book on Amazon written about the fairies and there are even photographs. The author lives in Donegal I believe! Good luck…. I too wasn’t impressed with Dublin. I know there is a dicey side of Dublin. Visit The jail….Kidmanquin .Gaol. ….not sure if I spelled that correctly.
Thanks for the suggestions!
” Those living in the north were primarily Protestant (like England). Those in the south, Catholic (not like England!). ” – actually, those Protestants in the North are mainly Protestant like Scotland – i.e. Presbyterians rather than Episcopalians. The movement of Protestants to Northern Ireland was primarily triggered off by James VI of Scotland, who took over England when he inherited the English throne, and sent thousands of settlers from Scotland to Northern Ireland (which is why America calls them “Scotch Irish”.). There were English settlers too, of course, but most of British cultural influence in Northern Ireland is from Scotland, not England.
Yes, but the comparison was to show the relationship between England and Ireland, which is the contentious one. 🙂