Europe in our bags: travellers

This time Irene will tell you about her trip to Dublin, capital of Ireland.

First of all I want to say that since this trip I found my hobby, my passion and how I would like to work for a living…TRAVELLING. It was the first time I travelled alone, so in some moments I could overcome some difficulties by myself and it gave me a little more confident about my actions and what I wanted to do. Also I met one of my best friends in there. We were living together for 3 weeks, enjoying great and unforgettable moments and we created a beautiful friendship. Due to all these, my experience in Dublin is so special and magical and I would love to go back again and discover more and more places.

Thanks to a scholarship, I had the opportunity to travel to Dublin, visit the city and, the most important reason, practice English. About the improvement in English, it didn’t go very well because Dublin is full of Spanish people. There was not a single place where I entered and didnt heard words in Spanish. The first day was very useful because I was lost and the map didn’t help too much, so I could ask a couple the address of the building. But during the 3 weeks, I would had preferred an intensive and stressful English days.

But let’s go to talk about Dublin, the huge green and peaceful parks, the famous black beer and the traditional Irish music playing in Temple Bar.

Phoenix park

Dublin is well known due to its huge and green parks where you can have a great Sunday with your family and friends. This is one reason because I love Dublin. Saint Stephen’s Green, the Botanic Garden and Phoenix Park are the most famous; and also in the last one there is a zoo inside but I don’t recommend paying for it, the animals you can find there are not very exotic or difficult to see in other zoos.

Saint Stephen's Green

Botanic Garden

Hello Sweety :)

The city is divided by the river Liffey in two parts, O’ Connell Street and Temple Bar.

River Liffey

O’ Connell Street is the main street in the city center and you will recognize it easily thanks to Spire, a very long monument placed in the middle of the avenue. Also there are people since early in the morning until the midnight. I liked this place due to the variety of cultures and people from all around the world. If you want to buy souvenirs or gifts, O’ Connell Street and others streets next to it are full of shops and some shopping centers. It is place really cool to walk or go shopping for hours.

O'connel Street

Spire

The other touristic part in the city is Temple Bar, being, in my opinion, the most attractive neighborhood in Dublin where you couldn’t decide between many kind of bars and pubs. In every narrow street there is a place to enter and listen to the traditional music while you are drinking an Irish beer. You will not have the possibility to be bored because even in the morning there are several markets like Food Market or Book Market. You can listen different songs and music coming from every pub. It’s amazing.

Temple Bar

MUSEUMS AND OTHER PLACES

Dublin is also a good choice if you are a museums’ fan because there is a great offer of them around the city. I will give my opinion about some of them and then you can comment if you agree with me or not.

-National Gallery of Dublin. In this museum you have the opportunity to observe paintings made by important artists like Caravaggio, Monet or Picasso. Of course you cannot compare it with Louvre museum but you can enjoy the paintings from Middle Age.

- Guinness Storehouse. In my opinion this is the king of the museums in Dublin. In here you can learn the process of the famous black beer Guinness. The visit is organized very well because at the entrance they give a kind of phone where it is explained the history of this drink and how it is prepared. You need time for this museum; it is divided in 7 floors and you can touch most of the things that you see. I highly suggest you to visit even if you don’t like beer because when you arrive to the top of the museum, there is a beautiful sightseeing of the city. Also they give you a free beer but if you don’t drink alcohol, you can ask for a Coke or Seven up.

-The Old Jameson Distillery. This museum is also interesting to know the different phases of this traditional and well-known Irish whiskey. Moreover, you can enjoy of a whiskey tasting and recognize which one is Jameson. But to be honest, this is not so spectacular as Guinness Storehouse.

-Dublinia. Do you want to go back to Vikings or medieval times? Are you interested in it? If you answered YES, this is your place. Dublinia shows how people lived and worked in the old city through reconstructions not really well-made. The museum is a good option for families because kids can play roles and interact with different objects from Medieval Times.

- Leprechaun Museum. First of all I will explain that Leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. In my opinion, this is one of the worst museums I’ve never been. In here, they try to move visitors to Leprechaun world and make you feel tiny and small as a Leprechaun, so for it they use huge chairs, tables and cups. Also there are other dark and white rooms with umbrellas on ceiling and colorful fabrics. I didn’t understand the purpose of this museum so from my point of view it doesn’t worth to visit it.

-Trinity College. It is the oldest university in Ireland, created in 1592. It includes 16 hectares with in squares and green spaces around the buildings which represents the rich architecture of those times. Important writes like Jonathan Swift, Synge or Oscar Wilde studied here. This is one of the first places I visited in Dublin, and I really liked the environment, I felt myself like I was in a typical university from a movie.

- Kilmainham Gaol: It is an ancient prison built in 1796 and it is famous because some scenes of the movie “In the name of the father” were taken in there.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral

Christ Church

Next to Molly Malone

Please leave an e-mail or comment if you have any questions

Regards

Irene Jimenez & Isak Uzun

Poland and sea, so opposite concepts but believe me its not that bad combination. Unfortunately i couldnt go to that city with my beloved Irene but i was there with my lovely Hungarian friends Gabor and Andrea.

Andrea and her famous Map to find the hostel !!! Ahahahahah :)

Sun in Poland is a gift so if there is sun run to the gdansk guys, its a great city after polnd you do feel that its a city. Gdansk has a soul guys.

We were lucky and we had sun for some hours and it wasnt that cold, normally its freezing.

As all we know nearly all the polish cities has old towns so this is the old town of Gdansk also known 3 cities. Some people says its the city that rebellion or uprisng started from here and spread to all poland.

Not many but there are still figures that shows the marks of the past in Gdansk.

I have to tell Gdansk is full of with museums if you like it of course. Personally i love museums if they are not boring of course and Gdansk is a paradise for Museum lovers. especially Amber museum is highly recommended.

I couldnt stop myself taking this lovely photo :)

Really if you dont have hungarian friends that means you lost a lot. They are great people. Maybe ı am Turkish and they are Hungarian we are relatives from the past maybe cause of this but its so great to travel with them.