“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
― W.B. Yeats

My second day in Dublin made me fall even more in love with the city. It’s so fun and lively and there’s so much to see. Admittedly I was spoiled with fantastic weather, but still.

That morning I woke early (first out of my six person room early) and headed down to breakfast before catching the redline tram over to Kilmainham Gaol. I’d seen it listed on good things to do in Dublin, so I of course thought I’d check it out.

I had read online it was best to have a ticket booked ahead of time. Sure enough when I went on to check, several times for the day had already filled up. So I went ahead and booked a 10 o’clock ticket.

I arrived with plenty of time to spare, so had a bit of free time to look around at the museum area upfront. And then before too long the tour began.

It was pretty good overall. Our guide led us through the jail, telling us more about the history and what had happened at particular places. It was an interesting place to see, especially noting the changes between the older and the newer parts of the jail. I was in disbelief when I heard that during the famine period they had ten times their capacity, often putting 5 to a tiny cell. So insane.

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After an hour long tour we were allowed to look through the museum on our own time. It’s fairly small, but still a nice collection. I spent about a half an hour just browsing, not reading all the signs. But it does provide some additional insight into the jail.

Once I was finished at the jail I hopped on the rail to get back towards the Guinness Storehouse, my next stop.

Again, I’d seen it listed as a fun attraction, so I figured I’d try.

It’s quite pricey. And as someone who isn’t a big beer fan, it maybe wasn’t the best choice. However, I did still have fun. The facility is very nicely laid out. They make it very fun and interactive and you learn a lot. It’s just a pity that it’s so expensive and crowded, and of course that it basically just acts as one big advertisement for the beer. It reminds me of the Coca Cola museum in Atlanta, except that the coke museum at least has a fantastic tasting room at the end where you can try all kinds of different sodas.

At the end of the Guinness tour you just get a glass of the beer.

Not bad all in all, but definitely not to my taste in beer. And others agreed as I saw full glasses left scattered throughout the bar.

Well, up to you on whether or not you want to do it. It’s not my recommendation overall, but for Guinness or beer lovers this might be just the thing you need.

After that I was torn between going back to my hostel and resting for a bit and continuing on my way.

I’d already decided that my next stop needed to be the archaeology museum.

I ended up stopping at the natural history museum on my way. The place was free, so I figured why not since I had some spare time and since I was already there.

It’s two levels, but otherwise quite small. I’ve seen better natural history museums, but it still had a nice collection of animals and some fun things to see. And again, being donation only, it’s really not a bad pop in if you’re in the area.

I walked over to St. Stephen’s Green, a beautiful open park. I didn’t spend much time there, but on a beautiful sunny day it was certainly a sight to behold.

After that I headed to the right side of the block to enter the archaeology museum.

It’s definitely one of my top recommendations for Dublin. Lots of interesting artifacts, and my personal favorite, the bog bodies. Essentially they are mummified bodies that were preserved in the bogs of Ireland and are fascinating to behold! I’d never seen anything quite like them. I’m posting the least gruesome photo I have so you can see.

I was pretty much exhausted at that point, but I was close to the gallery so I figured I’d pop in since it was free.

Well, rather it advertises it is free.

Apparently when I was there they were having a special exhibition, meaning that most of the museum was not free as a result. Only two rooms were open to the public, one of which had children’s drawings, and the other which had a few sculptures. Not too impressive. So be warned you might need to pay to go in. Check if it’s an exhibition you want to see. I wasn’t all that interested in going if I had to pay.

I headed back towards my hostel. I’d thought about visiting the Dublin Writer’s Museum, but I was simply too tired after a full day to possibly go. So I went to the store and bought some snacks for the next few day’s lunches. I have a strict one paid meal per day policy. So I usually just get some snacks for breakfast or lunch (if my hostel doesn’t provide breakfast). So I stocked up for the coming days.

A swing through Trinity in the sun!

I took a quick break at my hostel before heading out to find dinner again.

Another recommendation from my tour guide the day before had been The Winding Stair, a restaurant along the river not far from the half-penny bridge.

The prices weren’t cheap, but for what was included it was a good deal. Besides, one meal policy leaves a little room for splurging in the evening. So I had the three course meal to spoil myself.

I started with a watercress and potato soup, then lamb with mint and yogurt sauce, potatoes and broccoli, and finally a slice of dark chocolate cherry brownie with vanilla ice cream.

It was exceptionally delicious.

After the meal I headed back to my hostel. I was lucky enough to arrive back in time to the hostel in order to use the steam room. It’s only open for three hours in the evening, and only two of those are open to girls (one girls, one mixed group).

Anyhow, changed into my suit and hopped in the sauna. It was ridiculously warm so I only lasted about 10-15 minutes, but it felt really good and refreshing. So here’s my plug for Isaac’s Hostel with their awesome steam room. Very cool feature!

Then on for a good night’s sleep. I needed to be well rested and prepared for my adventure the coming day. After all, I was about to leave the beautiful country of Ireland and venture off towards a new place… The Isle of Man.

“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” — T.S Eliot

So let me thus start by addressing the upcoming account that is coming. It’s fourteen days in Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland, and England. As with all my adventure posts, the first  one might be a bit dull as it’s mostly just about getting to the place to begin with, but I assure you there is more excitement to come in the future posts.

So I began my journey by heading to Ireland. And by heading to Ireland I mean heading to Belgium.

Confused yet?

Well, the Lille airport has absolutely horrible prices for flights. So my options are to head down to Paris or to Brussels. Usually I find the cheapest prices in Brussels, which is why it’s not a bad idea to just book a shuttle over to Charleroi airport instead of paying an arm and a leg to fly out of my own country.

So voila, my flight dilemma. Which was why I booked a shuttle over to Brussels and then was going to fly to Ireland.

Or rather thought I did.

Turns out I wasn’t thinking when I booked a shuttle for 3. I forgot that generally in Europe they use military time… aka 3 was actually 3 AM…

I thankfully was there early enough that I realized my mistake and was able to just pay for a ticket for the shuttle leaving at that time. But I was still pretty irritated with myself. And yes had to pay a more expensive ticket on top of the one I’d purchased before.

Regardless I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Got through security with my one backpack and purse without having to pay any luggage fees. I’m a pretty decent packer that way. Next trip I have to try to do just a backpack… I’m admittedly quite nervous. I might have to pay for an extra bag.

I had coffee and waited in the airport (again this is why it’s the boring post). Checked in through the border check with my passport and went to wait for my flight.

Found my seat and waited two hours on the flight before finally arriving in Ireland.

Once in Ireland I had to wait about 20-30 minutes to get through customs. Possibly a bit shorter, but it felt super long. The worst is watching all the EU citizens just breeze through while you’re stuck in line. Although as an American I shouldn’t complain considering what our own customs are like.

Anyhow, once out I had to search out the bus. Obviously there might be cheaper ways to do it, but I opted to take Airlink 747 into the city center, which made it fast and easy to get to my hostel.

I had decided to stay at Isaac’s Hostel. They were centrally located, had good reviews, and even a light breakfast and I’m all for that. The downsides of Isaacs are that it’s located right next to a train line that makes it quite noisy for sleeping, and it also doesn’t have wifi in the rooms, or lockers (though you can rent ones in the basement) which is most unfortunate. But overall it had a really nice atmosphere, free breakfast, friendly staff, good location, and even a free steam room, so honestly I’m not complaining too much.

The basement lockers!

I had arrived after nine, so I was in kind of a rush to get something to eat before I went to bed. In my opinion sometimes food while traveling doesn’t need to be local cuisine. Sometimes it just needs to be something fast, convenient, cheap, easy, etc. And this was one of those times. So yes I went and grabbed pizza from a place I’d seen on my way to the hostel and then took my slices back to eat there. It was cheap and convenient, so I wasn’t going to complain.

After that I went back to shower and settle into my hostel. I was excited to get a good night’s sleep and be ready to set out the next day.