Even while studying abroad, I got to have a great spring break! Alex came to visit me in Ireland for the week leading up to my two-week break and we had a great time exploring Cork and Northern Ireland together!
I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to show Alex around my new city and to experience Northern Ireland with her. I loved every moment with her, and I wish we’d had more time to explore Europe. This week was the first part of the three best weeks I think I’ve ever had in my life.
Cork (March 13 – 17)
We spent the first part of Alex’s visit in Cork, Ireland using my apartment as our home-base. Our days took us all around Cork. We did only have one piece of real business to conduct and that was to pick up my GNIB card. I needed that so I wouldn’t have too much trouble getting back into Ireland from our international travels. Other than that, we just explored and had fun. I showed her my favorite pub, the Spoons, and we frequented McDonald’s, as you do when you travel!
St. Patrick’s Day (March 17)
St. Paddy’s was a doozy, really. Alex doesn’t drink, so she was my designated babysitter for the day. We had a great day together, although it was very long and convoluted. I won’t get into all of the details here, but check out my post specifically about St. Patrick’s Day for the details!
Northern Ireland (March 18 – 19)
It’s fortunate that I don’t get hungover because we bought tickets at 2:00am and were then on the way to Belfast at 12:45pm. We had some confusion because we took the train to Dublin Connolly and then had to switch to Dublin Heuston, but we managed to figure out the bus to get between them. Once we got to Belfast, we immediately walked to get dinner. The travel made us super hungry, but we’d already identified a restaurant to look into so we set off in that direction!
1. The Crown Liquor Saloon
The Crown Liquor Saloon was worth every positive Yelp review! We were asked to wait for a while and we were the last party to be able to get a table. After us, every other party was asked to leave with a recommendation to check out the place next door, Robinson’s Bar.
The wait was certainly worth it! Alex got to try traditional Northern Irish stew with lamb, carrots, onions, and potatoes. I ordered the vegetarian version of their sausage and champ dish. The vegetarian sausages were very good especially with the champ, a blend of mashed potatoes and scallions. The dish came with a caramelized onion gravy that was a little sweet for my taste, but still tasted incredible! (I’m hungry now just thinking about it!)
When I went to pay, the waitresses and I got to talking. They thought that I was an Irish student, which I happily did not discourage. I gave them advice on where to visit in Cork; they stroked my ego for being able to fit in; it was all very symbiotic!
2. Global Village
Our solution for where to stay in Belfast was the Global Village. I loved the art on the walls and the eclectic feel of the place. The bed situation was not my favorite because they reminded me of coffin-boxes with these small openings to get in. I ended up on the upper bunks each night, which, if you know me, is a terrible idea. I did not have a good time getting down from there with my fear of heights! Regardless, it ended up being a good place to crash and had decent breakfast each morning. The hostel had activities at night that we could’ve been involved in, but neither of us were really in the group-activity mood whenever we were at the hostel.
3. Town Square Café
We were out searching for trad and drinks when we found the Town Square Café. Town Square has multiple parts, and we walked into the bar area first. I’d decided that an Irish coffee was definitely what I needed in my life, but I didn’t see it on the menu at the bar. Thinking the place next door might be better, we walked over and found a cute little café with live music. Alex ordered a white chocolate hot cocoa and I got an Irish coffee with Bushmills whiskey. We sat there until the musical act finished, and then went back to our hostel.
4. Paddywagon Giant’s Causeway Day Tour
Our plan for Northern Ireland included a day tour to the Giant’s Causeway. We left early in the day, stopping to get lunch at Tesco before getting on the bus, and got in late, just as dinnertime approached. It was a really amazing tour and I’m so glad that we booked it. Fortunately, we had the best weather we could’ve hoped for. It was warm and sunny the entire time we were in Northern Ireland, which made for great photos and even greater adventures.
⇾ Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
I’m not a fan of heights at all, but I’m glad that we made a stop at the rope bridge. The views were stunning, and I even stopped to take a selfie on the bridge with Alex. I’m not sure if it was entirely worth the money considering the actual bridge experience lasted maybe two full minutes, but it was a cool thing to do once!
⇾ Giant’s Causeway
The Giant’s Causeway was awesome! It was easily my favorite location of the day. Alex and I listened to audio guides as we walked down from the visitor’s center to the Causeway itself. The guide was super funny, and we got to hear some folklore about the area. We walked over the rocks, even though we weren’t really supposed to (but we didn’t know that at the time!). I made sure to take lots of photos. It’s a magnificent location, in terms of aesthetic beauty, cultural lore, and scientific study. Apparently, the hexagonal shapes are caused by horizontal contraction as lava cooled, but I think it’s much more fun to imagine them being built by Finn MacCool, the Irish giant!
⇾ Dunluce Castle
Built in the 13th century, Dunluce Castle is currently in ruins and apparently hasn’t been inhabited since 1690! Surrounding the castle is the town of Dunluce, which was discovered in 2011 during an archaeological excavation. More recently, the castle is thought to have been the inspiration for Cair Paravel in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, and it serves as the film location for the House of Greyjoy for Game of Thrones.
We only stopped to take photos from across the way, but Alex and I were still happy with the whole event. I mean, how often do you get to visit the ruins of a medieval castle?
⇾ Dark Hedges
The Dark Hedges were also a place not really worth the hype. It was impossible to get a photo that didn’t include tons of people or cars. As our really funny bus driver said: “They’re just trees.” Apparently, I’m not missing out on that at least by not watching Game of Thrones!
5. Robinson’s Bars
For our second dinner in Belfast, we decided to check out the place that the Crown Liquor Saloon was sending their overflow to: Robinson’s Bars. It certainly wasn’t as good as the Crown, but we enjoyed it! Although I ordered way too much food, I have no regrets. While we both sat digesting our food babies, we decided to go out in search of some trad.
6. Filthy McNastys
When My Nick told me that I should have a drink at Filthy McNastys, I thought he was kidding. So, naturally, when Alex and I walked past the bar on our second night, I knew that we had to go in! I ordered a grasshopper and Alex got a Sprite, so technically we can both say that we drank at a bar called Filthy McNastys!
Dublin (March 20 – 21)
What did I do with a day in Dublin? Apparently, get sick for the second day in Ireland! Normally, I’m sick pretty much constantly, but I’d gotten so used to being well that I was a teensy bit bitter about my illness from hell.
Naturally, I would’ve felt terrible if I’d let my illness keep me from enjoying time with Alex and seeing the sights, so I pushed through it. We had a wonderful time wandering around the city together. I loved every moment of our adventures, even when I felt really sick and terrible!
1. Esquires Coffee
We took a very early bus from Belfast to Dublin, so we got in around 9:45am. Of course, the first thing we had to do was get some breakfast. I loved Esquires Coffee so much in Galway and I wanted Alex to experience that traditional Irish breakfast, too. What I didn’t know was that the Dublin location had a different menu than the Galway location. It was still really good, especially after being on a super early bus with only cookies to eat, but it wasn’t nearly as good as what I’d had in Galway!
2. National Botanic Gardens
After breakfast, Alex and I went to the National Botanic Gardens to wander around and see all of the nature. We saw some beautiful plants, and I took tons of photos! Alex and I interrupted a photography class, I think, which was frustrating because they kept blocking the doorways. Regardless, we had a great time and spent an hour sitting on a bench in the sunlight just talking about life. Everything was absolutely perfect. I could’ve sat on that bench forever, but we had to head over to the Old Library to check out the Book of Kells. We panicked over time until I managed to flag down a cab and then we were on the way.
3. Old Library – Book of Kells
I’d seen the Book of Kells exhibit back in 2013 when I visited with family, but it was like I was seeing it for the very first time through her eyes. It was really crowded, but I feel like I have a new appreciation for its history and artistry than I did five years ago now that I’ve studied such works more. Afterwards, we walked up to the Old Library, with it’s cases of books and wooden ladders to climb. That was definitely the part I was looking forward to the most. We’ve talked about how cool libraries like that are, so I was excited to see her reaction. It was amazing!
4. National Leprechaun Museum
If you want to experience a unique perspective of Irish folklore, I highly recommend checking out the National Leprechaun Museum. The desk attendant referred to himself as “Chubby Jesus,” and told our whole group how the tours work. Each tour is different and tailored to the group so there is no set script, but they’re all great tour guides and storytellers! We saw the huge furniture in a giant’s room, wandered into a village cottage, frolicked through a rainbow, and heard “scary” folklore tales in the dark!
5. O’Neills Pub and Kitchen
At this point in our day, I was feeling pretty worse for the wear. Alex and I each had bowls of potato and leek soup, which was delicious, and then she went back for traditional stew. It was a weird buffet-like setup, but we got the hang of it pretty quickly. Alex and I would’ve gone to get ice cream afterwards, but even I had to agree that getting to bed was the best thing for me so we went back to the hostel.
6. Barnacles Hostel Dublin
If you’ve read my post about my adventures in Galway, you’d know that I stayed at the Barnacles Hostel in Galway. We waited for the rest of our roommates to leave and then packed everything up for the next day. Sleeping on a hostel’s bed isn’t super comfortable and it’s not exactly what you want when you’re sick. However, it’s not that bad if you are so tuckered out that you can’t even complain about it! Once we woke up, we found that the breakfast at the Dublin location was much better than the Galway location’s. From there, we went straight to the airport to head for Montréal!
More information about my trip to Montréal can be found in its own post here!
I’ve spent so much time with Alex now that country music has officially made it to my phone and I’m not even denying it. She got this song stuck in my head on the plane to Montréal and then reinforced it the entire time I was there!