Ireland - Dublin & Belfast
9 Days in Ireland
From October 23 to October 31, 2017, we traveled to Dublin and Belfast, Ireland.
Monday, October 23, 2017
Day 1: After traveling for about 21 hours, we finally made it to Dublin. It was 8am and we dropped off our bags at Barnacles Hostel located right next to Temple Bar. After dropping off our bags, we ate at KC and Peaches for breakfast. We did some walking to the National Wax Museum, the General Post Office, Trinity College Library, the Book of Kells, the City Hall, and the Dublin Castle. Since the time difference was 12 hours, I was extremely jet lag. We headed back to our hostel took a 5 hour nap and by the time we were ready to eat, it was almost 10:30pm. Most of the eating places were already closed so we ended up eating Persian food at Zaytoon. It was so good after missing lunch and dinner. We stopped at The Stag’s Head before calling it a night. The night life in Dublin is extremely lively. Anyone who loves to drink and have a good time would have fun here.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Day 2: On day 2 in Dublin, we used our Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour tickets. It brought us to places like the Catholic Church Cathedral, (where we participated in morning prayers at), Dublinia, (where we learned about Viking history), and the Guinness Storehouse! At night, we joined in on a pub crawl that our hostel was hosting. We walked to about 6 or 7 different pubs with different people from all around the world. We got to play beer pong, drink free shots, and even joined in on a silent disco where we all had headphones to dance to!
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Day 3: We woke up to a beautiful day in Dublin. We took a tour at the Kilmainham Gaol, or jail. Men, women, and children were put in this jail for things like leading rebellions, stealing food, or small things such as having the incorrect ticket on a train! After visiting the gaol, we headed to the Irish Museum of Modern Art to check out the grounds of it. It was so gorgeous. For lunch, we ate traditional Irish food at Oneill’s Pub and Kitchen. We took another nap after eating all that food and then woke up just in time for dinner. We ate at Boxty where we had more traditional Irish food such as soda bread, traditional Irish cobble, and fresh corn beef. All the food at Boxty was very delicious.
Thursday, October, 26, 2017
Day 4: It was an early morning for us on our last day in Dublin. We went on an all day tour to Cliffs of Moher. On our way there, we stopped in a town in the center of Ireland named Mountrath-Derrycouch for some coffee and food. We arrived at the Cliffs of Moher at 11am and although it was cloudy, it was still stunning! It reminded us of Maui in some ways. We went to Doolin and visited McGanns Pub for some fish and chips. Our final stop before heading back to Dublin was Galway, a cute festive town. We didn’t get back to Dublin until it was dark out and ended up eating dinner at this little place called The Riddler. There were riddles everywhere!!!…even in the bathrooms!
Friday, October 27, 2017
Day 5: Today we checked out of our hostel and ate our last breakfast in Dublin at this cute place called Queen of Tarts. After that, we got our rental car and started heading up north to Belfast. Chad couldn’t wait to drive put the coast. On our way to Belfast, we passed through little towns such as Lusk, Skerries, Drougheda, Newgrange, and Monasterboice. It took us about 4 hours to finally get to Belfast and check into our AirBnB. We ate at Bellevue Arms for dinner. Chad loved the smoked cod.
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Day 6: Most of today was spent driving. We wanted to explore the western side of Ireland and go to the places we hadn’t visited yet. We stopped at Glenveagh National Park where we saw a castle and garden area. Chad wanted to pick cockles at this place called Cruit Island. We were supposed to pick it during low tide. The tide fluctuates here 30 feet! We didn’t know low tide was at night time until we arrived there. Instead, Chad picked some opihi and periwinkle. We stopped at this Lobster Pot of lunch and then drove 3 hours back to our AirBnB.
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Day 7: Today we had some time to relax. We woke up a little later than normal and went down to St. George’s Market. It was this huge market with food and different crafters. It reminded me of the Made in Maui County Festival except they have it weekend. Next we went to the Belfast Castle and then did a self guided tour of the Titanic Museum. It took us about 2 hours but it was so interesting to learn about how the Titanic was made. We were planning to go to a Halloween even on the Titanic Grounds to watch the fireworks but it was much too crowded. Instead, we ate at this little place called Coppi for dinner where we ate contemporary Italian food.
Monday, October 30, 2017
Day 8: Today we went on an all day tour to the Giants Causeway. It was such a beautiful place to visit and a must see when you’re in Belfast. We also went to Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge and Bushmills Distillery. Chad enjoys whiskey every once in a while so we bought a bottle while we were there. If you visit Belfast, remember this, on Monday nights, most food place are either closed or don’t serve food after 5pm. We had the hardest time finding somewhere to eat and when we found a place that would serve us, the food wasn’t that great.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Day 9: Today was our last day in Ireland. We had a chill day and stumbled upon the Ulster Museum. It’s a free museum located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast. The museum had the coolest things ever. We arrived there just before it closed and wished we had more time to look through everything. Places normally close a little early in Belfast, including the malls. We hit up the mall before it closed and stopped at this kiosk that sold chocolate moldings of all kinds of things like tools, food, and even accessories. Our last meal was probably one of the best meals we had in Ireland. We went to Mourne Seafood Bar and ate a whole pot of clams for a good price. Chad also got his fix of a whole fish. Everything was so delicious!
