I started the year in a really good way which is, of course…travelling. This year I’ve chosen to start my travelling tour with Ireland, a colorful country situated far away in the west. I’ve never been here, so I was really excited to just go and explore what Ireland has to offer. A four day trip turned out to be quite exciting, full of adventures and lots of cool stuff that I got to see.
How much did it cost me? Well, flights were around 20 euros (round trip), accommodation 30 euros (crazy, right?) and the rest of the budget I got to spend on food, souvenirs and bus tickets to other cities in Ireland.
I spent my first day in Dublin, probably the cutest capital I’ve seen so far, full of colorful buildings and narrow streets. Yes, the Irish accent has indeed proven to be quite challenging but with 10 seconds extra to actually decode what someone said to me, I think I handled it quite well.
Some of my favorite spots in Dublin were St. Stephen’s Green, the Trinity College and of course the infamous Temple Bar. The Irish really do have tasty beer, incredible food and shockingly as greasy as the Romanian one. Architecture felt really different from what I’ve seen so far. Similar to Belgian brick houses, yet more smaller and decorated.
I tried the Irish stew and the coddle but my favorite was probably the vegan brunch that I had right before I departed to Vienna. Special thanks to Restaurant Boxty for the warm and friendly serving and for that AMAZING brunch. Blooms Hotel provided me with a cozy room until my trip to Kinvara started the next day. People seemed to be quite friendly, I always got answers for all my questions and I REALLY enjoyed every joke about the Brits and yes, they do make a lot of them.
Second day in Ireland started on an early bus to Kinvarra, a small town situated in Western Ireland (basically on the other side of the country) my final destination being the famous Cliffs of Moher. Kinvara was really small and there wasn’t much to explore there but a small Castle (and they have a lot of Castles) and a lake where they have the annual Festival of ‘Hookers’. Don’t get too excited. A hooker in Irish is literally a BOAT. So they have a boat festival which seems to be quite interesting, I guess.
Next up I stopped in Doolin, situated a bit more south, where I had a really nice lunch and enjoyed a proper ‘Irish rainy day’ as the driver proudly screamed at me. Doolin had this cute country-side vibe with lots of green spaces around and small cute houses that I would probably never fit in.
When I finally reached the Cliffs of Moher, the weather started to improve but not so much. It was still foggy and rainy but thankfully the Cliffs were still visible. It was breathtaking, being on top there and enjoying that view, quite a highlight way to start the year. Obviously I couldn’t believe that I made it there.
It was a great and a rewarding trip. I got to see new places, meet new people and challenge myself again. I hope I will get to see Ireland again one day, hopefully during summer this time!
Those cliffs look amazing. And the houses are so cute.
Any clue about your next destination?
In theory it should be Stockholm but given the current situation with this virus outbreak, don’t know if it will actually happen.
Ireland would be such an amazing place to travel to! Life seems so much simpler than it does here in North America. I would love to visit the Cliffs of Moher. They are gorgeous!
I am longing to get to Ireland!I almost went last year (in February!!! Funny that’s when I see this was published!) but was talked out of it because of the weather. My argument would’ve been that it would’ve been way quieter haha. Cannot wait to come, and I’ve love to see the Cliffs of Moher. Just beautiful. Dublin looks adorable with tons of character.
ps I can’t believe how cheap your flight was! Mine would’ve been $600 CAD and that was a steal as far as I’m concerned (*cries in Canadian*).
That does sound like a memorable trip you had! It’s so much fun to decipher accents while getting acquainted with the locals at the same time haha really like how you have used humour in parts to engage the audience. Good that you could see Cliffs of Moher despite the rough weather. I’d love to check out the Temple Bar for myself considering the hype 🙂
That would be my dream trip- Dublin and the Cliffs of Mohee. . Ireland is the only country I have not been to in that part of the world. How cheap nowadays!
Ireland is still on my dream list. Especially Dublin and the Cliffs of Moher, so spectacular! You had an amazing trip!
This sounds like a fantastic trip! Ireland is very high on my list to visit next as I was originally hoping to go this summer. Hopefully I can go next year instead 🙂 The beer and food sound great and I’m so excited to experience Dublin!
I love the Moher cliffs. The comment about hooker festival made me laugh. It is such a lovely country I need to see more of it. As a child we used to have ferries that went direct from the neighbouring town but they have stopped doing them. Think another flight over is in need, there is something so unique about Ireland.
That’s a lovely encounter of your short stint in Ireland. The cliffs are looking gorgeous. I really wished I visited Cliffs of Moher during my visit to Ireland. The colourful coastal towns were indeed my favourite part of Ireland and how green everything looked even in winter. I went in December, brrrrr, bracing the cold! But then I come from Scotland, so Ireland was kind of milder to me – ha ha!
Wow| 20 euros for a return flight is awesome! And 30 euros accommodation – honestly that sounds like an early Christmas gift. I have not been to Ireland as yet – now that is crazy because England is much closer but when I do visit, I think I would like to visit the famous cliffs of Moher.