Week 5 in Dublin was one to remember! The summer is flying by, as we are officially in the latter half of my 8 weeks here in Ireland. Friday night I went to a rooftop steak house in the city to get some amazing views, good food, and to celebrate my mom’s birthday. After that, my family and I went on a cocktail bar crawl, where we were able to try a bunch of different drinks and see some parts of the city that I hadn’t explored before. After saying goodbye to my family, I met up with some friends to enjoy the rest of my Friday night.
Saturday morning we got on the bus bright and early and headed to Northern Ireland. The first stop on our trip was the TItanic museum in Belfast. I thought this was a very interesting museum, and it had a lot of very unique exhibits, models, and information. My friends and I walked around the harbour next to the museum, and were able to see a couple interesting ships that have been turned into museums. We then got into a bunch of taxis for a political taxi tour of Belfast, where they took us to different murals and memorial sites, while explaining the history of Belfast. I thought Belfast was very different from Dublin and other cities that I had explored in Ireland, but had lots of history and culture.
Sunday morning we left the hotel and went to the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge. The views and natural beauty were absolutely stunning, and being able to walk across the rope bridge was a really cool experience, and unlike anything I had ever done before, and I would highly recommend spending some time here, as it is like nothing in the United States. Next we went to Dalriada for a guided walking tour, where we were able to see Giant’s Causeway. Once again, the views here were absolutely breathtaking, and I had to suppress my fear of heights to make it up to the top of the path. For lunch, we went to the Ponderosa, which was the highest restaurant and bar in Ireland, where I ate some delicious chicken wings. Five minutes down the road was the Glenshane Farm, where we learned about how they use dogs to herd sheep. This was super cool and was something I had never seen before. Each of the five dogs that worked on the farm had their own language and signals with the farmer, and we were given a demonstration of both a single dog herding, and also how multiple dogs can work at the same time, in sync. We also had the opportunity to hold some baby sheep, which was adorable.
We stayed in Derry, which was once again, much different than Dublin in its own ways, but I enjoyed it more than Belfast. Monday morning we packed up and went on a walking tour of Derry, where we saw some of the historical sites of the city, and ended up at the Museum of Free Derry. This museum was a lot more political than I had expected it to be, however it was still cool, with tons of information on Bloody Sunday.
The trip is flying by, and making me realize that I have to savor my time left here. I can’t wait for the rest of my time here in Dublin, and making more memories with my friends.
That’s super cool that you got to see your family and do a cocktail bar crawl. I never thought I’d see a cocktail served in a flower pot, that’s super cool. Super excited for these last few weeks.