Dublin… Halloween
Firstly, the decision to visit Dublin was somewhat of an impulse – a combination of Ryanair’s ridiculously low airfares and the fact that we decided to go while we were pre-drinking at Chris’ house, probably before some Tiger Tiger event. Anyway, the plan came to fruition and Ben (my fellow basketballer, brown bear and all-round good bloke), Rose (Ben’s mate, who I threw £1 at when we first met, but have subsequently become good mates with) and I headed to Dublin for a few nights during “Reading Week”. In a feeble attempt to justify travelling while I should be studying, I brought my insurance law textbook, but in hindsight it was only packed because it was the smallest of my textbooks. What the hell, we are all exchange students and everyone knows that “exchange” is actually a euphemism for “holiday”.
Our hostel in Dublin, Jacob’s Inn, was conveniently located right next to the bus station and a short walk from the town centre. Even better was the fact that we had a 10 bed dorm pretty much to ourselves… and there was an en suite! First, we hit up town for some fish and chips and then had a quick (3 hour) power nap back at the hostel before the night of carnage began – pre-drinks at the hostel and then we headed to Temple Bar (the district in Dublin filled with bars, clubs and plenty of sauce).
So, riddle me this… An Australian, German and Dutchman (I know Rose is female, but Dutchwoman doesn’t sound right) enter a pub, what happens next? Lots of whisky neat followed by really cheesy dancing, a lot of incomprehensible texts sent back to Manchester, an unsightly self-inflicted mess on my Y-3s and Nudies (again) and a 16 inch pizza. Oh Aaron. The night was, for lack of a better word, awesome. But unfortunately, the only way we worked out the names of the bars we visited was via credit card receipts the following day. Oh no! Highlight of the night had to be the fact that I was the most intoxicated of the trio, but still managed to direct us back to the hostel. Self-five for the big dog!!
The following day involved some seedy tourism. Dublin Castle – what were they thinking? Surely it is not deserving of castle status, perhaps encampment or pathetic outpost, but not castle? Trinity College, on the other hand, was awesome. Manicured gardens and buildings were magnificent. We also visited the National Gallery where I was most impressed with the impressionist’s collection. Rose informs me that the Dutch have a wealth of talent in this area, but I’m not yet convinced. Van who? I’ve seen Van Wilder, is that what you’re talking about?
Needless to say, that night was almost a carbon copy of the previous one. The only difference being that we tried the local Guinness. It really is true what they all say – the Guinness is better in Dublin. And such a great coffee-esque flavour. The following day we were absolutely knackered, but managed to drag ourselves to Grafton Street (a lovely mall area full of retail and cafés). After falling asleep in a café, we decided to head back to the hostel for a power nap before heading to the airport. I was heading to Berlin, while Rose and Ben flew back to Manchester. We just made it in time for check in, thanks again to a ridiculous gridlock that meant the time to get to the airport was almost double what it should have been. But all is well that ends well.
Dublin, in summary… all of the photos, none of the memories.
Firstly, the decision to visit Dublin was somewhat of an impulse – a combination of Ryanair’s ridiculously low airfares and the fact that we decided to go while we were pre-drinking at Chris’ house, probably before some Tiger Tiger event. Anyway, the plan came to fruition and Ben (my fellow basketballer, brown bear and all-round good bloke), Rose (Ben’s mate, who I threw £1 at when we first met, but have subsequently become good mates with) and I headed to Dublin for a few nights during “Reading Week”. In a feeble attempt to justify travelling while I should be studying, I brought my insurance law textbook, but in hindsight it was only packed because it was the smallest of my textbooks. What the hell, we are all exchange students and everyone knows that “exchange” is actually a euphemism for “holiday”.
Our hostel in Dublin, Jacob’s Inn, was conveniently located right next to the bus station and a short walk from the town centre. Even better was the fact that we had a 10 bed dorm pretty much to ourselves… and there was an en suite! First, we hit up town for some fish and chips and then had a quick (3 hour) power nap back at the hostel before the night of carnage began – pre-drinks at the hostel and then we headed to Temple Bar (the district in Dublin filled with bars, clubs and plenty of sauce).
So, riddle me this… An Australian, German and Dutchman (I know Rose is female, but Dutchwoman doesn’t sound right) enter a pub, what happens next? Lots of whisky neat followed by really cheesy dancing, a lot of incomprehensible texts sent back to Manchester, an unsightly self-inflicted mess on my Y-3s and Nudies (again) and a 16 inch pizza. Oh Aaron. The night was, for lack of a better word, awesome. But unfortunately, the only way we worked out the names of the bars we visited was via credit card receipts the following day. Oh no! Highlight of the night had to be the fact that I was the most intoxicated of the trio, but still managed to direct us back to the hostel. Self-five for the big dog!!
The following day involved some seedy tourism. Dublin Castle – what were they thinking? Surely it is not deserving of castle status, perhaps encampment or pathetic outpost, but not castle? Trinity College, on the other hand, was awesome. Manicured gardens and buildings were magnificent. We also visited the National Gallery where I was most impressed with the impressionist’s collection. Rose informs me that the Dutch have a wealth of talent in this area, but I’m not yet convinced. Van who? I’ve seen Van Wilder, is that what you’re talking about?
Needless to say, that night was almost a carbon copy of the previous one. The only difference being that we tried the local Guinness. It really is true what they all say – the Guinness is better in Dublin. And such a great coffee-esque flavour. The following day we were absolutely knackered, but managed to drag ourselves to Grafton Street (a lovely mall area full of retail and cafés). After falling asleep in a café, we decided to head back to the hostel for a power nap before heading to the airport. I was heading to Berlin, while Rose and Ben flew back to Manchester. We just made it in time for check in, thanks again to a ridiculous gridlock that meant the time to get to the airport was almost double what it should have been. But all is well that ends well.
Dublin, in summary… all of the photos, none of the memories.
posted by Aaron McGovern at 12:11 AM
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