Vanessa's Irish Adventure (part 2)

*From the archives 2014*

One highlight of the tour for me was visiting the beautiful, gleaming campus of Trinity College. We popped into the Old Library 30 minutes before closing time to see the Book of Kells later on in the evening, a tip that Conor relayed to us as admission to the Library is half-off (5 euro instead of 10) during this time. It was hard to believe that something of such exquisite artistry could have been crafted around 1000 years ago. 

Oh, and a trip to Dublin obviously wouldn’t be complete for a literary aficionado such as I without a visit to the Wilde memorial in Merrion Square. At first my roommate and I took photos in front of the memorial–but weren’t quite satisfied with just that, we ended up cutting our hands and dirtying our jeans clambering up onto the rock to get up close and personal with his statue. I think it was something that Wilde would appreciate. 

We also had the chance to explore Dublin’s infamous artistic and nightlife hub, Temple Bar, doing a pub crawl to four awesome pubs in the area. During this time I also tried my first Guinness. Now, normally I’m not a fan of beer–you won’t find me casually drinking one at a barbecue or with dinner, even in the heat of summer. But Guinness was so smooth and substantial, it didn’t seem like beer at all–it was more like a meal. Must be the Irish in me!

After exploring the city for two days, we decided to take a day trip out to the west of Ireland to see Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs were towering and gorgeous, something truly indescribable. Galway was a small lively city and we quite enjoyed it as well. After 4 nights and 3 days, my roommate and I woke up at 3:30 am to catch an early flight back to Glasgow.

I will say that I will never forget the heady magic of Dublin crackling through the lively streets of the city. One day I will definitely come back!