While abroad, I’m sure you’ll probably have the itch to be able to travel to as many countries or cities that you can possibly get to. While I was overseas with AIFS in Rome, one of my favorite weekend trips was to Dublin, Ireland. I would highly suggest getting to see this beautiful country and its lovely people. It’s also a nice break from language barriers if you’re studying in a non-English speaking country!
Here are some of the places I went during my weekend in Dublin:
Temple Bar Area
Something that Dublin is known for is the Temple Bar area. Here you can have dinner and go to different pubs with all sorts of live music. There is also an actual “Temple Bar” which was absolutely packed but did have really good live music. The decorations in all of these places are amazing as well; you can really see how many people from around the world have visited. There are also lots of shops down here to get souvenirs.
PaddyWagon Tour
Something you have to do is wake up bright and early to go on the PaddyWagon tour. On the tour, I got onto a bus and it took stops along the way to the Cliffs of Moher. It also stopped at a cute little town to get some food and look at the quaint shops along the way. We saw little mini cliffs and an old hospital/cemetery. After we visited to the actual Cliffs of Moher. They were absolutely beautiful. Some of them were 800 feet tall!
Guinness Storehouse Tour
Something that you have to do while in Ireland is create a booking to go tour the Guinness storehouse. It was so interesting to see how the beer is made and the history of it. The tour also taught you how to properly drink the beer. There were interactive parts of the tour. Guinness in Ireland tastes so much different than anywhere else. After our tour ended, we collected our free drinks and went up to the Gravity Bar, found at the top of the storehouse. The bar is made out of all windows and had panoramic views of Dublin. Instead of going up to the panoramic bar you can pour your own pint!
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
This is a really cool cathedral that you can walk around in, and the gardens around it are beautiful as well. The building is made out of stone like so many others in Dublin, and in Ireland in general. There is an entrance fee here but I think churches are really cool to see the inside of, as they are all a little bit unique.
This post was contributed by Justine Drewel, an AIFS Alumni Ambassador who spent her study abroad experience with AIFS in Rome, Italy.
