Ireland - Dublin

First Hostel Experience

Our first hostel experience was at Abagail's Hostel. The place was clean, pleasant, secure and friendly. We loved the location of our hostel because it was central to everything in Dublin. Our hostel had a kitchen so we displayed our immense culinary skills by frying pre-made chicken patties and making turkey sandwiches. While cooking our meal, we met a real cook, a Spainard, who amazingly outshone us by making calamari and chips (fries). Talking to him, we discovered that many Europeans come to Dublin to practice their English and usually stay at hostels for over a month. In some ways, it is much cheaper to stay at a hostel than to rent out an apartment. While Johanna was talking to him, she met a fellow American woman from Vienna, Va, who was traveling alone around Europe. Man, it is a small world after all!!!

DUBLIN

We are discovering that like Edinburgh, Dublin is a mix of many people from different parts of the world. Our ears heard many different languages and accents; however hardly any Irish ones. We are loving the walking tours that are given in major cities by Sandeman's Europe Tours. It's a 3 hour tour of a major city in Europe given by an energetic, funny, young and very knowledgeable guide. It is a great way to get a feel for the layout of the city. And the best part of the tour is that it is FREE, except if you wish, you can tip the guide (which we did). We had our first walking tour in Edinburgh and the Dublin tour didn't disappoint. We learned much of Ireland's history, especially the long-lasting and devastating effects of the potato famine. Of course, we met some Aussies (they are everywhere) on our tour and had a drink with them. Then, our next stop was the tour of the Guinness storehouse. It was a nice visit. The best part for me (Joyce) was the Gravity bar, which is located on the very top of the storehouse. It gives you a 360 degree view of Dublin. The best part for Johanna was drinking the cool creamy goodness of a guinness at the Gravity Bar. Our server was talented and drew a shamrock on the top of our guinness.