After traveling around Switzerland for 4 days, I traveled to Dublin, Ireland with Ryan and Mike this past weekend.  Sean, Will, and Kevin went on a trip to Paris and James was with his family for the weekend. Though all of us weren't together, I was very excited to see the country of Ireland and the city of Dublin and travel with Ryan and Mike. Before going, I didn't know much about Ireland other than the heavy drinking and Irish Pubs.

        This trip, we flew out of Eindhoven airport, which was a lot easier than Brussels.  We took a train to the airport which only took us a little over an hour and the plane ride was about the same.  Soon enough we got to the city of Dublin.  We took a double decker bus from the airport that dropped us off close to the hostel we were staying at.  As we were driving into the city on the bus, I noticed that the streets and sidewalks were more dirty with litter than most places we have been, which may be a result of the amount of pubs and bars in the city.  The number of pubs, bars and restaurants was astonishing and wasn't what I expected.  When we got off the bus, we walked to a nearby restaurant to eat lunch.  Funny enough, we all ordered BBQ duck and sweet potato fries, which was one of the best meals I have had while traveling abroad.  After lunch, we checked into the hostel and went to tour the Guinness Storehouse.  When we walked in I couldn't believe the size of the factory, which had 7 floors! I really enjoyed the Guinness advertising which there was a whole floor dedicated to its advertisements since being established.  At the end of the tour, we went to the gravity bar on the 7th floor which had a great view of the city and got a free pint of Guinness.  I noticed how there was a difference in the way the Guinness tasted then anywhere else I've had it, which seemed to be the case all over the country as well.   After touring the factory, we went to a bar area and called the Living rooms.  The bar was loud, vibrant and filled with passionate Irish natives as the national team was playing Austria for a qualified for the world cup.  From that point on, I realized the importance of the Irish culture and the passion they have for their country, which was special. After the Irish victory, we headed back to the hostel to go to bed as we had a 7am tour of the countryside and cliffs of Moher the next morning. 

       We arrived at the buses at 6:50am.  When we got to the bus, mass amounts of people were just walking back from the bars since Connor McGregor, a famous Irish UFC fighter, had a match which started at 5am.  Along with watching the soccer game, it was amazing to see the love and pride Irish people have for their country and especially Connor McGregor.

       Our first stop on the tour was at a castle in the countryside which our tour guide stated was built in the 1500's. After we stopped at the "baby" cliffs of Moher which was on the way to the main attraction, the Cliffs of Moher.  As we were driving through the countryside, I couldn't help but notice a number of cows that were being raised.  Our tour guide said that the limestone which surrounds the cows, helps them grow which was something I found rather interesting considering how cows are raised in the US.  After the baby cliffs, we stopped at a pub that was on the way to the cliffs of Moher.  The tour guide recommended the Guinness stew and the fish and chips as well as hot whiskey which, of course we ordered.  I really felt integrated into the Irish culture as we were eating custom Irish dishes at a pub in the countryside of Ireland which is crazy to think.  We then drove over to the cliffs and had an hour and 45 minutes to walk and view the cliffs. It was amazing to see the cliffs in person after I've seen multiple photos of them before.  I was blown away by the height and the rifts of the cliffs and a number of people touring.  We then headed back from the cliffs and arrived in Dublin at 9:45.  Ryan, mike and I went to a bar called the temple bar that had live music which had a great atmosphere and was a lot of fun.

       Out of all the trips I've been on so far, I was most impressed with the passion and pride the Irish had for their country.  It was truly amazing to see the cliffs and the countryside as well as learning about Ireland's rich history.