Category: Ireland
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last day in dublin
Our last day in Ireland was supposed to be spent admiring Waterford crystals and touring their factory down in Waterford (about a three hour train ride from Dublin). But thanks to a certain crazy snowstorm up in Northern Ireland, this plan was derailed. So instead, we decided to just spend our time checking out places…
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spending a few hours in a dublin jail
Intrigued? Before you get too fascinated, you should know that it’s not what you think. It’s actually a tourist attraction – Kilmainham Gaol. Kilmainham Gaol was a jail that held Ireland’s most famous political and military leaders from the late 1700s to the early 1900s. For 6 Euros (or 2 Euros with a student ID),…
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what it’s like being stuck in a snowstorm in northern ireland
The Giant’s Causeway is huge area of basalt columns, all squeezed together. It is located in Country Antrim in Northern Ireland, which is about an hour drive from Belfast. The legend is that an Irish giant named Finn MacCool, was challenged to a fight by a Scottish giant, who lived right across the North Channel.…
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belfast in half a day
While I’m sure there’s more to Belfast than the Titanic Exhibition, we didn’t get a chance to see much. We only had one and a half days there – and our full day was already reserved for the Giant’s Causeway, leaving us with only about a half a day to explore the city. Here are…
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you’ll never guess how much it cost to build the rms titanic
$7,500,000! What a great bargain! Granted, that amount of money was worth a lot more 100 years ago but even so! Quick history lesson: The Titanic was built in 1912 in Belfast, the capital (and largest city) of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom (whereas the Republic of Ireland is…
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all roads lead to the cliffs of moher
I know the expression is, “All roads lead to Rome”, but I figured since this blog post subject is meant to be taken literally, I’d switch up the saying. With that in mind, here are a few pictures from towns leading up to/from the Cliffs of Moher: Bunratty Castle – located in County Clare, Bunratty…
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living life on the edge
Imagine your feet dangling 390 feet above sea level, off a cliff. If you happen to inch a little too close to the edge (or you know, if some crazy person happens to come along and shove you), the only things there to break your fall are jagged rocks, and the dark abyss of the…
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the ring of kerry
Have you ever heard of the Ring of Kerry? (It’s okay if you haven’t because I never have until I started researching for my Ireland trip). It is a 179 km (or 111 miles) circular route along the coast of south-western Ireland. You get views of lakes, beaches, cliffs, the whole works. Because of its…
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i’ll never let go, jack!
Did you know that Cobh (pronounced Cove, but formerly known as Queenstown) is where the Titanic set sail on its ill-fated maiden voyage? Out of 123 passengers who boarded the ship, only 44 survived (stole this tidbit from Wikipedia). And no, this did not include Jack and Rose, in real life. They’re completely fictional. That…
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kissing the blarney stone (and a million other people)
The legend has it is that if you kiss the Blarney Stone, you will be blessed with the ‘gift of gab’, or eloquence. But it’s not just any kiss. In order to get that smooch, you will have to climb to the top of the Blarney Castle, lean backwards, and kiss it upside down. Apparently,…
how to be a traveler 