A Valencian goes to Dublin

The beginning of my Dublin experience

It started one 13th March. The second I left the airport I gathered that it wasn't just an ordinary week in Dublin: big decorations, people dressed up with green accessories (all of this being stereotypical "Irish"), huge boxes full of supplies outside the pubs, Irish flag colours shining from outdoor lights... yes, it was St Patrick's Day eve. My first stay in the city was in Abbey Court Hostel, the locals gave good reviews so I decided to hazard one of their famous 24-bed rooms (€12 a night, they don't ask for a security deposit, that being said, reservations need to be made in advance for those dates), although there are shared rooms with less people.

I was a little reluctant at the beginning, not totally convinced that it was a good idea to share a room with 24 strangers, considering the particular date which presupposed that everyone would be rowdy and partying, but everything was fine in the end, I was even able to leave my backpack and all my other things on top of my bed without anything being stolen. Despite the smell of 24 people sleeping in the same room being what it was, it was all quite clean. There was mutual respect between the guests and very good vibes, the majority were young people. There were also a few recreation areas (pool table and other such games, bars and pubs, etc. ) on the bottom floor where you could pleasurably pass the time and meet hundreds of new people, I'm not exaggerating when I say hundreds (Spanish, Italians, Irish, Germans...from all over), which led to believe that this was the perfect place to stay for a little adventure, as long as you don't have too much luggage.

Other than this, the general services and attention to detail were fantastic, the managers were wonderful people, finding a great atmosphere from the moment I entered. After finding a couple of maps in a tourist information office, the real adventure began.

Let's start with the food

I could be described as "anti fast-food" but Burger King was so close to me, and it later became my lifesaver and the gastronomy there was very different to Spanish cuisine and quality was visibly lacking. A lot of chicken and chips, burgers (which I don't like), sausages... honestly, the food was awful. The other option was the €20 menus at restaurants where the check would end up being around €25-30, although expensive, that's your only choice if you want good quality food. We ate at restaurants a couple of times, and it wasn't bad (I took a photo of the hake with sauce, and meat, so that my family thought I was eating well), despite the cost of the meal. Anyway, so you have an idea of what to expect, my first contact with the local food was dinner at Burger King. Everything I saw in this respect upon arriving was very disappointing. It was expensive eating in the restaurants and not one convinced me that it was worth it.

As the days went by, I ended up resorting to supermarket meal deals, for €3-4 you get a sandwich (bad but cheap), drink and piece of fruit/yogurt, and with what's left of your budget after spending the majority on all the beers that you will drink there, it's helps make ends meet. This, with some bananas/biscuits and the decent breakfast offered at Abbey Court Hostel - they will tell you again and again, it's free catering, so you can take some food for lunch/snacks during your daily tourist activities - I was able to survive as I could. Another option is the kebabs for €4, I tried a couple of them and they were quite good when compared to the kebabs I usually eat in Spain. I must highlight that the rice with chicken curry there is the best rice that I've ever tried in my life, and this is coming from a Valencian, mind you.

Also I should add that fish and chips is overrated, I paid €15 for a plate of fish and chips in a restaurant that advertised serving "typical Irish fish and chips" and it was disappointing.

Now let's discuss the parties

The first day I looked around the bars/pubs districts, and I must say it was amazing here, I went with some friends and the atmosphere (live music, good beer, local people), we instantly felt at home. It was surprising. And my friends went back to the hostel, but I stayed with a group of Basques that I knew, I wanted to party, it was my first day in Dublin and I didn't miss my friends (sorry), indicative of the great atmosphere there.

In general I was drinking pints of typical stouts such as Guinness for €6, although there were also some 15 other different types of beer I could have tried, all of amazing tastes and shades. The pubs were full of crowds of people every day, probably due to the dates. I also tried a pint of cider the last day (yes, I got tired of beer), and it was actually quite good, I regret not drinking more of it.

Attention fans of good whisky! The whisky does not disappoint, I did a tasting and truth is that, albeit expensive, it's of very good quality. The only letdown is that the pubs close early, at 2am, which was annoying, but the people here are already plastered by 5pm, I imagine this is the key to not having the "last call already? " feeling... but you understand that for the Spanish it's a bit early. As well as bars there's also the option of pubs, which aren't bad either, there's quite a lot of techno music, and not much of the Latin rhythms the Spanish are used to hearing when we party.

St Patrick's Day

St Patrick's Day was brilliant, the parade wasn't totally to my liking but the atmosphere in the streets was incredible, happiness filled every corner...children, dragons, shamrocks... everything. I felt born and bred Irish, €5-6 later and I was covered with accessories and shamrocks, in addition to this I found a stand on the street with children who had face-paint, and I let them paint my face and arms. The atmosphere was even greater in the pubs.

The people were generally very welcoming and friendly, you fit in with any group of young people after little conversation, with the exception of those who became more unpleasant with alcohol, advisable to avoid them, but this happens everywhere, although one has to remember alcoholism is abundant in this country, which one observes. Also one has to avoid being tricked, I suggest asking for prices before buying as establishments and bars often try to take advantage of tourists.

Finally, the places to visit...

It's compulsory to visit the universities, cathedrals, parks etc. My experience met my expectations faithfully, everything was typically Irish too. Big stretches of green meadows, impressive cathedrals... The universities were very interesting (I'm a student so I invested certain time in visiting the universities), the local professors welcomed us without problem, they were lovely people and there were some excellent facilities (Attention! I have to highlight the hole in security at Trinity College at the entrance to the "Harry Potter library", we got in through the exit door, where the tour finishes, without paying. )

We wanted to see a little more of Ireland and we were in Carlow for 2 days so we visited the College of Engineering, an ideal place to study. The hotel rooms were around €50 a night (not bad for Ireland), I think it was the best price we found there. The nightlife was fantastic, during the day all seemed quiet then at 5-6pm there were people everywhere, all the pubs were full, incredible. The majority were students, although there were also people there in their 40's, which surprised me, as in Spain you don't normally see people of all kinds and ages together in places like these. The atmosphere was comparable to that in Dublin but time was more slow-paced, it was more chilled, less cosmopolitan. The last day I went for a run through the suburbs of the city and I fell in love... I loved Carlow. It was only 1-2 hours away by bus and costed around €20 for a return ticket. The city's college offered to take us on a tour, being university students, and we were able to visit a military based and several museums related to aeronautics, the sector is quite developed here.

We also visited the castle and the Kilkenny cathedral, where we also found a parade, smaller than Dublin's but no less interesting. It was full of children and the elderly, this country is a spectacle, at least it is on these dates.

Finally and before leaving I visited Cork, I recommend going to the outskirts of the city, because it's much more welcoming, you can see the truly enchanting countryside, and it's much more relaxing than the city. You can travel anywhere by bus for €15-20 that I found this method of transport to be comfortable.

Useful advice

The weather typical in this area is a problem, we only had one sunny day and of the seven cloudy ones, but honestly it only rained on one day, the rest were quite pleasant, so one must make the most of the days with good weather. Generally it's cloudy with light showers, as was the weather on St Patrick's Day, and people carried on as usual whilst we were wrapping up warm having realised that this weather was normal here.

The souvenir shops at the airport before leaving were an essential requirement (I recommend not leaving this to the last minute, you'd end up buying everything, it's all is extremely attractive). Guinness t-shirts, figurines, cards, all kinds of everyday objects covered with shamrocks, leprechauns, beers... a little bit of everything, it's quite a sight. Although I have to accept the remaining desires to visit the official Guinness shop.

Despite going back home with a few kilos less (the food was so awful), I would return, and as a matter of fact, I will return. We'ĺl see each other the 3rd week of March Dublin!