A week to visit Dublin

From day one, we visited Trinity College, Ireland’s oldest university and one of the most famous in the world. It was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I.

Walk on O’Connell Street

In addition, this avenue includes the Dublin Central Post Office, built in 1818, which is considered one of the iconic landmarks of O’Connell Street. This building is of great historical value because it is the place where the Republic of Ireland was proclaimed after the 1916 revolt.

Brazen Head and Temple Bar bars

Then, at lunch, we all ate together at the Brazen Head restaurant, which is right next to the Temple Bar area. When you see the restaurant, it looks like you’re come into a small castle with these walls but at the same time, it looks like a prison with these bars! When we walked in, a waiter came by, and we could smell hot dishes like Irish Stew or Fish and Chips.

We listen to typical Irish music: joyful and festive. While reaching out, we could also hear the sounds of heels! Wanting to get a closer look, we approached and discovered a group of musicians and 3 dancers dressed in dresses who danced the Ceili Dancing which is the traditional Irish dance!

We also had a drink with friends in the Temple Bar area, a tourist area known for its nightlife, restaurants and pubs. One of the oldest pubs in Dublin ?? is the Temple Bar, named after Sir William Temple (1628-1699), former rector of Trinity College. During this outing, I tasted my first Guinness! I didn’t like the taste at all! This stout is strangely solid and the foam is very thick! But I loved the atmosphere of the bar!

Visit to Dublin Castle

Today, it is a place of celebration to receive the visits of State, but it is also a tourist attraction, that it is possible to discover by carrying out a guided tour in English of 45 minutes. As I lived with a hosting family in Dunboyne, I spent the night with them.

Visit of the Christchurch Cathedral

The cathedral was originally a small wooden sanctuary created by the Viking king Sitric in 1038. Then, in 1172 , the construction of the present stone church began, a process that lasted until the thirteenth century. Renovated in the early 2000s, it is now open to visitors. The crypt contains many funerary monuments.

Visit of the Dublinia Museum

Dublinia opened in 1993, it is an interactive exhibition of the history of Dublin ?? , with reconstructions of daily life scenes in life size. The tour is divided into two distinct parts: Dublin Viking and Dublin Medieval.

In the first part, Dublin Viking, it is possible to discover the lifestyle of the Vikings by come into their homes and boats to listen to their poetic works, try on their clothes, become a Viking warrior or a slave. In Medieval Dublin: We can see the houses of rich merchants of Dublin in medieval times or stroll through the dirty streets of Dublin a few hundred years ago.

Are you interested in the Viking period? Visit their website to learn more about it!

Walk in Phoenix Park

Phoenix Park is the largest urban park in Europe with 712 hectares. It was created in 1662 to serve as a hunting reserve populated with deer and was redeveloped to open its doors to the public in 1745. The park consists of large lawns, tree-lined avenues and wooded areas. There are also sports fields for polo and cricket. It is also home to a herd of wild deer. Inside the park are, among others:

the official residence of the Irish President; the Wellington Monument, a 62-metre-high obelisk in memory of the Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo; the Papal Cross, a large cross planted for the visit of Pope JohnPaul II in Dublin in 1979 at the foot of which he celebrated a Mass; the Dublin Zoo ??: one of the oldest zoos in the world which was inaugurated in 1830, when it had only a wild boar.

Visit of St Patrick’s Cathedral

St Patrick’s Cathedral is a magnificent stone building with two shades of grey! Erected in honour of the patron saint of Ireland, the cathedral, which is the largest church in Ireland, was built next to a well in which St Patrick baptized the converts around the year 450. In 1191, the Normans built a stone church in the same place. It was rebuilt in the 13th century to give birth to the current building. In addition to being the largest church in Dublin, St Patrick’s is one of the most important churches in Dublin.

When we came inside, we were impressed to see these vaults and flags floating in the altar of the Cathedral. Then we went to the Garden of the Cathedral which was all flowery! We smelled the perfume of these flowers, Spring was there! We stopped to rest and take some pictures of this cathedral with its beautiful garden!

St Patrick

To tell you the story of Saint Patrick : he was born in England at the end of the 4th century. At 16, in 405, he is taken prisoner by Scots and they sell him as a slave in Ireland. After 6 years of captivity, he managed to escape and left the country for England. After crossing the English border, Patrick had a revelation: in a dream, an angel would have asked him to return to Ireland as a missionary of God. At that time, Patrick’s mission was to convert the Irish to Christianity. He died on March 17, 461 and to mark the anniversary of his death, St Patrick’s Day began to be celebrated every year on March 17th.

During my stay in Ireland, I had the chance to celebrate St Patrick’s Day! On March 17, 2018, armed with our green hats and our Irish flags, we admired the St Patrick’s Day parade! It took place on O’Connell Street and then wandered the main streets of Dublin! Despite the huge crowd, I could see the parade with a green Renault car, hand-made creations life size and concerts where we danced until no time!

Shopping on Grafton Street

The next day, before my boyfriend left for France, we went shopping on Grafton Street to buy souvenirs.

As we walked along the avenue, we saw a woman dancing to the rhythm of the music played by a violinist right behind her! A few meters away, a man was singing! In short, you are not likely to get bored in this street where you find in addition to street artists, a whole bunch of shops (clothes, souvenirs, grocery store etc.).

His name comes from the Duke of Grafton who owned the land. There is a statue of Molly Malone at the corner of Nassau Street, dating from the late 20th century. She was a street vendor who sold fish on her wagon during the day and prostituted herself at night. She inspired a nice ballad “Molly Malone”.

I hope my logbook has inspired you to visit Ireland! We will publish a next article about my trip to the west of Ireland ??: the Connemara, Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. See you soon, Subscribe to our newsletter!… And as always, be curious!